round-robin journal...

Have you picked up your April copy of Country Marketplace yet? I hear there's an excellent article a few pages in (shameless, I know). I checked for them yesterday and my bookstore still had last month's issue displayed. Boo, hiss. In any event, the magazine is hosting a round-robin journal project and I just signed up for it myself. I think it will be a fun thing to participate in...a little creative spur.

Here are the round-robin particulars from the CM website:

Journal Basics:
A journal will be sent from reader to reader and will make its way twice around the reader circle before it is returned to Country Marketplace. Excerpts from the journals may be published online at www.countrymarketplace.com or in an upcoming issue of the magazine. The number of journals that are started will depend on the number of readers who join. Ideally, there will be 5 readers per group. A popular Country Marketplace designer will kick off each journal with a two-page entry.

Important Details:

* A deadline schedule will be posted on the inside cover of each journal. Deadlines must be met.

* Entries must be two pages (maximum four pages), and they can feature anything that the reader is inspired to include, such as a list of good books to read or fun Web sites to visit, a new recipe, a photo of a project she completed, a craft product she recommends, a photo of her pet, a quote or a poem, or anything else that falls in between. We want you to have fun when you are journaling! Embellish or scrapbook the pages; doodle a border; apply stickers; use watercolor markers. Be sure to sign your entry.

* Once you have completed your entry, you will package the journal and send it to the next reader on the list. Be sure to track the package so it does not get lost! You will then send that person an e-mail to let her know that she should expect the package soon. After the first reader has received the journal a second time, she will send it back to Country Marketplace.

How to Join:
Send an e-mail to awiegman@sampler.emmis.com with “Round-Robin Journal” typed in the subject heading (**tell her Amy sent you and maybe we will end up working on the same journal**). The e-mail must include your name, e-mail address, mailing address and daytime phone number. Names, addresses and e-mail addresses will not be shared with outside parties. Once groups have been formed, you will receive a welcome e-mail with the names and mailing information of everyone in your group.

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This just in: I will be kicking off one of the journals! Now I need to get to thinking on what to include to get it started off with a bang.