The Well Ordered Life

My first serious planner came with my first "serious" job: a new Franklin Covey binder and a set of pages each year. At some point in time, a company executive recognized engineers could be successful if they organized the tasks on their desks. This corporate value has waned in the fifteen years since I've been working, but it has stuck with me. So much so that it has become a drive and a passion.

When combined with a desire to be more than just a good employee, too many life conflicts start to come up for me. I want to cook. I want to sew. I want to scrapbook. I want to write. I want to serve my church. I want to do so many things, but none of them will get done if I don't learn to manage them all and to put each in its proper place. It will all fall apart if I don't take the time to get it in order. And for me, that's just not an option.

Having a well ordered life means something different to everyone. For some, it's about having peace. For others, it's about decluttering and organizing. Sometimes, it's about balance and learning to listen to God. For me, like many, it's a process of continually learning and growing.
Upstate Mississippi is my space for exploring the well ordered life and sharing what I learn with you. Whether that is sharing how I organize, showing how I balance it all, or developing a custom planning system just for you, you can find it all here.

Magnolia Monday - The Card Maker Recycle

There are a number of crafts that I love to indulge in. Card making is one of them. I think I attended my first Stampin' Up! show more than 5 years ago.  I was hooked and started attending workshops every weekend. Occasionally, I would make a batch to send out for Christmas or as thank you cards. My problem with card making, like with so many of my crafts, is that I tend to make more than I send. I have also been given many, many cards from friends. Because I don't believe in wasting, all of those gems have gone into the basket of "do something with me one day" items. 

As much as I would like to be that person who remembers every birthday and holiday with a card, I am just not that woman. These cards, from people who do remember, are just too beautiful to get rid of so I need to find a way to use them. Recycle, April?

I don't send cards every day, but I do use my planner every day and it's always in need of a bit of decorating. I chose this card with a fall theme to insert for the first day of fall, which also happens to be my birthday. 

Rather than run the card through the printer, I glued a planner page to the back. I hope to do as little regular work as possible on my birthday. My plan is to use my special day as art journaling time. Maybe, I will record my goals for this new year of life. Now, that sounds like a plan for a Sunnyside Sunday workshop.

Workshop Sunnyside-Putting Ink to the Page

About  a month or so ago, I purchased a bible journaling kit from Jacqueline Reape who I follow on Instagram. One of my goals this year has been to increase my time studying the Bible. After seeing art Bible photos online, I knew this would be a good creative and educational outlet for me. 

But, here is my problem. While I am quite used to taking notes in my Bible and even adding a few doodles here and there, the thought of putting inks and paints down is a bit intimidating. After all, I am not an artist ... at least not in the classical sense. 

However, I'm determined to become more consistent with my Bible study. Putting color to the page will encourage me to reflect a bit more, not close the book after reading a passage quickly. My focus, now, is prayer and fasting as my local church and ministry groups are leading the charge in these areas. 

I used stamps, pens and stamp pad ink applied directly to the page. I will be experimenting with layering as I get more comfortable, knowledgeable and creative. 

The biggest lesson I learned this first time out was DON'T USE WATER.  The Tim Holtz inks are actually water reactive, so I wet the ink a bit before applying it to the page. Unfortunately, the ink pen I had used to takes notes is also water reactive. 

I'm lucky the ink didn't bleed much and that my notes are still legible. We'll consider that lesson learned. 

If the idea of Bible journaling sparks your interest, follow me here on the blog and check out the #biblejournaling and #illustratedfaith tags on Instagram.