Ponderings

I've been having deep and meaningful thoughts.  Such as... if I put these on community bulletin boards around the area, would people actually tear off a paper strip?

Because I'm silly that way....

P.S. - Happy Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. 

Lindau Gospel

So, I was looking at that blank journal that I showed in my last post... the one with the intricate covers.  The notation on the inside says this is a reproduction of the back cover of the Lindau Gospel.  I wondered why they reproduced the back cover of the original book on both the front and back of this journal.  What did the front cover of that book look like?  Well, it looks like this...

Wow. Wow again. This book is thought to have been created between 750 and 800 AD near Salzburg. It is elaborately tooled in gold, silver, and enamel, and decorated with jewels. Some of my research indicated the cover is more elaborate than the pages, and the covers may have been made for a different purpose than where they ended up. The pages are not as "beautiful" as other pages from more famous manuscripts. Here is a sample of one of the pages below.  On some of the pages I looked at online, you could see guidelines on the pages, made by running something across the page to make an indentation.  These days, we either draw guidelines with a pencil, then erase them later, or we could use a bone folder to make the indentations.

I may have to rethink what I use this for.  I definitely need to honor the beauty of the original.  More info about Lindau Gospel here and here.

Possibilities

I can't believe January is half over already.  I feel like I am getting a late start on the new year.  I guess it's because I worked New Year's Day and that whole weekend, and that's usually when I get things organized for the new year.  It wasn't until a few days ago that I felt like I had even begun to move in that direction. 

Sometimes I think I have too many journals, but then I ignore such nonsense.  I have my little stencil journal that shows up here from time to time.  Little bits of daily life go there, with only a few words of comment.  I have a writing journal that is just that.  I don't write in it daily, but usually it is part of my routine when I have a weekend off.  I love lazy mornings with a cup of coffee and a journal (with a real fountain pen if it's handy).

I learned last year I missed having a spiral bound datebook where I can paint pages and put in larger things. So I ordered another one for this year. For the second time, the theme is Stephen King. Everything gets painted anyway, so it doesn't matter to me what the theme is. But I am a Stephen King fan, so I painted the title page blood red and black!


But then another blank book came to me unexpectedly as a gift. This is an amazing journal. I have no idea what I will do with it, but it sure makes me think I need to practice making illuminated initials. I might use it for a lettering practice book because it has thin smooth pages. It is just full of possibilities.

Or maybe I'll paint maps in it.  I have been obsessed with maps for several months, and one of my back burner projects is to make a map book.  I was inspired by wedding maps seen here.  I think they are awesome!  I have been printing off maps of local walking trails and other touristy things in my area.  It is turning into one of those projects that is growing by the minute, and I haven't even started it yet!

Questions

Who is that woman?
And what's that thing she is pointing at me?

At least, that's what *I* think this bird is thinking.  I think it's a purple finch, not positive.  This cold weather has lots of birds at my feeders, and this was taken through the window, zoomed all the way, so I didn't realize how comical it was until I looked at it on the computer.  Silly bird...

Abundance of Ones

Gee, the beginning of my journal page today looks a lot like my journal page ten days ago, with all those ones.  And it will look about the same next November, too!

I don't say it enough, but I have the best post office ever. I have the best postmaster too. The other day, I was telling her that I was anxious to see the upcoming postage stamp to be released in summer that depicts Owney, the rail mail dog. The next day when I went to the post office to get my mail, there was a big envelope in my box. She had loaned me her children's books of mail related subjects, like Owney for one. And May, the little girl who was mailed to visit her grandmother because her parents couldn't afford a train ticket (a true story!) And the book about how mail is still delivered by pack mule in the Grand Canyon.  My postmaster is the best, yes she is!

Scratching the Itch

Hmm... that doesn't sound good, does it?  What that means is, sometimes there is something I want to try but I don't, then I find myself not able to concentrate on other things until I go back to what I wanted to try and get it out of my system.  Don't know if that makes any sense to anyone, but this is what came out of it. 

I saw a Folder Journal in the Jan/Feb 2011 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors.  I loved the idea of a journal made from a file folder, complete with pockets and pocket cards.  I kinda halfway started one, then put it aside, mainly because I was stuck on what direction to go with it, what theme (if any).  But I couldn't concentrate on other things I was working on, so decided to try to finish the journal once and for all and move on!  I just grabbed an old tattered sewing pattern, pattern pieces, old papers, scrapbook papers, and fabric scraps and went for it. 

I'm still not sure if I'm finished.  It could use something else on the front.  And I may do what the instructions said and run a stamp pad around the edges of the cards and the folder edges that show.  And add more holes and ribbons to the journal cards.

To see the samples from the magazine, see Karin Winter here.

New Directions

Happy New Year! 

I love the beginning a new year.  It's so full of possibilities.  So, we move forward and onward, right?  Not so fast.  I like moving forward, but I also like to take some of the old stuff with me.  Like unfinished projects that I didn't get to last year.  I sometimes let them sit on the back burner until they are ready.  If I don't jump in and finish something right away, it usually means there is something about it that I'm not happy with.  And if I think about it long enough, a new approach usually comes to me.

I also like to re-visit past issues of magazines and books I haven't looked at lately.  Sometimes the projects that did not interest me before suddenly seem very interesting.  So, yes, I'm moving forward into the new year, and my bags are packed with possibility!

Come on along!!!