2022 Planner, Journals, & Notebooks Line-up

My first video in a very long time!  With a brief update at the end of the video: 

ANNOUNCEMENT! Ledger & Lace is on Teachable.com

This has been a labor of LOVE, combining my passion for Traveler's Notebooks and teaching.
Here's a video explaining the two courses I have in the Ledger And Lace Teachable online classroom:

Here's a link to the classroom: https://ledgerandlace.teachable.com/

HAPPY New Year!

Video flip of planners and journals I'm using this year:

Things mentioned in video:

Nik The Booksmith Planner Kit:

Mel Robbins on YouTube

5 Second Rule

5 Second Journal

TED Talk

Stalogy notebook in A5

Stalogy A6

Chic Sparrow, Mr. Darcy

The World of Junk Journals

It's such a cliche to apologize for a neglected blog; but apologies! I know that some of my MANY subscribers don't follow me on Twitter or YouTube.  And by "MANY"  I mean, essentially, Mari.  Hi Mari!  ;-)  So I thought I'd do a bit of an update-ish.

Originally for this blog post, I was going to slap up a video and call it a day. But it has gotten more and more involved as I started writing about my love of journals. For the past couple years, I've been into Travelers Notebooks and most recently, Junk Journals. I love the vintage vibe of old paper, photographs, letters, lace, doilies and other ephemera.  However, within the JJ community, there are different subcategories. Some journalers get very "cute" with their journals. They use scrapbook paper and stickers and bright colours.

There's also a segment of the population where it's called a "journal" with no space to actually journal; just lots of pictures and tuck spots and bobbles. And what's the deal with the obsession with Jane Austen?  I'm kidding, but it's a thing in the JJ world.

Rosemary Morris calls her journals, "Trashy Junk Journals."  She creates themes with different "trash,"  here's one she did with Tea. I've been saving all my dog-themed stuff (empty treat boxes, etc.).  Cheryl at DelyGirl1961  is another artist who creates beautiful journals. She also has some FABULOUS tutorials.

Digital downloads are a popular,  print-your-own JJ option. Here are a few:

Nik The Booksmith
Ephemera's Vintage Garden
Tsunami Rose.
Calico Cottage
ArtyMaze

So there are lots of different kinds of journals. You can do a search on YouTube for Junk Journals and fall down the rabbit hold with me. The ones I like have the vintagey look with tea (or coffee) stained pages, with room to write. The three artists I'm featuring here all have a few things in common; vintage vibe, often using real ephemera, a love of nature, sewing and collaging, and room for journaling. They are all very innovative in their creations and go beyond just making a journal.

First up, Nazy (short for Nazareth) at Amity Bloom.  She is one of the kindest, sweetest gals on YouTube. It has been such a JOY watching her work evolve. From her first try at sewing to seeing her BEAUTIFUL fabric collages, this is one gal to watch:

Nik The Booksmith  creates journals with themes. Go binge-watch her videos. She has a Carpetbagger series and all sorts of stories that go along with her journals. And she's hysterically funny!  Here's her latest:

My other favourite is Jibid in the U.K. This morning's video is what sparked this blog post. Her work is exquisite. That envelope collage and the poem and all the sewing and embroidery and the pressed flowers!  And-and-and!  All in one journal. 

Now, do you see why I haven't been blogging so much?  Too busy watching videos. Also, I am in the midst of  a HUGE re-organization. I've moved my art studio out of the kitchen and will spending the long weekend working on the new "Le Studio." Also, I'm excavating my sewing machine. And I've some new Magnolia May vids in the works. All fun stuff!  Til next time . . . .  :-)

Mother Mary TN

I got a really sweet, 5-year journal that had awful paper; I even left a review.  No "Before" pictures, (I know!  Bad blogger!) so click on the link to see what it looked like before I gutted it. And here's the "After" :

I googled different photos & chose this for the cover.

This is for my friend Christen.

The book was that pretty teal blue, but I used a metallic gold around the edges. Kinda went a little crazy with it, here's the back of book:

Spine with a little heart charm:

Pocket on inside cover of Mother Mary, laminated. I did 5 inserts; the first with another Mother Mary image:

And then the next 4 inserts were each of the archangels:

Back of AA Michael & front of AA Raphael:

Back pocket is AA Raphael with some extra pictures:

These were extras that I had laminated. It was hard choosing which pictures to use for this project. There is so much beautiful art work through the centuries!

I didn't want to post this until after I'd given it to Christen, and then I forgot until I remembered. 

You can turn any book into a travelers notebook. So if you like a cover, but not the contents, give it a go!

Traveler's Notebooks

In my obsession with planners and journals I came across the Midori Traveler's Notebook. Around about the same time, I'd gotten this really cute bible at a thrift store, but it reeked of smoke and the print was too small. So I thought I'd make my own Bible-dori.  Here's the outside:

I got multi-coloured elastic at the craft store.

This is what it looks like on the inside:

Scrapbook paper & washi tape with pocket on the inside, and it holds 6 books. I made the books using blank copy paper and scrapbook paper. Here are the books out of the Bible-dori cover:

I made little holes with a Crop-a-dile eyelet and snap punch, but you could use an awl if you wanted to. Then I threaded the elastic to make four bands to loop the books in:

On the right, you can see the elastic I used as a fastener to keep it closed.

Here's the outside:

I connected two books together with rubber bands before inserting them:

Rubber band at center of each book:

I should also mention that you can use any kind of paper; I just happen to prefer blank paper. Also I used a corner rounder to finish off the edges. I keep the Bible-dori in my purse and this is how I use it:

Book 1: Groceries and errands

Book 2: To do list

Book 3: Notes, quotes

Book 4: Ideas

Book 5: Expenses: I write down everything I spend.

Book 6: Appointment calendar: this is just for scheduling, so I know what I'm doing.

Folder: made with scrapbook paper and washi tape, it holds address labels, stamps, and stickers. 

The great thing about the traveler's notebook is that you can switch out the notebooks once they're full or rearrange however you want. The Bible-dori went thru three evolutions before I was happy with it this way. The traveler's notebooks come in different sizes; the Bible-dori is a bit bigger than the traditional "passport" size.

I showed the Bible-dori to my nephew and he thought it was a cool idea. So I made him one:

Larger field notes size.

I got a piece of leather from Michael's craft store. I used the same elastic that I used for the Bible-dori and painted it with a gold paint marker. The coin on the elastic closer thingie is from a jingley-belt I had with lots of different coins on it. 

Here it is open:

I made a folder with a manila envelope and taped it with duct tape.

Inside of folder and the TN holds 4 notebooks:

I got these notebooks in a pack of three at the office supply store. I had to trim them down with a rotary cutter about half an inch to fit the notebook. Here's a book secured in elastic:

Here's what it looks like with just the folder:

Everything out with just the leather cover:

Outside of the notebook:

It already has a nice "Indiana Jones" scuffed up look.

Here's Magnolia May DeSolay with a Show 'n' Tell:

New 2015 Labyrinth Journal & Another Labyrinth E-Book

Every year I make a new labyrinth journal. It started with this one:

That's my Healing Labyrinth Path CD cover as the labyrinth artwork. Then a
transparency sheet over that with purple dimensional paint to make a finger labyrinth.
I got it bound at the local office supply store.

The Labyrinth Journal 2012 was the first time I offered it to the general public. Prior to that, I was making journals by hand to give to friends and family. You can still get The Labyrinth Journal. The focus is on labyrinths and creativity and writing. Here's 2013's:

Pretty paper as a cover, with sparkley dimensional paint on transparency sheet on top of that.

 This year's:

We can see a theme, here . . . 

 For the first time, I've written another one to offer the general public again : The 2015 Labyrinth Journal: Wishes, Desires, & Aspirations. This is different from the first one in that there's not a lot about labyrinths or writing. It's more about setting goals and planning out your year.

Here's my 2015 journal:

I printed out the cover onto a piece of scrapbook paper, cut to size.
I know this is a bit hard to read, but since it's mine, I know what it says.
I could take a Sharpie to it, but . . . meh.  Because I'm lazy.

Then I added a finger labyrinth with glow-in-the-dark dimensional paint:

Here's the back; Chartres Cathedral labyrinth printed onto scrapbook paper:

Here's a labyrinth journal I've made for a friend:

Chartres Cathedral labyrinth printed onto scrapbook paper. Quote strips on 
the left, ready to go!  Will prolly Sharpie the title so it's easier to read . . . .

And the back:

Both journals are Pdf's that you download so that you can print it yourself. It takes a bit of time to put together, but is much cheaper to do it this way. Plus, you can make it as personal & unique as you are! Here's a link to my Etsy shop to check out both journals. I am working on offering these as hard copies, but for now, they are only available as pdfs.

Labyrinth Arts Projects

I had started a book on Labyrinth Arts Projects when I was at the River House. It's a collection of all my labyrinth projects that I've written about on the blog, or have on my website. I've also included templates for original labyrinth designs like my butterfly design and heart labyrinth. So I've finished it & it's a pdf, instant download as well. 

So there you go--not a mention of a dog anywhere in this post!  It's a Christmas miracle. ;-)

Ornament Thursday: LUCK

I designed this labyrinth based on a 4-leaf clover. You can see the template in the previous post.
There are a couple variations. The first one I did on cardstock and used graphite paper to trace the image. Then I applied the dimensional paint (I use Scribbles). I mod-podged a real 4-leaf clover in the center. I used a gloss varnish for the finger path, and then used gold sparkle paint around the labyrinth. Then I glued it to the cover of a journal.


My favourite way of creating finger labyrinths is to use regular copy transparency sheets (for an overhead projector). I put the labyrinth template underneath and trace over with the dimensional paint. It dries in a few hours. Then you can apply that to a note book, journal, etc.
On this one, I painted the cover of the journal with acrylic paints, and then put the labyrinth on top when it dried. I used a metalic marker for writing.

This is my favourite! Glow-in-the-dark dimensional paint, great fun at night. Also, the dimensional part adds a nice kinesthetic feel to tracing the labyrinth with your finger. You could also close your eyes for a different experience. This one is on a transparency sheet and I put it over a pretty piece of shimmery paper I got from Michael's. I've also used wallpaper to cover notebooks, steno pads, etc. and then the transparency sheet goes right on top.

HAPPY ORNAMENT THURSDAY, everyone!!! :-) H.

Here are the links to the rest of the gang:

Art Bead Scene Lucky ABS!

We're part 2 of Lucky Knots!Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva Luck is knotted up in Part 1 of this tutorial

Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Melanie is inspired by a lucky Leprechaun to make a fairy tale, treasure filled necklace

Jennifer Heynen of Jangles Lucky Charms Bracelet...The name says it all. This bracelet has everything to bring you good luck.

Joolz by Lisa As Luck Would Have It...Lucky Earrings

Katie's Beading Blog Make your own luck with these fun, swingy earrings!

Linda Augsburg at Make It Mine magazine Lucky doesn't begin to describe the adventure I had making this T-shirt...

Lucky Lucky to be... based on a coin holder a friend made for me...

Lucky To Be Me Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all? Well, YOU, of course. No matter who you are when you look into this magical mirror, you'll be reminded you're lucky to be you!

Lynn Kvigne - Beading Help Web Irish Proverb Window Ornament - step by step instructions for making this year-round ornament that may bring luck right through your window!

Melissa J. Lee - Strands of Beads Good fortune is yours with this cookie-inspired necklace.

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! You'll "make Jean's day " if you check out her lucky Pendant with a Clint Eastwood eighties twist

Swelldesigner Swelldesigner gets lucky this month with some super colorful, sparkly painted bangles

The Impatient Blogger Luck starts with a wish...Margot shares an project she created for Simply Beads last August.

Massage Collage

I'm a journal kinda gal. I use a basic spiral blank art pad so that I can draw, write, take notes, record quotes. On the cover of each journal, I do a collage or put a picture from a magazine that I like. Sometimes I do it at the end of the journal or before I begin. It just depends. It's a great medium when traveling: just get an Oprah magazine & scissors & go at it. I always travel with glue sticks, doesn't everyone? ;-)

Creating a collage is like a labyrinth: it's directed by your intention. I've done collages for goals and collages for inspiration. This one is my Sedona journal, an AMAZING trip I took with my friend Susan (who has an Oct. post about our trip). Sedona is such a *magical* place. Our whole trip was so inspired; we spent the week with Chloe Wordsworth at a Holographic (Resonance) Repatterning conference AND Bruce Lipton kicked it off with his Biology of Belief seminar. AWESOME! We just by chance got tickets to a sold-out concert by Deva Premal AND we took a day trip to the Grand Canyon. If you've never been to the Grand Canyon, it's a must-see before you die. And I think Bell Rock is one of my favourite places in the world--AWESOME!


This next collage was done 3 years ago and was the answer to my prayer What now? I was asking for guidance about renting space at a spa to do Reiki, education consulting, etc. At the time, I had interpreted it as a "yes," but didn't follow through. Something didn't feel right about it. Less than a year later I went to massage school. One of those wonderful life-decisions that changes you forever. Sometimes we receive guidance and misinterpret it, but somehow we get to where we're going!

So now it's collage time again. Every December I do a collage for the cover of my planner and set an intention for the year. Ah...what's in store for 2008?