Making the Best of My Bedroom | Katie

We all have this perfect image of our dream rooms in our head and it's not even close as to what your actual bedroom looks like. I moved downstairs about three years ago to the guest bedroom. It has green walls and an animal wallpaper border around the top. At first I couldn't bear the sight of it. I just thought it looked so ugly. People would always ask me why my room was themed "Africa." With time, the elephants and zebras didn't bother me anymore and I just try to make the best of it! Here is my bedroom :)

XOXO,

Katie :)

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Tips on How to Start a Journal

Why Should You Start a Journal?
We all have a multitude of thoughts and feelings that we need to express. Writing them down helps me to process my thoughts. What about when you have children and they want to know about your childhood or how you met your spouse? I would love to read about my parents' childhood, just to see how much I am like them. You might want to have all your memories stored up so you can remember them someday. When you look back at your journals you may laugh or even cry. Your life may seem pretty boring to you but in the future they will bring you laughter. 
What is a Journal?
The definition of a journal is "a personal record of occurrences, experiences, and reflections kept on a regular basis" The word journal comes from the French word "jour" and from the Latin word "diurnalis" which means daily. 
How Do I Start a Journal?
Find or purchase a notebook. You can decorate it anyway you want. One example might be drawing your favorite things all over the cover, like a collage. If your journal is already decorated that is great! Keep it on your desk or a table near your bed so you know where it is at all times. Pick a time of the day to write in it. I write in mine at nighttime so then I can recall the events of the day. I like to use the same pen every time I write in my journal. When starting a new entry, put the date and then the day of the week at the top of the page. I also put the time because it's just another detail that I like to remember. Then start writing about your day, you can write about who you saw that day, where you went, and what you did. The hardest part about keeping a journal is writing consistently. Make it a goal to write in your journal everyday. You could also be like Anne Frank and pretend you are writing to someone specific. She wrote "Dear Kitty," every entry on the top of the page, like she was writing a letter. Your journal is personal and limitless so make it reflect who you are. I hope you enjoy starting a journal as much as I did! 
                          Anna Banana 

How to Paint a Sunset on a Canvas

A couple of weeks ago I found a deal at Michael’s for large canvases. I had no idea what to paint on the,so like I looked on Pinterest, I saw this beautiful sunset painting with birds. Light Bulb! I had so much fun painting this picture, here are the steps I took to create this painting. 

1. Purchase a canvas at any art store, and if you don’t have any brushes or paints get those too. (For my pallet I just use old ice cream container lids.)

2. Set out all of your paints, brushes, pallets, cup of water, and make sure you have a surface underneath your canvas that can get messy. 

3. Squirt yellow paint on your pallet and find a medium sized paintbrush. 

4. Just for yellow, paint on your canvas a semicircle and fill it in. Don’t forget the sides!

5. Next use orange paint on the arc of the yellow semicircle, blend the colors together. ( Add water to spread out the paint, it really helps!) See picture below.

6. Repeat step 5 with red, blue, and purple paint

7. I went back and made my colors more vivid by going over the paint again and blending more and more. Example: I lost my yellow color in my painting because the orange and red took over, so I painted over it again and used a little water.

 I hope you had as much fun as I did painting! You can add more to your sunset if you would like, Grass, Birds, Trees or anything that you think would look awesome! Happy Easter!