Archives for September 2012

The Lil Journal Project | Day 1

September 3, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

Today’s the first day! Welcome to the The Lil Journal Project.

I’m glad you’re here.

For years I kept journals full of stories, lists, sketches, quotes….they were dumping grounds for anything and everything. I find myself flipping through them almost daily for inspiration or to prompt a memory.

As we start on this journey it might seem fragmented at first but I promise as we keep going you’ll find yourself flipping back and forth, filling in spaces as memories are triggered, and running for your journal when you want to write something down for the future.

Today’s prompt is easy and simple but it has an important purpose: to get something, anything, down on paper as a starting point. You won’t even have to figure out what to write….unless you want to.

Open up your journal to the first page, and with your non-dominant hand (i.e. your left if you are right-handed) write the following:

this is my journal.
there are no rules.
it’s imperfect.
and perfect.
all at the same time.

Doesn’t look quite how you expected your first page to look, right? Worried about the punctuation and lack of caps? Messy and “wrong” can be liberating….I promise.

Now, for a quick intro into sketching…..draw your pen or pencil, with your non-dominant hand. Take as long as you need.

Write today’s date next to it.

If you have blank space at the bottom of your page…..don’t worry, we’ll use it for something else later. We’ll skip around from page to page and revisit old ones weeks later.

Just remember that writing with your non-dominant hand can unleash creativity. Our dominant hand knows too many tricks and will write exactly how it is expected to……but sometimes, the unexpected is a much welcome surprise. Whenever I have a creative block or I’m unhappy with a painting or drawing, I switch to my left hand, and I’m able to work through it with a new perspective.

See you tomorrow! And we’ll start to dig in……

You can get your daily prompts at the following places:
Right here on the blog
@lilblueboo on Instagram (#theliljournalproject)
@lilblueboo on Pinterest (The Lil Journal Project board)

And for $19.99…..

September 2, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

…..you too could own your own lizard. This is Ferdinand….Fred, for short. That’s what Boo wanted to call her new lizard….he’s named after her great grandpa and a friend of the family. She rescued him from the pool……so actually we got him for free….but that’s not the end of the story:

The first night we made a trip to the petstore and bought a few crickets for Fred. He made it until the next morning……

Me: Why don’t we let Fred go today……think about how much his family misses him.
Boo: Can we keep him one more day, please??! He can tell his parents he was at a 2-day slumber party.
Me: Fred is a gecko…he doesn’t slumber with 5-year-old “Boo’s”……his story back to his parents is going to be that you are Darla from Finding Nemo…..

I thought we were keeping him for ONE day…..but every time we’ve tried to set him loose Boo becomes distraught…..so yesterday we had to make another trip to the pet store.

Here’s what I learned about Fred: [Read more…]

Here We Go…..

September 1, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

Remember when I sent out those journals for my Li’l Journal Project? Well, next week I’m starting an extension of that project….something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time now: a journaling series……daily prompts and activities that we all work on together. If you’ve ever wanted to write, doodle, keep a diary, start an art journal or just document snippets of your life…..now’s the time to start. Not sure it’s for you? Use it for inspiration, leave it as a legacy, use it to write a memoir, make it a family activity, unleash your creativity, uncover your authentic self…..or simply use it to fill time on the bus or train…..

You can get your daily prompts at the following places:
Right here on the blog
@lilblueboo on Instagram (#theliljournalproject)
@lilblueboo on Pinterest (The Lil Journal Project board)

Right at the start will be a few exercises to help you get over any fear or anxiety of keeping a journal. There will be no pressure. If you miss a day…..no biggie. If you want to skip a day or skip four days…..you can do that too. If you want to check it out first and start in a few weeks……perfect…..better late than never!

It won’t be your typical journal. Some days you might be asked to make a list and another day to sketch something small. On another day you might be asked to go back to a page you are unhappy with and make it new with white out and sharpies. An activity might span over a weekend: watch a favorite movie and keep your journal handy to copy down quotes. Some of the harder days will be when you are asked to jot down early memories like who do you remember from your Kindergarten class…..or sketch out your childhood bedroom.

Here’s my promise: you’ll have fun…..and you’ll treasure this book. You’ll be inspired by YOU.

(Note: if you have kids old enough to write or draw they can do it too….and it can be a fun family activity)

Here’s your assignment right now, JUST so you’ll be ready when it starts this week…..make sure to PICK up a sketchbook like this one for each person over the weekend or early next week! Mine measures about 8 x 11″….anywhere around there is fine. Just make sure it has a hard cover (i.e. no leather, fabric, unless you don’t mind altering it). If your budget is tight …..just pick up a notebook at the dollar store….the great part about this project is that there are no rules and I don’t want anything to hold you back from participating if you want to.

Other things you might need right at the start:

A pencil and a black pen*
*any kind you want. I use one of Boo’s princess pencils and a black Precision pen or a black ball point.

Crayons, colored pencils or markers

White Out or correction tape

Other supplies and items may be added as we go along but there’s never any pressure. It’s all about making do with what you have and creating a book you’ll want to write in, work in and flip through for years to come.