Q. I have some black chalkboard paint left over from a larger project. Can you think of a project I can use it for that only needs a small amount?

A. Certainly. Pick up a few small mason jars. Using painter’s tape, create a shape of your choice on one side of the jar such as a square or rectangle. Give it a few coats of paint and allow it to dry. In each jar you can store pencils, crayons, gum, candy, tacks, rubber bands-the possibilities are endless. Simply use chalk to label each jar and wipe off when you are ready to switch out the items for something else!

Are you looking for a way to help your child express themselves freely while providing on going educational practice while out of school this summer? Introducing journaling to them will motivate and excite them to write. They will love the feeling of owning their very own book of thoughts and ideas. They will also love anticipating the prompt you give them each day that inspires their words. Here are some writing prompts for your child, separated by education levels that provide age appropriate writing topics.

Early Elementary (K-2)

Let pictures inspire your little learners. Scan through magazines and cut out pictures that could jump start their imaginations. By providing just a picture, you can allow your child to create their own prompt and response. If you are a great artist you may want to draw your own picture prompts-like two mice talking near a trap with cheese in it, a coyote eating ice cream, or even a dog celebrating its birthday.

Middle Elementary (3-4)

Assign your middle elementary level child with writing prompts specific to certain summer days and topics. For example, Would you rather be a caterpillar or a butterfly? Or June is National Rose Month. If you could give a single rose to any one person, who would you choose? Or Pretend that you are on your dream vacation. Write a postcard to your best friend telling them all about your trip.

Upper Elementary (5-6)

Encourage your upper elementary student to get inspiration from a comic strip and write a response to a prompt you make up about it. For example, if your child reads the Garfield comic strip, you can ask if they agree or disagree with Garfield’s comments and extend their thinking by asking why or how when appropriate.

Just because school is on hold for the summer, it doesn’t mean your child needs to stop thinking, writing, and learning. By journaling, they are channeling their energy and thoughts in a different and creative way.

Painted Placemats

Looking to raise the bar when it comes to your next get together with friends? Wow them with these easy to do but oh-so-chic entertaining ideas.

Give your plain placemats a few coats of black chalkboard paint. When dry, write your guests’ names on it for form and function! You can even personalize them with a secret saying or their well-known nickname.

Frozen Fruit Skewers

Spruce up your plain champagne! Place your favorite fruit through skewers, freeze them, and simply place them out at the bar right before guests arrive so they can add a fruity note to their cocktail.

Crudité Cabbage Bowl

Yum! Your guests won’t know if they should appreciate the work of art you have created or eat the entire display. Mix up your favorite flavor dip and serve with a side of fresh veggies.

Simple, classy, innovative, affordable, and best of all easy-everything entertaining should always be!

Click here to learn how to make this elegant appetizer for your next party.

Get ready to hit the beach. Summer is almost here so break out the bikinis and dust off your cover up. Take time to pick out a tote that will caddy your beach beauty essentials and favorite poolside reads.

Rebecca Minkoff Rafia and Leather Boyfriend Beach Tote

Sunbathe in style. This beautiful bag is sure to make a splash at the beach. It’s large enough to carry the items you need but not too big to become a burden. It’s fully lined and adorned with bright pink leather trim.

Marc by Marc Jacobs Tote-Stripey Straw Sami

Be beach chic with this straw, striped tote. It comes in Deep Navy Multi or Coral Red Multi and ready to pair with your favorite suit. The straw bag has double top handles and a clip closure, so it’s easy to grab and slab on your sunscreen.

Kate Spade Birds of Paradise Straw Tote

Oh so appropriate for a summer getaway on a tropical island. Kate Spade’s Birds of Paradise tote is paradise to your eyes. The embroidered stich and golden hardware is hard to resist and will take you to a tropical place even if you are opting for a staycation at your pool at home.

Of course all these beach bags will hold your Sheic Journal perfectly so you can capture the moments and the beauty around you.

When I was a little girl, my dad always carried around a tiny notebook and whenever I would open the notebook, I would see all sorts of doodling. Sure there would be notes but then there were these wonderful drawings that weren’t intentional just scribbles as he was listening to a seminar or talking on the phone.

Recently, I was introduced to the book, “Doodles Unleashed”. It is a wonderful book especially for those who doodle while on the phone, in a seminar or waiting for someone in a restaurant. Join artist Traci Bautista in her new book as she teaches how to use doodling as a raw form of expression and vehicle for telling your personal story.

Who knew doodling could have a deeper meaning!

Start the New Year right! Keep a journal.

We all start the New Year with goals, resolutions, whatever you want to call it. I am so passionate about self-discovery, documenting your life, and new adventures. So what better time of year to create a fun journal challenge involving all three? Who needs resolutions?! Create a revolution!

Join me in the…

New Year, New Journal, New You Challenge!

This challenge has just 2 steps.

Step 1:

What are you grateful for that has happen over the past year? I truly believe that before we can move forward, we have to see the beauty in where we have been. Did you know that there is a crucial component of happiness that is often overlooked? In Robert Emmon’s book, “Thanks: How the new science of gratitude can make you happier,” he draws on the first major study of the subject of gratitude, of “wanting what we have,” and shows that being grateful can measurably change people’s lives. The book goes on to share how people who regularly practice grateful thinking can increase their “set-point” for happiness by as much as 25 percent.

If you find journaling difficult to do, here are some tips to get you started and keep you going long after the glow of the holiday celebrations have passed.

1. Keep it simple
   Journaling by its nature is very simple. Open up your journal, set a timer for 20 minutes, and go. There’s no right or wrong.
2. Do it daily
   Daily habits are easiest to maintain. It’s much easier to make the time to journal if you ask yourself, “When am I going to journal today?” instead of “Should I journal today?” When you journal daily, it becomes part of your routine, like brushing your teeth.
3. Try it for 30 days
   It takes a few weeks for a new habit to sink in. Like starting a new exercise regimen, starting to journal can be challenging. But if you commit to just doing it for a month before making any decisions about whether or not it’s good for you, you’ll have a much better perspective.
4. Find the right time
   Should you journal in the morning or at night? That’s up to you. The best time to journal is when you’ll actually get it done. Experiment with different times of day and see which works best for you.
5. Find the right place
   It’s important that you minimize distractions when journaling. Interruptions from co-workers, family members and roommates can get you off track easily. So find a spot with plenty of privacy.

The point is to take a moment to write down your gratefuls. Trust me, when you take this step, you will discover things about yourself. A journal can reflect back to you how your motivation waxes and wanes, or how many projects you let fizzle out after a brief burst of excitement. Your journal is actually a gift to your future self! Keeping a journal today means you can look back in five years, ten years or in old age at what you were thinking and dreaming about. Here is where you secretly keep the past version of yourself.

Step 2:

Now – here’s the fun part: no doubt a new journal will be involved somewhere in this journey. I mean it is a new year why not a new journal to commemorate this new year.

So, the second part of the challenge is this:

Customize your own journal to symbolize this journey you are going to take with yourself. Every time you look at it, be reminded of the journey that lies ahead!

Your gratitudes can be small or large. It doesn’t matter. Just do it. And take it from me, when you use a journal as the symbol for your journey, it’s nothing but fun!

To help you get started, I’m offering you 20% off your next journal creation through January 31st. Just use the code “GRATITUDE” at checkout. Click here to begin designing your journal today.

I hope you’ll choose a Sheic Journal to be the symbol of your success, but even if you don’t, I want to be a part of your journey.

Please email me and tell me what you are doing for your New Year, New Journal, New You Challenge! With permission, I’ll post some of the responses to encourage other women to take that first step in becoming their best self.

Send an email to angee@sheicjournals.com with the following information:
- Your name and hometown (first name is fine if you want to remain anonymous).
- One thing you are grateful for.
- A photo of the journal you chose to be the catalyst for your journey

Wishing you a wonderful New Year and a fabulous New You,

I’m a part of a journaling community on LinkedIn called Journal Juju. One of the members, Amy Alexander, posted about her iPhone app that provides 365 days worth of journal writing prompts. Now you really have no excuse not to journal! I thought I would share this product with you.

How cool would it be to take your iPhone, your Sheic Journal and go to Starbucks or your favorite spot and take out your phone and review the prompt for the day so you can write away?!

This perpetual calendar was created to give you a topic each day for journaling, blogging or anything you’d like to use them for. Some are fun and some are serious, and all of them will get you thinking. Just select a month and day to get started and see where these topics take you.

Working from home can be a bit lonely so there are times where I like to get out of the office. One of my favorite places to visit is Starbucks. I love to just sit and people watch.

There are times when I can’t get out of the office or maybe I need a little more intimate setting so I can write in my journal. During those times, I like to fire up my Keurig coffee maker and make my own Starbucks at home. There is nothing like grabbing something inspirational, my coffee and my journal. I get in a cozy spot and have a few moments to myself.

What do you like to do to create a little oasis in your home to be with yourself?

I don’t know if you are like me but I am a very visual person. I am always looking at my surroundings and finding small things that are so beautiful that no one else would have ever spotted had I not pointed it out to them.

When I learn something new, if I can see a visual, it will commit to memory better. This is just how I’m made up. When I came to learn about Pinterest, I thought I had found heaven! Maybe I’m the last person to find out about this site but I hope that this post is enlightening to someone out there.

Pinterest is a website that lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Here is a shot of my profile. It is pretty naked since I just created my account but I have already started using it to collect images for redesigning my dining room, living room and just general home decor.

What is really cool is that this weekend I went shopping at World Market. I found several items I fell in love with. I took some photos of them and then went to their website to find them and pinned them in my Pinterest account. Now when I’m ready to go shopping, I not only have the image but the link to the web page where I found the image so I can easily order it online.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. I found several images that I actually pinned to my boards.

Here is one image I found on someone else’s board that I just fell in love with:

I am sure you are wondering how Pinterest can apply to journaling. Easy! You can use Pinterest to capture images and print those images to paste in your journal or use them as inspiration for your next journal entry.

WARNING: Pinterest is addictive! I find I look at the web with new eyes now and I am constantly looking at images. Before you know it, you have spent hours pinning images to your account.

It is lots of fun! In order to create an account, you have to have someone invite you to Pinterest. If you are interested in joining, send me an email to admin at sheicjournals.com and I will send you an invitation via email. If you already have a Pinterest account, let me know as I would love to check out your boards. You can post below so others who have an account as well can learn about you.