Play - cards and boardgames

Do you play cards – or boardgames?

What was the last game you played?
Do you like to win or do you play just for the fun of it?

~~~ Scrapbooker’s journalling challenge ~~~

Create a layout with playing cards on - either real ones or scanned.

Be inspired by the names of the suits: hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades

~~~ Scrapper’s journaling challenge ~~~

Play - an instrument

Have you ever played an instrument?
If so, try to describe what it felt / feels like.

If not – what instrument would you play if you could learn now – painlessly – and why?

~~~ Scrapbooker’s journalling challenge ~~~

If you were a musical instrument which would you be?
Create a LO inspired by playing an instrument (the singing voice could count as an instrument).

~~~ Scrapper’s journaling challenge ~~~

Play - music

Writing doesn’t have to be perfect first time – and if it’s just for a journal or scrapbook, it is important to include the everyday – what might seem mundane but in a few years’ time will be part of the big picture of your and your family’s past.

Do you play music?
What kind of music do you like to play when you are writing – or do you prefer silence?What kind of music makes you feel playful?

~~~ Scrapbooker’s journalling challenge ~~~

What music did you listen to most recently? Did you like it? Why? Or why not?

Create an "everyday" layout and use a reference to music to help you start journalling.

~~~ Scrapper’s journaling challenge ~~~

Play - how do you play?

It’s important to write honestly and truthfully about how you feel about things. You may shy away from a word or topic “I don’t play – I’m too old for that” but play is essential in our lives – for relaxation and for creativity.

“Play is the beginning of knowledge.”

How do you play?

I play by....

I like to play...

My play is ...

~~~ Scrapbooker’s journalling challenge ~~~

Is scrapping play for you? Take a pic of your stash or yourself or friends scrapping.,

What's fun about it? How do you play?

~~~ Scrapper’s journaling challenge ~~~

Play

This week our daily journalling prompts are all about play.

What does play mean to you? Is it something you still do?

Creativity is all about play, whether you are playing with words, or playing with paper and glue as a scrapbooker. I do both!

~~~ Scrapbooker’s journalling challenge ~~~

Create a layout with the subject "Play with abandon"

~~~ Scrapper’s journaling challenge ~~~

Travel: setting off

Here are more ideas and journal prompts to get you started on your writing. Don’t face a blank screen, use our daily prompts to get your started with writing! Whether you’re a blogger, journaler, scrapbooker or writer, the prompts will get your writing muscles working!

This week’s writing topic is travel and today’s writing prompt is about: setting off

What do you think of when you leave to go on a trip? Excitement, trepidation? I hate packing – I am in the worst temper when I have to pack the day before a holiday or a trip. And I don’t sleep – it used to be excitement, but now I’m the one who’s responsible for all the arrangements I worry that something will go wrong!

Write about setting off on a trip.

Travel: planning

Ever sit there facing the blank page wondering what to write? Or maybe you know what you want to write but somehow you can’t get started? Here’s just what you need, a daily writing prompt that will start you off with your journalling and give you those warm up writing exercises to boost your journal writing

This week’s writing topic is travel and today’s writing prompt is about: planning

Do you like to plan? I do – the going away isn’t the same without the pleasure of weeks o0f planning.

Or do you prefer to just set out and not plan? Why not plan?

Gadgets – best buy

What was the best household gadget you ever acquired? Why was it such a success?

Gadgets

What are the gadgets you can’t live without?

From electric toothbrushes to broadband dongles, think about the gadgets that surround you. List them? Why are we so dependent on gadgets?

This should be a general survey of gadgets that surround you – we’ll look at specific ones later in the week!

Emotions - wonder

When was the last time you felt a sense of wonder?

Could it be a landscape, or a person - a baby, a loved one - a special musical experience?

Finding your inspiration – random words

It sounds silly, but have you ever tried just opening the dictionary at a random page and picking a word? A completely random word may be too far from what you are hoping to write about - although try it if you're COMPLETELY stuck for something to write.
If you have a topic or subject or particular photo or event to write about, I guarantee every page of the dictionary will have at least one word that relates to your subject, even if you have to hunt through the page to find it.
If you want to be a little more focused try opening at random a book about your subject (e.g., a book about Italy, or scrapbooking, or organising your home...).
If you're scrapbooking - try a random photo as well!


I picked a random dictionary page - turns out to be the first two pages of the letter J.

Jolly japes on a jaunt in the forest?
Maybe not!
Jam-packed visit from Jenny? getting warmer...

Sometimes I'm jealous of the fact that my friend Jenny lives on a beautiful remote island off the Gold Coast, where bellbirds sing and exotic flowers fill the garden with scent - and the weather's better! But just maybe Jenny is sometimes jealous of the lovely part of England I live in - traditionally green and pleasant, and packed with history from William Morrise to the Romans. I think we often come away from our (chiefly virtual) visits and chats grateful for what we both have...

Letter-writing prompt: The future of the letter

OK, all this week we’ve been talking about letters, but I have also mentioned emails and blog posts, and blog comments as variants on the “letter”.

What do you think?

Will emails ever replace letters?
Are blog posts a completely different thing?

Start with:

I think letters are…

Letter-writing prompt: Write to yourself in ten years’ time

We’ve written a letter to our younger selves now write one to yourself ten years from now…

What do you want to be sure you remember? How are you feeling right now? What are your hopes and fears for the future, what are the values you live by and would like to be sure you continue to do so?

Letters - a quick prompt - write to me!

A simple prompt today:

Write to me!

Add a comment here and tell me about your day…

A letter in history

Now is your chance

If you could write a letter to any historical character:
Who would you write to?
Why?
What about?

If you can be bothered – now write the letter!

Themes for baby books & Play

There are lots of possible themes for baby books:

• Animals theme


• Alphabet theme


• Colours theme: every page a different colour


• Definitions theme: baby, love, cute, motherhood, family, growing up etc.


• Play theme: teddies, bricks, dolls etc.

If a whole book is too much - try creating a single page on one of these themes.

New life prompt: PLAY

What does play mean to you?

How do you play?

Start with "The way I play is..."

or "I like to play at...

Babies & new life - the things they do

Oh, the cute things they say and do.

If you have a baby or young child now - I know it's difficult when you're so busy - but for heaven's sake write down those cute things they say or the funny things they do. You WILL forget them later! I wish I'd been a scrapbooker when my babies were young. Luckily I was keeping a journal, so putting the text together with the photos isn't too hard.

Journalling on my son's fourth birthday at Nursery School: I have to go and do a few things before I pick [my son] up. He had a little ceremony at Nursery this morning, which was lovely. They get to choose 4 birthday kisses, 4 birthday hugs, 4 birthday claps or 4 birthday tickles! He went for the tickles, as apparently they all do. Then they can choose the four children to give them the tickle. It’s sweet. He blew out four candles, was sung Happy Birthday and got a card and a birthday crown to wear. He was really tickled!!!!!!....

Birth Announcements

For parents: Have you still a copy of your child’s birth announcement?
If so you can get out and think about how you felt when you sent it out.

If you haven't still got one, then create a birth announcement - include not just the details of name, time, weight etc., but something about how you feel on becoming a new parent.

Now create a journal or scrapbook page with perhaps a photo of the baby and the birth announcement.

New life prompt: Announcing... What would be a big success that you would like someday to announce. Your wedding? Your book published? Your success in the X-Factor? Write the announcement, as an invitation or a press release.

Art - experiment

Art

Play with the word art in a creative way – cut out letters, use stamps. Create an ATC (Artist Trading Card). Use altered alphabets, mixed alpha stickers. Play with a word as a title… Just experiment!

To write, free associate starting with “art”.

ART is ...

Use the word ART as a writing or journalling prompt.

Give yourself ten minutes – set a timer or alarm if you can – and just keep your hand or fingers moving

If it helps, when you flag start again with one of these:

Art is . . .
The kind of art I like is . . .

I like art most when . . .

Art to me means . . .

It isn't art if it is . . .