♥*¨)
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(¸.·´ (¸*´¨(♥ To my treasured customers and visitors,
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It has been my true joy to have met you this year. Thank you for a wonderful first year on Etsy, and for letting me be a small part of your journaling time.

There are some exciting new journals coming in the next few weeks and I hope you'll check back in often to see what's new!

~*~I wish you a very Happy Holiday and a New Year full of great things and thoughts!
All the best,
Julie

Stocking Up!

I'm stocking up some more journals in my Etsy Shop! Red, Ruby and Gold leather basic journals are coming in the next couple days so stay tuned!

Fresh Journals!

All new journals in my Etsy Shop this weekend! Go have a look! Coming soon: Refillable planners,

New Items just in time for the holidays!

Just in time for the holidays, I am so excited to be presenting this item to you! I know there are many of you that keep more than one journal at a time (you know who you are!) and even more of you that like to start a new journal as soon as you're finished with one. Well this boxed set of my Basic Leather journals is just for you! This would also make a great gift for the journal keepers in your life.

This set includes 3 Basic Burgundy Leather journals and a beautiful fitted box to store them in. The blank journals are made from a rich burgundy latigo leather, and it is my favorite of all the leathers I use. The leather used in these journals is already soft and pliable, but will get even more so as you use it, making it a wonderful choice for journaling.

Each basic journal measures 5 1/2" x 3 3/4" (14 x 10cm) and is 1" (3.5cm) thick. The perfect size to carry in your purse, pocket, or throw in a backpack. It is filled with 240 pages or 120 sheets of beautiful 70 lb text weight paper. The color of the paper is a light cream with very small specks sprinkled all over it. A very sturdy longstitch binding will hold the pages securely and there is a knotted thread place holder. I couldn't resist a little decoration so I've added a hand tooled detail line around the whole book.

The box is made from a very nice black matte board. There is a matching piece of leather on the front of the box with the same hand tooled detail line as the journals. The box was made by me to specifically fit the three basic journals. It is very sturdy and will fit nicely on a bookshelf or table.

As an added bonus, I'm offering personal monogramming on all these journals at no charge. What better way to make these books all your own or to add something special and personal in a gift.

Check my Etsy shop for this and many other journals available for the upcoming holiday season!

2009 Planners Are Here!

Available now in my Etsy Shop

I'm so excited to be presenting my line of 2009 Planners! This planner is organized into 12 sections, with monthly pages, and weekly pages within the months. There are also enough blank pages in each section for one page per day to take notes, journal, or just make to do lists.

The cover is made of premium leather which has been dyed a rich, dark, Rust color. I also handpainted this button that started as a plain wood disc. The button is 2 3/8" in diameter and was painted in shades of rust, red, and gold. The planner is wrap- around style with a snap closure in the front. The snap is hidden under the button. The edges have been professionally finished, and the it has been given a very soft sheen protective coating. The inside of the planner is dyed a rich dark brown.

This planner measures 8 3/4" X 6" (22.5 x 15.5cm) and is
2 1/2" thick. (6.5cm) The paper is a wonderful 70 lb. text weight and is cream color. There are tiny colored flecks speckled throughout the paper. I have also included a thread place holder. Very strong black waxed thread was used for the longstitch binding.

Now you can keep it all together in 2009 with this one of a kind planner. You can be sure no one will have one just like this!

Fresh Journals

Just a quick update, it's been a while! These are some of the new journals in my Etsy shop!

Something Pretty and New Journals

These lilies are from my backyard. Every year I think they aren't going to bloom because I expect them too early. Then mid July comes and WOW! There they are! Beautiful huh?

Also, my latest journals added to my Etsy shop. Enjoy the weekend!

So you have a journal, now what?

New Red Suede journal just listed at my etsy shop today!

Some of you are faithful journal writers and have a regular routine with when and what you write. But for those of you that have a blank journal or are thinking about getting one, this is for you! Since I began making these journals I've had lots of questions and comments like, "I don't journal," or "My days aren't very exciting and wouldn't make interesting reading for anyone."

Here are just a few ideas on what to write in your journal.

1. A Scripture Journal- I don't do this yet but it's on my to do list. Take any scripture from the bible and write about it. Write your interpretations, and questions. You can explore your feelings about these scriptures and your knowledge and faith will grow.

2. Thoughts on things you've seen- Write about something you've seen recently and the thoughts you had while experiencing it. For instance, maybe you saw something on Oprah yesterday and it impacted you in some way. Write about it! Or what if you overheard a wonderful or even disturbing conversation while shopping at the grocery. Get it down on paper and write how you reacted or wish you would have reacted.

3. Use a photo- Maybe you have a favorite photo that makes you feel all warm inside. Take that photo, put it in your journal and write about it. I recently did this with the photo of my kids. (see entry below from Mother's Day) It could be a photo from your childhood or even a family picture. If you decide to use a photo, make sure to add some writing on the page. This will add meaning to your entry and it will be great to look back on!

These are just a few ideas. I'm going to be adding more each week. If you have other journaling ideas I'd love to hear them!

Happy writing,
Julie

More Journals!

More journals added to my Etsy shop today!

All New Journals

The above journals were added to my Etsy shop yesterday 6/2

New Supplies

Well I finally saved up enough to stock up on some new supplies! It was a happy day yesterday! I've added 5 colors of suede and it is so soft and elegant. The blue is my favorite so far. I also got 3 little bundles of fabric for some cute new journals. Be sure to check back next week for some NEW finished products in my Etsy shop!

Just Pretty

Fresh blooms on my new Magnolia tree. Beautiful huh?!

In My Journal Today

My little ones about 6 years ago.

What It Means To Be A Mother. . .

It was the night of Mother's Day, all the kids had gone to bed and the house was quiet. I was reflecting on what a great day it had been. We had attended our lovely church service, had the most fantastic nap, a delicious dinner and talked to my wonderful Mom to wish her Happy Mother's Day. The kids were even well behaved and attentive. . . a banner day all around.

I began thinking about what it means to me to be a Mom, after all, I've had 13 years of experience now, I should have some wise thoughts! I suppose that Motherhood can be summed up by one word: Contradiction!

There is a joy that is really beyond words in having these children in my life. And I'm not just talking about the big moments either. So much happiness can be found in little snippets of time like when Abby(8) said something funny to Benjamin (dad) the other day and we all laughed hysterically, or when Eddie (13) comes home from school and can't get enough hugs, or that sweet way that Ricky (11) cricks his neck when he is sleeping. Contrast all these memorable things with the bickering, spending too much time on the computer, eating me out of house and home, ignoring my requests. . . well you know. . . . I've posted my all time favorite photo of the kids above. It was taken about 6 or 7 years ago while I was doing a photo shoot of Ricky for a portrait of him. They all look really happy here don't they? Well, right before the click of the shutter, they were all fussing at each other and generally unhappy. I said, "Boys, kiss your sister" and poof, I got one of the best photos of all time! Talk about contradiction.

Then there is that never ending battle between over-protecting and letting them grow in their independence. Wow! This is a tough one for me, but in my defense, I am getting a little better. When Eddie was a baby we had gates everywhere and constantly had our eyes on him. By the time Abby came along we just let her roam about the house freely. Now they're older and letting go is more important, more worrisome and all I can say is "I'M WORKING ON IT"!

There are many other contradictions to being a mom, way too many to mention in this post, but of course, we can't forget the happiness that comes with spending time with these kids doing all the fun things we do as a family, and the happiness that comes from spending time ALONE while they're at school!

Motherhood= Contradictory- you bet! But the Lord had blessed me so richly with the care of these beautiful children and I will always be so thankful for them!

I adore you Eddie, Ricky, and Abby! Love Mom

Happy Mother's Day

A very Happy Mother's Day wish for my wonderful Mom, Grandma, Sisters, Aunt, Cousin, and all the other fantastic Mom's out there! Enjoy your day! X O X O

Why I use Kraft paper

Hmmmm. . . why do I use Kraft paper in my journals? That's a pretty good question and bound to come up once in a while. When I started making journals earlier this year, one of the biggest decisions I had to make was what kind of paper to use. Well, I tested many kinds of paper. Some were too heavy, some not heavy enough. I tried several colors and sizes too. (I now have quite a bit of all these test papers!) My testing priorities were, "how does it feel to write on", how does it lay and fold", "is it environmentally friendly meaning recycled or partially recycled", and finally "is it cost effective?"

So I finally decided on a couple different types of paper. The first is a white 100 lb. text paper. This is a nice weight, wonderful to write on and is at least 30% recycled. I like using it for my round journals and for the odd shaped ones. The other paper I'm using more and more is plain old brown Kraft paper. It is heavyweight (75 lb.), and is really great to write on. I love the textured feel of it and all the tiny spots and splotches that make up the paper. It really has an old world feel to it. It is hands down the best paper to tear and produces a wonderful deckled edge and is very easy to cut. And also important is it's cost effectiveness. I was really searching for a great paper at a great price because it's important to me to be able to keep the prices of my journals at a reasonable price. This paper fits the bill on all counts and it is recycled! This is the paper I've chosen for my personal journal. I hope you'll give it a try. I think you'll really be amazed at how much you'll like it too!

A New Beginning

After all those long winter months of snow, wind and ice, it is the perfect time for a new beginning. I have re-vamped this blog and my website to a whole new look. And for the big news, I've opened a shop on etsy.com! You can find it here: www.julieboyles.etsy.com. My painting style has changed a bit over the last few months also. I haven't done away with my favorite still life style altogether, but am exploring color and all kinds of combinations. I am now making journals, hand painted and all kinds of other ones too. You can see them on my etsy shop and on my website very soon.

I will also have a new feature on this blog titled "In my journal today". I have a lot to say these days and this will be just the right place to say it!

Thanks for hanging in there with me as all these new changes unfold. See you tomorrow!
Julie