Growing Up

When I grow up, I want to remember

that I always wanted to be

about a thousand different things

and one lifetime didn't seem nearly enough.

http://www.storypeople.com/

wood block journaling

2" by 3" by 1"

I adore Brian Andreas Storypeople poems. He always seem to capture in words what I hold in my heart.  I plan on using the above quote in the pages I am working on in Cristi's journal for the RR I am participating in.

Here are peeks at the spread so far. Lots of layers of paint.

Cristi's journal

detail

Secret Hiding Places 'HuG' Journal

This evening I finished up my newest Remains of the Day 'HuG' accordian style journal and it is ready for adoption in my Etsy shop. Yesterday I came across some fabric transfer sheets I had on hand and printed some of my own original artwork to include in the journal. Here are peeks at some of the 60 pages in this journal. This journal was made with much love and care over the last few weeks and it is ready to go out into the world. The journal is 6" tall and 5" inches wide with a 28" wrap around closure; 24 fabric pages and 36 paper pages.

Original art on fabric transfers.

Detail.

Mini fabric banners happily adorn pages.

Burning the Midnight Oil

bending over backwards

to keep from having to go forwards

http://www.storypeople.com/

Some days it certainly feels like this is the story of my life, however this week it's been all about being crazy busy and moving forward. I have been burning a lot of midnight oil the past 2 weeks, some nights I've watched the sun come up as I head upstairs to grab a few hours of sleep before greeting another day. I will do so again tonight. I have been a 'night owl' all of my life so this feels natural to me. Even when I have nothing to do I will be up till about 3AM on average. I am just wired that way and still pull an ocasional all-nighter. Here are a few peeks at what I have been up to in the wee hours of the night or morning depending on your perspective.

Sewing chipboard onto a fabric journal page. Chipboard by Jim Holtz which I distressed with Modern Masters patina.

Another fabric inspired page with a tiny scrappy banner,

with a tiny mini sketch tucked on the page. This is the original artwork. I can't draw so I just pretend I can; actually I used my non dominant hand to create this little guy, imperfections and all. It's about the size of a business card.

The sketch was one of my experiments for a deck exchange on the In This House and Garden Yahoo group I co-moderate with Angela Cartwright and Sarah Fishburn.

 

More chipboard on fabric. A tiny heart to hold a memory, along with a mini-mini banner sewn just above it. Celebrate. I love making banners. I keep thinking I need to make a scrappy banner from all the bits of fabric that continue to accumulate around me as I sew. Hmmmmmm. Maybe I will start on that tonight.

Up close and personal.

I love old keys, doors, windows and houses so those elements are never far from hand.

This is a bare naked fabric page but I just had to share it. I adore this fabric and this one too.

I just love all things round; a lot like me. VBG.

All of the previous pages are going into a 'HuG' 'Remains of the Day' inspired journal and will be up for adoption soon in my Etsy shop and these pages are 4.5" by 5 3/4"

And last but not least 2 more 'Remains of the Day journals'. These are still under construction.

What It Means

making a thing of beauty without too much thought

 about what it means

http://www.storypeople.com/

On Thursday morning Brittney and I went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to claim our artwork that has been on exhibit the last couple of months in the Foot In The Door Four exhibition. You can read more about it here. I am so glad we participated. It was an honor to be part of something so big, 5000 entries. As we stood in line with the other artists who had gathered, we listened as everyone chattered about the experience, art and the world in general. The museum staff literally took down the show in front of us. One by one we handed the staff our receipts with the location number of our piece and then another staff member entered the rooms that had been home to the artwork would go and remove the artwork from the walls and tables and then bring them to us. It was fun to see the faces behind some of the work. We'd all sneak little peeks at the person as they walked away with their artwork in hand, wondering what had been the inspiration and on a deeper level, what they were trying to convey to the world and sometimes it was ok to consider that maybe some of the work was just about the 'beauty' of it and not about the why of it or some hidden meaning. Sometimes it is enough to just be.

I have been working on more Remains of the Day journals. I continue to play with size, pages, and form. It really is just about 'pure experimentation'. There is never an end to the many variations a person can bring to them. It's like standing in front of the freezer's in an old fashioned ice cream parlor. Which flavor do I want to choose today? There are so many. Here are a few 'flavors of the day'.

I am falling in love with the creation of pockets.  

Wishing and Thank You's

It's been a busy week. I have a lot going on and quietly wishing for life just to stand still and just give me a few minutes to catch up. Sigh. Doesn't work that way, gotta keep up or get run over. I try and keep up. My day had a rough start. Details really don't matter, it just set the tone for the day, kind of bland like cornflakes and I was really wishing for cupcakes.

A few good things happened tho. Cristi's art journal arrived from Kelley for the RR I am participating in with amazing and truly wonderful artists, hosted by the every brilliant Erin Kenepp who is being featured in Somerset's Art Journaling and Somerset Studio in July YEAH!!!! There is nothing like seeing other's art work in person. Always a delight.

I managed to play a bit with the creation of various Remains of the Day journals. Thanks again to Mary Ann and her Remains of the day class; for being so awesome. She rocks. She has touched me with her special magic.  

 Thanks to all of you who visit, share your kind words of encouragement here and a special thanks to those of you who have adopted my journals. You don't know how much this is appreciated and what a difference it is making for us. It's too long a story, with too many details to share in a blog post. Just know I think of each of you as someone special. Your presence here is a gift. Everyone matters in this world and we often don't know how much impact we have on each other's lives, especially through the wires of the internet. Each of you who visit matter to me. Thanks and thanks again.


And last but not least, in the one spark of inspiration that I had today and was the only one I had today, here are a few pics of pages that will be going into my next 'HuG' journal which I will be adding to my Etsy shop in the near future. These are combination pages made using both fabric and paper. This page is 4.5 by 6" when folded into a signature.

In The Summertime HuG Journal

I just finished another itty bitty HuG journal. I added more bits to the paper pages and it is now listed in my Etsy shop. Here are more peeks of some of the paper pages. The colors remind me of french linens which I just adore.

Of travels and Cupcake Dreams

carries a lot of suitcases

but all of them are empty

 because she's expecting

 to completely fill them with life

by the end of this trip

 & then she'll come home

& sort everything

out & do it all again

http://www.storypeople.com/

Well I wish I was going somewhere but I will be able to absorb the travels of fellow bloggers and art pals. For instance Mary Ann Moss will be adventuring in Instanbul. Oh my goodness the delights she is sure to see.

Me, I will be sticking close to home working on many more Remains Of The Day journals; again inspired by the amazing Miss Moss. I am having a blast. Every day I dream of more ways to play with paper and fabric and whip them up into something special. It's like making cup cakes. The papers are the cake, the frosting is the fabric and all of the other bits and scraps are the sprinkles on the top. No baking required. TA DA!!!!!

Here is a sampling.

'In the Summer Time Itty Bitty HuG Secrets Journal

2.5" by 2.5" by 3" and a 24" wrap around.

A gathering of the paper pages still adding 'ingrediants to these.

And a pinch of 6 fabric pages...

And then right out of the oven, 6 fully 'baked' fabric pages.

This journal will be will be up for adoption in my Etsy very, very soon. Some of paper pages still need a little bit of 'frosting and sprinkles' before it will be ready. Stay Tuned.