Share the Love

I've been working on a Project Life scrapbook because it seemed sooooo easy to do, which it would have been had I not decided I needed to design all the pieces myself (including the pockets). Sometime the designer in me gets a little over ambitious, but it will be completely unique when I get through it all. And that suits our family to a tee!


Anyway, during this process of designing monthly journal cards and titles, calendars etc... I created a few extras for all of you! These are digital journal cards that you can print. One title, three vertical and two horizontal. I'm not sure if the horizontals will fit the Project life pockets exactly, but I'm pretty sure you can work with them in some capacity. They are all slightly under 3"x4" which is the approximate size according to the Jessica Sprague free grid journal card giveaway on her site today. Be sure to pop over to jessicasprague.com to grab that all purpose journal card too!


Here are the cards I've designed. If you would like the download printable file drop a comment here, or email me your contact info. Please remember these are for your personal use only. No re-selling or copying of these designs please. The artwork is copyrighted.

Copyright 2012, Krys Caywood, Krys Caywood Design

Breathe...just breathe.

For those of you who read this blog, you already know that I often get sidetracked by the many things in my life these days and forget that I have a blog to attend to. Sporadic as it may be, I find that it's cathartic to write and want to be more dedicated to doing this on a regular basis.

In fact, several months ago I was told by a counselor (who specializes in the challenges facing parents of multiples) that I should journal everyday. (let's just clarify, with a normal infant that's difficult, with twins dang near impossible but with twins who were 11 weeks premature, one of whom has health issues that require full time nursing, it's downright ridiculous to even get a minute to THINK, nevemind write your thoughts out longhand!) I smiled and nodded at her but in my head the snarky sarcastic me thought - "uh huh, I'll get right on that - after cleaning up the baby barf, doing laundry, rocking, feeding, and changing a multitude of poopy diapers...seriously you think I have time to journal when I can't even get a shower everyday?!?". Regardless, I was going to see her since we had a new family, which was a major adjustment for a couple of 40-somethings like Dave and I so I thought I'd gain some insight from a professional who herself had twins. I know she meant well but a lot of the tips and tricks were not applicable to our situation and missed the mark of being helpful.


In addition to this doctor's not-so-helpful "promise me you will do this" list of  "take time for you" exercises she had one well-hidden and disturbing attribute that surfaced about 4 weeks into our sessions. {Cue the villianous duh-dun-dah music} She was a hugger. Not the casual kind of hugger who takes the universally understood "end this hug now" back pat hint. We're talking prolonged hugging, compounded by her telling me to "breathe....just breathe...". This is the hug that makes you feel incredibly uncomfortable. In truth it was the ANTI-HUG. Hugs are intended to bring comfort and a warm fuzzy feeling...this imposter hug failed to meet any and all hug criteria. Can you say AWKWARD? I left there thinking "that was weird" -  "and unprofessional" -  "and, yeah, weird". So I went home, feeling rather unsettled and, yeah, just weird. 


A week passed and being the forgiving type that I am, I thought it might be a one time thing and decided to keep my appointment for that morning despite the risk. So I went, and talked until the 40 minute mark  when I stopped talking as she gave me her new to-do task list, then abruptly, I made a beeline for the door. Much to my surprise, she was ready with counter measures deviously cloaked as courtesy. I smiled as I thought she was simply opening the door for me but she put her hand on the knob, then body-twisted 180 degrees to face me and, you guessed it... pulled me into yet another hug! I was in a state of disbelief and a"why the hell didn't you anticipate and prepare for this" thought when the "breathe...just breathe" words hit my ears, again. So, I responded, "It's fine, I'm fine, everything will be fine" thinking, "okay she needs a verbal cue". Nope, didn't work. There I stood, stuck in the constricting arms of a woman half my height, powerless to escape unless I surrendered to her wishes...so I exhaled, really loud, with a sigh and it was like the parting of the Red Sea. Without warning her arms and office door magically opened! I could see the inviting flourescence of the hallway lights and smell the musty odor of the sad, white noise infused, windowless corridor that served as a waiting room. Seeing my chance, I quickly made my way through the door jam, past the unsuspecting victims sitting in the mismatched secondhand waiting room chairs, into the main hall and down to the elevator...I could almost taste the fresh air of freedom when all of a sudden the moment of bliss was broken by a crackling voice saying, "You can pay at the front desk. See you next week." Then in a flash, (similar to those 'getting sucked backwards at warp speed through a tunnel' shots you see in the movies) I realized my feet had not left the floor at all and the counselor was still standing there with one hand on my shoulder looking at me like I was this poor pitiful creature needing further guidance. Yet another mistaken perception on her part, I was just lost in my anti-hug escapist day-dream. I guess a hug only last until the 45 minute mark, or in counseling terms, your hour is up! Needless to say, after that I never went back.  OH, but I digress...

Even though I may not be able to do this everyday, if I can get a couple of posts done each week it will be a fun break for me, (and it's my acknowledgment that the counselor was right in some respect). It's good to talk, and vent and get things out, and here, on this page, I'm assured of no prolonged awkward hugging!

A brand spankin' new creative journal

Oh the excitement that comes with the purchase of a brand new journal...I LOVE it! I love them so much that I actually bought two yesterday, mostly because I had a gift card from my nephew from Christmas 2008 that I had yet to use and thought, hmmm what do I want to treat myself to at Barnes and Noble...and after much searching around, it hit me. I don't need another book to read right now, I need a book to write!

So I found the cool journal and sketchbook wall and picked out two. I wanted ones with blank covers to make them my own. Also, I prefer to use sketchbooks for journals because typically journals are lined and I don't  like to write on the lines (again, not a linear thinker... it's too confining for me).  I like the freedom of writing random thoughts anywhere at all angels in fun and crazy font styles combined with magazine clippings, phrases, quotes, art elements, paints, colored markers and pencils etc...I am sooo anxious to mess them up. They're just too pristine and empty right now. See?

There's my shadow, but soon I will put my own personal stamp on them and post for comparison.  Creative Journalling is all about artistic expression along side of traditional handwritten thoughts and ideas. To start I tear apart magazines with phrases that I can relate to and think I will be able to use for journalling prompts in the books. Here are a few I tore out just now.

1.  Guilt is not one of its ingredients.

2.  Any similarities to real life flavors are purely intentional.

3.  Feed their curiosity.

4.  Some relationships are meant to be.

5.  WAKE-UP CALL no. 9

6.  move closer to your goals NOW

7.  Wine needs time to breathe. People do too: How Do You Breathe

8.  Kinda beats stirring fruit up from the bottom, doesn't it?

9.   NEVER HIDE

10.  ARE YOU IN MINT CONDITION?

These were all from ads.  Can you match the phrase up with the Company that placed the ad?

a.  Ray Ban

b.  Oscar Mayer

c.  Special K

d.  Altoids

e.  Danskin

f.  Sun Chips

g.  Jelly Belly

h.  Pepperidge Farm

i.  Turning Leaf

j.  Edy's

Now forget the ad and try to think how you would apply just the phrase to your life and what it would bring to your creative journal. Here's where it gets fun! Yeah, play time, get out the sissors, glue, pens, pencils, ribbons etc...it's time to make a big mess!!! Fun Fun Fun. Explore, enjoy, and exercise your mind.

Oh what, you want the answers? alright...scroll down:

(1f, 2g, 3b, 4h, 5c, 6e, 7i, 8j, 9a, 10d)