Learning Things I Already Knew

I've got my pages/spreads for the past two weeks of Journal 52/Documented Life Project (DLP) to share with you today.  I've had some craziness happening in my life and this is the first chance I've gotten to share...sorry for the extended interlude of silence!

First, the Journal 52 prompts, starting with "Book Inspiration" prompt which you can read more about HERE.  For mine, I used a quote from a book series called The Girl In The Box by Robert J. Crane.  I have the Kindle app on my phone, and the first 3 books in this series are available as a free download.  Here's what I did:

"You stand at the edge of the rest of your life."

I like that quote...it happened at a point where the main character in the book had a big decision to make.  I kind of feel like, depending on how you look at it, this statement could apply to every single second of your life.  Meaning at any time, you have the choice/option/power to change the path you're on and go off in a new direction.  And even though I put my girl at the edge of a cliff (or at least tried to...I don't know how well it comes across), sometimes changing our path can be as simple as looking at something in a new light.

The next piece (for Journal 52) is for the "Making a Mandala" prompt, which you can read more about HERE.  I have to admit that I'd never attempted to make a mandala before, because I personally tend to find making repetitive patterns a bit boring, instead of zen-like and meditative like they're supposed to be.  But, because of my personal goal of being less flaky/having stick-to-it-ness (I don't think that's a real word...but I'm going for it anyway), I pressed forward and made this:

My very first (and possibly only ever) mandala!

Can I just say that I was really surprised by how this turned out?  I'm kinda impressed with myself! *arm breaks from patting self on back*  For a first attempt, I feel like I did a darn decent job...even my husband, who normally gets glazed over eyes and starts involuntarily drooling from boredom when I show him my art, said it was cool.  High praise indeed!  I wish I would have taken a picture before I colored this in, because it even looked neat in black and white!  While I may never make a mandala again (I still find the process to be a little tedious), I feel like the end result is nice.

Next is my DLP spread for the "Add embroidery floss to your page" challenge. (You can read more about that HERE.)  And this is what I did:

"You belong among the wildflowers...you belong somewhere you feel free." - Tom Petty
The outline of the flower on the left page was done in embroidery floss.  Although this isn't one of my favorite pages, I have to say I like the background on it pretty well.  I think sometime I will use embroidery floss in a different way on one of my DLP pages, because I don't enjoy it visually here, and I think I can do better...

And finally, my spread for the DLP prompt to "Draw, paint, or sketch a house" (read more HERE):

"A place to make your stand"
"The start and the end."

This was a spread where I went one step too far and was sad about it...that hasn't happened in quite a while!  I liked this page SO much before I added the white outline to the houses.  And then, once I did it, I couldn't take it off...hence sad face happening...  Everything else I like, even though it is not necessarily 'my style'.  The bright colors, using stencils to make the background (including one of my homemade foam stencils that I did a tutorial for HERE), the lettering, the houses BEFORE I added the white outline to them...all that made me super happy!  I guess every once in a while, it's good to have a visual reminder of why it's important to stop yourself from going to far...  At least that's what I'm telling myself so that I don't my underpants in a bunch over it too badly... 

And now I'm off to un-bunch my slightly bunched underpants and go to work...