The Documented Life Project- Weekly Challenge 1

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU FELLOW DOCUMENTERS!

You can read more about THE DOCUMENTED LIFE PROJECT on the ART TO THE 5TH BLOG!

WEEK ONE CHALLENGE - PHOTOGRAPH, SKETCH, PAINT OR INCORPORATE YOUR FRONT DOOR

The time has finally arrived and we can begin our challenges for the year. I am so excited to create, journal, and document alongside all of you! January starts with a bang! It starts with one door closing and a new one opening! For this first challenge we asked that you incorporate your FRONT DOOR into your weekly documentation, using any medium of your choice.

I am a loner by nature. I like to be able to look out, but am not always keen on people looking in. My door was a perfect representation of that part of me. From the road you couldn't see much through the glass- just a faint flicker of light now and then. But I could see it all. I loved that feeling of being a part of the world, but the world not being able to get at me too easily. I am fortunate in that my view has afforded me a peaceful view of the world, something that I will cherish always- will miss when I walk out of this door in the next few weeks...

My front door is a touchy subject right now. After ten years in our home, we are faced with the sad task of moving, something that has me grieving after so much time here. I wanted the the new year to surprise me, gift me with the chance to stay here, but it was not her gift to give. Instead, I find myself facing the reality of closing this door for the last time.

It is scary to start the new year with such a loud and final bang. I am afraid and sad, but I know that a home is not just a house. It is not a address or a number. A house is is just that-  a house- until you choose to make it a HOME.

I know, that with time, I will learn to love the view out of my new front door. I know that it will become a part of who I am and that I will create new memories worth saving in this new place. I get to take all the people who have my heart with me. That should be enough. I am learning as I go. Learning to let go, learning to let others in, and learning that a house really is not a home, because......a HOME IS WHERE YOUR HEART IS!

For my collage I used a photo of my front door, old ledger paper, painted deli paper, acrylic paint, dylusions inks, a permanent marker, paint pens, and humber stamps.I can't wait to see all of the beautiful interpretations of this week's challenge and I look forward to sharing with you each week!

You can find us:

• Facebook:
  

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/thedocumentedlifeproject/

• Flickr:
  

  http://www.flickr.com/groups/thedocumentedlifeproject/

• Instagram: #documentedlife 
  

*Our Blogs

• Roben-Marie Smith
• Lorraine Bell
• Rae Missigman
• Sandi Keene
• And our Life Photographer: Barbara Moore
  

Post your challenge response to your favorite social media and upload it to our Flickr group or Facebook group to share in the community of Life Documentors!

newsworthy: The Documented Life Project

One part planner plus one part art journal and one part weekly challenge equals an amazing year of organization, inspiration and community.
Join us for the Documented Life Project.

We start with a Moleskine Weekly Planner.

• If you want to buy the "as it comes" Moleskine Planner online, Click Here
• If you want to take a mini-class on how to alter your Moleskine planner including gorgeous downloads, details coming soon via Lorraine Bell's blog Here
• If you have your own calendar or planner you want to use, that's great too.

Now the journey begins!

Starting January 1, 2014, *we will issue a weekly challenge on  ways to use and decorate your planner to make it uniquely yours.  Interpret the challenge in any way you desire or be inspired by our artists.  Yes, this is free and open to everyone - artists, scrapbookers, calendar keepers, organization lovers, art journalers- yes, YOU! You can find the first challenge on any of the below blogs or the Facebook page listed.

If you would like your planner to look just like ours, we are offering a mini-class taught by artist Lorraine Bell with step-by-step video instructions, filmed behind the camera by Roben-Marie, featuring hand painted gorgeous downloads to make your book an inspiring place for you to look forward to spending some time each week (click here to see a sample of Lorraine's gorgeous planner). Watch for details coming for this class soon OR if you prefer, you can make the planner in your own style.

READ MORE ABOUT OUR STORY AND SEE A LIST OF ARCHIVED WEEKLY CHALLENGES HERE----->

You can find us:

• Facebook:
  

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/thedocumentedlifeproject/

• Flickr:
  

  http://www.flickr.com/groups/thedocumentedlifeproject/

• Instagram: #documentedlife 
  

*Our Blogs

• Roben-Marie Smith
• Lorraine Bell
• Rae Missigman
• Sandi Keene
• And our Life Photographer: Barbara Moore
  

Post your challenge response to your favorite social media and upload it to our Flickr group or Facebook group to share in the community of Life Documentors!

We would be thrilled to have you create and play along with us in The Documented Life Project. 

Who knows what can happen?!

Here are a few photos of what my planner is shaping up to look like --->

I am so excited to be a part of this group! And to be working in and with this amazing planner! I could not survive with out my yearly planner, but I, like these other artists were tired of the boring, plain agendas you would find yourself grabbing, year after year, in the school supply aisle. This planner is going to change all of that!

I love having one side of some of my pages already collaged, painted, and doodled. I plan using them as a springboard for the upcoming challenges as well as for inspiration as I create alongside of my daily life. To me, documenting your life can occur in any number of creative ways. Lists, drawings, doodles, photographs and more- ! The fold-out page construction of this planner allows you to add as many or as few pages as you choose. All the more space to DOCUMENT YOUR LIFE!

The bold and patterened tape edges are one design element that makes this planner both functional and pretty. I, for one, like to have a pop of color or a splash of pattern on each of my art journal pages. Seeing colorful stripes as I flip through my book makes me want to fill the pages with more than just my daily appointments - it makes me want to create! I can't wait to share more detailed photos along the way!

With the added option of painting your cover, this planner will be entirely YOU! I have chosen to leave my cover plain for now, but I can see that changing as the year goes on. We save photographs, we save diaries, we save art journals- most of us have stacks upon stacks, collected over the years. This project offers a deep and personal look into our ordinary, into our everyday. The routines of ourselves and our loved ones that make our memories personal. Something, that at years end, will be worth adding to that stack.

I am always anxious for the new year to arrive. Resolutions and a fresh start in so many ways- a new look at life. Won't you join me- join us, in making our daily life more beautiful? Come be a part of what is sure to be one of the most rewarding projects you take on this year!

To DOCUMENT YOUR LIFE in this planner means- staying focused, keeping up, and being creative too. Whether you like to make lists, doodle while you plan, or sketch your surroundings, this is your agenda. This is your new year. This is YOUR LIFE! DOCUMENT IT!