A Little Imagination and a Pile of Junk

a new kind of Christmas star

Today I should have been doing laundry, getting ready for the holidays with family, but I'm having too much fun with my scrappy journal a la Mary Ann.

 

The fabric/paper combination journal cover is now complete and I'm loving the direction it's going. I didn't have anything particular in mind when I started out, just a pile of fabric scraps and some new corduroy Christmas ribbon, but it turned out kind of granny chic. I love that. At the last minute I added one of the many granny stars I've been making off and on (excellent tutorial here), but still it all seemed kind of random until I spied the blue vintage trim I had been hoarding for the perfect project and everything fell into place. Throw in the piece of cherished psychedelic bird fabric I used on the flap and I think it looks kind of crazy and funky and way over the top. In other words, perfect for me.

 

 

As much as I'm loving my new journal, I've saved the best for last: Maisey's journal cover. She has designed and planned the whole thing herself. I am insisting on doing the actual sewing part myself--for the protection of my already abused machine--but she tells me what goes where and with what so I just follow her orders. Wonder where she gets such strong opinions at six years old??

 

I wanted to ask: doesn't it look just like her?? But maybe I should say, doesn't it look like the creation of a typical pink and princess obsessed first grader who also happens to have me as a mom?? The back:

 

Sigh. Such a big girl.

   

etsy update

Mexican Papal Amate Journal - SOLD *

Looking for a last minute gift for a dear friend? Expecting that you won't actually get the things you really want for Christmas unless you buy them yourself? Hoping to get started with visual journaling in the new year or just need a new journal for a fresh new year? Well, guess what! I've got you covered and I've listed some new handmade journals in my Etsy shop just for you. 

 

I've got several different styles listed including my personal favorite file folder journal that I showed you here. The only difference between these new journals and the one I use myself--besides their original designs, of course--is that these journals are already bound.

 

I love the coil binding because it drives me nuts when my journal doesn't lay flat. Also, these are a great larger size to give you plenty of room for writing, doodling and adding photos or collage. Every page has a little something special to inspire your creativity. So, go have a look and don't forget to check out the fabric garlands that I've relisted, too!

 

 

*ETA: I will be making more papel amate journals in the new year and can't wait to tell you more about them!  If you are interested in reserving one now, please email me or convo me through my Etsy shop. Thanks!

   

bragging rights

 

I haven't bragged on my kids for a while, and with the holidays coming I've been feeling quite tender toward the noisy creatures, so I thought I would for a change. Like most kids, they both love drawing, coloring, and making things. And as you can imagine, our house is full of art books, pictures, pens of every color, and papers of all shapes and sizes including mounds of drawing paper that is replenished almost weekly. Soren and Maisey have both been keeping visual journals/notebooks/scrapbooks since they started school and almost daily we add to them with writing, drawings, cut outs or whatever else they chose to express what they're learning and are interested in. We make pages on the places we've traveled (near and far), books we've read, words we've learned, and pictures in our heads. They love looking through and working in their journals even outside of school time. Someday if anyone is interested, I can give you some examples of their pages which are pretty impressive for a 6 and 8 year old. But mostly, art is just part of our everyday lives. Something we all do throughout the day--and I hope it stays that way. I've talked about some of our joint art projects but for the most part we don't do a lot of arts & crafts together, surprisingly. They have their own idea of art and so do I and they are not particularly interested in learning how to do anything. 'How' seems to come naturally. Sometimes we work side by side at the school/art table but mostly that's it.

 

 

Soren is almost never interested in what I'm doing creatively, but Maisey usually wants to be doing whatever I'm doing or, to be more accurate, use whatever I'm using. So she has her own stash of fabric and paper scraps, ephemera and oddities she's collected to use in her 'projects'. Soren's pretty much a paper and pencil type of guy (Like his mom, he is a scavenger and collects 'treasures' like old pieces of metal, bottle caps and rocks but they don't much enter his art at this point), but Maisey's creations incorporate all kinds of things and are rarely just crayon on paper.

 

Onto the bragging part: some recent Maisey creations, age 6:

Evidently, flat paper is boring but elaborately folded paper squares are cool.

 

A little something she whipped up for her Daddy when she heard he was on his way home from work early.

A sweet gift for me using some of her newest treasures. I'm daily blessed with gifts of art from my generous little girl. They often come after she's just been disciplined, like this one she brought to me yesterday:

A handmade envelope with rolled up note and gift tag. The rolled up note (meant to butter me up and lessen her sentence, no doubt, but still charming):

And inside the envelope, two paint sample cards she has collected:

Not surprisingly, Maisey wants to take Mary Ann's online class with me and Mary Ann has generously offered to let her audit. I have to admit that Maisey was a bit pissed, after waiting for days, when the class started on Tuesday and she wasn't able to finish her journal that same day. We're learning the value of patience. But she's got all her supplies ready.

 

And she was pleased to at least get started on her journal cover, with absolutely no help from Mom-- no way!

 

 

Oh, this is going to be fun! Guess I better get started on my cover before she shows me up.
 

groping for the merry & bright

Two sick kids, no Internet service, a seemingly endless string of damp and cloudy days--have all made life ever so painful around here. Today I'm thankful to be back online, have hidden some chocolate in my purse last week, the last bit of a bottle of wine, and the hope that tomorrow will be better somehow.

Thank you to Flickr for providing some brightness to my weary day. In case you need a little pick me up, too:

 

1. beata's crochet pillow cases, 2. cate colored ornaments :: a freebie by lori joy smith, 3. Mensagem de Natal / Christmas message, 4. Cherry Blosson Shawl, 5. Untitled, 6. Day 364: On The Verge of Something Great, 365 Days of Being 30, 7. Metal Bottle Cap Flowers ~ 1 of 2 photos, 8. gris-gris, 9. Ars Combinatoria nr. 2 / 30, 10. prayer flags : in progress, 11. brincos 1037, 12. art journal in progress...., 13. Untitled, 14. | Colecção Outono/Inverno 2009 |, 15. Red Pieced & Applique Collage Sweater Scarf, 16. Preview LeiLiLaLoo fall line

the real scoop

Sitting down at the computer, I'm at a loss for what to say. In most ways, it has been the same old thing around here: keeping up with school, counting down the days till Christmas, making more stuff than I know what to do with. But on the other hand, it's all new territory: anxiously waiting to sell the house, fighting uselessly to keep the house constantly clean--just in case, wondering when our fresh start is actually going to happen. I guess I'm thankful to be able to create and keep myself busy while we wait, but the waiting is about to get a whole lot harder, and that's really all I can think about.

In less than 2 weeks, my bff is leaving. Moving several states North to get a jump on enjoying a real Winter for a change. Our families have been planning this move for a while and, to be honest, I'm just being impatient losing sight of the bigger picture here. But there's this part of me that wants to throw myself on the ground kicking and screaming, "But I wanna go, tooooooo!!" It's with a bit of irony that I can never resist using the term 'bff' when I talk about Shannon. First, I'm a grown woman and not a teeny bopper and, second, I never imagined that I'd actually have anyone other than my husband who even came close to qualifying as a best friend. Without a doubt, I have been blessed to call some amazing, wonderful people 'friend' but I'm really not so good in the friend department myself. Meeting Shannon was a blessing I could never ever deserve.

So, for the next 2 weeks, we're going to be spending as much time with our friends as possible but after that I'm going to need some serious distraction to make it through the holidays and the first of the year. Hopefully, it won't be much longer than that! I've already decided on one distraction I'm seriously looking forward to: taking one of Mary Ann's classes--yippee! See, I've already been gathering supplies and cutting out MA's supercool journaling toys. It's going to be a good thing. My new journal will either keep me really busy or give me a pretty place to drown my sorrows.

november's list

I didn't plan on being away from the blog so long. We went out of town for Thanksgiving week but I even brought the laptop thinking I'd keep in touch. Unfortunately, I kept getting lulled into another nap by too much Southern home cooking. But we're home now and it's back to the grindstone, or at least the To-Do List.

November and the ever-so-slightly cooler weather brought out the little elf in me and I've been busy-busy planning warm and filling Mexican suppers (pork green chili, homemade refried black beans, tinga de pollo), weaving love and yarn together, making things for friends, preparing for Advent. Oh, and watching the first season of Dexter--so good!

On my swiftly departing November To-Do List:

1. Crochet garlands: in progress. With new yarn come new dreams. Get the best cotton ever and my new favorite yarn here.

 

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2. Finishing Soren's scarf from last year: DONE. Before starting any other knit or crochet projects I had to finish a promised gift from a year ago. Both kids got to pick out yarn for their own hand knit by Momma scarves. Unfortunately, Soren's got interrupted by Spring's too warm and not in the mood for knitting weather.

 

3. Patchwork apron: DONE. One day's desire for playing with patchwork turned into a new apron for my bff. I need to get her to model it for you--super cute and perfect for cool weather baking--hint, hint!

 

   

4. More patchwork projects: in progress. The apron just opened up the door for all kinds of new sewing projects to come.

 

5. Maisey's winter wardrobe: DONE and in progress. My children, especially Maisey, are looking like street urchins lately. Poor Maisey has no Winter clothes that fit so I've been scouring the thrift stores to stock up. I found lots of cute shirts and thought I'd make a few simple skirts to go with them. 2 down and (at least) 3 more to go.

 

I now realize that I have way too many projects going at one time, but that's the fun part! There's no way they'll all fit in this post so be on the lookout for part two tomorrow. That is, unless I'm actually too busy working on my To-Do List to talk about it.
  

a tale of three journals: journal the third

 

I first introduced you to Journal the Third in this post. It was the first new journal that I'd bought in very long time--I can't even remember how long. Usually, I prefer to make them myself because 1.) I can, and 2.) I usually already have a specific idea in mind about the size, feel and page makeup for each new journal I start. Although there are some amazing journals out there that I often find myself drooling over, I rarely run into one, outside a plain spiral bound watercolor book, that I think will quite fit what I need in a journal. To be completely honest, Journal the Third is definitely slumming it coming into our little family of journals. She is way too good for the rest of us--me included--but has been a real trooper and adapted wonderfully to the back and forth between adoration and abuse that my journals all to often see around here.

 

When I first got her, she welcomed me right in, but I still tried to protect her by taking off her lovely linen cover every time we got messy with the paint. But by now, she's just one of the girls and prefers me not to get too fussy with her.

Besides the obvious, the beauty of Journal the Third is the way she's built. Sturdy and solid with a variety of pages to choose from different weights and sizes. It all makes for fabulous journal building. I've noticed that it comes more naturally for me to extend a page here or tuck in a little something there than in any of my other books. So many nooks and crannies. I imagine it could take me years to exhaust all the possibilities in this book.

 

Journal the Third opens up with something completely different for me. Who knows where this came from. Because it's the smallest of my journals--about 7x8.5x2"--I carry it around with me most often. The finished pages tend to be less polished (if anything I make can be said to be polished) and have more inclusions. I've added all kinds of stuff in here; everything has a story. To me, there's a sort of 'travel journal' feel to #3.

Some in progress pages:

Some completed pages: 

So there you go. This is where I've been keeping myself lately. With a few stray minutes at the sewing machine or knitting needles. I have several other journals in-progress that I haven't worked in in a while and I'll give you a peek at those as well if you're interested. I know I'll make it back around to them eventually so I do keep them close. If there is one thing that I could accomplish by showing you my 3 closest companions, it would be to just encourage those of you who are thinking about art journaling to give it a try. It is the most user-friendly art medium out there. I don't consider the work I do in my journals to be my 'best' art, but it is definitely the work that is closest to my heart. If I never ventured outside the bounds of the book, I'd still be one satisfied artist.
 
Well, it seems that the holiday season is fast upon us and I'm beginning to feel that hurry-up-and-enjoy-it-before-it-slips-away feeling which has me working on a hulking November to-do list that I'll share with you next time. Until then.... 

guaranteed goosebumps

sparkly & bright

A "cold" front blew through South Texas this morning leaving us with rumbling grey skies and a crisp North wind, which equals heaven to me. As the air shifted and the wind began to pick up, we quickly pulled out of the house for an early morning showing--a good excuse for breakfast out and a quiet crowd-free stroll through Target. It just so happened that the Target elves were busily unpacking Christmas tinsel, chocolates, and glowing lights. It was perfect timing to put us all in the mood for the holidays. (Now when tomorrow's forecast of 80 degrees with plenty of sun returns, remind me not to forget the holiday spirit.) Knowing we may be moving during the holidays or at least hoping for the perfect family to buy our house for their Christmas present, there probably won't be too much decorating this season, which is my favorite part, of course. But we'll make the best of it and look forward to next Christmas...in Colorado? We can only hope!

So, since we're all in the mood for the holidays and since I'm still finishing up a few things before I can show you Journal the Third, I thought I'd share my pretty Papaya! packages.

What a fun challenge this was! It's actually hard for me to call it a challenge when I had such fun and it all came together so easily. I love it when that happens.

I ended up making several gifts because I love this sort of thing and I just couldn't resist. Maybe I should keep them out as sort of holiday spirit props. To get us through the more Spring-like than Fallish weather around here.

I seriously love this patchwork envelope. It's definitely going up somewhere. Make sure you take a look at all of the other pretty packages here and here.

a tale of 3 journals: journal the second

 

 

Journal the Second, aka, the file folder journal, is by far my favorite journal at present. It's similar to this one but I'm waiting to bind it all together when it's done or when I'm done, whichever comes first. The covers are made from a spray painted file folder stitched together with heavy weight fabric to give it a little extra strength. I've also nestled in another folder to hold all the pages together nicely until I decide to bind them up. You'll notice that the cover is not really decorated, unlike Journal the First. In fact, I don't think too much about covers. My usual modus operandi is to work on the cover only if it screams at me that something specific needs to be done (the 10 cent stamp keeps me humble and reminds me of what my thoughts are really worth). Otherwise I leave it for the very end. Once the journal is finished or filled, I'll decorate the cover to kind of tie it all in together. Either that or I'll ignore it and move on happily to the next one.

The beauty of Journal the Second is its simplicity (easy to make, easy to change, easy to work in) and its loose pages. Although preparing pages for journaling with paint, ink, etc. is one of my favorite things to do, there is no prepping pages for the file journal. I simply stick my spray painted papers right in (after a little stitching, of course) and call them ready to go. Its first few pages have stayed the same, but I like to move the rest around depending on which sets of pages I'm working on or have completed. Once their 'done', I like to admire them for a while and then I don't really want to see them again (for a long while, anyway) and it bugs me to keep running into them.

  

 
 
These are a few of the pages in the front of the line for now. I'll tend to work among them first.

(Notice the Papaya! influence??) If I get stuck on a page, it will eventually get sifted to the back until inspiration strikes again. I've never worked in order or chronologically. I'd rather skip around working here and there as I feel inspired, so the loose pages are particularly nice there. And I love that I can stick them back under the sewing machine any time I want! 

You can see that starting with the spray painted papers gives these pages a completely different feel than Journal the First. They start off busier and way more colorful. I don't know if I'll always journal like this, but I'm seriously enjoying it at the moment. Here are some completed pages; some you've seen before, but to give you an idea where they fit in to the whole journal family....

 

 

 

  

Next up: Journal the Third, the adopted child....