Garden Journals Completed!

Hi, everyone! I wanted to show you some pictures of five garden journals I made last week to be included in charitable gardening kits for individuals with disabilities.



These gardening journals are going to my buddy Rita Hutcheson-Cobbs in Alabama. She recently made a post on my Life on the {Scrap}Beach web community regarding these notebooks. If you're a member of the community, you can read her post here: Garden Journals Needed.

If you're not a member of the community, what are you waiting for? It's free to join and all the members are so fun, creative and generous! For those of you not ready to take the plunge to join the community, but who wish to make some garden journals for individuals with disabilities, here is the info from Rita on the journals:

"I need your help in making some wonderful kits for individuals with disabilities ages birth through 21. I write for the Parent Connection, a quarterly newsletter for Children’s Rehabilitation Service in Alabama.

As most of you know, we have three sons with disabilities including Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy and Aspergers. So offering families wonderful ways to have fun with their kids is my goal through this regular article. I don’t get paid for this, just fyi. So, I want to make some kits and here is how it works…

I will write an article this week on gardening including simple tips and ideas. I will also make a kit including the seeds, potting soil, tray, etc that I will mail to those requesting them. What I would like from you is a small notepad made from #8 shipping tags to include with each tray! You can decorate it any way you wish just offer some journaling spots for them to write about their small window garden and a couple of places for photos. You will totally bless these kids and their families!!!

{Note from Kathryn: #8 shipping tags measure 3 1/8"x6 1/4". If you do not have #8 shipping tags, you can make your own or simply use chipboard and cardstock. In my journals, I used #8 shipping tags covered with paper for the front and back covers & cardstock weight lined paper for the interior pages. I bound the notepads with 5/8" BIA o-wires, but you could also use rings, ribbon, jute, lace, etc. More detailed picture of each garden notebook follow.}

I will do this type of thing 4 times this year with each one a different theme. Then you can make as many as you want but at least 1 per quarter. If there are more notepads then kits then I will take them to the CRS office in Huntsville Alabama to be given out to patients during clinic times. This breaks the nervousness of seeing doctors and offers a tool/gift to open the door of communication between staff/patient.

I appreciate your help…message me if you have any questions. Thanks a million…oh and the items you use to make these notepads can be tax-deductible and I will be happy to get you a receipt."

Rita needs to receive these notebooks no later than May 15th so she can make the kits, so please get them into the mail as soon as possible if you would like to participate. I have not included her address in this blog post, but it available in the original post on the Beach forum. If you are not a beach member, please message Rita through her blog for her address.

I made a total of five garden journals for the Children's Rehabilitation Service. Each notebook it titled "My Garden" and you can see them all below. These notebooks were fun and easy to make & very fun and addictive! I loved being able to use a bunch of the larger Primas that I bought & never used. :)

Garden Journal #1: In this journal, I covered two #8 shipping tags with paper from the Basic Grey "Urban Prairie" collection. I also included 10 sheets of 3"x6" cardstock weight grid paper which I left blank on the back for photos. The letters are from the American Crafts "Dear Lizzie" collection & the flower and butterfly are both from Prima.



Garden Journal #2: In this journal, I covered two #8 shipping tags with paper from the Basic Grey "Urban Prairie" collection. I also included 10 sheets of 3"x6" cardstock weight grid paper, which I left blank on the back for photos. The letters are from the American Crafts "Delight" collection & are fabric covered chipboard. The flower is from Prima.



Garden Journal #3: In this journal, I covered two #8 shipping tags with paper from the Basic Grey "Mellow" collection {I think it's from "Mellow" anyway ~ not 100% sure}. I also included 10 sheets of 3"x6" cardstock weight grid paper, which I left blank on the back for photos. The letters are from the Making Memories "Tiny Alphas" collection & the flowers are from Prima.



Garden Journal #4: In this journal, I covered two #8 shipping tags with paper from the My Mind's Eye "Bohemia" collection. I also included 10 sheets of 3"x6" cardstock weight grid paper, which I left blank on the back for photos. The letters are from the American Crafts "Delight" collection & are fabric covered chipboard. Because the patterned paper was very busy, I opted to leave off additional flowers & have this be a more simple notebook.



Garden Journal #5: In this journal, I covered two #8 shipping tags with paper from the Basic Grey "Lillykate" collection. I also included 10 sheets of 3"x6" cardstock weight grid paper, which I left blank on the back for photos. The letters are from the Making Memories "Tiny Alphas" collection. The butterfly frame is from Tattered Angels. I sprayed the butterfly frame with Glimmer Mist in "Sherbet" and then inked the raised portions with Perfect Medium and swirled on Perfect Pearls in "Forever Green" for some shimmer. The butterfly trail is from Prima. I covered the pearls with alcohol ink in "Lettuce" and the roses with alcohol ink in "Cranberry" and wiped off some of the cranberry with a baby wipe to get a pink effect.



I made the last three journals during a UStream which is recorded on my UStream channel: Garden Journal UStream Recording. If you'd like to see how I covered the tags and assembled the notebooks, you can see them all coming together on that recording!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.