While I’ve enjoyed the past several weeks of wrecking, this was the first week that I felt a little stuck around it. Not as inspired to crack my book open. Wanting a bit of a break from all the creation/demolition. During the creative process this can be thought of as the dip or a lull. I’ve noticed that in this pause, I’ve been renenergized around some other projects. I’m thinking that now might be a good time to mail the journal out to myself (one of the activities I’ve been avoiding since I’ve been so attached to it). We could probably use a break from each other for a few days!

I’ve been avoiding the “sticky” page, because well, it’s sticky/yucky. I’m also afraid that ants are going to invade my journal when they smell the honey and maple syrup!

Last week when I visited the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, I picked up an old UC Berkeley newspaper from 1974.  I clipped an article for my “random newspaper”page from it. I used to work at the UCLA Daily Bruin and that’s where Brian and I met, so I had a bit of nostalgia using a college paper.

I had fun practicing some handwritten type with the “four-letter word” page.

Perhaps having more ideas of how to wreck this journal will inspire me next week!

I have to say that the most excitement for me around Wreck This Journal this week came from my hilarious friend Connie. She conducted her own brilliant awards ceremony video - you must check it out. I’m super honored to be the winner of the “Cute as a Cupcake Wreck This Journal Dirty Footprints Studio award” and can’t wait to get my page from this creative chica!  Thanks, Connie!

What do you know about your family history?  How far back does your family tree go?  Unfortunately, my family doesn’t have a whole lot of information about my relatives beyond my grandparents.  And even that is fairly sparse, especially since my grandparents didn’t talk to much about their pasts when they were alive.

Fortunately, last year my auntie discovered some old family photographs on my dad’s side.  Above are my dad’s mom’s parents.  The Nishioka’s owned a barber shop in Seattle.

When my parents were visiting last week, I asked them what else they knew about our family history or who was in these photos.  I wish that they knew more.  This makes me appreciate the blogging world even more as it captures our day-to-day routines, our thoughts, our dreams.  We get snapshots into each other’s lives and read the stories that go along with them.

Here are my great-grandparents again a little older along with my grandmother (the younger girl) and her sister.  The females are wearing traditional Japanese kimonos.

This is a photo of my dad’s dad, Howard Lee, and his parents.  My grandfather is the tallest boy standing in the back right between my great-grandmother and great-grandfather.  This was taken in San Francisco’s Chinatown.  My parents had a hard time identifying who all the other children were in the photo.  Despite not knowing much about who these people were, I’m grateful to at least have these family portraits.

Click on the picture above to see all 10 pages of the collage book.

A few years ago I created an art book in honor of my grandpa Ernest Fukuda (my mom’s dad).  He was the first Japanese-American to be employed by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.  We’re fortunate that my grandpa wrote up his life story and was interviewed in 1991 by the L.A. DWP for a series of oral histories of the DWP.  Along with the interview transcripts are several letters from 1943 through 1984 documenting how the internment impacted his career and how he advocated for reparations for Japanese-Americans who were sent to internment camps during the war.  My grandpa worked with then councilman Tom Bradley on a charter amendment which was passed in 1967 to permit the DWP retirement plan to honor years of continuous service for four Japanese-American employees, including my grandpa, who were removed from their jobs during the war.

I started this post yesterday and actually did a search to see if there was anything written online about my grandpa.  I discovered a photo of him in the Japanese American National Museum archives which my family had not seen yet.  And as I worked on this post today, I realized that yesterday, July 14th, was his birthday.  I didn’t even realize that until now.  He passed away 10 years ago and would’ve been 106 yesterday.

He closed his life story with, “I ask for nothing more than peace for all mankind.”

What legacy do you wish to leave?  What are the stories you want future generations to know about you?

I can’t believe that I’ve lived in Oakland for more than five years and had yet to visit East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse!  Well, last Friday my friend Julie and I rectified that situation.  We beamed with excitement as we read on the website, “Every teacher’s first stop and every artist’s second home.”  Since Julie’s a teacher and we’re both quite crafty we knew this could be dangerous!

While I’m not one to rummage through garage sales and flea markets (I just get too overwhelmed), I was amazed at the random and fun things I found at the depot.  You can buy scrap paper buy the inch, crayons by the pound, buttons by the bag and so much more!  I picked up a handful of those bright yellow buttons, a bag of cool retro book pages, an old UC Berekely newspaper from 1974, some upholstery swatches, a few sheets of handmade paper and a blank book shaped like a tag.  I’m looking forward to the creative ways I can use these goodies.

If you haven’t been yet, definitely check it out.  And of course while you’re in the Temescal area, stop by Bake Sale Betty’s for the fried chicken.  Julie and I waited in a line that went almost down the block, but it was worth it for the delicious fried chicken salad, ginger cookie and lemonade.  (We rationalized to ourselves that the fried chicken salad was much healthier than the famous fried chicken sandwich!).  Also, my favorite yarn store, Article Pract, is nearby, too, as is my friend Danielle Fox’s beautiful new gallery Slate Art and Design.  Lots of creative inspiration along this street!

The wrecking continues on week 6 of the Next Chapter Wreck This Journal adventure.  When I was at Trader Joe’s this morning, a woman came up to me and asked me if I was a life coach.  She had seen my coaching website the other night and also enjoyed looking at all the wreckage of the Next Chapter bloggers.  Very cool!

Here’s my chewed up page.  It did not taste good.  Yuck.

During the 4th of July holiday weekend, Brian and I took a lovely walk around Lake Temescal in Oakland.  I’m glad I brought my journal with me as the beautiful natural setting inspired some more wreckage.

I spotted a muddy patch on the path around the lake and recklessly rubbed my page with dirt.

Also on our walk, I noticed blackberries starting to spring up along the bank.  I almost fell into the lake trying to pick berries.  Not only did I mess this page, but I also messed up my leg with several pricks from the blackberry thorns!

I don’t drink coffee, so Brian graciously share the last few drops of his Blue Bottle coffee on our walk.

I had a lot of fun with the “sew this page.”  I even created a pocket that contains a secret message - shhhh!

And finally, here’s my “test supplies” page on week four of being my blotting paper at painting class.

During these past five weeks of the Next Chapter’s Wreck This Journal adventure, I’ve had so much fun making my mark on this book.  I even had to change the title to Wreck Jenn’s Journal!  The cute stickers are from my friend Ana Ottman (thanks Ana!).  Here’s a look at my wreckage for the week.

I drew two disgusting, yucky true stories about my pup Emmett.  Sure he’s cute, but it’s really gross when I accidentally touch his poo or when he barfs on chicken bones.  I thought these were perfect fodder for the “ugly…poo…barf” page.  Click here to see a bigger version.

Do you remember the old-fashioned toy Wolly Willy with the metal filings and magnet wand?  While getting my haircut last Friday, I was inspired to make my own versions for the “create a drawing using a piece of your hair” page.  With journal and glue in hand, I picked up my hair trimmings and decorated my page.  My hairstylist got a kick out of it and even suggested a few of the ‘dos.

Oh, and you’ll see that there’s a blue splotch, too.  The blue soaked through several pages after I swam with my journal.  The absolutely cool thing is, the ink is from the “color outside the lines” page.  Not only did I color outside the lines, I colored in three-dimensions!

This circle page feels so cheery and fresh with all of the bright colors and fruit.  My journal actually smells lemony now because I infused it with some “Lusty Lemon” essential oil.  I got the idea of finding images of circular objects after seeing the Ganesha icon from the wrapper of my Yogitoes skidless mat.  I also added the Ganesha description, “The God of knowledge, wisdom and wealth, Lord of success and destroyer of all obstacles” to the title page.  Perfect!

On Monday, I ran into my dear friend Julie Daley at Bittersweet.  We had a lovely conversation and afterward I invited her to wreck my journal.  She signed her name with decadent chocolate cake!  Yummy.

Here’s the magazine page with my favorite words on it circled.

And here’s the “test art supplies” page on its third week of being my blotting paper at intuitive painting class.  It’s super cool to see it get messier and messier!  It looks even better in person.

I’m really feeling like the freedom to destroy, deface and make my journal my own has enhanced my overall creativity.  I’ve been in a creative flow the past several weeks.  I’m looking forward to more wrecking!

These past couple of weeks have been filled with serendipitous events.  I love when that happens.  As @peacemeals shared with me on Twitter, “It’s how the universe talks to us.”

Well, the universe has been sending me lots of messages that I’m on my path and in my flow.  The other week, just a I was having an intuitive hit about an idea for a friend, she sent me an e-mail.  Yesterday, when I sent an e-mail to an editor I met at Book Expo, she wrote back with amazement that she had just pulled out my file that afternoon.  And I experienced several more e-mail related synchronicities over the past few days.  I also discovered that a friend of mine works with someone that I’ve been wanting to get in touch with.  Crazy!

I got to meet with a potential client from out-of-state as she happened to be in the area while en-route to Asia and another new client happened to be traveling to the Bay Area so I get to do my Foundation Session with her in-person instead of over the phone.

On Monday, I happened to bump into my dear friend Julie Daley at Bittersweet and we had a deep, heartfelt discussion about life and creativity.

To top it off, today I received the card that Kimberly Wilson had us write to ourselves three months ago at the Hip Tranquil Chick retreat.  My goals then revolved around completing my book proposal with ease and having a fruitful trip to Book Expo in May.  Perfect timing considering I just finished sending out my book proposal today!

In the wise words of my dear friend Leah Piken Kolidas, “loads of serendipity tells me I’m headed in the right direction!”

What path are you on?  What messages is the universe sending you?  What synchronicities have you opened yourself up to?

During these past few weeks, I’ve grown quite attached to my journal and it now goes with me everywhere.  It’s like having a little creative companion to inspire me throughout my day.  I look over and hear my co-conspirator asking me, “Hmmm, what mischief shall we get into today?”

After surviving a shower with my journal, I ventured into taking it for a swim with me last week.  This was quite a leap considering I seriously contemplated putting my journal into a ziplock bag before bringing it into the shower!

I swam a little on my own first, scoping out the pool.  Being the good rule-follower that I am, I even found myself glancing over to the pool rules sign to make sure there wasn’t any wording about bringing strange, foreign objects into the pool!  I felt self conscious as I brought the book into the water with me, concerned about what others might think.

But in the end, I just took a deep breath and plunged right in, journal in hand.  It was quite exhilarating!  Then we lounged together poolside and worked on our tan.

Here’s a quick video of me checking out the damage ;).

My journal was sopping wet, so my husband suggested wrecking it further with a hairdryer.  I’m amazed at the volumizing effect even without a diffuser or mousse!

Here’s my journal at the beginning of my Intuitive Painting class with Chris Zydel.

And here’s my journal after a good, messy session of painting.  What fun!!

Through all this play and destruction, I’m learning some helpful lessons from creative wreckage that apply to my life in general:

• Thinking, anticipating, fretting, and plotting about something that stretches me is usually a lot scarier than actually just doing it.
• By stretching myself, I discover new edges that challenge me and empower me to grow.
• I feel even more invested in my creative endeavors after I’ve taken a risk (whether it turned out the way I wanted it to or not).
• I’m capable of way more than I think I am.

What life lessons are you learning from your creative wreckage?  I’d love to hear.

For week 3 of the Next Chapter’s Wreck This Journal adventure I played with getting a little more messy.  I dabbled in food stains, dragging the journal and other fun stuff.

My partner in crime, Emmett, helped me drag the journal down the street in the video below.

We didn’t get very far before the string snapped, but the cover certainly got scuffed up. I think it ended up for the best that the journal detached from his leash. I didn’t think through the positioning and he ended up peeing on the string which was really gross.

I warmed up to the food mess by putting a few stains on my stain page.  Who knew that blueberry soy yogurt has such adhesive properties?  The pages were glued together after the yogurt dried.

While savoring a tasty raw food meal from Cafe Gratitude, I figured I’d commemorate the delicious lunch in my journal (even though it says to document your dinner - so rebellious! Haha!).  I smeared on some raw pasta puttanesca zucchini noodles and fake meatballs and garnished with a sprig of watercress from the side salad.

I took my journal with me to intuitive painting class.  Instead of using a paper towel to dab my brushes, I had fun using my test page.  I will continue to use this page for my paintbrushes for the rest of the book club.

My leftover paints made a colorful palatte for my handprints!

And finally after this week’s mess, I cleaned off my journal in the shower! Haha.  Really, I had been avoiding this because I hate water-logged pages.  Oh well!!

I love Jamie’s vlog post about attachment this week.  Great insights, Jamie.

This morning I did a video shoot for BlogHer’s The Juice.  The fabulous BlogHer co-founder Jory Des Jardin interviewed me about creativity and writer’s block.

If you haven’t seen these weekly video clips, check them out.  They’re quite informative.  From fitness tips to healthy meals to work/life balance, it’s about “more of what you want, less of what you don’t!”  My clip will be up at the end of August.

The crew was super friendly and I had a blast!  I also loved that they had a professional make-up artist on-site and we did a quick photo shoot in the garage afterward.  Yes, this Leo felt like a star, at least for a little bit :).

What fun it’s been wrecking this week!  AND seeing all the other creative destroyers participating in the Next Chapter.

Reflecting on this week, I noticed that I stayed more in the realm of “art” making rather than pure destruction.  It was still quite a stretch for me to bend pages, to color with random crayons that I pulled out of a bag without looking/color coordinating (gasp!), and to add three-dimensional objects that make the pages all unwieldy.  For goodness sake, my book won’t even stay closed now - which I guess is a good thing… haha!

I also had fun asking friends to play with me, starting off with my friend Amy.  Amy and I met for the first time in person at lunch today and she was so sweet that she brought me a little present.  I opened it up to find that she gifted me with sparkly gemstone stickers (which was perfect for Wreck This Journal, even though she didn’t even know about it!).  I invited her to stick some stickers on the book.

Here’s my friend Amy “wrecking” my journal - isn’t she adorable?

You’ll see that there was food still on the table, but I wasn’t ready to document my meal yet. ;)  My excuse?  Well it was lunch, not dinner! Haha.

This is one of my favorite pages so far.  Once I started putting fruit stickers on, I had the urge to draw the fruit that went with it.  The Dole sticker just looked like it could easily turn into a banana!  And then I jotted down my random thoughts about the fruit.

Right before going to bed last night, I got inspired to do the office supplies page. So, I rummaged through our stash of post its, staples, paper clips and such.  The most satisfying act was making labels with my P-touch.  I also forgot how toxic White Out smells.  That, mixed with Sharpies might have added to the creative flow!

I decided to sleep with my journal before it got too messy and gross ;).

And today after lunch with Amy, I stopped by my friend Kate’s house.  I handed her the book and asked her to do something destructive to this page.  She made me hang out in the bathroom with the water running so I couldn’t hear what mischief she was up to.  When she called for me to come out, this rogue seamstress and my Kiss the Paper cohort showed me the cutest sewn awkward heart.  I love it!

Given my resistance, it’s obvious that the next place to venture into is the gross land of food, licking pages and perhaps bringing it in the shower with me (I really, really hate it when my books get wet and water logged!).  Well, as they say, “What’s in the way is the way!”