OLW Blog Hop - Reflections On Dreaming

Here we are again, fellow OLW-ers. Welcome back for this month's One LittleWord Blog Hop. I am so excited to share my thoughts and my project this month. I can hardly believe that a only single month remains in 2011.

For any new readers, One Little Word centers around the concept that a single word can be powerful and enriching, impacting on our lives in ways both large and small. Each year, I for the past several years I have chosen a single word to inspire and guide my journey. For 2011 my word has been Dream. You can see al previous posts pertaining to OLW here.

I was first introduced to the OLW concept by Ali Edwards, who I consider my personal hero. I loved following Ali's journey with her OLW on her blog  so you can imagine how stoked I was when Ali announced that she had teamed up with Big Picture Classes to teach a year long class specifically focused her OLW philosophy. Each month Ali sends out an email of encouragement and reveals a prompt relating to our word. Several of the other ladies in class and I have been posting a report about each month's prompt on our blogs. The clever and amazing Margie organizes our merry band into a cohesive unit for a blog hop where we share our work and support one another through comments.

I cannot thank these women enough.
They always inspire me.
They always support and encourage me.
They keep me accountable in documenting my OLW journey.
They sometimes make me laugh.
They sometimes make me cry.
They never cease to amaze me with their warmth, creativity and insight.
No, I cannot thank these women nearly enough.

This month's prompt brought us back to writing. Oh, the writing. How I love the writing. Ali developed a series of  "I statements" that were starting points for reflecting on varying aspects of our word. I loved this approach as it right away lent focus and direction to my journaling. The different completed journaling will back the nine photos taken for last month's prompt in a divided page protector. Six of the cards were pre-printed with "I statements" but the other three were left blank to allow for individual creative expression. I adore anything that offers a bit of structure but still allows for a massive influx of creativity and arsty exploration.

Here's my completed project for November:

click on image to appear larger

I was pretty simple in my documentation this month. I used my own handwriting for most of the journaling cards, but I had to break out my trusty vintage typewriter for one card (snatches of a favorite poem). I laid out Studio Calico's butterfly masks and then misted the entire page with Mr. Huey's Custard and a couple of pops of Heirloom Blue. Then I sprayed over the entire page with Mr. Huey's Calico Shine (such awesome stuff!!). I layered varying washi tapes over the center card and added the small canvas letters for my title.
I left two cards wordless, relying the butterfly to convey my sentiment. I have used butterflies throughout my album as symbols of my dreaming.

I am excited to see what Ali has in store for us with the final lesson for 2011. Also, if you've been following my blog and wishing that you would have joined us for this year's OLW journey, I have good news for you. Ali is doing it again! She will be offering another year long OLW class for 2012 through Big Picture Classes. I strongly encourage you to register. It has been an amazing experience.

Next up in the blog hop is Cindy. Check her out her fabulous blog here.