Blank Pages

This weekend I was at the craft store looking at the sketchbooks for my inspiration book project when I fell in love. With a journal that is! It's compact with a hard black cover and pristine white pages (from a sustainable forest). It's absolutely perfect for me and my goal of successfully filling my first journal from cover to cover. With the lack of spiral binding I wont be tempted to take out any of the pages either.

I had a moment of hesitancy, as I always do, at the prospect of doing something to the first page. In the end I wanted to keep it simply so I used markers in some of my favorite colors and a stickers from my favorite sheet. I'm excited to see how this journal will evolve from here. I'm planning to use it to record the simple things that make me happy, fun activities, things that are going on around me, and spontaneous pieces of art. I want to start a series of these so years from now I can look back and remember how wonderful life is (and to see how I've grown, both as an artist and a person, over a period of time). I'll be sure to share anything fun that finds its way into the pages.

Setting Goals

Last night as I was starting to fall asleep I was hit with a wave of both inspiration and motivation. About an hour of getting everything down on paper and I am ready to start making some changes, both online and off. I am excited to start showing you some of the results (one of which is a complete redesign of this space), but in the meantime I though I would talk a little about goals.

The post before this one contains a list of 101 things that I would like to accomplish in 1001 days. I am a list maker by nature so having a list of goals goes a long way in keeping me motivated. I'd been debating about how I wanted to go about this list: did I want to create a general life list or did I want a more specific deadline? In the end I came across a community of bloggers writing lists like this and it seemed like the perfect marriage of the two lists. The time period is long enough for big projects, but short enough to keep the list focused on specifics. As you can see from the dates I started this a little while ago, but I'm trying to be more open and authentic so I wanted to share it here (plus having the list shared publicly will help to keep me motivated). I look forward to sharing this journey with you!

Do you keep a list of goals you want to accomplish? What format do you find most inspiring? Have you find sharing your intentions publicly to help (and if so please feel free to share your links, I'd love to cheer you on)?

101 in 1001 Days

Start Date: April 16, 2009
End Date: January 12, 2012

Big Things
• Get a job with the library.
• Pay off my credit card.
• Open a savings account.
• Learn how to drive.
• Write a personal code.

Charity
• Participate in the Great American Bakesale.
• Earn at least $50 for charity during a blogathon event.
• Create a list of causes I'm passionate about and find ways to support them.

Computer
• Sell something on Etsy.
• Earn more page views for Quirky Charm, having a day with at least one hundred views. ( 345/100 )
+ 345 on July 25th, 2009
• Completely organize my iTunes music.
• Create pages for Quirky Charm.
+ 101 in 1001 page
• Research and incorporate personal branding.
• Redo my journal tags.
• Create a comprehensive list of movies I want to watch.
• Create a Las Vegas guide through regular posts at Quirky Charm.

Creativity
• Create twenty five pieces of random acts of kindness art. ( 00/25 )
• Fold one thousand paper cranes. ( 0000 / 1000 )
• Sew ten new pieces for my wardrobe. ( 00/10 )
• Complete Project 365. ( 000/365 )
• Make an amigurumi.
• Design a series of cute mascot characters.
• Submit a piece of art or a photograph to Somerset Life.
• Create a doll wardrobe of at least ten pieces. ( 00/10 )
• Learn to create clay charms.
• Expand my knitting repetoire by trying three new projects. ( 0/3 )
• Complete five new embroidery projects. ( 0/5)
• Learn calligraphy.
• Take five new crafting courses from JoAnne's. ( 0/5 )
• Learn how to make my own candles.
• Fill a sketchbook.
• Pick up acrylics again.
• Improve my jewelry making by successfully finishing a challenging project.
• Take a good profile photo.
• Create a keepsake plush.
• Fill a journal.
• Put all photos in scrapbooks.
• Use the three canvases I am currently storing away.
• Purchase a tripod.

Education
• Learn conversational Japanese.
• Improve my French.
• Read or re-read all Jane Austen novels.
• Study my family ancestry (biological).
• Learn all of the world flags.
• Pick up my Latin studies again.
• Create a comprehensive resource guide for subjects I'm interested in.

Friends + Family
• Bake five gifts for others. ( 0/5 )
• Send cards for all birthdays for a year.
• Make my own Christmas cards.
• Get and keep up with a penpal.

Games + Sports
• See a football match live.
• Own a Manchester United jersey.
• Be able to clearly explain the offside rule.
• Learn how to play Mahjong.
• Play an RPG videogame from start to finish.

Health + Beauty
• Take control of my health by creating positive eating habits and an exercise routine.
• Learn to create deco nails.
• Have my ears pierced.
• Create a natural beauty regimen.
• Research natural healing.

In the Kitchen
• Purchase a crepe pan.
• Design and create three charaben designs. ( 0/3 )
• Create a signature ice cream dish from scratch.
• Enter an Iron Cupcake competition.
• Learn cake decorating.
• Learn cookie decorating techniques.
• Make a Gâteau de Crepes.
• Learn how to make macarons.
• Create a personal cookbook of my favorite recipes.
• Purchase a French press coffee maker.
• Try at least one new food each month. ( 04/33 )
+ blackberry latte
+ various mushroom varieties
+ lychee
+ gummy tummy penguins
• Learn how to make homemade candies.

Local Happenings
• Attend a performance of the local symphony.
• Attend a ballet.
• Take a wine tasting course.
• Eat at the Eiffel Tower restaurant.
• Attend all community theater performances I'm interested in.
• Keep up with library bulletin events.
• See Phantom of the Opera live.
• Go on another bus adventure.
• Attend high tea at the Ritz.
• Visit the Bellagio gardens for each display change for an entire year

My Room
• Purchase a Blythe or Pullip doll.
• Complete my inspiration books.
• Create an organized wishlist.
• Read through my entire book collection and donate materials that I am no longer interested in.
• Catalog and organize all of my possessions, donating anything that I no longer love.
• Find a way to incorporate fairy lights into my room.
• Create a pretty bed canopy.

Nature + Green Living
• Successfully grow a plant from seed.
• Learn the language of flowers.
• Obtain canvas shopping bags.
• Visit an orchard and pick my own fruit.
• Participate in a community cleanup.
• Create recycle bins for the condo.

Writing
• Study poetry writing and write five new poems. ( 0/5 )
• Complete a fanfic challenge.
• Write a children's book.
• Retool a classic fairy tale.
• Finish writing Fairy's Delight.
• Finish a short story prompt challenge.