Back to School

Well, sort of. 

Dale says that every new project deserves a new notebook. I'm starting a new project.

Today I played with school supplies and art supplies to gear up for it. Here's what I came up with:

I'd planned to purchase a fancy 3-ring binder as a reward for completing a task I really didn't want to do. But I went to three stores and couldn't find what I was looking for. The Back-to-School supplies are not all set out yet. I was sure a binder geared to a middle school girl was going to be ideal for me. But no such-a luck-a. I came home empty-handed.

Then I looked online. I found one with a great cover design, but $14 seemed like too much for a flimsy vinyl/plastic floppy binder.

So I slept on the decision.

This morning while putting something away in my Studio, I remembered that I have some used plain white binders stored away. I'm glad they weren't playing hide-n-seek. I was able to locate one right away.

Then I dug through (and reorganized) my bin of gift bags. I thought I might have one that could fill the bill of making good cover art. I picked one similar in size and shape to this red bag. But the one I used is covered in hearts, of course.

I pulled out a fresh pack of binder paper (because of course I have extra that I bought at a thrift store months ago). I also pulled out some writing implements. 

Then I got crafty ... cutting the bag apart ... trimming it to size ... adding stickers to cover up holes where the gift bag handles were connected ... adding many more heart stickers that had some shades of purple ... tucking the resulting "artwork" into the clear sleeves on the front, back, and spine of the binder.

Last, I pulled all the bits together. In the end, I was pretty proud of myself for using up more of my stash rather than buying something new. Plus ... you know I can barely resist an art project.

The project has to do with using this Live Your Values card deck to help reaffirm my values, then do a bit of journaling. This exercise goes along with a project I call Many Small Dreams. 

Moving to Oregon. Dale's stroke. Surviving the pandemic. Having a new grandchild. Trying to find ways to connect within my community. All these changes in the last four-and-a-half years rocked my world. I've never been one to chase one BIG DREAM. But I do have many small hopes and dreams. I'd like to move them from concept into something practical, then fulfill them in my retirement. 

My expectation is that this exercise of contemplation and journaling will bring these many small dreams into focus and have them align closely with the values I hold dear. I plan to keep moving forward through my life with intention.