Boogie Book

This is my first journal in the Full Tilt Boogie class.  I used the cover from an old ledger book, and upholstery fabric for the tapes (sewn-on tape design).  Most of the papers are scrapbook papers, with other stuff thrown in.  Even though I've made my own books for years, I still had a couple of major screw-ups... but I decided if I don't tell you what they are, you won't even notice!

The above picture was one of my mistakes.  I wasn't paying attention and ripped my pages while sewing in a signature.  I removed the thread from the pages and put different tapes between the sew holes, where the paper was ripped.  I have to say, I like the "after" better than the "before" pages!

My second mistake was that my thread was on the wrong side of one of my upholstery tapes in one spot.  It happed on about the 3rd signature, but I didn't notice it until I was on tying off the last signature.  I decided to let it go.  I didn't have the patience to take apart the entire signature block and start over.  Bet you can't even tell where it is. 

Onward to journal #2.....

In Progress

Remember the children's books that ask what things don't go together (like circles and squares)?  Well, I know what doesn't go together - starting a new online class on Friday (Full Tilt Boogie) and then having to work all weekend.  I am so antsy to move along, but have to work on my journal when I can grab bits of time.  I have chosen a book cover, something I've wanted to use for a book cover for a long time (old ledger book from Academy of Our Lady of Mercy)...

And I have been assembling papers for my pages.  Remember the number rack I got from Hobby Lobby?  I printed the photo of that onto the back of a piece of scrapbook paper (the striped one).  Cut the scrapbook paper to fit your printer, and print away!  Fold page for insertion into your signature.

Can't wait to finish.  Hope Our Lady of Mercy looks kindly on me!

Mail Boat, Part 2

So, she started wondering... wasn't there a story a few years ago, about mail delivery on a lake somewhere "up north", where young teenagers would hop off the boat onto the dock, run to a mailbox, put the mail in the box, run back and jump on the boat, while the boat never stopped.  And they did this for all the houses on this particular lake.

Why, yes, it is on Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. 
Watch it here]
 (oh, to be a young, nimble teenager again!)

My Life on the Mail Boat

Okay, that's misleading.  I have never been on a mail boat.  I've never seen a mail boat.  Never even heard of one before.  That is until I had a Florida webcam on my computer screen while I was doing.. something... I don't remember what.  And this bright little boat zips by, and on the side it says Fiesta Mail/ Mail Boat.  So, I decided if I ever run away from home, I want to go work on the mail boat, jumping from island to island in the Bahamas, delivering mail, enjoying the blue waters and white beaches. 

Except in hurricane season, that is. 

(By the way, on the journal page above, I printed pictures from the internet onto matt photo paper, then roughed them up with sandpaper for a little texture.  If you click on them to enlarge, you might be able to see the scratches.)

More Goodies

I forgot to add these things that I got the last time I ventured to the Big City to visit.  Gaye took me to Hobby Lobby (since I don't have one where I live) where I got this cool tool caddy...

 The oval glass containers that hold my tools fit in there perfectly.  (Oval containers came from one of Gaye's past yard sales).  And did you notice Mr. Nib peeking out?  That's a Christmas ornament that Gaye gave me years and years ago.  He lives with my tools.

I also got this.

Hobby Lobby does have some fun things from time to time.

I still play around with color drop flowers when I get a chance.  And in case you still have not taken the class, Martha is having another giveaway.  Go leave a comment on her blog HERE if you want a chance to win the class.  Drawing is on Sunday night.

(I used up my black paint and called them my Goth Flowers!)

Before I Die...

I don't remember how I came across this art project, but it's one of those things that I can't get out of my head.  It seems like lately the world and local news is exponentially worse every day.  It's just nice to read about something that is not horrible.

Ingredients:
One abandoned building in New Orleans.
One artist with innovative vision.
Chalkboard paint.
Stencils.
Baskets of chalk.
One "Certificate of Appropriateness".
People.

Be sure and check out more pictures here.  Also click on the tab for other Projects.  I like the idea of sidewalk stencils.  I may have to make some of those!  And I need to find out where you can get temporary spray chalk.  Kudos to Candy Chang, the artist.

Something Old, Something New

old, new, old, new, old, new....
For one thing, it's a NEW month!  I must have misplaced May - it was here a couple of days ago, I'm sure of it.  Oh, well, we'll just go with June for now...

I have an occasional Thursday off, and sometimes that means a trip to Gaye's house.  Today, it was to check out her NEW car... 

It's a Nissan Cube and it suits her to a T.  The problem with someone like Gaye, who has a vibrant personality, is trying to convince the spousal unit that what's important in buying a new car is that it looks good on her!  She and her husband have been married long enough now that I think he gets it.  If it makes her happy, that's all that's important, right?! 

While there, I checked out these OLD nibs.  Honestly, she finds stuff like this all the time.  These boxes were amazing enough even if they had been empty.  But they were full of interesting nibs, as well as printed ads and information folded up inside. 

I also picked up some NEW tape we had decided we had to have.  Love the tape, love the tin.

 More OLD stuff... I have bought a couple of old albums on eBay, some with cabinet cards in them.

And I got a couple more from Gaye.  I'm pretty sure I'll be taking Mary Ann Moss' next class, Full Tilt Boogie, which will utilize this type of album. 

Gaye also found these OLD Kodak books that have numbered glassine pages to hold negatives.  Oh, the stories these pictures could probably tell.

Head full of flowers

I've started an online class this week - Color Drop Flowers with Martha Lever.  This is so much fun, except for the fact that these pesky work obligations keep me from playing.  These are my first efforts.  I see all the things that can be done better, but for a beginner, I'm happy with them.  And I loved all the special techniques Martha uses.  I still need a good oriental brush - I can't believe that I have almost a dozen of them, but none are what I need (none make a good point at the end).  I did find a squirrel brush at Michael's that I've used some.  It's close to being a good substitute, but some of my petals look a little, well, squirrely.  Go figure.  I'm using the other brushes more for now, just to get comfortable with the technique.

Also, once I saw someone else doodling on leaves, I couldn't help myself. All my practice leaves now look just like birds to me. That's all I can see now. Birds, birds, birds...

Where's Your Head?

This is where I make a journal entry about being absent-minded.  It's one thing to come home with something that wasn't what you thought it was.  But several things?  I must have been either distracted, tired, or my mind was a million miles away thinking about something else. 

You are given permission to either laugh with me or at me!  Just don't tell anyone how loopy I am.

Blogger Ate My Homework

I had a new post here yesterday.  I'm sure I didn't imagine it.  Blogger says it is "fixing" something.  And in the interim, they had to remove recent posts from everyone's blogs.  They say they are in the process of restoring them.  In case they don't restore my post, just know that it was the most clever post I have ever, ever made!  At least I think it was.  I don't remember now what I posted.  It had something to do with this giant coffee bag...

Adventures in CoffeeLand

I'm so clever.  I keep accumulating interesting coffee bags.  I recently finished off coffee from Maui (yes, Miss J.La, it IS as good as Kona coffee) and from Alaska (coffee from Alaska?  Who knew... And yes, it is also very excellent!)

My cleverness came into play when I decided to order a burlap coffee bag and make a book cover for my coffee book (you know, the coffee book I am going to make some time in the future).  But I'm not as clever as I thought.  Evidently I did not read the description of the burlap bag very closely. 

See that little wooden stick in the middle of the picture?  That's a 12 inch ruler.  So the burlap bag is the size that Juan Valdez throws on the back of his donkey.  We are talking very large.  A couple of coffee beans even fell out when I unfolded it and held it up!

Maybe I'll make a tote bag instead.  A very, very, very large tote bag....

It's a Sign

Random things

that never

made it to

the blog.