babysittersclubofthetravelingjournals

because i didn't. i just got really sick last week (as most of you now know). but you should've received that packet in the mail. i sent it out right before CHRISTmas. and that was before i found out about your accident, JOYCEE. i'm glad that you are alright. and i'm even more glad that you will be sticking to the project even though the previous post states that you're backing out.

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:

1. 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.
   
2. 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.
   
3. When mailing, be sure to pad/protect the journal properly to minimize damage by mail handling.
   
4. 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.
   
5. 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.