Jot Magazine Issue 15

Jot Issue 15 2016

STORY TELLERS | PAPER CRAFTERS | MEMORY MAKERS | PHOTO TAKERS

A LOVELY PAPER CRAFTING MAGAZINE FOR THE MODERN DAY MEMORY KEEPER.

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A lovely DIY handmade gift ideas e-book.

JOTMAGAZINE.COM

(Not just for Christmas)

THE LOVELY CHRISTMAS GIFT BOOK Not just for Christmas time, Kim Archer and the Jot Girls bring you our gorgeous new e-book is filled with lovely ideas for gift giving.

FIND OUT MORE OR GRAB YOUR COPY HERE>> Jot Magazine 2

IT’S PARTY TIME!

Hello..

We get to work with some great companies here at Jot and this time around we have something a little different! This time we have joined forces with a little lolly shop to create some fun paper pinatas. And the little lolly shop just happens to be owned and run by my family.

Back in 2014 my family bought Sweet Traditions - a lolly shop in the beach side suburb of The Junction here in Newcastle. It all happened incredibly quickly and was not something on our radar just a few short months before. Suddenly we were buying this happy little shop and our lives were turned upside down as we juggled our other full time jobs with the fun of owning a retail store. We’ve learned a lot, made mistakes, had our triumphs and now have found our groove and things are ticking along nicely. I often make things for the shop - kids party bags, gift hampers and gift boxes and I then had the idea of asking my Jot girls if they would like to work with us and create some paper party pinatas!

And the results have been breath taking. Honestly, these girls are remarkable! As they sent through their project images we oohed and aahed over each and every creation!

Wait until you see what they’re come up!! Check it out on PAGE 43.

We also meet creative business owners Jill Yegerlehner, Peta MacBeth and Nicole Nowosad in our regular feature 5 Minutes With... Check it out on PAGE 88.

Welcome to our Jot Girls Natalie Elphinstone, Suse Fish and Anna Allan who open their bibles in this issue so we can have a peek at their beautifully illustrated bible pages as they share their thoughts and ideas on the emerging bible journaling movement.

We have loads of paper crafting galleries to inspire and plenty to read, see and make this issue so settle in and start reading! Oh and if you have a smart phone or tablet, you can download the issuu.com app which makes viewing Jot even easier on your mobile devices!

KIM ARCHER Publisher/Owner

© Copyright. Kim Archer | Jot Magazine 2016. All projects in this magazine are for recreational purposes only and are not to be reproduced, distributed or sold without the publisher’s permission. PUBLISHED by Jot Magazine, Newcastle Australia. ABN 88649297554 Jot Magazine 3

Connect with us.

Publisher/Editor Kim Archer Editorial Assistant Anna Allan Writers Kim Archer Anna Allan Shari Brewer

Grab a

cuppa &

head to our blog for more Jot stories and inspiration. or follow us on social media.

SUBMISSIONS Interested in submitting to Jot Magazine? We accept submissions of creative project tutorials or written articles that are in line with our paper crafting/ modern memory keeping theme. We also put out certain gallery calls from time to time (check our site).

Email submissions to: hello@jotmagazine.com

Contact Us hello@jotmagazine.com

Published by Kim Archer ABN: 88 649 297 554

Website:

www.jotmagazine.com

2016 Jot Girls Team Yvette Adams Leanne Allinson Meghann Andrew Anna Allan Raquel Bowman Loredana Bucaria Petra Corcoran Natalie Elphinstone Suse Fish Sheree Forcier Amanda Hall Lauren Hender Kim Jeffress Sharmaine Kruijver Jamie Pate Mardi Winen Jodie York

Meet the Jot Team here>

*Our cover project is by Jot Girl Meghann Andrew Jot Magazine 4

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IN THIS ISSUE. DAD’S CARDS 03 06 08 10 14 43 59 88 90 96 108 115 129 159 169 181 195

EDITOR’S LETTER MEET OUR TEAM QUICK LAYOUT Kim Jeffress CONFETTI with Anna Allan GALLERY Sparkle DIY PINATAS GALLERY - Diagonal 5 MINUTES WITH... Interview MEET TARRAH MCLEAN BIBLE JOURNALING JOT SPOTTING MEMORY JARS STORY TELLING FATHER’S DAY POCKET PAGE - Sheree Forcier POCKET CARDS - Jot Team POCKET PAGE GALLERY DEAR DIARY - Shari Brewer

With Father’s Day just around the corner here in Australia, Jot Girls Suse and Natalie share with us easy DIY cards just for dad! Check them out on PAGE 152

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MEET THE TEAM A

I am .. ANNA a mummy, daughter. sister, friend, crafter, blogger, thrifter and domestic goddess (wanna-be!)

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I am .. YVETTE a part time worker, crafter, colour loving mother of one.

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I am RAQUEL .. a primary school teacher, mummy to Charlotte and Jack, wife to Clint and scrapbook obsessed.

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I am MEGHANN .. a 30-something mom to a beautiful toddler, wife to a Brit and a maker of many things.

I am PETRA, an all or nothing person from sunny Queensland.

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I am LEANNE .. a mother to four children- one daughter and three sons.

I am LOREDANA ..a new mom, wife to my biggest love, a dreamer, cheerful, passionate about crafts and I adore fabric.

I am .. NATALIE. Wife to The Trophy Husband, mum to two beautiful girls and one son, obstetrician and gynaecologist who loves her work.

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I am .. SUSE, a forty-something mum of one little girl and two cheeky kittens.

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I am SHEREE .. a wife to Paul, mum to three kids, a scrapbooker, card maker, crocheter, knitter, stitcher, soccer mum, blogger, Blythe collector and addicted to Instagram.

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I am AMANDA .. a classic Libra – an indecisive perfectionist with a type A personality.

Our Jot Girls produce jaw dropping projects that will have you racing for your supplies, pulling out your photos and cutting and pasting in no time at all.

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J

I am KIM .. wife, mum to two boys and living in beautiful Brisbane, Australia,.

M I am JAMIE ..wife, mother of five children, a church goer, volunteer, an educator, small business owner and constant thinker of all things creative.

I am LAUREN ..wife, mother of two and super cool step mum to one. I am a crafter, employee, sister and student.

I am MARDI ..wife, mum, nan, a full time Paramedic…and perhaps a jack of many trades….master of none.

S

I am SHARMAINE .. a 40 something, Tarago driving, happily married mum of four girls and I work as a teacher’s aide.

J

I am JODIE, mum to four kids living in a 100 year old cottage that we adore.

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By Kim Jeffress

QUICK & EASY

I’m still dreaming about our trip we took as a family to Hawaii in January and it makes my heart happy every time I look at our holiday photos.

Create a grid effect with your photos to achieve a clean finish to your project.

Layer stickers over and under wood veneer pieces to create depth and interest.

SUPPLIES |Bazzill cardstock, Maggie Holmes patterned paper, Heidi Swapp, Pink Paislee, Bella Blvd, Cocoa Vanilla buttons , Fiskars cloud punch.

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YOUR CHALLENGE: Choose a coloured cardstock and a punch to create a tone on tone layered effect on your layout. I’ve used a cloud punch.

Share your work here on our Facebook Page>

Add subtle texture with machine stitching and staples to your layout.

Add splashes of ink (I’ve used Heidi Swapp Color Shine) in two or more colours for a fresh fun feel.

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CONFETTI Little bits + pieces from around the web. Curated by Anna Allan OUR THEME //FLAMINGOS

FLAMINGO SWING TAGS

Make any gift look super fancy with these dainty flamingo tags. Handmade in Australia by The Paper Angel Online on Etsy - you can find them right here>>

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FAVOR BOX

PILLOW BOXES

Such a cute little gift packaging idea. Pop in some goodies sweet treats, home-baked goods, handmade soaps, jewellery and pass the flamingo adorned gift on with love! SPOTTED ON THE VANESSA POUZET BLOG HERE.

ABOVE | Create a flock of these fancy flamingo favour bags for any kids party and we reckon they’d think it was pretty awesome! You’ll find easy, step by step instructions over on the OH HAPPY DAY blog so you can get right to it!

FLAMINGO STRAWS

LEFT | Dress up your holiday drinks with these gorgeous flamingo honeycomb drink straws. FOUND AT THE PARTY DIALECT ETSY STORE RIGHT HERE> Jot Magazine 11

CONFETTI

SHINE BRIGHT... ...like a FLAMINGO? Well you can now! Brighten up your work space with this flamingo LED light.

Such a bright and fun touch for any space. FROM FRANCESCAS.COM HERE>>

Anna Allan lives with her family in a small country town near the beautiful Esperance in Western Australia. She loves making pretty things, lots of colour, yummy food, daily cups of coffee, plenty of sunshine, being happy and having fun! You can get to know Anna better on her blog One Big Sunshine Spritzer here.

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JOIN US IN OUR MONTHLY MOOD BOARD CHALLENGE Every month we release an inspiring and beautiful Mood Board challenge for our Jot readers. Take a look at our September board. Our Jot Girls join in too - you can see their take on the challenge each month right here on our website. Check it out and why not join in! WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO! Visit our Mood Board challenge details right here>

Aztec Rust| Think tones of orange, raspberry, aqua, teal and pinks teamed with forest green and timber browns.

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Meghann

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1. Painted leaves by Grow Creative blog via Pinterest 2. Bedroom scene from design*Sponge via Pinterest. 3. Cactus table setting from B. Lovely Events via Pinterest 4. Colour swatches from aliceiswonderful.tumblr.com via Pinterest. 5. Harvest wool and flower image from timberandtwine.co on Instagram, via Pinterest. PLEASE visit our website for full photo source details.

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SPARKLE G A L L E R Y We all love a little bit of sparkle and in this gallery we’ve pulled out all things glittery, sparkly and shimmery in this selection of paper projects from the Jot Girls. Plus we have a gorgeous reader gallery included.

FEATURING THE JOT TEAM

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SPARKLE

Suse Fish - The Jot Team

After falling on these silver gems in the shop, I couldn’t decide whether to make them into a heart shape or even spell out my title with them. In the end, I just framed them as if they were a patterned paper. I love the idea of a layout that encourages our little ones to not be afraid to sparkle: to do their very best and shine bright.

SUPPLIES |Patterned papers, flare badge and letter stickers: Felicity Jane. Card frame: Dovecraft. Gems and tulle rosette: The Works.

Wand and plastic case: Wilkinsons. Beads: eBay. Other: tulle, machine stitching.

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YOU ARE LOVELY

Natalie Elphinstone - The Jot Team

I’m a big fan of adding sparkle to my projects and have so many glittery products in my stash that the hardest part of creating this layout was figuring out what to limit myself to! I chose some glitter paper to use with my dies to make embellishments, added some glitter thicker shapes and got a little technique-y by splashing on some glue to sprinkle glitter over in my background. Sparkly without being too overwhelming right?!

SUPPLIES |Cardstock: American Crafts. Patterned Paper: Bella Blvd, Studio Calico, Pinkfresh Studio, American Crafts. Embellishments: Bella Blvd, Studio Calico, Pinkfresh Studio. Dies: Sizzix, Kaisercraft. Glitter: X-Press It

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LIVING

Leanne Allinson - The Jot Team

I wanted to update some older alphabets from my stash and the quickest way to revamp them was to add glitter!

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I laid my title work out onto a rectangular plastic lid (the lip of the lid caught any excess glitter) and placed a strip of washi tape over the area I didn’t want glitter spreading to on my letters. After applying wet adhesive to the exposed alphabet, I liberally sprinkled the glitter onto the title. I carefully removed the washi tape and allowed the glitter and glue to dry.

SUPPLIES |Cardstock: American Crafts.

Patterned paper: Studio Calico, Crate Paper. Alphabets: Amy Tangerine thickers. Embellishments: Jillibean Soup Miniplacemats, sequins, soup label & wood veneer shapes; glitter, tag brads.

Mediums: Distress Ink. Other: roller date stamp.

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PLANNER

Jamie Pate - The Jot Team

It’s so easy to add sparkle to my planner. It practically falls into place. I had fun getting creative with this dashboard by adding glitter paper die cuts, gold foil arrows, gold stripe frame and not to mention Heidi Swapp Minc. All makes for pretty stuff to behold daily in my planner.

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SUPPLIES | Heidi Swapp: Planner, Minc foil and tag, frame, clip, tape. Maggie Holmes: stickers. Die Cuts: Sizzix, Spellbinders.

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BEAUTIFUL HAPPY LITTLE MOMENTS Mardi Winen - The Jot Team

With the addition of some bright acrylic paints, a cute photo and that gorgeous gold sparkly title, this layout came together so easily. I love that extra bit of ‘special’ the gold glitter title adds.

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Canson Watercolour paper. Patterned paper: Hip Kit Club, Crate Paper, Echo Park. Embellishments: American Crafts, Pink Fresh, We Are Memory Keepers. Mediums: Acrylic paint. Other: machine stitching.

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AUCKLAND

Yvette Adams - The Jot Team

The stunning Auckland Harbour was perfect for my layout for this sparkle gallery. I went with mostly neutral colours to really make the stunning colour of the harbour pop off the page.

SUPPLIES | Paper - Hambly Studios, American Crafts, Bazzill, unknown. Alphabet - unknown. Embellishment - Heidi Swapp chipboard sticker, Martha Stewart glitter, doily, bookpaper.

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WEEK 32

Loredana Bucaria - The Jot Team

I love Project Life you know!

This time I wanted to try a different sized spread and a different sized photo so I used square in the right side and a 9x12 size layout in the left part of my spread. Gold and silver touches are my favorite to give focus to pictures or stories and to add some sparkle!

SUPPLIES | Journaling cards: Studio Calico, Paislee Press. Patterned papers: Studio Calico. Embellishments: October Afternoon, Studio Calico, American Crafts.

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LOVELY ONE

Anna Allan - The Jot Team

I love a bit of sparkle. I got an idea in my head for a page the minute I saw this theme and it involved MINC foil and glitter. And here’s the finished result!

SUPPLIES | American Crafts, Studio Calico, Illustrated Faith, Pink Paislee ‘Bella Rouge’, Heidi Swapp Reactive Mist, hot pink MINC foil OTHER - doily, washi tape, journal pens, Heidi Swapp Minc Machine.

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FABULOUS GIRL Mardi Winen - The Jot Team

I added lots of sparkle to my layout with these gorgeous Heidi words that had been begging to be used from my stash for ages! I then added some spackle with lovely sparkly glitter for an extra sparkly touch.

SUPPLIES |Paper - Canson watercolour, Pink Paislee, Elles Studio. Embellishment - Heidi Swapp glitter words, American Crafts rub-ons, WeRMemory Keepers stickers. Watercolour paints, Faber Castell spackle, glitter, machine stitching.

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LOVE YOU

Raquel Bowman - The Jot Team

I decided to go glittery gold on this one and incorporate my gold accents into this heart cut file as well as through embellishments on my page. I love the soft pastel colours in this Crate Paper collection teamed with the pops of gold.

SUPPLIES | Kaisercraft, Crate Paper, We R Memory Keepers, Heidi Swapp Colorshine, machine stitching.

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IMPORTANT DETAILS Amanda Hall - The Jot Team

By keeping this layout super clean and simple, the sparkly elements absolutely POP off the page. I made my own background using cheap neon washi tape and plain cardstock as I couldn’t find the exact paper I wanted. Each line is machine stitched with glittery gold thread.

SUPPLIES |Cardstock: Kaisercraft. Embellishments: Heidi Swapp, Kmart. Alphas : Crate Paper. Other: circle punch, Silhouette Portrait, cotton thread, washi tape, machine stitching.

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SUPPLIES CARDSTOCK | Heidi Swapp, Flutterby Designs, American Crafts, Ranger, Teresa Collins, Manor House Designs.

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LOVE TO DANCE

Lauren Hender - The Jot Team

When I saw the theme ‘sparkle’ come up I did a back flip.. Well not literally because I am sure I would break something but needless to say I was excited as I had just purchased all the new Heidi Swapp reactive mediums.

I knew they would be perfect to add a little sparkle to a layout, but as you can see my ‘little’ sparkle turned into a lot. In this layout I used the Heidi Swapp reactive screen ink and the Flutterby Designs star stencil to build the background. I then added some flicks and splatters using the reactive mist, and to give it the ‘sparkle’ I used the Heidi Swapp holographic foil. I was over the moon with the result.

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Metallic texture paste adds just the right amount of shimmer to Kim’s layout.

SUPPLIES | Bazzill cardstock, Heidi Swapp, Pink Paislee words, Tim Holtz stencil.

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ON THIS DAY

Kim Jeffress - The Jot Team

I couldn’t think of any better way to celebrate all things sparkle than with a bit of Heidi Swapp Minc and Metallic Texture paste. I foiled one of the Heidi Swapp pinwheels with two colours of foil and it adds such a richness to my layout.

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HELLO SUNSHINE

Sharmaine Kruijver - The Jot Team

Splatters made with glue are the perfect way to add some glitter to your page. Using the “Micro Fine Glitter”, from X-Press It, I was able to create embossed sparkle splatters.

SUPPLIES | Bazzill, Cocoa Daisy, We R Memory Keepers, Crate Paper. Glitter: X-Press It. Other: watercolour paints, glue, tissue paper, pencil, typewriter, machine stitching.

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EVERYDAY MAGIC

Sharmaine Kruijver- The Jot Team

Stars, sparkle and magic just seem to go together, so I backed a star background cut file with silver glitter paper and topped it off with an everyday, joyful photo and a funky color scheme to create a new favorite layout!

SUPPLIES Cardstock: Bazzill. Glitter paper: American Crafts. Patterned paper: Studio Calico. Journaling cards: Project Life. Stamps: Elle’s Studio, Studio Calico. Dies: Elle’s Studio. Embellishments: Ali Edwards, Studio Calico, Evalicious, Studio Calico, Color Cast Designs, Pink Paislee, American Crafts. Ink: Stampin’ Up, Tsukineko.

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DREAM

Sheree Forcier - The Jot Team

You can’t go past glitter for instant sparkle on a layout so I went with these gorgeous American Crafts Thickers and glittery chipboard frame from Crate Paper to add shimmer to my page. A little scattering of sequins also added a little something extra.

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Kaisercraft. Patterned paper: American Crafts, Pink Paislee. Alphabet: American Crafts. Embellishments: Crate Paper, American Crafts, Pink Fresh Studios. Other: star pin, paper doily, sequins, twine, date stamp, black ink, machine stitching.

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SPARKLE

Anna Komenda - Poland

My layout features giant sequins coloured with sparkling mists and real sequins added to the background along with gold foiled stickers for a sparkly effect.

READER GALLERY WE LOVE HOW ANNA HAS USED CARDSTOCK TO CREATE GIANT SEQUIN SHAPES FOR HER BACKGROUND.

ANNA’S BLOG SUPPLIES |Pebbles, Creative Retreat, Pinkfresh Studio, Studio Tekturek, Heidi Swapp plus giant sequins cut file from Silhouette Design Store

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FRIENDS

READER GALLERY

Tania Ballestrin - Nightcliff NT

My layout is full of SPARKLE, in the way of Micro Beads, gemstones, a bling title and lots of glitter!!

TANIA’S BLOG SUPPLIES |Blue Fern Studios, Scrap Matrix, Petaloo, Kaszazz, Ben & Lucy, Clearsnap, Ranger, Lindy’s Stamp Gang, Smooch, Jo Sonja’s, Prima

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XOX

READER GALLERY

Jana Mccarthy - Germany

We love how Jana has added a touch of sparkle to her layout by stitching with gold glitter thread and a splash of gold shimmer with her embellishments.

SUPPLIES | Crate Paper, Feed Your Craft, Echo Park Paper, Freckled Fawn, Pink Paislee, Seven Paper/StudioCalico Shimelle/American Crafts Jot Magazine 40

JANA’S BLOG

LIFE

READER GALLERY

Júlia Posta - Hungary

This layout is about my daughter and her father. The journaling is a little joke (a childish poem of mine) about their relationship.

SUPPLIES |Felicity Jane Studio, Crate Paper, American Crafts, Liquitex, Pinkfresh Studio

JULIA’S BLOG Jot Magazine 41

layout by Zoe Pearn

see our full product range online!

for wholesale enquiries or to find your nearest stockist

www.cocoavanilla.com.au Jot Magazine 42

We’ve joined forces with Sweet Traditions, a lovely little lolly shop in Newcastle, Australia to bring you a gallery of ideas for making your own fresh and fun piñata for your next party.

MINI PIÑATA DIY P R O J E C T S

PHOTO CRED: LEANNE ALLINSON Jot Magazine 43

CUTE IN SIZE AND EASY TO MAKE THESE TEENY, TINY PIÑATAS MAKE THE PERFECT PARTY FAVOR.

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CLOUD PIÑATA

Raquel Bowman - The Jot Team

Creating this piñata was so much fun!

I found an awesome cloud piñata template online at The Brookhaven House - all I needed were a few basic supplies and some yummy lollies generously donated by Sweet Traditions.

WHAT YOU NEED| A cereal box, The Brookhaven House cloud template, liquid adhesive, double sided tape, masking tape, white crepe paper roll, pink and black card stock, 1” circle punch, various lengths of bright ribbon, scissors and fringe scissors.

AN EMPTY CEREAL BOX MAKES THE PERFECT CARDBOARD BASE FOR YOUR PIÑATA.

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STEP ONE// Gather your supplies together including your downloaded cloud template.

STEP TWO// Trace out your cloud shapes onto cardboard from an empty cereal box.

STEP THREE// Cut out your template using scissors.

STEP FOUR// Adhere the matching alphabet letters together using masking tape, leaving a small opening.

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STEP FIVE// Fill your shape with lollies - you can use wrapped or non wrapped party lollies. Seal the open end with masking tape, enclosing the lollies inside.

STEP SIX// Cut lengths of crepe paper the length of the PiĂąata.

STEP SEVEN// Add a fringe to the strips of crepe paper using fringing scissors.

STEP TEN// Cut multiple lengths of bright ribbon and adhere to the back of the pi単ata.

STEP EIGHT// Apply the fringed strips to the pi単ata using double sided tape, layering the pieces with each application.

FINISHING// You could use a hole punch and some cardstock offcuts to punch circle shapes and add some facial features if you prefer.

STEP NINE// Apply the crepe paper to the edges of the pi単ata using double sided tape

And your pi単ata is complete.

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“WHILE THESE DONUT PIÑATAS WERE A LITTLE FIDDLY TO MAKE, THEY LOOK AWESOME ON A PARTY TABLE.” ~Anna

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DONUT PIÑATA Anna Allan - The Jot Team

I created the frame of the donut with lightweight cardstock, used normal printer paper cut into strips to wrap around the shape and then that’s when the newspaper and glue came out. I only covered the donut 7/8ths of the way, let it dry before popping in some lollies and then covering the hole with newspaper and glue. It’s fiddly but it’s worth it!

For those that know me well, it would come as no surprise what immediately popped into my mind when I saw the ‘mini piñata’ theme!!

DONUTS of course. If I’m not eating them, I may as well make a couple of paper ones and fill ‘em with lollies!

And what a fun activity it was to make these! A little tedious in places but once the newspaper and glue came out, I was right back at school in art class doing paper mache! And I did love art class back in the day... nearly as much as I love donuts.

WHAT YOU NEED| lightweight cardstock, printer paper, hot glue gun and glue stick, newspaper, craft glue, tissue paper, scissors.

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KIM USED A WE R MEMORY KEEPERS MINI PIÑATA CYLINDER AND FRINGE TAPE TO CREATE HER STUNNING FLAMINGO PIÑATA.

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FLAMINGO PIÑATA Kim Jeffress - The Jot Team

With two sons, it’s not often I get girly with my crafting, but when the piñata theme come up I knew straight away I wanted to create a Flamingo Piñata!

I started off with the We R Memory Keepers Mini Piñata cylinder and fringe tape and added it to my cylinder.

I then hand drew the head and neck onto some matching Bazzill Basics cardstock, added some Heidi Swapp Black glitter for the beak and then pieced the head to the body.

Kim added some Heidi Swapp black glitter for the beak on her flamingo

WHAT YOU NEED| We R Memory Keepers DIY Mini Piñata and fringe tape, Bazzill Basics cardstock, Heidi Swapp Marquee Love glitter , Heidi Swapp Light box, Sweet Traditions lollies.

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L LO TH

LIE

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RA T ECO

E WITH PLEATED CREPE P A P E R. S

O IS M PL

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LL WI ALF , FI IN H

FOLD A PAPER PLATE

!

E!!

RAINBOW PIÑATA

Natalie Elphinstone - The Jot Team

My mini rainbow piñatas were quick and easy to make - it’s simply a paper plate folded in half and then decorated with pleated crepe paper. Obviously the best part is then getting to stuff them with as much rainbow coloured lollies as they can hold! I think they actually make great table decorations, and having one at each place setting means they’re almost like the piñata equivalent of bonbons!

WHAT YOU NEED|Paper plates, crepe paper, double sided tape, Sweet Traditions mixed lollies Jot Magazine 53

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CACTUS PIÑATA

Leanne Allinson - The Jot Team

I wanted to create something fun and festive that could be used as either a piñata or a cute table decoration. And what could be more festive than a bright Mexican fiesta theme!

To make the taco frame, Leanne used a simple white photo frame, paper from Jillibean Soup and letters from Bella BLVD.

My cactus has a square base which allows it to sit without support on a table. I’ve added several shades of green with my fringing but punctuated them with strips of blue and orange for added interest.

WHAT YOU NEED|12x12 white cardstock, tissue paper, crepe paper; Adhesive: wet glue, packing tape 1” wide; Other: florist wire; Tools: sharp precision knife, scissors, pen Jot Magazine 55

SHARMAINE’S 15 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER MADE THIS FINDING DORY INSPIRED PIÑATA WHICH WE THINK LOOKS TOTALLY AWESOME!

WHAT YOU NEED| Cereal box, crepe paper, pens, lollies from Sweet Traditions.

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DORY PIÑATA

Sharmaine Kruijver - The Jot Team

Our daughter just turned 15 years old has been waiting for the release of the movie “Finding Dory”. She has been a fan of all things Nemo since the first movie came out in 2003. So for her 15th birthday her present was a “Dory Day”, where we took some of her friends to see the new movie.

So it was fitting that she would make a Dory piñata. She drew the outline and then cut out a front, back and a strip to run between the two and hold it all together and create a 3D Dory shape. She then covered it with the relevant coloured crepe paper. The final step was to add the other details with white paper and pens. The Dory was then packed with sweet treats before being sealed.

Add in finer detail to your piñata by using coloured pens and white paper.

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Traditions 58 Glebe Road The Junction NSW 2291 (02) 4961 1609

www.sweettraditions.com.au CANDY BAR SUPPLIES | KIDS PARTY BAGS |SWEETS FROM AROUND THE WORLD | SHOP ONLINE OR IN STORE Jot Magazine 58

DIAGONAL DESIGN G A L L E R Y

Designing on the diagonal can be a fun challenge that adds a different look to your papery projects.

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HELLO

Leanne Allinson - The Jot Team

I took my cue for the Diagonals Gallery from the design on my patterned papers! Not only do the angled stripes create movement on my page, it helps to support the story of my son’s phenomenal growth at the age of 13.

SUPPLIES: Cardstock: American Crafts. Patterned paper: Bella Blvd. Embellishments: Bella Blvd. Alphabet: Bella Blvd Illustrated Faith. Other: typewriter.

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DAY

Loredana Bucaria - The Jot Team

This is my first time designing with diagonals. What I have done is place my photo first on an angle and then place all the papers, embellishments, stamps and washi tapes surrounding my photo. It was really fun playing with all these goodies and experimenting with diagonals which is something outside my comfort zone.

SUPPLIES | Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned papers: Studio Calico; Embellishments: Studio Calico, Pink Paislee, Jillibean Soup.

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SUPPLIES | Patterned Paper: Pinkfresh Studio, Bella Blvd, Studio Calico. Embellishments: Pinkfresh Studio, Bella Blvd, Studio Calico.

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AWESOME LOVE

Natalie Elphinstone - The Jot Team

I’ve seen that ‘awesome’ paper from Pinkfresh Studio popping up here and there and I knew I simply must get my hands on some.

In its original design it’s horizontal across the paper and so to make my version unique I decided to cut out the word from the background and then place it across my page diagonally. I then used the bold lines to dictate the placement of everything else on my layout.

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Fringe tape is a great way to add texture to your layout.

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HAPPINESS

Kim Jeffress - The Jot Team

To add some touches of texture to my layout I added some of the We R Memory Keepers fringe tape across my diagonal patterned paper and hand stitched a butterfly trail across the bottom of my layout.

SUPPLIES| Bazzill Basics, Heidi Swapp, We R Memory Keepers fringe tape.

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EVERYDAY Mardi Winen - The Jot Team

This ephemera pack by Crate Paper just grabbed my heart and I wanted to use as many pieces as possible on my layout. I began by masking my cardstock with washi tape and adding watercolour stripes to my layout base.

Then it was so easy to just stack all my beautiful ephemera pieces down on a diagonal ..layering them as I went.

SUPPLIES| Canson Watercolor paper, Crate paper, Pink Fresh, American Crafts. Other: watercolour paint, washi tape, Spackle medium, Flutterby Designs stencil.

By masking off stripes with washi tape and brushing on some water colours, Mardi added diagonal stripes to her background.

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MEGHANN HAS ADDED STRIPS OF WASHI TAPE TO CREATE A DIAGONALLY PATTERNED BASE FOR HER LAYOUT. Jot Magazine 70

LUCKY GIRLS

Meghann Andrew - The Jot Team

Using diagonally placed washi tape strips on my background was an easy way to add pattern and to create movement on this layout about three girls on the move.

SUPPLIES | Bazzill, Basic Grey, American Crafts, Crate Paper. Stamps & cork die-cuts: Elle’s Studio. Die-cuts: Studio Calico, Scraptastic Club.

Wooden dots: My Mind’s Eye. Other: baker’s twine.

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WITHOUT CHANGE

Sharmaine Kruijver - The Jot Team

I painted bright yellow diagonal lines on some white cardstock to create my background.

SUPPLIES |Cardstock: Bazzill. Embellishments: Dylusions, We R Memory Keepers, Cocoa Daisy, Heidi Swapp, Cocoa Vanilla Studio, Imaginarium Designs, My Mind’s Eye. Other: Typewriter, pencil, nail polish.

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SUN N FUN

Sheree Forcier - The Jot Team

When I came across this background paper I thought it would be perfect for positioning my entire layout on the diagonal. It’s always fun to try something a little different!

SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: Crate Paper. Embellishments: Crate Paper, Collected & Co, Simple Stories. Other: sewing machine, date stamp, black ink.

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CHOOSE HAPPY Amanda Hall - The Jot Team

These Pebbles Inc. concertina hearts were crying out to be used in this gallery with their diagonal folds.

The photo is also cut on the diagonal which enables it to fit under the stripes and roses.

SUPPLIES | Patterned Paper: Crate Paper, Studio Calico. Embellishments: Kaisercraft, Pebbles Inc., Heidi Swapp, Kikki K, Studio Calico, Kmart, Pink Paislee, washi tape (unknown)

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LAUGH

Jamie Pate - The Jot Team

This diagonal layout went a little mixed media. Water color, sewn patterned paper, buttons plus texture paste made up the direction of this page. I love the energy the diagonals give placed against the silly photos.

SUPPLIES |Heidi Swapp, Maggie Holmes, Pink Paislee.

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TOGETHER WE RIDE Anna Allan - The Jot Team

I decided to use part of my background paper to create a diagonal slope for my title letters to be placed diagonally. I love how this makes the title the focal point of the page. I made the title overlap the photo so that the image was the next thing that you looked at after the title.

SUPPLIES | American Crafts, Maggie Holmes, Studio Calico, Maya Road, Illustrated Faith, KaiserCraft stencil, FC Whipped Spackle, Precision pen Jot Magazine 77

LITTLE STAR

Raquel Bowman - The Jot Team

As soon as I saw this diagonal theme I knew I wanted to create a boldly titled page. I love how perfectly this cute photo of my little man fits within the star shape of the cut file. As a bonus you can download this cut file to recreate this page at the link here.

SUPPLIES | American Crafts, Pink Paislee, Crate Paper. Other: gold glitter paper, sewing machine, white thread.

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BLOOM

READER GALLERY

Bea Valint

I love this picture and love playing with paper especially with paper flowers. I wanted to reflect the contrast of the picture with the dark background and pink and rose flowers. I used three different 3D flower cut file from Silhouette store, and grouped the flowers into a diagonal line across my background.

BEA’S BLOG SUPPLIES |Simple Stories, flowers: Crate Paper Hello Love collection, Chipboards: Crate Paper Hello Love Jot Magazine 79

DETERMINED

READER GALLERY

Niki Rowland - UK

“So Determined” really sums up my little boy as he is determined in everything he does and has such a strong will - there is no stopping him when he wants to do something! I have used a cut file by ‘Just Nick’ to create the background strips, which I then filled with a variety of pattered papers to get a mixture of colours and texture. I kept my photo and journaling card, title and journaling all on the same diagonal line as the background strips and embellished at that angle too.

SUPPLIES |Cut file: Chopsticks Background by Just Nick Studio. Paige Evans Fancy Free Collection, Crate Paper, Pink Paislee, Amy Tangerine and Simple Stories. Embellishments: Cocoa vanilla Studio, Hey Little Magpie, Paige Evans Fancy Free, Pink Fresh Studio NIKI’S BLOG Jot Magazine 80

TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR

READER GALLERY

Piroska Czakó-Radványi - Hungary

I used a single double-sided Studio Calico paper. I loved the scripted side but it felt too much so I cut the triangle from above and turned that part of the paper. Then I made some stars with Gelatos through a diagonal stencil. I also added some chipboard stars to add more dimension, some of them are colored with Gelatos. Finally I added some clay teddy embellishments, phrase stickers and my journaling.

SUPPLIES | All products are NőiCsizma Design products.

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SO SO LOVELY

READER GALLERY

Kat Benjamin

I love playing with diagonals and I think the layouts that result from a diagonal design are fun and playful.

KAT’S BLOG SUPPLIES | Bazzill, Heidi Swapp, Bella Blvd

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DANCE

READER GALLERY

Júlia Posta - Hungary If someone asked my children what their favourite activity is apart from playing, they would definitely say it is dancing. I’ve added layers of embellishments diagonally across my layout.

JULIA’S BLOG SUPPLIES |American Crafts, Martha Stewart Black Acrylic Paint, Felicity Jane Studio Kit, Pink Paislee Fancy Free Collection Buttons and my Silhouette Portrait.

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BFF

READER GALLERY

Andrea Gray - Northern California, USA The structure of this layout was born out of necessity. I wasn’t willing to part with any of the embellishments I chose and the only way to get them to fit was to tilt the top section and I ended up loving it so much more than if I had tried to cram it all on there.

ANDREA’S BLOG SUPPLIES | Filmstrip (Paper Issues - free cut files). Becca Bonneville Designs, Crate Paper, Gossamer Blue, Target, Tim Holtz, Simple Stories.

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DON’T GROW UP

READER GALLERY

Tarrah McLean - NSW

The inspiration for this layout definitely came from the photo of my nephew and the cute star outfit he is wearing in the photo!

TARRAH’S BLOG SUPPLIES |Cocoa Vanilla Studio Totally Rad collection, Silhouette Cameo, Mister Huey’s Mist

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Five

MINUTES WITH..

Meet the people behind some of our favourite papery brands and businesses. This issue we meet Jill Yegerlehner, Peta MacBeth and Nicole Nowosad.

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“We sell modern and unique digital cut files for download, ready for you to use on your crafting projects.” ~Nicole Nowosad

JUST NICK WHY THE JUST NICK?

The name Just Nick really came from me! Ever since I was a little kid, I really hated being called Nikki - it was a go-to nickname for Nicole, so I would always be telling people to just call me Nick. When I was thinking of what to name our site, “nick” was a synonym for “cut”, so it kind of worked and I went with it!

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU?

We have an online store where we have over 350 modern and unique digital cut files for download, ready for you to use on your crafting projects such as scrapbook layouts, cards, home decor and more!

All our cut files are available in PNG, DXF and SVG formats and are readily usable on most digital die cut machines on the market.

Our files are something a little unique and really totally usable on many different mediums, not just for paper crafters.

WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE RIGHT NOW?

I am always creating our files months in advance. Right now, I am working on holiday themed files that will be used for our 14 days of giveaways this year! I have some other ideas on the go to add other items to our store, but those are still in the development stages!

WORDS TO LIVE BY?

Always appreciate those around you; surround yourself with good people. Anything can be accomplished with a true heart and a lot of hard work.

WHAT SETS YOUR BUSINESS APART?

I like to think that we offer a modern and fresh take when creating our cut files. We really try to stay on top of trends and find out what our customers are looking for and offer some freebies to our customers each month too!

WHO: Nicole owns Just Nick Studio and creates modern and unique digital die cut files. JUST NICK SHOP. Jot Magazine 89

“We have had to tackle so many issues over the eight years in business. You learn how to take things in your stride.” ~Jill Yegerlehner

JILLIBEAN SOUP WHY JILLIBEAN SOUP?

Funny story… we actually started out as “Jill’s Attic” but about three months into it, we found another company using this name. I sat down one Saturday, made a list of prospective new names, sent it out to my friends and they all came back liking Jillibean Soup. It’s worked out well – it works great as a marketing tool. We name all our papers “soup” names and all the products within them are “ingredients”.

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU?

You can find us all over the world. It’s been a while since I’ve done a country count but I know we’re in all over… from South America to Europe to Asia and of course here in the USA.

WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE RIGHT NOW?

LOTS. We partnered with Hampton Art in 2013. Since then, we are continuously working on new products for different business segments. Our wood surfaces have grown exponentially in the last two years. Wood is replacing canvas in some chains.

WORDS TO LIVE BY?

I wish I had something really good to say here but my most used phrase is “it is what it is”. We work so hard and have had to tackle many issues over the eight years in business. You learn how to take things in your stride.

WHAT SETS YOUR BUSINESS APART?

We did a ton of research in the beginning to try and really set ourselves apart. Many of our first collections were printed on kraft paper (which wasn’t new) but we made it our niche. We also continuously use the same colors in our paper collections which makes them easy to work with and mix.

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WHO: Jill is the owner of paper crafting manufacturing business Jillibean Soup. JILLIBEAN SOUP WEBSITE

SCRAPBOOKING FROM SCRATCH WHY SCRAPBOOKING FROM SCRATCH?

Scrapbooking From Scratch is a home based Australian business specialising in personalised orders with very competitive prices. We are friendly, fun and love helping people find exactly what they need, as well as accidentally enabling them with a lot of other products they just ‘have to have’.

WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU?

We are based in my shed at Branxton NSW - when we are home. Most of the time we are on the road at retreats or crop days. When at home, our opening hours vary. The rule of thumb is ‘if I am home, I am open” - although there are a few rules re: late night visits! You can also find us online and on Facebook.

WHAT SETS YOUR BUSINESS APART?

We are Australia’s largest mobile retreat shop and we’re able to pack up the whole shop in under two hours to move it to wherever we need to be. We currently run six retreats a year and this year took the shop to another six retreats run by other people.

“We are Australia’s largest mobile retreat shop and we’re able to pack up the whole shop in under two hours!” ~Peta Macbeth

We’ve just attended the Newcastle Stitches and Craft show and had great feedback about our stand. We try to keep everything uniform, whether it is at the show, crop days, in the shed or at retreat we make sure it is always the same, bright, full of a variety and easy to view product. Also our pricing is 10-20% less than RRP as our overheads are low.

WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE RIGHT NOW?

Right now… LOTS! We have a local fundraiser Crop Day September 3rd, crop days at the shop, a few classes set with more to come, a retreat at Port Stephens September 15-18 and a retreat at the Hunter Valley October 27-30. Our retreats for 2017 already booking up fast :)

WORDS TO LIVE BY?

Enjoy - Create - Share… this is my catch phrase… it has many meanings for me however this is the main one: ‘Enjoy’ your hobby, ‘Create’ your memories, ‘Share’ your love of it with everyone.

WHO: Peta owns Scrapbooking From Scratch, an online paper crafting store and mobile retreat shop running regular retreats, classes and crop days.

SCRAPBOOKING FROM SCRATCH WEBSITE. Jot Magazine 91

LET’S MEET TARRAH MCLEAN

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF AND HOW LONG YOU HAVE BEEN PAPER CRAFTING? My name is Tarrah McLean. I’m 39 and live on the NSW Central Coast with my hubby and our two sons, Luke who is 10 and Oliver who is 5. I have been paper crafting for ten years now and still LOVE every minute of it!

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TARRAH MCLEAN

“I adore anything rainbow coloured and I seem to be adding lots of yellow to my pages lately!�

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“The three words to best describe my work would be clean, bright and layered”

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE EMBELLISHMENTS TO USE

My favourite embellishments I would have to say are cut files. I absolutely love my Silhouette Cameo and put it to great use!

WHEN CREATING, DO YOU START WITH A PHOTO, COLOUR SCHEME OR PRODUCT FIRST?

I do a little bit of both. Sometimes the photo will prompt an idea for me but other times it’s a paper design that sparks the creativity!

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TARRAH MCLEAN

HOW LONG DO YOU WORK ON A PAGE? ARE YOU A FAST OR SLOW SCRAPBOOKER?

It usually takes me two hours or so to create a page. Sometimes its longer if I am struggling to create something I am happy with! I would say I am a relatively fast scrapbooker, especially if I have deadlines looming!

WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT PAPER CRAFTING/MEMORY KEEPING? My favourite thing about memory keeping and something I truly hope, is that one day someone appreciates the work and time I have put into recording precious moments in our lives and a close second would have to be getting to work with some amazing products!

Visit Tarrah and say hello here on her blog: LIVE TO SCRAP. SCRAP TO LIVE. Jot Magazine 95

BIBLE JOURNALING A PEEK INSIDE...?

BY THE JOT TEAM

INTRIGUED BY THE BIBLE JOURNALING MOVEMENT WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEING ON SOCIAL MEDIA? Here we take a look at some of the beautiful bible pages from Jot Girls Suse, Anna and Natalie as they chat about what bible journaling means to them and share some of their pages with us.

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NATALIE ELPHINSTONE

NATALIE ELPHINSTONE WHAT LED YOU TO START BIBLE JOURNALING?

“The way that I see it is that I am created to create.”

To be honest, I used to think that my crafty side was a distraction to my faith. Like, all the time I spent scrapbooking was time I could be spending in more ‘useful’ pursuits.

But then I had a revelation that my passions and talents were actually God-given, and were purposeful for so many reasons, least of all as a memory keeping tool.

It was about at this same time that Shanna Noel was starting to go public with her Bible Journaling pages and it suddenly all came together for me.

Now, I could actually combine these two important areas of my life - my faith and my craft, into one glorious activity that has continued to increase my passion for both of them ever since.

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NATALIE ELPHINSTONE

DID YOU FIND IT DAUNTING AT FIRST TO DRAW/CREATE/WRITE AND DECORATE YOUR BIBLE? OR DID YOU JUST DIVE IN AND EMBRACE THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE? Like many people I had my Journaling Bible sit undecorated for some time before I had the courage to actually start marking the pages. It was something to do with wanting to make sure that when I did an entry that it would be absolutely perfect and ‘worthy’ to be alongside the words of scripture.

Of course, once I realised that was impossible I decided to take the plunge and tentatively decorated my first page. It was very basic and I stuck with simple techniques – I stamped a little image, popped in a sticker and jotted down a couple of words. But it was enough to break down any further obstacles in my mind and the floodgates were open! I did some Bible Journaling every day after that for the next few weeks and I haven’t looked back since.

WHAT ARE YOUR REASONS FOR JOURNALING? The way that I see it is that I am created to create. It is no accident that I enjoy spending time with paper and scissors and glue and ink, and if our creative Father has placed these gifts within me then it seems only logical that I should use those talents when I am expressing my thanks and worship back to Him. So when I put aside the time to be with Him and read His promises through the Scriptures then it’s just natural that I should communicate in response – part of that is prayer, part of that is worship and part of that is Bible Journaling.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE TOOLS TO USE? I am a scrapbooker at heart – that’s my first paper love, so when it comes to my Bible then I tend to use the same techniques and tools in it as I would if I were making a layout. I’ve used stamps and embossing, watercolours, acrylic paint, stencils and mist, texture paste, glitter, patterned paper, stickers…. you name it!

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVE KITS/PRODUCTS? Well, as a member of the Illustrated Faith Creative Team it would be remiss of me not to say them! But seriously, Illustrated Faith have been the leaders in this movement right from the beginning and they continue to release more and more fabulous products all the time. Since they partnered with Bella Blvd and then DaySpring their product lines have grown in leaps and bounds, but I love that they continue to maintain the utmost focus on what it’s all about in the first place and that’s encouraging us to draw closer to God.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU FIND YOURSELF BIBLE JOURNALING? At the moment it’s probably twice a week. It’s certainly my Saturday morning ritual and often my girls will join in with me which I just adore. Often I’ve stored up ideas of what I want to do, or the verses that I want to journal throughout the week, and then it’s just a matter of finding the opportunity to get it down.

NATALIE’S TIPS FOR BEGINNERS: My advice is not to look on the social media channels and then worry that you won’t be able to compare. By all means check them out for inspiration, but if you find that you are then daunted by the prospect of trying to make something similar then stop looking! It’s not about the art, it’s not about the products, and it’s not about public opinion.

It’s about you spending time in the presence of our Saviour and then using your own specific Godgiven talents to respond to Him in worship in the way that comes naturally for you. And don’t be afraid of making mistakes. There’s 1000 pages in the Bible, if you can’t fix it or cover it up then simply turn the page and try again!

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SUSE FISH WHAT LED YOU TO START BIBLE JOURNALING?

“I think even if you’re just a little bit spiritual or not sure what you believe, it’s an interesting and relaxing form of creativity to have a play with.”

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When I first came across the idea of Bible journaling, I had been struggling to find ways to incorporate my creativity into my faith… I’d not got much further than making layouts and youtube videos on spiritual themes, but really craved a less time-intensive way to mix the two things that were so important to me (and both so much a part of who I am).

When I came across Shanna’s Illustrated Faith, I jumped in feet first, even though my bible wasn’t a proper journaling bible. I just squeezed my arty attempts into the margins and found that it was the exact combination that I’d been looking for.

SUSE FISH

DID YOU FIND IT DAUNTING AT FIRST TO DRAW/CREATE/WRITE AND DECORATE YOUR BIBLE? OR DID YOU JUST DIVE IN AND EMBRACE THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE? I didn’t find it daunting at all, as I’d already been underlining and writing the odd word here and there in my bible. I’d also stuck in a few postcards and pretty bookmarks - so adding my own creative responses to the words felt a very natural fit.

WHAT ARE YOUR REASONS FOR JOURNALING? I’ve been a believer all my life, so had reached a point where the words had stopped feeling quite

as fresh. I found getting a copy of The Message Bible (it’s in everyday, modern language) a brilliant first step to bringing things back to life for me, but adding the expressive element of taking what I’d read and illustrating that with my scrapbooking supplies really made things feel… whole, you know?

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE TOOLS TO USE? I love stickers… and washi tape. They’re so easy and you can’t really mess up your page when the things you’re sticking down look so gorgeous in the first place!

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SUSE FISH

HOW OFTEN DO YOU FIND YOURSELF BIBLE JOURNALING? About twice a week… really whenever I read something that jumps out at me. The other day I read a verse that said, “Let the rain do its slow but sure work” and that really struck me: that sometimes, the things we might think of in our lives as ‘rain’ can be the things that help to shape us as people.

ANY TIPS ON WHAT BIBLE TO USE? Journaling bibles can be pricey, but if you have a look around, there are a few cheaper ones available now - I spotted one the other day for about £15, which isn’t bad for a lovely hardback book - some have little ruled panels instead of blank margins, but I think you could still work over the lines.

I recently found a journaling bible in a second hand bookshop for £2 which I was delighted with. There are a few of the previous owners’ notes here and there, but I’m getting in there with the white acyclic!

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SUSE’S TIPS FOR BEGINNERS: Go for it: it’s so much fun and you don’t even need any faith or knowledge of the bible to get started. For ideas of how to start, the Illustrated Faith website and youtube channel is invaluable.

I think even if you’re just a little bit spiritual or not sure what you believe, it’s an interesting and relaxing form of creativity to have a play with. I’d also recommend you ‘be you’ in your pages - don’t feel you need to suddenly break out the paints or mixed media if that’s not really your thing.

ANNA ALLAN

ANNA ALLAN

WHAT LED YOU TO BIBLE JOURNALING?

“Once you take the leap, the whole process embraces you and it’s a beautiful thing!”

I have been a believer since I was a young girl. I have also, always been wired to create. Making marks in my bible has always been a thing for me, whether it be highlighting text, jotting down notes and insights into the margins, or doodling patterns and such on my bible pages.

Sadly, though, as life got busier, kids came along and my quiet times with God and reading His word have decreased greatly, not through a lack of desire to do so, but because of the usual reasons of not enough time in the day and being busy. And I guess, in some regard, I felt like I needed more.

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ANNA ALLAN

WHAT LED YOU TO BIBLE JOURNALING? When I started seeing the posts on Instagram and other social media platforms of bible journaling, I knew it was for me! I absolutely love the concept of the whole thing. I enjoy the expressive nature of bringing God’s word alive through creative means. Combining my faith and my creative inclinations, gives me even more clarity and connection to the bible and what it has to say. I have so much more to delve into with this as I’ve only just started bible journaling recently and I’m super excited of where it is all going to take me, spiritually and creatively.

DID YOU FIND IT DAUNTING AT FIRST TO DRAW/CREATE/WRITE AND DECORATE YOUR BIBLE? OR DID YOU JUST DIVE IN AND EMBRACE THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE? Well, it must have been daunting because my bible supplies sat there untouched for about six months before I got the gumption to get started. Like I said above, making marks in my bible wasn’t a foreign thing to me, however my ‘decorating’ had only ever been limited to a pen to the page.

So that was one difference. To be honest, I think it was more about where I was in my head space, in my home. I felt that my home and therefore my life was cluttered so it prohibited me from moving forward with anything. BUT, that’s a whole other story of my journey.

I found it hard to get started because I wanted to be able to find a space where I could settle down and be peaceful and calm. I was struggling to quiet my mind, clear my heart and head of the noise of life... so I kept putting it off. In a way, I felt I wouldn’t be able to do it justice. But my heart kept longing for it... to delve into His word and decorate those pages with all that He was revealing to me and what was in my heart.

One day, I had just simply had enough. I pulled that bible out, grabbed the paints, stamps, journal pens, scissors, glue and devotional I wanted to study AND I JUST STARTED. We hear it a lot these days...JUST. START. And it is so true.

I tell you what, once you dive in, it just flows. I was surprised at how naturally it came together. Once your heart connected to the words, the creative expression is automatic and pours onto the page with ease.

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ANNA ALLAN

WHAT ARE YOUR REASONS FOR JOURNALING? For me it is all about connection and expression. Just as my relationship with the Lord is a personal journey between Him and I, so is the time I spend in His Word and how I react to it and am impacted by it. Therefore how I decorate and journal in the pages of my bible becomes a personal expression of what I have connected with in His Word and in my heart.

One of my favourite verses (as seen in my images) from Psalm 121, instantly brought lyrics to a song from one of my favourite singers/songwriters For King and Country, so I journaled some of the lyrics of the song into the margin. I also created a QR code of the YouTube video for that song so I can always access it from there! It was my first page I did in my journaling bible so it’ll always be extra meaningful to me.

Again, the combination of my faith and creativity and being able to bring two loves together, is truly an amazing and wonderful thing!

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE TOOLS TO USE? Paints. Stamps. Stickers. They are my go-to so far.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE KITS/ PRODUCTS I love the devotional kits that Illustrated Faith release.

They include the devotional booklet, stickers, stamp pad, encouragement/verse cards, washi tape etc.

Basically, the kit has products that will allow you to create gorgeous pages within the theme of that devotional topic and beyond.

Other than that, I also grab anything laying around in my stash like paper scraps, enamel dots, rub-ons that are great to add extra little details and decorative touches.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU FIND YOURSELF BIBLE JOURNALING? At the moment, just whenever it happens.

I don’t have a regular regime at this point in time, so as a result I’ve only done a small selection of pages. This would be largely affected by the fact that it’s just sitting in a corner of my lounge room and requires setting up to get anything created in it. In the near future, I plan to have it always open on my desk here in my creative studio where I come for ‘me-time’ within my own home.

That way I can always have my bible handy to journal away in as inspiration and thoughts come to the surface and need documenting.

ANNA’S TIPS FOR BEGINNERS: Firstly, to remember that it’s a personal thing. You can be inspired by others and what they are journaling and how they create in their bibles but in the end, what you document or how you decorate your pages is purely a recollection of what is in your heart and how the words have impacted YOU. Don’t be scared. There is no right or wrong way to do it.

And again, I will repeat the words...

JUST START. There is no right or wrong time to begin either. Just do it. It’s so free-ing and liberating and totally worth it! Let the process grow you, empower you, and nurture you.

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JotSpotting

WHAT HAVE THE JOT GIRLS BEEN SHARING ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

In our regular feature, we get to know the Jot Girls a little better by taking a peek into their daily lives as they share some of their recent Instagram photos with us.

Natalie Elphinstone Turns out capturing a nice family photo can be really REALLY difficult! @natalieelph

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Meghann Andrew Summer reading on Papaw’s hammock. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Leanne Allinson

A girl needs to indulge in flowers every now and then. @leanne_allinson

@meghannandrew

Sheree Forcier

After stumbling upon some gorgeous metallic gold felt I came up with a new unicorn hat design. So fun! @shereeforcier

Jamie Pate Don’t forget to look up. Just one of a thousand views on the Front Range in Colorado. @jamiepate

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Loredana Bucaria

@loredanabucaria

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Our family vacation 2016 was in Italy in June, in a lovely place, Ostuni, Puglia, in the south of Italy. It was amazing. Just the three of us for ten days together 24 hours, it was tiring but so so beautiful! For one of the first times I have felt the idea of “family� and I love loved this! I am blessed and grateful! Traveling is another of my great passions!

Discovering new places, new habits and cultures is something I love!

Suse Fish

We were on the train on our way home from a really lovely day out in Manchester. I’d taken masses of snaps all day, but this was the one that I now look back on and think, “Yep: that captures the mood of the day and the special relationship between those two.”

@suse.fish

Raquel Bowman It was such a ‘pinch me’ moment representing Cocoa Vanilla Studio as a tutor at the Brisbane Scrapbook & Papercraft Expo. What an honour! @raquelp

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Kim Jeffress

@kimjeffress

I’m very blessed to be able to support Heidi in every endeavour that she dreams up.

Not only do I design for her but I consider her a friend and mentor and for that I am eternally grateful.

Sharmaine Kruijver

An early morning flight is bearable when you get a sunrise view like this. @4squirts

Mardi Winen This is me - pinching myself that I am standing outside the Belfast City Hall with Sian Fair. I have followed Sian’s blog for many years. Not only do I LOVE her scrapbooking style but she tells stories in the most amazing way.

Oh and she knits gorgeous socks too. I am so grateful we managed this meet up. It was a highlight of our recent overseas trip. @mardi_jane

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Lauren Hender @lauren_hender

@annamayde

A recent discovery and a lovely one - Annie Sloan chalk paint. Any surface, no prep, LOVE!

Kim Archer @jotmagazine @kim__archer

Thank you to our mum for surprising us each with a beautiful pot of lavender for Mother’s Day today!!! Awesome surprise!!!

Anna Allan

Yvette Adams

I had a blast meeting Wilna Furstenburg at the escape2create retreat this year and taking her classes. I loved letting loose with the watercolours and paints!

Totally inspired by Wilna’s style and feel honoured to have been guided through her process with her in real life!!

When we have family and friends come to stay I love to take them to one of my favourite places - Patissez.

The home of the Freakshake! @eeveeadams

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Amanda Hall The best table at escape2create scrapbooking retreat! ;-) @apolkadotheart

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MEMORY JARS

The Jot Girls share some delicious memory jar ideas.

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Kim has used sand from her children’s sand pit to fill her jar.

You could also use Epsom salts or fine white glitter if you prefer.

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SPARKLE AND SHINE Kim Jeffress - The Jot Team

With Christmas around the corner (I KNOW! Can you believe it!!), Kim has created a gorgeous project to get ready for the holiday season.

I was looking through my Christmas photos from last year and I came across this photo of my boys whispering to Santa their wishes for Christmas! It made me think what a beautiful memory to treasure and I knew straight away I wanted to create a memory jar to celebrate this moment. I pulled out my Heidi Swapp mini trees and some sand from our sand pit and filled my memory jar.

The boys love it and now don’t want me to put it away until Christmas time.

SUPPLIES |Heidi Swapp jar, Christmas trees, tags

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Leanne always knew she wanted to do something special with her daughter’s very first pair of ballet slippers!

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LOVE

Leanne Allinson - The Jot Team

My daughter has been dancing for eleven years and she has certainly gone through numerous pairs of ballet slippers in that time. However, I always knew I wanted to do something special with her very first pair.

A memory jar was the perfect solution. I used a hurricane lantern candle holder and simply turned it upside down on its base. I filled out her ballet slippers with tissue paper in the toe and carefully added florist wire to the inside of the shoes to help keep their shape while in the jar.

SUPPLIES | Hurricane Lantern Candle holder: Target. Embellishments: Kaisercraft Ribbon, Pearl Strips & paper flowers; Bella Blvd Illustrated Faith heart die.

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365 GOOD TIMES Amanda Hall - The Jot Team

My daughter Piper started writing down memories last year and popping them in a plain jar in her bedroom. I decided to jazz up her jar with a simple Silhouette cut of the numbers 365 (representing a year), a few old rubons, and some tags.

Her favourite memories now have a nice new home and we had great fun looking at all the past events that she feels are super special to her.

SUPPLIES | Card Stock: Kaisercraft.

Patterned paper: My Mind’s Eye. Embellishments: Heidi Swapp, Kmart, Studio Calico, Making Memories, Creative Imaginations, Simple Stories.

Other: kraft tag, date stamp, black ink, ribbon, Silhouette, staples.

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THANK YOU

Loredana Bucaria - The Jot Team

I loved the idea to donate a little memory jar to my son’s baby sitter! I have printed a little photo of them together and added some little gold stars, wool, a ticket and a little letter from Andrea to Anna.

Hope she will like the gift! I have closed everything with just some strips of tulle and lace and added two tags. A super fun and easy way to create a different kind of gift card as a thank you to someone special.

SUPPLIES | Jar: I have recycled the jar from my Prima Marketing flowers, wool, lace, twine, tulle, gold stars, a ticket and two tags.

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What a gorgeous thank you gift idea Loredana has created for her son’s baby sitter.

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SWEET

Jamie Pate - The Jot Team

Vintage photos are favorites of mine. I have a great collection of photos of my mom and me when I was little. A memory jar is the perfect sweet place to store and treasure some of these timeless images.

SUPPLIES | Patterned paper: Heidi Swapp. Stickers, die-cuts, tag: Maggie Holmes. Die Cuts: Sizzix, Spellbinders.

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We love Jamie’s layered tags + bold black and white striped ribbon!

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“A memory jar is a much prettier way to store all of those little bits and pieces that remind us of our favourite holiday!� ~Sheree Forcier

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USA ADVENTURE Sheree Forcier - The Jot Team

I’ve had a bag of memorabilia hidden away in my cupboard since we had our big family trip to the USA in 2014.

Inside the jar we have our Disneyland Park Maps, tickets, room keys, coins and even some spare souvenir key rings. I also used a couple of the extra Disney key rings to decorate the outside of the jar along with a swing tag that tells us the dates of our trip.

SUPPLIES | Jar: Discount Store. Patterned Paper & Embellishments: Pink Paislee.

Alphas: Kaisercraft. Other: twine, white tag, date stamp, black ink, black paint, key rings.

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“Every time we see our memory jar now it reminds us of all the fun we had together!�

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STORY TELLING

IT’S FATHER’S DAY Our STORY TELLING gallery isn’t just about pretty photos and embellishments -- our focus is on the story.

It doesn’t have to be a long story. Just use a few sentences or even a few words if that’s all it takes to tell your story. This issue our theme is -- Father’s Day..

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THANKS

Sharmaine Kruijver - The Jot Team More of a thank you than a story, this page captures life for us right now and how I am very thankful for my Dad.

Sharmaine used a typewriter to create her journaling strips on this layout about her dad.

SUPPLIES | Little Butterfly Wings for Cocoa Daisy. Embellishments: Pink Paislee, Crate Paper, Cocoa Daisy, Dear Lizzy, Jillibean Soup.

Other: Paint, typewriter, pencil.

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DAD YOU’RE THE BEST Sheree Forcier - The Jot Team

I love this photo of Paul and the boys and thought it was perfect to document what a great dad he is. They have such a special bond.

WE love the wood grain background paper Sheree has used and the masculine colour palette with a pop of fresh mint to balance up the darker colours.

SUPPLIES | Crate Paper, Fancy Pants, 7 Gypsies. Alphas: Pink Paislee. Embellishments: Cocoa Vanilla, Heidi Swapp, Evalicious. Other: white tags, date stamp, black ink, Stampin’ Up punches, sewing machine, stapler.

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SUPPLIES |Cardstock: American Crafts. Patterned paper: Bella BLVD. Embellishments: Bella BLVD. Alphabet: Bella BLVD. Other: typewriter, black paint.

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Leanne captured a beautiful moment between her husband and her youngest boy.

So sweet.

COLLECT BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS Leanne Allinson - The Jot Team

My kids simply adore their father but the youngest is always competing with his older siblings and tries to claim his dad as his alone. The two of them have their own unique routine that I am now only too pleased to have documented.

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SUPPLIES | Pink Paislee, Typo, American Crafts, Kaisercrafts. Other: paint, sequins, white tag, Memento black ink, date stamp, sewing machine, twine, Stampin’ Up punch, vellum.

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I LOVE U DAD

Lauren Hender - The Jot Team

At this time of year in Australia we celebrate our wonderful dads on Father’s Day. This photo of my daughter Katie and her father was taken some time ago but when I look at it, it feels like yesterday. In this layout I wanted to incorporate that good old saying ‘I love you to the moon and back.’

I was lucky enough when I saw this beautiful new Shimelle range that my job just became easy.

This range and its beautiful tones was perfect for a Father’s Day layout. In the background I was going to use the Minc to add some silver foiled stars, but unfortunately my stencilling was not the best and I worried that it would just turn into a big foiled mess.

I hope this feature inspires you to pull out some of those important father moments and scrapbook them this September.

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AWESOME DAD Amanda Hall - The Jot Team

My girls idolise their Dad. While I’m certain there are times he wishes there were a few more Y chromosomes in the house he tolerates (and negotiates) our female ways pretty well.

SUPPLIES |Paper: Kmart kraft, Basic Grey.

Alphas: American Craft. Embellishments: Kaisercraft, Heidi Swapp, October Afternoon. Other: gesso, cotton thread.

Font : Orator Std.

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SUPPLIES |Bazzill, Scraptastic Club, Studio Calico, American Crafts, Pink Paislee, Bella Blvd, Stampin’ Up!, Elle’s Studio.

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ENJOYING EVERY MOMENT Meghann Andrew - The Jot Team

My husband is my daughter’s favorite person, and I’ve had to accept that their relationship is just different than the one I share with her. This layout documents the bond that they share, with a pretty special photo.

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YUM

Suse Fish - The Jot Team Since she was tiny, Kitty has always shared a special bond with her dad. When she’d be inconsolable as a baby in my arms, I just needed to pass her to her dad, and she’d quieten down almost instantly. Very annoying for a new mum!

And eight years on, they still just completely ‘get’ each other - it’s truly wonderful to see.

SUPPLIES | All Felicity Jane, apart from Crate Paper tassels.

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TOGETHER

Jamie Pate - The Jot Team A casual moment between father and daughter caught. Secretly. These are the best kind of captures.

SUPPLIES |Maggie Holmes, Pink Paislee, Dear Lizzy, Sizzix, Spellbinders.

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FATHER

Mardi Winen - The Jot Team The minute I spotted this on Instagram I adored it... that loving look .. the mirror image... wanting to be just like his dad.

SUPPLIES |Paper - Canson watercolour, Handmade paper Sirrah Sirrah, Hip Kit Club. Embellishments - Crate Paper tags, Cocoa Vanilla wood veneer, Fancy Pants stickers. Other - Faber Castell spackle, watercolour paint, Heidi Swapp Mist, washi tape, machine stitching.

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DADDY

Kim Jeffress - The Jot Team We recently took a day trip into the Cube in Brisbane where the boys played games on a huge screen. I think daddy had just as much fun as the boys.

The fun element on my layout is the chipboard that I painted in the new Heidi Swapp Reactive paint and ran it through my Minc machine with some gun metal foil.

SUPPLIES | Bazzill Basics, Bella Blvd, Pink Paislee, Heidi Swapp Colorshine, Heidi Swapp Minc, Reactive Paint, Foil Jot Magazine 143

SUPPLIES |Bazzill, StudioCalico, Ali Edwards, Queen &Co; Stamps: Studio Calico, Ali Edwards, Kellie’s Stamps; other: spray inks.

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WE love Loredana’s hand stitched title!

BEST EVER DAD

Loredana Bucaria - The Jot Team I was waiting for the right inspiration source to create the page for this story! I love to see them playing together, laughing aloud and having fun! They are so beautiful together. When I was pregnant I was sure about just one thing: Massi would be a great dad and it is true!

For this page I have used a 9x12 layout and a circle photo, this time because I wanted to try different things.

Stitching is the most relaxing thing I know and I stitched the word “dad” for my layout.

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PROUD DAD

Raquel Bowman - The Jot Team That moment after Jack was born and we found out we had a little boy was just priceless. Clint is just such a proud dad and he was so excited to have a little man to teach and bond with. My layout celebrates that moment between them.

SUPPLIES | American Crafts, Pink Paislee, Simple Stories. Other: typewriter, sewing machine, white thread, doily.

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US

Julia Posta - Hungary, Europe

My layout is about my daughter and my husband.

Here in my journaling, I borrowed Fernando Pessoa’s thoughts:

READER GALLERY

‘I believe in the world as in a daisy, Because I see it. But I don’t think about it, Because to think is to not understand.

The world wasn’t made for us to think about it (To think is to have eyes that aren’t well) But to look at it and to be in agreement.’

JULIA’S BLOG SUPPLIES | Heidi Swapp, Amy Tangerine, Stampin’ Up, Charms Creations, Freckled fawn, Flutterby Designs Jot Magazine 147

CHERISH

READER GALLERY

Fleur Milli - NSW

My hubby and I became parents earlier this year and I’ve had so much fun capturing and scrapping these incredibly joyful moments of my husband and son.

FLEUR’S BLOG

SUPPLIES | Heidi Swapp, Amy Tangerine, Stampin’ Up, Charms Creations, Freckled Fawn, Flutterby Designs

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DAD

READER GALLERY

Jana Mccarthy - Germany My layout is about the best dad in the world, my hubby! We only have one child together but he is also a dad to my other two boys! This photo brings it all together! He loves his boy so much!

JANA’S BLOG SUPPLIES | Studio Calico, Maggie Holmes, Ali Edwards, Shimelle, American crafts, Elle’s Studio, Heidi Swapp

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MOMENTS TO CHERISH FOREVER

READER GALLERY

Vincenza (Enza) Gudor - Seattle, USA

These pictures have my heart. I feel so blessed to be able to record moments that will be cherished forever. There is always so much teaching and learning involved in every interaction between a dad and his son.

ENZA’S BLOG SUPPLIES | Pink Paislee Outfitters collection. The cut file is from The Cut Shoppe and is called Preppy Plaid.

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BEST DAD

READER GALLERY

Kat Benjamin - Tampa, Florida

This layout just features a simple photo of my dad and me, but the journaling talks about how much we are alike and emphasizes how much he means to me. I’m a true Daddy’s Girl!

KAT’S BLOG SUPPLIES |American Crafts, Amy Tangerine for American Crafts, Shimelle for American Crafts, Heidi Swapp, SpiegelMom Scraps Etsy Shop; Cut File: The Cut Shoppe.

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DAD CARDS DIY

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY Jot Girls Natalie Elphinstone and Suse Fish bring us two very different but equally charming card projects for the dads in our lives.

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DAD

Suse Fish - The Jot Team

I fancied making our Father’s Day cards in a simple, clean style this year. As with a lot of what I’m making these days, I started with a lot of white stuff, then added a smattering of (carefully chosen) colour.

A fresh, white design with a heart felt message inside + pops of colour make this a fun diy project.

I started by making the cards themselves: folding card into squares and rounding the edges. I then drew a heart shape on the card fronts and fussy-cut them out using sharp scissors.

[Instructions continue on the next page]

YOU WILL NEED | white cardstock, vellum, heart punch, scraps of patterned paper, ribbon, thread, embellishments for decorating the card.

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SUSE USED A PAPER PIERCER TO PRE-PIERCE HOLES SO SHE COULD EASILY OUTLINE EACH HEART CUT OUT WITH HAND STITCHING.

I punched out lots of tiny hearts and popped these into the pocket, which I then stitched shut.

I then placed the shaker pocket behind the cut-out heart on the front of each card and lightly taped it into place with washi. I then used my paper piercer to make holes around the edge of the heart, which I handstitched with embroidery thread.

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I folded a second sheet of paper in half to go in the middle of the card, taping it to the back of the card before making holes in the card ‘spines’ through which to thread my ribbon.

THE INSIDE MESSAGES WERE MADE BY LAYERING UP A TAG, SOME CREPE PAPER, A TYPED VELLUM SLOGAN AND SOME PAPER SCRAPS. I love how these cards have turned out – I hope the dads do too! Now to find each a bar of chocolate or some other post-able treat to slip into the envelopes.

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FATHER’S DAY CARD

Natalie Elphinstone - The Jot Team

All of the fathers I know have some lurking James Bond qualities in them somewhere, or at least they like to imagine they do (even if it’s just that they like to play poker!)

A super simple card to make for a top shelf father in your life!

So I thought I would celebrate Father’s Day this year by reminding all my Dadfigures that they might not always look the part, but they’ll always be top-shelf black-tie tuxedo-wearing superheroes in my eyes. This card is actually supersimple to make and today I’m going to show you how.

SUPPLIES | American Crafts. Embellishments: Sizzix Bow Die, Flourish With a Bling pearls, buttons.

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STEP ONE// First create a tri-fold card by folding in two sides of a long strip of cardstock in towards the middle. The two edges should overlap just a little rather than simply meeting in the middle. Then fold over the edges of both sides in a triangle to create the lapels.

STEP TWO// Next up is the white shirt. This is simply a matter of cutting two long rectangles of white cardstock and adhering them to the front of the middle panel. Once again it’s important to slightly overlap their edges because it creates a more realistic look.

STEP THREE // Now it’s time to add the buttons onto the front of the jacket. Black buttons would have been ideal, but I do also like the contrasting look of the beige buttons so I stuck with these ones.

STEP FOUR// Finally I added all the finishing touches. I used a Sizzix die to cut out my bow from the same black cardstock as the base, stuck on some adhesive pearls for shirt buttons, and cut another scrap of black cardstock into a pocket for the front.

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INTERVIEW BY KIM ARCHER | PHOTOS BY SHEREE FORCIER Jot Magazine 158

POCKET PAGES

DOCUMENTING LIFE FAMILY LIFE SHEREE FORCIER

Sheree lives on the beautifully sunny Gold Coast of Australia with her husband Paul and their three children Ayden, Riley and Madison along with two pretty but very noisy budgies Sunny and Snowflake.

A long time paper crafter, Sheree is only fairly new to the Project Life pocket style of memory keeping and started her first album just a few months ago. Here we catch up with Sheree to take a peek inside her first pocket page album and we also see inside her enviable studio space filled with lots of natural light, white spaces and fresh supplies.

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Tell us a little about your pocket page journey so far?

I’m fairly new to pocket scrapbooking as I only decided to start a couple of months ago. When I first heard about Project Life a couple of years ago I loved the idea of it but just knew that I’d never keep up with weekly spreads since I already have so many other things on the go.

Earlier this year I decided that monthly pages sounded a lot more achievable for me so that’s the format I’m working with. I will be taking my album back to January so I have a little catching up to do! Once I’m caught up I plan on working on pages once a month.

DO YOU DO ANY OTHER SCRAPBOOKING? I’ve been scrapping 12 x 12 pages and card making for about 13 years and have also been enjoying the 8.5 x 11 format for the last few years as well.

“Oh how I love embellishments! You can never have too many in your stash right? You will always find die cuts, stickers, enamel dots, chipboard, tags and word stickers in my bundle of favourite things to use.”

It’s fun to change it up a bit!

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I found my typewriter years ago on Ebay for a bargain price and love using it for journaling. It’s so quick and easy to feed Project Life cards, vellum or cardstock through it to add some text. I’ve also just found an online store in Australia called www.charliefoxtrot.com.au where I can buy new replacement typewriter ribbons too.

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DO YOU PRINT YOUR PHOTOS AT HOME?

I used to head to the store to get all of my photos printed in different sizes, however since I got my little Epson PictureMate printer I do all of my printing at home. It has saved me so much money now that I only print the photos I will actually use!

“I’m working with a 6 x 8 album and I’m really enjoying this smaller size.”

WHAT CAMERA DO YOU TEND TO USE?

I take a lot of photos on my iPhone 6Plus but I also have a new Canon Powershot G7X Mark II which is quite compact and fits nicely into my handbag so I’ve been using that a lot more recently too.

DO YOU JOT THINGS DOWN THROUGH THE WEEK OR DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR KEEPING TRACK OF WHAT YOU HAVE DONE? I’ve found that using a notebook to keep track of dates, photos and stories has really helped in my pocket scrapbooking process. I keep it handy near my laptop so I can add things to it each day.

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Sheree uses acrylic tubs and containers to house her supplies and she keeps her favourite tools and products within reach so she has everything she needs at her finger tips when creating a pocket page spread.

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“This little clear acrylic stand I found in the bathroom section of Kmart. It’s so handy! With each section being able to swing out it’s really easy to see what’s in each little tray.”

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR STAYING ORGANISED AND UP TO DATE? I’m keeping a notebook throughout the month to keep track of photos I’d like to include in my spread, the story behind the photo and which date I took them on. I also print my photos out at the end of each month so I’m ready to go when I sit down to complete my page.

DO YOU HAVE A DEDICATED PROJECT LIFE SPACE?

I have my supplies organised in one of the shelves at my desk so I can easily reach what I need. Depending on the day I’ll either work at my desk or take my supplies out to the dining table so I can create while watching tv.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU TO PULL A SPREAD TOGETHER?

Once I have my photos printed it takes me a couple of hours to decide on layout, filler cards and then decoration to finish off the spread.

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Sheree loves to use machine stitching and stamps on her journaling cards.

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WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT PROJECT LIFE?

“Once I have my photos chosen and printed it can take me a couple of hours to complete a spread.”

I love that pocket scrapbooking allows me to document all of those ordinary, everyday little moments and events that don’t always make it onto my traditional scrapbook pages. I think it tells a more complete story.

WHAT DO YOU FIND THE MOST CHALLENGING? I think the most challenging thing about pocket scrapbooking is staying organised and making time to print photos. Once I have those things sorted, putting the pages together and getting creative is the fun part!

Find Sheree on Instagram and get to know her a little better plus make sure you check out Sheree’s exquisite Blythe crocheted hats - they are gorgeous. INSTAGRAM

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P O C K E T

SCRAPBOOKING

JOURNALING CARDS Leanne Allinson, Sheree Forcier and Lauren Hender share with us some fun journaling and filler cards for your pocket pages.

PROJECTS & PHOTOGRAPHY: Leanne Allinson + Lauren Hender + Sheree Forcier

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Lauren Hender

I was very excited to see the new Heidi Swapp Minc reactive mediums hit the stores. These mediums include a paint, mist and screen ink and allow us to add our own foiled creative touch to any project.

Supplies//Project Life cards, Heidi Swapp, Prima Marketing, Ranger.

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LAUREN HENDER

STEP BY STEP 1. I’ve used water colour paints to blend three different colours to create the backgrounds on these 4x6” Project Life cards.

2. After painting each card, dry each card with a heat gun and use a paintbrush to paint your words with the Minc reactive paint onto each card.

3. I then heat set the paint and left it to dry for a couple of hours before applying the silver foil using the Minc machine. The effect was fabulous. It’s difficult to photograph but these cards sparkle in real life.

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LEANNE ALLINSON

Leanne Allinson

It’s always fun to have a bit of sparkle in your Project Life albums and with three simple products and some wet adhesive, it’s very easy to achieve!

LET’S GET STARTED // Start by gathering your supplies: Jillibean Soup Mini Placemats, plain white cardstock & sequins.

**Jillibean Soup mini placemats are white 3x4” die cut cards which come in a variety of different pre-cut designs.

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LEANNE ALLINSON

SEQUIN CARDS STEP BY STEP 1. Trim the white cardstock to 3�x4� and round the corners. Place the mini placemat directly on top of the cardstock and lightly trace the negative space with a pencil onto the cardstock.

2. Apply wet adhesive to the pencil line shape on the cardstock and add the sequins.

3. Add foam tape to the corners of the cardstock and layer the mini placemat on top. Align the sequins with the cut out negative space of the placemat and allow the glue to dry before adding your filler cards to your Project Life spread.

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Sheree Forcier

Working with a paper collection makes it so easy to put together a co-ordinating set of filler cards. I’ve used a little watercolor paint, some stitching and the pretty Pink Paislee Fancy Free collection to create these quick cards.

Supplies//Pink Paislee, watercolours, sewing machine plus thread.

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SHEREE FORCIER

GOOD VIBES ONLY STEP BY STEP 1. Add a little yellow watercolour paint to the bottom of a plain white 3 x 4� card.

2. Cut some patterned paper to fit, adhere to the card and add some stitching with your sewing machine.

3. Punch the wording from the Fancy Free circle paper, arrange some messy thread behind it and adhere to the card with a 3D dot.

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FAVORITE STEP BY STEP 1. Cut some patterned paper to 3 x 4�.

2. Stitch the journaling die cut to the middle of the card.

3. Add the sentiment die cut with some messy thread to the top of the journaling card and a die cut heart to the bottom with 3D dots.

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SHEREE FORCIER

SHEREE FORCIER

I LIKE YOUR SMILE

STEP BY STEP 1. Cut some plain white cardstock a little smaller than 3 x 4� and add some yellow watercolor paint.

2. Cut some pink patterned paper to 3 x 4�, adhere the watercolor piece to the centre and stitch around the edge.

3. Add some die cuts, a punched circle, a sticker and a strip of patterned paper to the top right of the card with a little messy thread just for fun.

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P O C K E T

SCRAPBOOKING G A L L E R Y

We love pocket scrapbooking here at Jot magazine and we have another awesome gallery to share with you showcasing some innovative and gorgeous pocket pages.

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Leanne Allinson The Jot Team - Australia

Week 12 celebrates a fun family tradition - a camping family tradition that is! I share how very grateful we are as a family to get to choose to have wonderful friendships in our lives and the adventures we go on together.

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Jot Girl Pocket page

team

SUPPLIES | Pocket Pages: Becky Higgins. Patterned paper: Bella BLVD, Fancy Pants Designs.

Embellishments: Bella BLVD - enamel hearts, chipboard & stickers; Jillibean Soup - wood veneers, clear stamps. Alphabet: Bella BLVD. Other - water colour pencils, typewriter.

Leanne’s Blog

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Sheree Forcier The Jot Team - Australia

When I went to print out my photos for June I realised that I hadn’t taken many photos at all...however the photos that I did take still reflected our daily routines. Two of the photos had really bright, clashing colours in them so I printed them in black and white, then kept the colour scheme very simple with black, white and yellow.

We love Sheree’s classic colour scheme of black, white and yellow.

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ABOVE |Sheree uses a lot of stamps in her pocket pages plus she types her journaling onto strips using her typewriter!

Sheree’s blog Jot Magazine 185

Loredana Bucaria The Jot Team - Italy

I love to go back in time and tell the stories of my everyday life. I love summer stories and I’ve dedicated a full spread to one day in particular - July 7th as that was our wedding and engagement day. We’ve been together for 21 years and this year was lovely as we spent the day together, walking, eating yummy food for breakfast and then we had a date night! I love the 9x12 size of my album!

SUPPLIES | Studio Calico kit: journaling cards and embellishments; digitals: Kellie’s Stamps and Paislee Press; Album : Studio Calico 9x12 album and page protectors.

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TIPS// I usually change the page protectors size to give my album a different look.

This time I have a 6x12” page protector and I think it’s lovely. I adore to mix digital elements with the paper details and templates. The editing part is the longest but it’s what I prefer.

Lory’s Blog Jot Magazine 187

Lauren Hender The Jot Team - NSW

The great thing about Project Life is that it can be whatever you want to make it. Some people enjoy documenting each of their days, some people their weeks and people like me document just special events. By just building layers and adding coordinating embellishments to each photo not only highlights the photo but builds the layout to make it all tie in.

Lauren’s blog

In this layout I have used this sweet Pink Paislee range to document my daughter’s mid year ballet concert.

SUPPLIES: Pink Paislee, Heidi Swapp, Project Life & American Crafts

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Meghann Andrew The Jot Team - Houston, Texas USA

This spread documents October 2015 in my monthly Project Life album. To begin, I often find a tag to base my simple two-part colour scheme upon.

In this spread, it was the “this is my fave” card, so I chose pink and orange cards to fill the gaps.

I typically only use 12” x 12” pocket pages, but here, I wanted to add a few extra photos from a fun weekend with friends, so I included the 4” x 12” page in the center.

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Using the Collect App, I type my journaling with my photo, making my process simple when I go to create my spreads.

I love the memories documented here!

Meghann’s Blog

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Lisa Webb

The Sunshine Coast - Queensland

I have loved using the new Amy Tangerine Better Together Core kit this week and I can’t get enough of it. It is a very happy and bright collection and lots of little things to fussy cut to use as embellishments. This is what Project Life is meant to be. Fun and full of life.

“This is what Project Life is meant to be - fun and full of life.”

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Lisa’s blog

Emma P New Zealand

The girls adore their Dad, as does he to them. They have a very special bond with him, and share some very special moments...and these moments can be as simple as hugs after mowing the grass! Simple moments are the best moments!

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BY SHARI BREWER

DEAR DIARY. ANOTHER WHIRLWIND OF WEEKS HAS PASSED BY MEANING I’VE LOTS TO CATCH YOU UP ON! I REALLY MUST MAKE A HABIT OF CONFIDING IN YOU MORE FREQUENTLY, BUT MANY OF MY OTHER FRIENDS FEEL EQUALLY NEGLECTED AS TIME-STARVED IS AN APT DESCRIPTION OF MY STATUS QUO. Jot Magazine 194

Mother and daughter singing lesson, P plates, spiralled zucchini and 25 kg of filleted, frozen reef fish! Lots of adventures as we catch up with life in Shari’s house.

I don’t think I’ve told you yet, that I’m on a bit of a health kick. I figure now I’m nudging nearer to 50 (stop the sniggering) it’s time to get a little bit serious about taking better care of myself. But of course, like I’ve always done, initially I got a little carried away… remind me one day to tell you the spiralled zucchini tale of woe!

I’ve set some more realistic expectations for myself now and am actually enjoying a life of reduced sugar and no wheat more than I thought I could. That said,

I’m not counting chickens yet and yep wooohooo eggs are still on the menu!

At the very least I hope it gives me more energy to juggle the too many things on my plate.

One of the commitments I’ve taken on board is going to weekly singing lessons with Gina. Well, shoot me now. This is no dump and run after school activity and I’ll admit the Delta Dawn duet Gina and I have been working on will never be any threat to Helen Reddy.

If I’m honest, it’s worse than pretty bad… but don’t burst Gina’s bubble. She’s in the junior choir at school, is hoping the Voice Kids makes a return and thinks she’s an ARIA contender. Cute for a little bit longer but I hold concerns for her even thinking it’s a possible career move. Luckily she would also like to be a vet, a hairdresser and a checkout chick when she grows up Scott has just this past week celebrated his 17th birthday and that means one very important thing – it P-plate time. With his music rehearsals and performances taking him from one end of the district to the other – I’ll be swapping the time I spend driving him here, there and everywhere for a similar amount of time worrying he’s made it safely to his destination! Music is going nicely for him though and he’s been winning at Eisteddfods, playing in statewide ensembles and is now seriously considering after school options in teaching music. If I were as talented as him, I’d blow my own trumpet with pride.

Liam loves his change of uni and that is all I can ask for. It’s a much longer commute for him – well over an hour and a half each day – but it seems engineering life is more his style.

Would have been handy having a lawyer in the family but I’m so pleased he made the call now rather than later. Important life decisions, along with his huge travels earlier in the year means even when I’m missing my little boy, I love my independent young man. There are still lessons for him to learn though – like eating all his veges and picking up after himself so I guess he’ll be my big baby for a little longer.

As always the farmer is busy farming and working hard on the land. He also plays hard and has just had a week away on his annual reef-fishing trip with the best mate.

Another farmer, so as you’d imagine lots of blokes talk while reeling them in. And reel them in they did! Gina and I picked him up from the airport last night – the only checked luggage he had was 25kg of filleted frozen reef fish. Wouldn’t be a problem if someone here ate it, but no one does. Fish anyone?

Hope it won’t be too long again before I remember to fill you in, dear friend.

Shari x

Shari Brewer lives on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland with her family and these diary entries may or may not be a truthful account of her day-to-day experiences. She’s never been shy of a story, so it’s best you decide what’s fact or fiction.

A mother of three (two teens and a preschooler) Shari’s a part time high school teacher who keeps herself busy running a household as well as the parenting website Teenage Survival Coach. In her spare time she clatters on the keyboard and pimps her writing services as a freelancer.

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thank you WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED ISSUE 15 OF JOT MAGAZINE. OUR NEXT ISSUE WILL HIT THE DIGITAL NEWS STANDS IN DECEMBER 2016.

IN THE MEANTIME, VISIT US ON THE JOT BLOG AND KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR WORKSHOPS, EBOOKS, MOOD BOARD CHALLENGES AND ALL SORTS OF FUN JOT THINGS! www.jotmagazine.com

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