Giveaway now closed! Thank you for all of the entries! The winner is comment #4:
which means the gift certificate goes to Shannon. Congratulations!
Fifth grade. If I recall correctly, that's when my love of journaling began. I've been a sucker for a blank page and pretty pens for so long that I honestly cannot imagine life without them.
Do you love a good journal, too?
Today, I'm excited to share with you a very very fun giveaway for fans of journals everywhere!
Meet Katie.
Oh, who am I kidding? I'm sure you already know Katie. She's the writer of Making This Home where she shares her family's adventures in splitting life between two countries - a 480 square foot apartment in Berlin and a house in the Rocky Mountains made of repurposed old tires. As of this year, she'll be joining me on the Simple Mom contributing team to share about DIY & Making it Handmade.
And if that isn't all charming enough, she's also the creative force behind Gadanke - a shop specializing in handmade journals. But these aren't any ordinary journals; Katie handcrafts each book and fills them writing prompts, pockets, doilies, pretty papers, doodles, lists. Each Gadanke journal is made from 100% recycled papers, vintage fabrics, and domestic materials whenever possible.
The pages above are from the {Something Serious with Something Silly} - Doodle List journal, one of six styles of journaling books created by Katie. The newest design {Seeking Grace} is a prayer journal and was just released this month.
(Curious about how to pronounce Gadanke? Check out Katie's fun explanation in her FAQs!)
Gadanke was born a few years ago around the time of Katie's grandmother's 90th birthday. NPR's StoryCorps was in town. Katie shared with me:
The two of us decided to hop into the recording studio to capture some pieces of her story. I had all sorts of prompts to help her with her story telling. (I was always the listener, the one who asked question after question.) The only problem? My grandma couldn't remember. Too much time had passed. Later, my dad turned to me and said, "Katie, I need you to write down your story." I knew he wished he had his mom's stories. So I started writing. I started wondering about all of the other women who have stories deep inside of them, and I started thinking about how my tendency to just listen and ask could help put those stories onto paper. Gadanke was born with fabulous writing prompts and recycled papers. I feel so lucky to be living my dream.
Isn't that such an incredible story of bringing creation into the world? I love it.
And I know you will, too, and that's why I'm thrilled to tell you that Katie is offering a $30 gift certificate to the Gadanke shop for one lucky SortaCrunchy reader!
This gift certificate giveaway is open to readers around the globe and will run from today, February 22nd until Saturday, February 26th. Here's how to enter:
*** Visit the Gadanke shop and leave a comment telling which journal you would like to have for celebrating the stories of YOUR life. ***
Extra entries - LEAVE ONE COMMENT PER EXTRA ENTRY!!!
1) Follow Katie on Twitter
2) Like Gadanke on Facebook
3) Tweet about this giveaway
4) Post about this giveaway on Facebook
5) Subscribe to Katie's blog - Making This Home
Thank you, Katie, for such a generous gift!
Happy shopping, everyone!






















