anyway, getting the packet in the mail was exciting but got me all worried 'coz i'm soooo not ready. but i'll do it. fran, i didn't get to see your journal as an example. oh well.
hmmm, well let me elaborate on my topic 'coz some people don't know what a myspace top whatever is (reg!). so you know how on myspace you can customize your top whatever? most people put the important people in their lives on there (siblings, best friends, bfs). soooo, i decided to do something similar to that. you would choose 5 people in your life that play an instrumental role in any way and what makes them stand out from the rest. i know that picking 5 can be hard but really think about it! if you really want to, you can do more than 5. they can be family members, best friends, significant others, etc. pictures would be fun, too!!
but yeah, that's about it.
by the way, it was really good seeing most of you guys last night! even if i had to wake up all early, hanging out with you all was worth it. sorry i couldn't stay up longer!
now i'm drugged up on nyquil hoping to knock out soon. goodnight, loves.
i honestly believe that this whole project is a GOOD THING. it shouldn't be stressful at all. it's supposed to be fun...a creative outlet of expression. pour your passion, excitement, stress, pains, your HEART into your pages. believe that it's great therapy, because it is what you make of it.
i included the information i provided in the packet on this post below...just as a frame of reference. MEECHY, i apparently got your phone number SO WRONG. sorry! you're going to hate me when you figure out whose number that really is...because i think it's someone most irvinians don't get along with right now. SORRY! but for some reason, that's what was listed on my phone, and you never updated me/us on the reply e-mail...i don't think.
okay...take care...and can't wait to send/receive mail to/from you soon! :)
Dear ______________________,
First & foremost, THANK YOU for accepting the invitation to join in on this exciting year-long circle journal project! YAY!
To refresh your memory, these are the members of our circle journal group: angie, chellebee, crissy, dee, emely, franny, joycee, kathee, kirsten, marites, meechy, and regina.
So basically, we will all start with our own journals and themes. We have decided by popular vote that the mailing of the journals will begin at the end of December, so that we receive our completed journals before CHRISTmas 2007. This means that you should have already started on your journaling. If you haven’t, it’s okay…just don’t let this task escape you before the New Year!
As of today, here are the themes that we’ve come up with (I’m listing them here so you can get a head start thinking about your entries in each journal):
chellebee: five things you can’t live without, aka. five favorites.
dee: voice of _________. What’s your voice?
Emely: who/what/where makes you feel at home? (home is where the heart is.)
Franny: one day/week/month/year in the life.
Kathee: 43things.com. list your goals/things you want to do and why you have/haven’t done it, or how you are going to accomplish it.
Kirsten: Soundtrack of my life survey.
Marites: what’s your drive/motivation?
Meechy: your myspace top 5 (or more) and why they are important to you.
Regina: then & now. A look at your past & present self.
We’re still waiting for angie, crissy, & joycee to announce their themes! If you need help deciding on your theme or picking out a journal to use, please don’t hesitate to ask any one of us! That’s what we’re here for!
Okay so theme & journal are number ONE. Make sure you get a journal with enough pages for everyone. You can decide how many pages each person is allowed to use if you wish. Your journal doesn’t need to be fancy…just durable. Keep in mind that it is going to be mailed a dozen times. So be sure to get one that can stand up to all that handling.
TWO, is your title page and description of your theme. Make sure you make it clear to everyone exactly what you want done in your journal…and here’s a good place to state how many pages each person is allotted. (It’s a good idea to save the decoration of your covers for last—when you get the journal back in the end—because it’ll save you grief from all the handling and possible mess-up of any cover decoration.)
THREE, save a few pages for signing in. You can decide how you want everyone to sign in. It can be as simple as placing your signature on the page, or you can ask each person to design a tag for this page. Again, it’s how you want it to be done.
FOUR, you are the first contributor to your own Circle Journal. So complete your pages before you mail it out. Make special note that your entry will most likely be the model for everyone else on how you would like the subsequent entries to be like.
It is a common misconception that a Circle Journal project such as this is an expensive undertaking. It doesn’t have to be. Most of us have basic craft items such as markers, colored pens, construction paper, photos, and glue. Any other embellishments/decoration are optional. The most expensive thing for this project will likely be the postage…and that is because:
FIVE, when it is time to mail your journal, I highly recommend using priority mail through the US Post Office. This is because it is guaranteed to arrive in two days in most cases, and you can usually track the delivery. It shouldn’t cost more than $5.00 to mail it this way. The other option would be to use parcel post through USPS, but the reason I don’t suggest this option is because shipment can often be delayed weeks using this service, and you would purchase tracking separately.
SIX: included in this packet is a rotation list. I have circled your link on this list. Each month, you will always mail your journals to the same person you’ve been linked to. No exceptions.
Here are the courtesy rules for this circle journal project:
- Please do your best to keep up with each month’s journal that you receive. If you need a bit of extra time, it would be nice for you to contact your link to let them know when you plan to mail it out to them. You are being trusted with other people’s journals…please don’t let the group down.
- No eating, smoking, or drinking when handling the journal. Remember that this is someone else’s property, so you don’t want to risk damaging it in any way. If something happens to the journal while in your possession or it arrives in the mail damaged, please contact the journal owner right away to let them know.
- When mailing, be sure to pad/protect the journal properly to minimize damage by mail handling.
- Regardless of whether or not a person is your link in the project, you can send notes/e-mails/blog posts to them if you think their entries were especially inspiring.
- Make sure to continue to check and post on the blog: http://bscottj.blogspot.com. You may have noticed that we’ve switched to the new blogger beta version, so you’ll need to switch over in order to continue contributing to the blog.
That’s all for now. I’m so excited that you’ve all agreed to take part in this project, and I can’t wait to see the fruits of our labors as we keep in touch and learn more about each other in 2007! Hope you have a safe and merry CHRISTmas and a joyous New Year! Basta!
<3, fran
PS. I know the hustle-bustle of the holidays makes it hard to be on top of this project…so let’s just make sure to finish up our journal entries by the first week of January, yes?! Please mail your journals out no later than the 5th of January. The next mailing date after that will be January 31st. I’ll keep you posted on the blog J.
Also, if you have any questions or concerns about the project, please give me a call any time of day... I’ll do my best to answer your questions or quell your concerns.
i think it's best that i back out of this thing.
i have my theme though.
it was supposed to be titled "A Journey To The Past"
and each person would build their page according to 5 great moments of their lives.
at first i was thinking it could be any 5 great moments/milestones...
but then i decided to specify...
anyway...i even bought the decorating materials...except the book itself. =\
buuuuuuuuutttttttttttt 2 days ago i got into a car accident.
and my body is kinda healing. the anti inflamatory meds help alot but i get drowsy.
im better. i'm fine.
but i need to take a step back from things for awhile.
im sorry girls.
i hope im not too much of a disappointment. =(
i bought my journal today!
i hope it's the right kind.
knowing me, it's probably not.
a little update on my part... i don't have anything. no theme, no journal. fran, can i quit now? =( i'm getting frustrated at the fact that i can't get into this.
don't get me wrong, it's a great idea... and i think it's a great way for us to stay in touch... but i am seriously lacking the creative juices to put something like this together.
so to sum it up, i need help. fran, i'll talk to you later.
dude im sooo behind.
AND im new to the whole scrapbooking thing.
frany, what are good stores to go to in SD to find materials???
also, how do you know who to mail your CJ to first?
loving the new layout!
to answer dee's question though, after reading up on that page link i sent you all, it's recommended that the journal cover not be completed until the journal makes the full circle journey. this will save unnecessary heartbreak if/when you find that your masterpiece couldn't stand up to twelve mailings. wait, that didn't answer her question. it really is up to you how you want to interpret your own journal theme, and that includes the design. "whatever, however you want to interpret...and to what extent," is the key.
also...it looks like majority rules (sorry, regi). the first mailing will occur by january 1st of 2007. and because december 31st is a sunday and post offices are closed...please plan to have your journals ready for mailing by december 30th! :)
i have the list of mailing order...along with the contact info of all 12 of us who are in on this thing. for the sake of privacy on this public forum, i will not be posting the contact information on here (except maybe for e-mail). you should be receiving this information soon by mail/e-mail...
does anyone need help deciding their CJ themes? we still have yet to hear from crissy, meechy, joycee, em, & angie regarding themes. please let us know soon...not only does it ensure there isn't duplication going on, but it helps with accountability. the sooner you can come up with a theme, the more time you will have to pretty up your journals and decide exactly how you want everyone to go about with their entries when it's their turn with yours=less stress. :)
oh, and thanks for the nice comments re: the blog layout...like my circles? the banner is a franny original done on adobe photoshop. though it was inspired by a swim separate. lol. circles for the circle journals. sorry about the long blogname. i was thinking of just making it an acronym...a la: http://bscottj.blogspot.com, but i didn't think you'd remember that either...though now that i look at it, it is pretty memorizable as an acronym. perhaps i will change it.
kirs, i'm going with TEMplate, too. :)
i still have to work on the links...i think i didn't put the right ones for em & matess' pages. and i'll add links to inspiring blogs/webpages as soon as i can.
angie, i'm working on getting you a circle cutter just like mine...i need to cut out my michael's 40% off coupon. by the by, don't ever shop at michael's without first cutting out the coupon from the circulars! they always have a 40-50% off coupon in their ad! no reason to have to spend full price for whatever craft thing you need!
bought my CJ today AND spent just over an hour at the scrapbook store here -- the ONLY scrapbook store in these parts. it's pretty cool cuz it has lots of stuff, but it's waaaaaay expensive-O. where's tall mouse when you need it?
by the way, here's a question for y'all...do the pages inside need to match the outside cover of your scrapbook/CJ? does it have to follow the same color scheme or motif?
Seriously? I mean seriously?! Lol. Haha we're gross but i lahb! This is gonna be a krazy year of CJ's. Yay!
oh yea...kuddos to Ms. Baluca on the website. Very nice.
Anyway...I'm excited! Sorry for the lack of e-mails. I've been having major writer's block (even with emails!).
But yeah, Fran...if I didn't have a crazy scrapbooking friend like you I'd still have some money.
And if didn't have friends like all the rest of you crazy girls, I'd still have some sanity and dignity left.
But I'd rather be broke and crazy and still have sisters like you all.
::CUE THE WATERWORKS:: AWWWWWWWW.
i like i like!
good job francia!
::applause::
kathee also likes the new template.
TEMplate or temPLATE?
i'm going w/ TEMplate.
but yay, you girls are awesome. can't wait to see how this all plays out.
yay! i'm excited!
