i recently learned about this new zine making it’s debut this august. i am sure if you are familiar to the artsy blogworld you will recognize several, if not all of the cover features :) i am so excited to get my hands on this issue!

being a part of this bloggie universe is really such an amazing phenomenon. what really inspires me, is the connection you can create with real every-day people. this medium allows you to reach people who otherwise you would never have crossed paths with. it gives you access to voices so loud and clear, they can touch your soul, lift you up, and change your perspective on life.

so often i’ve heard that blogging is so impersonal, so unreal, so unauthentic. my experience shows completely the opposite. i’ve met so many amazing women in this space, and when i saw the cover of artful blogging my heart smiled. it was like seeing old friends. there are a few celebrities here in blogland, but for the most part, beautiful inspiration is offered up every day by people just like you and me…people who have a vision to share, a voice to be heard, stories to tell, creations to inspire.

those of you who are bloggers, you know the magic of which i speak. those of you who haven’t yet made the leap, here is your inspiration! share yourself with the world. we are all listening…

7.25.07 edited to add…

following a trail of breadcrumbs left by a comment on this post, i found these lovely words. such eloquence and truth, i had to share them with you…

“Been reading a lot of blogs of late. It is such a personal space. Yet so public. As you read this, a large number of people over the world are furiously scribbling away their lives in utmost detail. Waiting for a stumbling footprint of a complete stranger. Who comes unseen and leaves behind a small trail of words; that means the world. And it goes on. Someone shares a picture of her favourite flower. Someone writes of the abandoned dog he had a conversation with. And a faceless lover sits and pines for someone he has been in love with all of his life. But is yet to meet her.

That’s why we blog. Because we know how we honestly feel for even a second a day, can now be communicated to someone else. And we don’t even know their real names. Or how they look. What jobs they have. What books they read. What they like to eat for dessert. We don’t know. We don’t care if they are good in bed. We don’t care if they are selfish. Or asthmatic. Or if they leave their wet towels on their beds. All we want them to do is read. “Please, I don’t know you, but can you be involved in my life for just a brief moment. I really need you, even if I don’t know you.”

it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster week, and i have been very busy doing but not really feeling all that together. in an attempt to stay inspired and get better organized i began compiling a life book. it is a combination planner, inspiration board, to do list, idea book, and journal that was inspired by both melba and her 3 ring weekly to-do binder, keri smith who carries one all purpose journal, and from my old days as a children’s clothing designer where we used to always work from a big white binder called “the book”. i’m tired of toting around so many seperate things… a notebook, a folder, a monthly flip calendar, my datebook, and my journal. too much stuff!

i found a great recycled paper binder (that came in lots of colors at $2.99 a piece!) at target – of course. i will collage the organic brown cover with doodles and inspiring things i’ll collect over time. it totally reminds me of the days of those blue fabric covered school binders with the inked up sentiments of high school love and friendship (remember those?).

inside, i created simple blank monthly pages that i could scribble notes and ideas on, as well as see my whole month ahead in one glance. there is a pink pocket in the front to hold all my loose findings before i find a home for them in my book.

clear pages in the back hold all my community resources, contacts, and brochures for things i want to look into – there is so much going on all the time! maybe i will eventually collage those onto pages as well.

weekly pages were created with a blank sidebar for to do lists, shopping lists, post-it notes, or other random thoughts for the week, as well as a blank page for collaging in ideas and scraps of inspiration i will want to save. i printed these on cardstock to withstand all the cutting and pasting. what is great too about using a binder, the page layout is still somewhat flexible and i can add in important date-sensitive papers for the week such as event flyers, invitations, etc, as well as magazine articles to read, a recipe, or an art project made by my son at school that week. i have also made daily journal pages, but haven’t added them yet…still love my pink fabric covered journal.

so far i am loving this new idea. yes, it is a bit bulky compared to your typical planner sized book, but having everything together is really wonderful! i’m always on the hunt for the newest and best organizer, but i never quite find exactly what i want. i don’t know what took me so long to think of creating my own :)