Word for Year

In November, I shared how I was recycling a cookbook I found at Goodwill and I planned to make it into a journal.  You can find  that initial post at this link.

For 2016 I have chosen Explore as my word of the year.  I retired in July 2015 and now I have the time to explore.  There are so many things that I wish to explore.  I wish to explore the world of art and learn new things, try new things and develop my talents.  I want to explore the world and travel.  I already have two trips planned for this winter to escape the winter cold.  I am contemplating a trip west in August to visit family, friends and do some art stuff.  We will see.  I also need to explore my house - I need to see what hidden artifacts I have in this house and clean/clear them out.  I do get distracted when I do this.

Here is my double journal pages in my recycled book.  Please do not be critical, I have done very little journaling.  I am having fun and exploring all kinds of new things.

Here are close ups of some of the elements on the pages.

Do you see one of the birds I have been drawing was laying on the table and he decided since he was the same color he should be on the page.  All the "explore" words were stickers that were gifted to me by a friend as they were moving.

The orange flower is embossing paste that has been colored.  I tried to outline the petals with a black pen.

The black circles were done with the end of a toilet paper roll dipped in black ink.
See those little white things that look like Pac Man - those are the inside of the letter stickers.

I used Dylusions paints on my pages.  If you have not tried these paints, they are fantastic.  They are worth the investment.

Here are some more picture of how the page evolved.

Thanks for joining us on our Monday journal entries.  Don't be afraid to try something new - EXPLORE whatever interests you.