The last time I taught a public workshop locally was probably 2005. I am very happy to be telling you I will be teaching two classes in New Jersey in July. I will offer more details soon, but here is a teaser....
I get alot of requests to teach near home which I would love to do but haven't found a venue until now. I hope you'll join me - stay tuned for the details :)
Obviously I'm a little slow to the scene for this one as it's been hit over 4 million times. In case you haven't seen it either, I'll share here. I was just thinking I may own too many scarves....between Fallon and I we must have, well,....not telling....because I don't want to be put on the *don't send her anymore scarves* list. On the contrary, I love scarves and will never stop collecting. Would you ever admit how many you have? *wink* This video is informative, but also very very clever and mesmerizing. I'm not just impressed with the 25 ways to tie a scarf, I can't imagine what it took to put this clip together. Wow.
I updated the Home Improvement page with sample pages of my Alice book. Click HERE to see, or start the tour by clicking on the right sidebar button. More kits will be listed on ETSY this week.
Last week I posted Crusade No. 57. FIVE years of hosting the Street Team blog! Sheesh, times flies.
Come on over and play with us. We make new friends every month, and love to build connections through creativity.
The cardboard for this pages is from the Fender amp Graham got me to go with my bass guitar. So it's a clever detail to use a pick as a page tab don't you think? I placed the transparency flap over the scented wax as protection so it wouldn't chip away. The stencil is an employed remnant from some previous pages. The layered colors offering evidence of being a useful tool.
Edit: to use a guitar pick as a tab, get this nifty tool. Back in May 2007, I featured the pick as a tab in Crusade No. 8 ~ Cheap Tricks. Formerly available at Dick Blick, the only link I could find today is at Amazon, HERE.
Another EDIT: this just in! Tim Holtz has a drill punch similar to this but with a clever leveling feature. You can see him operate it in this video, HERE. And for online retailers of this product, see this page, HERE.
How Cool Is This? Not only is this man talented, he is generous too....but you already knew that. Tim has offered a drill punch for a blog giveaway! Leave a comment below to be entered to win. Drawing will be on Tuesday, September 13.
{Giveaway is now closed, thanks for entering!}
I love when the tyvek shapes I cut for stencils/masks become so mucked up with paint that I have to use as a collage element and apply them directly on the page. You can see this one was used as a tool on pages 9 & 10. And the leftover was placed to the cover. If I want another one I can easily make one so why not use it?
Before there was a SGP dots stencil, I used a perforated metal tray meant for grilling to get these lines of circles. I love the random raggedy edge of the burned cardboard. It's a tricky thing to do - wave a lit match along the side and see what happens. Be standing over a sink. Seriously. Sometimes the flame shoots up through the corrugated groove and you don't know where it will surface. Do this BEFORE the spray paint or you might be in peril.
Unplanned....the next page spread in the TSJ shows up on a RubyTuesday :) Haven't had time to work in my RTJ as I'm using my studio time to get ready for my workshop at Valley Ridge. OMG, it's just over two weeks away....can't wait!
Back to the Table Scraps Journal.....
Thanks again for all the terrific feedback about the new stencils. I'm such of a fan of Mary Beth's, and it is a thrill to be on her design team for Stencil Girl Products. Your enthusiasm has made it even more fun! I can't wait for you to see the rest of the collection :)
The new Somerset Studio is on the shelves - lots of great stuff inside....
And Crusade No. 55 is posted on my Street Team site.....come play along!
Click on over to see what this is all about.
Have a great Labor Day! School starts Wednesday....bums me out to have the kids gone during the day :(
I interrupt the regular TSJ postings to introduce my new alliance with SGP....
About five minutes after I made yesterday's post, the mail arrived with a package from Mary Beth! You've seen the damask pattern before - but that was my own cutting. In this spread you can see it will be available soon, along with the fleur-de-lis pattern, the sunburst, and the variable dots. These are the first four from a total of 42 images I proposed to Mary Beth after her kind invitation to join the design team at Stencil Girl Products. I'm not sure when they will be posted to her site for ordering, THEY ARE READY NOW!!! or when I can reveal the rest of the designs. As soon as I know something I will blog about it, so stay tuned! *squee*
Can I admit I am beside myself with excitement? This is alot like seeing my designs turned to rubber, but better! Such a nice product - well done Mary Beth and John, and hooray for SGP!!! OMG, HCIT?
EDIT: Ready for sale....HERE.
Thanks for all the enthusiastic comments about the Table Scraps Journal! And thank you to those who inquired about our wellness following Irene. Let's just say it could have been much worse so we are grateful to only have a soggy basement and pile of large branches as evidence.
Speaking of evidence, I am hoping to present the first four stencils that have rolled out from the collections I proposed to Stencil Girl Products. Maybe they will be delivered today so I can show you a photo! Full line and details about the first four coming soon.
COME ON FEED READERS, CLICK THROUGH
I didn't forget about the Stencil News....will have that ready next week. Can't wait to tell you about it!
If you picked up Art Journaling then you've seen some of the pages from my first Table Scraps Journal. Over the next few days I will show you more. It began as a purge of debris on my work surface and became one of my most favorite things - an obsessive quest to put to use all the scraps and remnants from other projects. I had so much fun I started two more - all made from broken down cardboard boxes that have sitting around.
Did you hear the good news? Art Journaling had been semi-annual and it is now going to be quarterly. Yay!
Have you noticed that lunch-bag-brown type of paper is sometimes called 'craft' and sometimes called 'kraft'. Which one is it? Does is depend on how a brand names a product? That's what I had thought until I strolled over to wikipedia and learned there is an actual kraft process of making this type of paper. It was invented in Germany, where "kraft" means strength or power. I did not know any of this!
When I first started visual journaling my go-to surface was a spiral bound, heavy white paper journal by DMD, sold at Michael's in the scrapbook section. When those were no longer available I switched to my current favorite, made with kraft or black paper, by Paperchase. I could always count on getting them at Borders but recently they are harder to find. Since I like working on a non-white page, and I'm beginning to panic that my stash of Paperchase journals will run out in the next year, I started making my own.
Staples carries a file folder made of recycled material in a craft/kraft color. You can get a box of 100 for $12.99. I wish they were a little heavier but the economics works for me. I cut down the folders into a page size of my choice, then punch and coil bind with my Rubicoil from Bonnie's Best. If you are thinking of trying this keep in mind the page holds a dampness when painted so you should allow a full day of drying before you continue working or it will make you crabby.
I also like to make journals from cardboard. I cut down boxes and make pages - paying attention to the direction of the corrugation. I like to peel away the top surface to expose the grooves. I like to have pages with both horizontal and verticle orientation of the corrugation. I cut strips of tyvek to hold it together. I will present a tutorial on that another time if you're interested.
If you have a favorite source for kraft paper journals share it with us in the comments below. We'd love to hear about it!
I just got my copy of the new Somerset Apprentice - great stuff! My sweet friend Linda Warlyn is featured, and you can find me in there too. It's been a couple years since I've written an article. I will have two more coming later this year in Somerset Studio and Art Journaling, then I will fade back into the shadows again.
Here is a sneak peek of my Table Scraps journal I'm sending off. Very hard to part with...had such a blast finishing it up. It was one of those projects you start and then you get distracted by something else. Felt good to give it the attention I had planned, using only materials that were on my work table (or nearby on the floor!) Feels like I'm always chasing some kind of deadline. Call me 11th hour girl. I like elevens.
And my latest favorite thing is hummus with Focaccia Sticks. In a pinch I'll be happy with celery for dipping but those sticks....swoon! Got the recipe online somewhere. Have a great weekend. It was 68* degrees here today....love THAT.
