Latest Journals

The journal orders continue to come in, and I am happy to oblige! Here are the most recent of my projects. I have started putting a small piece of ribbon or twill on the top and bottom of the outside binding beneath the cover papers. The composition books seem to tear there often, and this makes them a little more durable.

This first journal is using some Scenic Route paper scraps I had from some note cards I made in November. I LOVE the paper!! The photo doesn't show how saturated the colors are, but it is pretty stunning.

This is some paper I purchased while in Albuquerque. Now I am wishing I had gotten more of it...
This journal is awaiting inspiration for a title. I had some old keys in a tin that didn't seem to go to anything, so I took a couple and tied the ends with some ribbon. I stapled the ribbon beneath the flower to the text box using a large staple. I have chosen fabric and plastic flowers for the last several journals so they will be more durable.

Stolen Moments

I was SO busy this past week, and really had NO business hanging around my craft room for any length of time, but I had this new Scenic Route paper that I was dying to make something with, and I wanted to make a couple of note cards to send to my daughter at Basic Training. SO, here is what I came up with...I think you can click on the image to make it bigger--that bottom card has the sweetest text on it.

Something Different...

One of my most recent customers requested a wedding planner notebook and journal for her daughter who will be planning her wedding over the coming months. Her colors are pink and orange, although she will be using a paler version than the colors on the journal...
Here is the planner. I printed calendars (in orange and pink, of course!) for each of the months between now and the wedding, and put them in sheet protectors in the back of the binder. There are also pink vinyl dividers and pockets, as well as a spiral notebook inside.

Birthday Cards

This is the last of the cards I made for a Christmas gift. You should be able to click on the image to see them better...

New Cards for Birthdays

The goal of "use it up in 2010" is underway. I'd like to pull back from crafting for a while and devote more of my time to other pursuits, but I can't just leave all my stuff sitting there, and I can't bear to sell or give it away, so over the next year I intend to make crafting my full time "job" and see if I can't get the stash whittled down to a reasonable size.

I have a customer who happens to be a close relative. She has decided that she loves sending my cards for birthdays, and I like it as well, because almost all the family members thank her as well as me when they get them! So, this year, for Christmas I decided I would gift her the cards for 2010 as part of our gift to her. Here is a start on them...
This card has a lot of real wood on it--besides the pulp in the paper! The leaves are from some beads that hang on my livingroom window, and the "trunk" is a very thin scrap of wood I used to cut some guitar shapes out of for cards a couple of years ago. I was very happy with the way this card turned out. (This one and the next few are from a set of We Are Memory Keepers cards that I found at Michael's in the clearance bin--the top of the box was missing and a couple of the envelopes were dogeared. )
I bought these little spinners (arrows) a few weeks ago and have been dying to put them on something. The string runs under the extra piece of printed paper and beneath the text box. I don't think I've ever had a bow come out that well on a card!
Another spinner. I covered a chipboard circle with a scrap of printed paper. None of the papers used on this card are from the same manufacturer. The Happy Birthday sticker is on a piece of blue vellum, but you can't tell that from the photo.
I scuffed up the chipboard swirl. The two different papers are mounted on two different styles of black scraps. The sentiments are rub-ons by American Crafts. I do love rub-ons! I bought a package of square black envelopes a few months ago, and decided I would make a card to fit one. I am sure other colors go with black, but I have a LOT of black and white paper scraps!
Simple but elegant--the text box is on opalescent cardstock.
The top card is not my favorite of all time, but if she doesn't want to send it, she didn't pay for it, right? :) The second is one of my favorites. The metal embellishments (corners and palm tree) are OLD from my stash. I used acrylic paint to make the gray metal of the corners brown, and added brown and green paint to the tree, then rubbed off the excess with a paper towel while it was still wet. Sentiment is a rub-on--I have had it for ages as well!

Journal Obsession

The latest installment in my journal manufacturing:
This was supposed to be for a customer, but after I had already gotten the front applied, I opened it up to work on the back and discovered that 1/2 of the pages were rippled from dampness or a manufacturing error. I went ahead and finished it off, but I can't sell it, so it will become my new "Lists" Journal. (I hadn't yet applied the title block, so that is why it is a little crooked in the photo.) I keep lists for everything, and they are invariably strewn from one end of the house to the other. This will keep them all neat and tidy.
This one and the next are for a customer. Click on the images to see more detail.

It is hard to read the title block, but it says "heart expressions" in a very small green font.

Journals 3

These are all boxed up and ready to ship to Tucson, but I wanted to have photos of them posted somewhere...

The first three were already wrapped in clearphane before I realized I should have taken photos. Too much work to unwrap and rewrap, so you'll just have to guess. :) You can click on the photo to enlarge the image.
This journal just says "Journal" on the front, and has two metal embellishments, the one on the twine that runs along the seam between the two papers says "gratitude" and the other one is a key. I brushed some green paint on them to add a little color, but rubbed off most of it to give it a used look.
Joy in the Journey is the title of this journal. The papers are fun, and I hope the owner will find it so as well!
Another sort of masculine looking journal with a title of "Sweet New Beginnings."
I had stored this paper for several years, and finally decided to break it out and use it. This journal is MINE! :)
Simple but elegant, this "Reflections" journal has a pink acrylic overlay on top of the title block.
This was a fun journal to make. Fuzzy felt flowers run along the seam, coordinating chip board accents and ribbon, all work together to make another fun cover scheme. Next I will be making a couple of Christmas journals, then it is back to dominoes and cards...

More Journals

I mentioned yesterday that I had made some cards, but I forgot to post the picture of them, so here they are...
I really need to figure out a better way to photograph these so the colors are right, but here are a couple more journals, the first one is sold, the second one is for sale.
I used a piece of embossed vellum to place beneath the painted chipboard shape, then applied self adhesive pearl embellishments.
This one turned out really cute, with all the various embellishments added on. The little circles started out as just plain "boshers," and I added all the stuff to them. The paper on this one is a little thinner than I have been using; hopefully it will wear as well as the nicer paper.

Journals!

Today I finally made it into my craft room for a full day of work. These are the three journals I made. I also made four note cards with the leftover papers from this first journal. I was disappointed in the color of the photographs, these are really much prettier in person...

My New Journal -- More Domino Pix

This journal makes me happy to look at, and that was the objective--if it looks good, I'll be more inclined to use it, or that is the theory anyway.
Here are the finished ornaments so far. I have made several bases for embellishments with some awesome new colors, but haven't taken the time to embellish them yet. This weekend I begin on a two week craft marathon, so I should be posting often.
The ones on the top are all embellished but still need the bead/wire/ribbon hangers to be added. The last step is actually the most time consuming. I certainly have a whole new appreciation for the crafters who work with beads now!
Here is one of the dominoes used as a package decoration. I used curling ribbon to attach it to the bag.

Playing with Alcohol Inks and Dominoes

I decided I would make these little altered dominoes for my contribution to the Christmas ornament exchange this year. I have had so much fun with different techniques and designs, I don't know if I will be able to settle on ONE for the exchange--they will likely all be different!
These were the first ones I did. First I dropped the ink onto the domino, then used a stippling brush to move it around. Adding the thinning solution made them lighter. I love the marbled look.
The snowman and Joy stamps went onto un-inked surfaces. I colored with Sharpie markers to add color other than the Stazon ink I used for the stamps. The snowman is really cute in person, but I had a few issues with the wire.
Here is my work surface covered with all the different designs I have come up with so far. I think these are really easy to make and other than the cost of the ink, cheap as well--not that I was looking for a "cheap" ornament to make, but just sayin' you can make a lot of these for a little bit of money. The display of these I saw at Silver Dollar City at the Crafter's Market were selling for $7.95 or more. I don't remember how much the dominoes cost for a set, but I'm pretty sure that is a substantial mark-up!

First Album Complete

The first three pages can be found here. The rest of the album is below. I finished it over Labor Day weekend, but am just now getting the photos up. This is of my son and daughter-in-law from when they met through the rehearsal dinner. You should be able to click on the image and enlarge it if you want to see more details.