Good News, a No-Sew Journal, and a Surprise

Those of you who visit regularly will immediately understand the significance of this photo.

The left foot, despite still being a bit swollen, is finally happy in my normal shoe - what a most-excellent Christmas present.

Over the past few days, I've spent some time playing with an idea shared by Meg of MegJournals - a no-sew journal using old book covers.  (you can see her video for this method HERE)

Many years ago, Cherie from St. Louis (now Pittsburgh) gifted me a small blank journal from See Rock City.  I used the covers from that journal to make my first-ever no-sew journal project.

The entire premise consists of creating an accordion/concertina style journal by building the pages using scrap paper, resulting in a patchwork-like effect.

If you look at the backgrounds on these example pages, you can see that I did just that.

This particular page features old advertising, coffee-dyed learn-to-print paper, a vintage sheet of Current stationery, and a collaged torn edge from who-knows-where and a scrap from long-ago handwritten meeting notes.

More interesting papers with a couple of extra bits collaged on top.

I really like the look of the patchwork-y backgrounds and I had fun finding bits to collage in strategic spots (to help strengthen some of the joins).

That said, I am not so terribly in love with the rather unsubstantial weight of the "pages."

I definitely liked using the red journal covers as the front and back of this journal and I will use that approach again with some of the thrifted book boards in my stash.

All in all, I'm quite pleased with the way this turned out, despite the lighter-than-usual page weight.

At some future point I want to make another version using a single continuous paper as the foundation and collage patchwork-style on top of that.  

* * *

AND I actually managed to sit and FMQ a portion of Spoondrift!  

I stopped after the first bobbin's worth of thread so that I didn't overdo things.  It would be amazing if I could get this finished by year end (it has only been pin basted since September).

We shall see.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing.  Making your unknown known is the important thing."

Georgia O'Keefe

SMILE - Junque Journal in Pink

The SMILE junque journal in pink is finished.  

I didn't take photos of every page (too many) but here are a few to give you a peek inside.

(the left page above had a bit of embellishment added after the photo was taken)

In making this, I learned how to create my own caption stickers using full-sheet sticker paper that feeds through the printer.  

I also created some watercolor washed backgrounds like the sheet music above.

Playing with tissue paper backgrounds to add color was very satisfying.

I even found a way to incorporate two leftover cards from my Color Wheel Rolodex project.

There are a lot of single, often vintage, envelopes with things tucked inside and I love using glassine envelopes like the one on the left.

Seed packets are another of my go-to items for tucking into pockets or envelopes.

I'm not sure why this particular photo tickles me no end.  

A freebie piece (right) by Sarah Gardner was embellished with a pink Posca pen in order to showcase a sticker that Lynne sent me.

The journal ends with this two-page spread full of tissue paper collage and a vintage envelope with a note tucked inside that tells the story of SMILE. 

Even more pink - When DH and I ventured out to Costco Friday, I found this pink amaryllis.  A couple of years ago I had one from this women-owned company and it bloomed profusely.  It looks like this one will do the same.

And from our house to yours - wishing you joy.

Quiltdivajulie

Progress

Back in April of this year, I assembled this blank journal made using a small USPS Priority Mail box as the cover and white sulphite paper for the pages.

Magazine cut outs were used to decorate the cover.

And then the journal sat on the shelf, waiting for inspiration to strike.

A few weeks ago I found a promotional email in my inbox for Care December - the Pink Edition hosted by Kasia Avery over at Everything Art.  (you tube intro video is HERE - open and free to all)

I chose not to go with her approach but to grab all my assorted PINKNESS and fill that blank journal my way (more of an eclectic scrappy glue book aka junque journal).

Since my shoulder is sore enough that I cannot sit and stitch nor can I sit and FMQ, I spent a couple of hours playing with paper instead.

In this journal I finally tried using tissue paper as background color and I love the effect, especially the inevitable wrinkles and texture.

I tend to start a project like this by slotting my available background papers throughout the journal's pages to see just how much I have to work with and what else I might need to search for in the stash (scarcity encourages creativity - just like in quilt making). 

Then I take some of the larger collage pieces I want to use and scatter them throughout the pages.

At that point I start sticking the backgrounds down - typically with a UHU glue stick since I am not a fan of matte medium and its messy sticky fingers that are hard to clean.

The photo above shows the first batch of covered pages ready to dry overnight and more backgrounds tucked into the remaining pages.

Hoping to get a lot more of this done over the weekend so I can share a finish or near-finish on Monday.

* * *

And even though my PT home health group is closed until the first week of January, one of the therapists called me and is going to have me start using two of the basic exercises she used with younger son last year.  Every little bit will help and I'm grateful for her call.

Quiltdivajulie

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"It is absurd to look for perfection."

Camille Pissaro

Moving Forward

The design studio clean out/up is finished and there is much more breathing room now.  Totally worth the effort.

With the cutting table uncovered, I will have someone carry these freshly-laundered new fabrics upstairs so they can be added to the stash.

The clean up process uncovered this empty journal made from a re-purposed box and some painted papers (not mine - they were part of a scrappy gathering many months ago), wide washi tape, and a stashed sticker.

The journal, filled with deckle-edge paper, was originally intended to become a journal full of water color experiments.

Instead I decided to create lots of folded corner pockets and store my stash of vintage letters/envelopes in them.  Some of the letters/envelopes may get used in other journals, but in the meantime they have a easy-to-search-through home.

My next project will be to do a similar clean up in my sewing room.  That one won't take as long since that space hadn't gotten quite so far out of control.

My second Christmas cactus has decided to set buds!  

The first cactus is flowering beautifully and by the time it finishes, this one will be ready or nearly ready for its display.

For the last few years, we have met up with Young Man and his parents at a local church's massive Alpine Village event.  One of the cottages offers family photos taken with visitor's cell phones - this is the best one from this year's options.  (younger son had a yoga class so he skipped the village outing this year)

 * * *

There's a haircut happening later today followed by a trip to the grocery store.  Walking on level surfaces is not so much of a problem any more but standing in one place for more than a few minutes makes the foot unhappy.  Hoping the checkout lines aren't too long with it being mid-week.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Forever is composed of nows."

Emily Dickinson

Random Updates

In the midst of December holidays, here's a late-arriving photo of Young Man in his Halloween costume.  A co-worker of his mom took it while she and YM were doing a photo shoot on the campus where she works.   

(For the record, he's Ron Weasley, not Harry Potter - it was easier to tell once Mommy added the red hair coloring before he headed out to trick or treat with two friends.  The trio has been together since early preschool.  The others were dressed as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, complete with Harry's zig zag scar and Hermoine's bag.)

DH's eye surgery went well.  This eye is not showing signs of halos like the first one (which it turns out had a bit of astigmatism left behind that will be dealt with early next year).  

I haven't had a chance for any more sit-and-sew but I'm hopeful that will change over the weekend.   I especially want to make a test block for a long-though-about fabric pull that has defied every idea I've had for it.  If this latest idea doesn't work, the fabrics are going back in the stash.

I did spend a couple of hours one evening playing around with a new journal project (one of the white baskets shown in this post).  It was inspired by the idea of Everything Art's Care December-the Pink Edition.  But, as we all know, I don't do well at following prompts or someone else's game plan; so I'm off on my own using this unfilled journal I blogged about HERE.

My first step was to pull out all of the random bits I'd set aside in this basket and loosely tuck them into the empty journal, just to see how much more I might need to find hiding in my stash.

My second step was to make a sample sheet using iHanna's scrappy tissue paper collage background technique.  I was delighted with the result and will definitely be using lots of tissue backgrounds in this journal.

. . .  and then it was time to handle another something-or-other around the house.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Nobody will stop you from creating.  Do it tonight.  Do it tomorrow.  That is the way to make your soul grow."

Kurt Vonnegut

Lexicon - Letters, N, O, Q, and U

Here is the two-page spread for the letter N -- 

. . . and the spread for the letter O.

The letter Q was one of my more challenging spreads, but I'm quite happy with the way it came together.

The letter U . . . 

* * *

I managed to spend a couple of hours upstairs in the studio - mostly putting things away that have been taken upstairs for me over the past few weeks.  Goodness, I need to spend more time doing a deeper clean/cull/edit/declutter!

I also managed to put away the Halloween decor (after the guys carried it upstairs for me).  Now the house is ready for Christmas decor (next week).  

One thing at a time with rest breaks for the foot in between.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Do not spoil the wonder with haste."

J.R.R. Tolkien

Lexicon - Even More Words

As I was harvesting words for Lexicon, there were others that were too good to ignore but were found after their two-page spreads were already filled.  Those went into a shallow basket.  Other words were cut apart into individual letters and added to my ransom letters divided box.

Since there were extra blank pages left in the Lexicon journal, I decided to add a few more pages featuring more words.  This is the first of those pages.  (yes, I know that others might have collaged the page and created a busy background - I chose not to go that route)

This is the second page with a phrase I have in both of my studios.

The third page . . . 

The fourth page . . . 

The fifth page . . . 

And the sixth page.

There are a few more but I'll save those for after I've shared the rest of the filled letter pages.

* * *

I spent most of the weekend filling in those final ten spreads, so now ALL of the letters are done.  I have three more posts to share those coming in the next few days.

I'm glad I have Lexicon's progress to share because there's been no other making happening.  When I transitioned to the cane, it turns out it was not adjusted to the correct height (one notch too tall) and that has caused considerable shoulder and upper arm pain.  It is slowly subsiding (using previous PT stretches, heat and ice, and liberal doses of Aspercreme) but I've been trying hard to avoid things that make the arm hurt (like doodling and coloring).

The good news is that I have gone up and down the stairs!  I did it once to prove to myself that I could and gathered a few items while I was up there (younger son carried those down for me - I'm not ready for that level of coordination just yet).

Progress may be slow but it is happening.

Quiltdivajulie

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"The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things."

Henry Ward Beecher

Lexicon - T, W, X, and More

These are the last of the completed two-page spreads (for now, anyway).

The letter T . . . 

The letter W . . . 

The letter X (with a reminder that the end of the alphabet is near) . . . 

Here I used parts of a page from a thrifted copy of Dr. Seuss's ABC book since there are so few words that begin with X (that are found anywhere beyond a dictionary). 

Finally, skipping ahead a few pages in the journal . . . 

This is the lead page for the final section of the journal (the part that follows the letter Z).

I'll share photos of the first few pages of "more" in my next post.

* * *

I realize that going to the dentist might not seem like anything worth mentioning - but I took myself there yesterday, walked in from the parking lot using my new purple cane, got my teeth cleaned ("look ma, no cavities" - anyone else remember that saying?), walked back out to my car, and drove myself home.  A week ago I'm not sure I could have done all that.

Quiltdivajulie

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"Art allows people a way to dream their way out of their struggle."

Russell Simmons