october journal pages

so, wow. october is done and gone. that was fast!!  now we're getting close to thanksgiving and christmas.  always a fun and exciting time.  i am just finishing up my october daily journal.  i'm about to start a mini "thankful thoughts" november journal.  i'm taking an online class over at something splendid.  this mini will be a little more mixed-media (yay! i get to pull out those acrylic paints!!)

so, october was filled with art and costumes and candy and manic weather (rain-sun-rain-sun-cold-hot-cold!)  i placed whatever photos i took this month in my little mini october journal and wrote little bits so i wouldn't forget the details.

october was very active for us on the homeschool front!  there were field trips and garden days and school photos and lots and lots of playgroups (which end up being really great support groups for us moms who are new to this adventure!)

i like this approach to daily journaling/scrap-booking.  i love to see my photos of our every day life with little written thoughts.  nothing complicated, just simple.

i played around in this journal with a little bit more collage-y elements.  here i'm using washi tape, sequin scrap and a playing card.

still having fun with the instax camera, too.  ran out of film tho! so i'll have to find out where to get more.  probably amazon. ;)

this month, my daughter also joined a group that meets once a week with other homeschool kids from across the bay area and they learn through play in various county parks.  it's a branch of the homeschooling philosophy known as un-schooling or free schooling where the child's interest dictate what is learned that day.  the kids spend a whole 6 hours outdoors with two nature experts who are there to answer their questions or to help organize a game and to supervise their play.  my daughter comes home soaked and muddy with tales of animal tracks, how to identify different plants in nature, how redwoods collect water, and also of her adventures building rock castles with her friends or braving a rope swing over the creek.

one day after "class" we were fortunate enough to meet up with my lil' sis who just started college.  we got to spend the afternoon with her,  and celebrated her birthday.  all right in the middle of a "school" day.  i really love how homeschooling frees up our schedule and lets us explore the world.  we have more time for adventures, more time for family and friends and more time to just ask ourselves, what do we really want to do today?

i mean, we've only got one life. we might as well live it to the fullest that we possibly can.  we are all here for different reasons. i am sure that i am here to explore and have fun.  and i love that i can do that with my two little ones in tow!

what adventures have you been up to these days?  what brings you joy?

just your average fall day...

well, october has totally caught me by surprise!  and fall has suddenly arrived.  we were still having park playdates in the hot sun the last week of september and now...brrr!!  rain and clouds and socks and sitting by the heater and snuggling up with a blanket and each other to keep warm.  i live for summer. love it.  but i do appreciate the cold, cloudy, rainy, cozy season of fall.  

a journaling-pages-in-progress shot.  it is so meditative to sit and chat with friends while randomly taping things down in my journal. 

i guess we'll be saying goodbye to journaling in the sun on a blanket in the grass.  but we'll still keep being creative. even if by candle light! i am just finishing up my september daily journal/scrap/photo/book.  i'll post photos soon.  now i'm off to start one for october!  it is my new artistic interest.  you know, no matter how boring or routine you think your life is, once you start to keep a daily journal with a few photos and memories, suddenly your life seems so FULL and AMAZING.  i know that's how i feel right now.  i think that's what keeps me blogging, too.  just to capture these seemingly insignificant moments only to turn them into something more.  something so beautiful.

and yes, this is a photo of snails painting.  (fyi: no snails were harmed in the making of this painting! we used food coloring and gentle loving care)  this was part of my daughter's current science investigation.  oh, just your average day in the homeschool classroom!

so that's what i've been up to lately.  loving, living and dreaming.  i hope you are well.

sureya and her baby

shot_1310333716102, originally uploaded by kinueko.

my youngest poses in her kimono with her "baby".

summer photos

shot_1310333642735, originally uploaded by kinueko.

hope your summer is going well. mine is great, but it sure feels like it's flying by! i'm on vacation and finding it challenging to blog without my laptop. but i figured out how to post photos from flickr so that'll have to do for now.

this is a photo of my daughters taken in early july right before we set off for the obon festival in japantown.

they are wearing kimono-style jackets that my brother and i used to wear as kids.

life is good!

we are in the midst of summer!  the weather is really kooky this summer... hot, cold, hot, rain, cold, hot.  but we are enjoying all of it!  hot days mean more time in the pool, running through sprinklers, journaling in the shade, ice cream and eating out (too HOT to cook!) :)  the rain and cooler temps come just in time to rescue us from the heat.  and then it starts all over again!

been journaling up a storm, too.   above is a journal spread i did without any glue or adhesive!  all i had was my japanese masking tape and stickers and labels! but i did my best and a wonderful grid appeared! it just goes to show that you can do wonderful things with limited supplies!  just use what you have. ;)

i've been asked about my journaling method and i'm thinking it would be fun to do a whole tutorial blog post about it.  i've taken a lot of online courses that really helped me just get started.  i've taken several classes with hope karney and she really helped with fun prompts and ideas for layering and using fun materials like tape, labels, old paper, etc.

when it comes to what i journal about...usually i just spend a while creating a spread in my journal, not worrying about what will go where.  then i just start to free write.  usually just all about my day, what i'm doing or thinking at that exact moment.  nothing too complicated!

i journal a lot about my girls!  my journals have become a lot like scrapbooks (without photos--i'm working on that, though!)  i find it's just fun to document my everyday life.  it's the little details that we tend to forget over time.  

i must have a million different journals, too!  when i get bored or stuck in one, i move onto another.  so sometimes there are big gaps in between journal entries but that doesn't bother me.  and some journals get filled up really quick! i picked up the new smashbook by k & company.  it's spiral bound with a hidden spine and hardback cover.  it lays flat (a must for me!) and it comes in several different color schemes/themes.  they are loaded with all different kinds of paper and vintage inspired images.  it also comes with an awesome pen/glue stick so you're never without one or the other! :)

my older daughter loves to journal with me.  i picked her up a matching smashbook and signed her up for "kidding around" on big picture classes.  she wrote the note below for me to put in my journal.  so sweet!

summer is also a great time to take colorful photos.  there is so much daylight to enjoy and plenty of afternoon (de)light to take advantage of.  our outdoor picnics often include a cold, fresh fruit snack! yum!

what else can i say? :) life is good!!

Summer has officially started!

here is a little peek into my june journal.  i made it in my online class "get those creative juices flowing" with amy tangerine at big picture classes.  she taught us how to make these super simple scrappy journals.  LOVE it!!

i never think ahead to do "before and after" page shots, so here goes.  above is a page in the june journal.  just basic scraps of paper, labels, journaling cards, etc.

and voila! after adding sticker letters, journaling and doodling.

here's digging deeper into the journal.  the pages are made of scrapbook paper (cut to 8.5" x 11" and folded in half) and folded tags, envelopes and other odd-shaped papers.  fold 'em all up, sew 'em down the middle (hand stitch or machine stitch) and you've got yourself a super speedy journal ready to go!

flop a flap over and reveal little hidden messages and other secret surprises!  here is a hot air balloon sticker from 1979.  i bought a package of totally unused dennison stickers from ebay.  still wrapped in cellophane with a Kmart price sticker of .79 cents!  awesome.

can't get enough of online journaling classes these days.  especially if they are FREE!  found out about this awesome summer journaling class through a recent commenter (thank you, nathalie!)  check out "in the sun" with natalie malik (a different natalie!).  she is posting a prompt a day and i'm excited to start following along!  above is the start of my SUMMER TO DO LIST.  and i'm happy to report that i've been doing a lot of them already!

today's journal page went from playful to serious!  i was camped out in my usual spot with the girls and we were having a blast.  i was journaling in the shade and the girls were running in the grass and splashing in the fountain.

 anyway, we were surrounded by an incoming group of college freshman attending their summer orientation.  i saw a friend of my stepson's (wild coincidence!) and he was all smiles in his group, newly graduated, ready to conquer the next big educational challenge in life.  then it hit me.  my stepson will not be one of these fresh new college-bound faces.  he has chosen not to pursue the path of higher education (for the moment) and will instead enter the workforce with a high school diploma.

suddenly, i felt like a complete failure as a parent.

a little conversation with friends and some journaling helped me realize that everything will be OK.  plenty of people take time off after school to figure out what they want to do next in life.  no need to rush a young person into something they don't feel ready for.  i know, it will be fine.

and onto a lighter subject...here is a little sneak peek at a recent washi tape postcard swap i entered over at mescrap with lay hoon.  i love postcards. i don't know why i don't write them more often!  especially when you can make your own.  anyone up for a MAIL ART SWAP?  let me know in the comments below.  we'll swap some postcards around the world.  let's get this summer party started!!

Art, snails & a (soon-to-be) graduate

i finally have a chance to post a few photos of the first canvas i made in my She Art class with Christy Tomlinson.  i'm not sure how i found her blog/website, but after i saw her cute and fun canvases, i just knew i HAD to take a class with her.

she's also teaching a journaling class called "She Had Three Hearts" and there is still time to register.  i learned SO MUCH in the She Art class, i am still trying to digest it all.  i'm not quite done with my first canvas, just have to finish up painting the sides and i'm done.

i learned a lot about layering paper, paint, stamps, ink, stencils and (my new favorite) RUB-ONS!!  who knew that this product could lend SO MUCH extra fun and texture to the background??  they're like stamps, but the images are always darker and a little more clear.  and they are fun to just put on partially to give it a distressed or worn look.

if you ever decide to take a class with christy, you WON'T be disappointed!!  i love her style, i love how she's not afraid to just put down the layers of beautiful paper and paint and stamps and things.    if you're like me, first you will gasp in horror as she cuts through the middle of a gorgeous piece of patterned paper, cutting away until it's just the tiniest little piece she needs!  if i've learned anything from this class, it's not to be afraid to just USE your good stuff and don't look back! :)

we have been enjoying some MARVELOUS spring weather these past few days.  me and the girls have been spending almost ALL DAY outside.  either on a blanket in the front yard, at the park with friends or, our new favorite spot: underneath the shady trees on the san jose state campus right near a little fountain where the girls can run and play.  (photos of that scene coming soon!)

and the front yard is just as nice to go hunting for snails or riding on little scooters.  sureya's new "photo face" is the one above.  it's closed eyes and (usually) a turned head!  she's making a statement pretty early on.  "no photos, please."  well, i guess i'll have to go the candid route for now!

and there she goes, not afraid of anything in the whole wide world (which frightens me to death, of course!)  but i know her lack of fear will get her far in life.  with many cuts and bruises, but with smiles and stories to tell!

and speaking of kids on their way, my stepson zach is turning 18 AND graduating this month!  wow.  i first met him when he was 6 years old.  he was a little shy and still a little mad about his mom and dad's divorce (he was almost 5 when they divorced.  i met his dad about year and a half later) but he was always very loving and full of spunk (in other words, sometimes he could be a little contrarian--always finding a way to argue his side! i used to joke that you could say the sky is blue and he'd find a way to prove you wrong.)

well, with graduation comes senior photos, announcements and invitations.  i wanted to take some photos of him for the announcements so we did a little impromptu photo session in the front yard.  even the cat decided to get into the picture.  which was kind of nice, because it lightened the mood a little.  if it's one thing zach doesn't like, it's having his picture taken!

so i tried to make a little small talk while i took photos.  he's used to me just snapping away.  he knows he doesn't have to pretend to like it or to smile if he doesn't feel like it.  i've been taking photos of him with and without his permission for years!  and i've gotten the most candid photos of him as a result.  i like the one above.  it shows a little bit of uncertainty, a little bit of worry (he's had worry in his eyes since i first met him as a little 6-year-old boy.  if anything, i think he has an old soul) and a lot of thought.

this is the closest i think i got to a smile.  i like it.  i know he's not sure of what's to come in the future, of where he's going to go to school or what he wants to do with his life.  at this point, we're just encouraging him to do what he loves the most.  a lot of people are surprised when we say he's not going to school right away.  (i think they're more surprised that we're not forcing him to!)  and i think, you know, if you're not ready for something or 100% about something and your heart's not in it, you're not going to succeed or have a good time.  he will know when it's time to go to school and maybe it will take him a little while longer to find what brings him joy.  that's all i want as a parent.  to have my kids be joyful and full of love for life.  and we'll help him along the way.  he'll start working this fall and maybe he'll realize he doesn't want to make minimum wage for the rest of his life and he'd like a higher education to pursue loftier goals.  or he might like the idea of having minimal responsibilities and possessions.  there are many roads to take in life, plenty of chances for learning and re-working goals as you go.  i can't wait to see what he chooses and you bet i'll be cheering him on along the way.

SNOW??

ok, not really! but it's the closest we get to snow in san jose! every spring, the plum tree in our front yard bursts into bloom and on a windy and/or rainy day, the blossoms begin to fall like snow and cover our entire yard in sweet, delicate petals!

i am super excited at the arrival of spring! longer, warmer days means more picnics on the lawn with my journal and favorite art supplies! in fact, the other day, me and maya were sitting on the lawn, enjoying a little break while sureya took her nap. we had our journals, pens, glue, images and we were in heaven!

ahhh...just lovely! but now the rain has come and it seems that it will be in town for over a week! what are we going to do?

i'm sure we'll think of something... maybe a fort in the middle of the dining room? dreaming of a sunny day.

and lots of time to make art!