* *When I originally shared this project, I never realized how well received it would be. My happy little project has traveled the World (Wide Web), being shared by  Tip Junkies , Tori Spelling's ediTORIal , Babble , and the Dating Divas . Fun and exciting times for By Jen !** As I mentioned in my last blog post , my husband celebrated a birthday this past weekend (which happened to be a pretty big one....the Big 40!). So now I can finally share the really cool gift I made for him. I've had this idea in my head for years and finally made it happen for this birthday . To make this I started with an old globe  (just something I had in all my clutter). I covered it with gesso. After the gesso dried, I should have sanded it lightly  (but I can get ahead of myself when I'm excited) I then collected a ton of pictures to print.  I printed the photos on regular gift wrapping tissue paper. Now you might be wondering how I printed o

I had a wonderful weekend (as I hope you did, too)! Not only did I get to celebrate by hubby's birthday on Friday, and again on Saturday, but I also got to take Donna Downey's Inspiration Journal Class at Scrapbook Territory in Berkeley on Sunday. I got to join Sylvia , Tina , and Paula for this great art adventure. Donna's class was amazing, packed full of great info and inspiration. And now I am excited to say that I have an art journal! Hooray! I've been wanting to start one for so long and now I have one! So here's a peek at some of the fun stuff I did during class (and a little bit from after). If you click over to my photos on flickr, I've added more details on some. So enjoy and be inspired!!

The fifth and final One World, One Heart has come to an end today. The winner of my "Be Present" giveaway is...... Rebekah from iStampScrap&Craft Congratulations, Rebekah! And thank you to everyone that stopped by to visit during One World, One Heart ! 

One World, One Heart will be coming to an end tomorrow. It's been a wonderful opportunity to visit many wonderful bloggers from all over the world and it's not too late to check out the fun . Remember to leave a comment here for your chance to win this 5x7 plaque of my mixed media piece, "Be Present." I'll announce the winner tomorrow at 6:00 pm (pacific time). Good luck!!!

**Sprinkles is the name of our puppy ** So I may have read and been inspired by The Procrastinator's Handbook recently, but sometimes old habits die hard. We were frantically finishing Rebecca's Valentine's last night up until bed (and a little past), but overall we're very happy with how they turned out. Rebecca just loves them! And that's what counts, right?

Lately my girls have been loving musicals and this makes me so very happy! I really love musicals even though I poked lots of fun at them growing up (I mean people spontaneously bursting into song and dance, how can you not make fun of that?). Even with the joking, I still loved watching them. When I was little I loved watching The King and I (I imagine I loved all the amazing dresses) and we would watch the Sound of Music what seemed to be every Sunday. I love Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins, Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain, and Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (but I do have to admit I didn't see the Wizard until I was an adult--gasp!). So the other day we were listening to the Sound of Music soundtrack in the car and you know what? I actually started to listen to the words. There is a lot of inspirational and motivational words mixed into these sometimes silly musicals. For instance there's the obvious ones, I Have Confidence In Me: ".....With each step I am m

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By Jen Notebooks , originally uploaded by byjen . The other day I mentioned that I would share how I made these adorable notebooks, so here I am. I use these notebooks to jot down the obvious to-do's but also bits of ideas and inspiration that might fly in and out of my head in such a hurry. I have them strategically placed throughout my house and in my purse. They also make nice little gifts, which is what I originally made them for. But lately I have found them to be invaluable as I also strive for a clearer mind. I can't tell you how helpful it is to write stuff down so it can stop swirling around in my head like a twister. At the end of the day I can collect my "thoughts" from all over the house, rather than from my tired little head. This weekend I worked on putting together binders and master lists to add my notes to because I can just imagine myself running around the house wondering where I wrote something down. So let's get started. It's very simple

I haven't mentioned it here lately, but I am still plugging along when it comes to my weight loss goals and the Green Tangerines Biggest Loser Challenge . I am off to a slow start when it comes to the numbers on the scale, but I am still quite pleased with my progress thus far. I am proud to say I am fitting some type of exercise into my daily routine. During lunch on workdays I've enjoyed walking to a bookstore nearby. At home I've been using our Wii Fit Plus, but I also hope to start to Zumba since I'm getting into better shape (Zumba kicks my behind). I also ride our elliptical machine while watching inspiring TV, like Peter Walsh and Oprah's Master Class. Now in the past I have been good at starting these good habits, but what takes the hard work is sticking with it. But here it is already February and I am still pushing on (even with the scale not really encouraging me). I feel more energetic and more optimistic that I can make these changes stick. I also value

My head is spinning (a common feeling of mine). I've been having tons of fun visiting blogs from all over the world with One Heart, One World . Our February assignment for One Little Word has been posted. Inspired by Peter Walsh , I'm still trying my best to clear household clutter. I'm letting go of a bunch of magazines tonight because I am never going to get to them "later," which I am coming to terms with. I'm also trying to get organized with the inspiration of a Bowl Full of Lemons . Also in an attempt to clear my head of "clutter," I am starting to write more lists (thanks to inspiration from The Procrastinator's Handbook ). I'm also enjoying Brene Brown's book The Gifts of Imperfection  and look forward to reading Blissology  when I am done (trying to finish one book before starting another, because I often don't go back to finish what I've abandoned). So I hope to have more to share in the next couple of days, includ