A friend in city nearby asked who of her friends would be interested in trying a new craft project. Several of us jumped on board for any crafting adventure! She suggested we each make an art journal, limited only by our own imaginations. They could be purchased, built, altered books, whatever our little hearts desired. They could be themed or not. They could be mini-books or they could be large books. The only stipulations were: it had to have "between friends" on the outside, it had to have a sign-in page, and it had to have room for 9 guest artists to each do a two-page spread.
Rox, my friend, set up a schedule for mailing and we set out on our adventure. From June 1 through September, we will each get a journal in the mail about every 2 weeks, have 2 weeks to work on it and mail it to the next person on the list. We can follow the theme of the book, we can do whatever we want. Any artform from just writing, to painting, drawing, decoupage, scrapbooking, photography, mixed media. We just have to sign in, do 2 pages, and mail it back. AND---we weren't allowed to post any pics of our journal or any of the journals (or pages) of any journals that we receive. That is torture!!!!
I have worked on 5 journals so far and the "hosts" have done such a wonderful job of putting together a journal. The variety of interests and skills have been amazing. This has been one of the most fun projects I have ever worked on. I have taken pics of all the journals (every page) before I mailed them off, as well as my own, and cannot wait to share them when we finish the adventure.
The journals have been going all over the country. There are 10 of us in the circle and I only know 2 of the artists. We have all become Facebook friends over the course of this adventure (we have our own private little Fb group "Just Between Friends") and we represent 7 states (FL, GA, NC, MO, LA, NM, CA).
Our adventure ends in September and what started out as a joke about meeting somewhere to return the journals to their owners, has developed into a Girls Weekend in Wilmington! I cannot wait. Instead of mailing the journal after the last guest artist finishes her entry, she will pack it in her weekender, gas up the car, and head for NC. There, we will all exchange journals and get to see what each artist did in each journal.
I suggest you send out a call to your friends and see who would like to do a Round Robin project. It doesn't have to be an art journal. It could be a small quilt, a recipe book, a travel journal, a how-to book containing household helps/craft/parties/homeschooling, a book of short stories/local legends. One of our "Friends" wrote a journal of poems and we each picked a poem to illustrate with whatever medium we wanted. It was so cool. Oops--I think she posted that on Facebook, so hopefully that wasn't a spoiler to the 4 who haven't received her book yet.
Only 2 things better than having crafty friends: meeting new crafty friends and crafting with friends!
My next project is going to be a Round Robin family album. I am working on the details and logistics of it before I present it to my extended family. Stay tuned. But until then, I have 4 more journals to go and am so looking forward to a weekend in Wilmington, just between friends!
(come back October 1 to see the pictures of all the journals, including mine!)
Where in the world is Chee Chee's journal now?
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