Coming Up Next!

My next class at Paper Tales will be held on Saturday, May 24th, beginning at 3:00 p.m.  It will focus on fonts, especially on faux calligraphy.  I'll also include ideas which can be used to make some "quickie" pages.  Hope to see you there!

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My Self-imposed Journal Challenge

This is the journal    that has inspired my next class at Paper Tales.  I found the sweetest little journal (5 x 7") in Michaels dollar bin and couldn't resist.  I bought the matching stationery cards to make it a total $2 splurge.  Came home and didn't want it sitting with all my other empty and waiting journals, so I gave myself a challenge:  finish this journal in one week…

tI'm now on week 3 and I'm dangerously close to being done.   I have the final page to complete, the cover, two pages still need writing (the art work is done) and a tag or two to insert.

This little book has made me get up a few minutes earlier in the morning in order to write an entry or complete some art work before heading off to school.  Even though it's early (5 a.m.), I find I'm just a little bit happier leaving home knowing that I've already done something "just for me."

What do you do when the well runs dry?

Sometimes you stare at a blank piece of paper and nothing happens.  I had that happen to me this week so, looking for inspiration, I went to Miramar Lake for a stroll.  It's been a while since I've been there, and this time I took a different path (I mean that literally).  I had forgotten how beautiful it can be there. My hope was that I would come home and journal.  Instead, I went to the nursery and bought a lovely pink (what else?) climbing rose bush and a cylindrical tower to support it.  Can't wait 'til it grows completely!

E-6000 is our Friend . . . 

What do you do when you find a bunch of little miscellaneous glass pieces in your garage?  Well, of course, you go to the Salvation Army and other thrift stores in search of even more little miscellaneous pieces!  Here are some photos of candlesticks and totems that are made from wonderful mini-finds that caught my eye and are simply glued with good old E-6000.  Who knew recycling could be so fun?  I know these will make appearances at my annual spring garden party.

(Sorry about the less-than-ideal photography!)

Hello, February!

Took most of the day, but I've just figured out how to embed a video into my blog!  This is a major accomplishment since I didn't even know how to create a blog 4 weeks ago and didn't know how to create a video this morning.  I am feeling a bit smug.

This Ledger Journal is a work in progress.  I found the ledger at a favorite store in Solana Beach and couldn't resist buying it.  The more I played in it, the more I fell in love with the texture and color of the paper.  The journal is almost half-way complete, and I'm already worried about what I'll do when it's all filled up.

Somehow, when I uploaded the video, the typeface changed and an end slide was missing.  I regret that because I'd like to give credit to the musicians of one of my favorite songs.  "Life is Better with You" is performed by Michael Franti and Spearhead.

Let me know what you think of my first attempt at movie-making . . .

Ledger journal 2 Large

What begins as a mistake can really turn out
quite lovely

Welcome 2014! 

January has arrived, and I have decided that this is the year of no resolutions.  I make the same ones every year and every year they address exercise, health, organization, and art.  I'm not being that specific this year.  Instead, I have decided to celebrate my "little wins."  A little win might be as simple as walking around the block, saying "no" to a tempting taste treat, or organizing my strands and strands of ribbons and lace.  I know a little win when I live one!  I'm happy to report that I've had several little reasons to celebrate already in these first few weeks of 2014.  Starting on such a positive note makes me look forward to all the coming months. 

I have been very productive on my two-week break from teaching my fourth graders.  I was able to spend a good deal of time on my art - not only doing it but organizing my room as well.  (I'm trying to convince myself that my room is actually my studio, but it seems a bit pretentious to say that!  I'll work on it . . . )

My First Little Win…

I have figured out how to get photos from my phone to my computer and into this blog!  That may actually be a big, big win!

These are photos of a journal I'm currently working on.  I purchased a Heidi Swapp 3-ring binder and after totally messing up the cover with sprays that just didn't do it for me, I covered it in papers and ribbons and some beautiful  jeweled embellishments.  I'm very pleased with the outcome.  I also had some Heidi Swapp small file folders and incorporated those into the notebook.  The plastic "photo album-type" inserts are so much fun to put my little odds and ends and miscellaneous art pieces into.

The journal isn't quite completed, but work on it has temporarily stopped as the binder itself is currently sitting on a shelf at Paper Tales, one of my very favorite art shops in San Diego.  I'll be teaching a class there sometime in late February on how to make this vintage journal.  The date has yet to be scheduled, but be sure to check out Paper Tales schedule of classes.

 These are some of the inside pages.  It was great fun going through my stash of old papers and embellishments to find what would work.  Yes, that's a Julie Nutting stamp on the page to the left.

 The brown  stripy paper bag and the wonderful pink doilies are from Paper Tales.  Again, the plastic photo inserts are fabulous for holding little pieces of art that you thought you might never use!




Had an enjoyable time using some translucent papers that I was almost thinking of tossing.  The envelope to the left is one of my original creations.  It seemed like there were several months that I spent making these out of waxed paper.  I still have quite a collection and I think some are just too pretty to actually gift-away!

           My First Little Win of the new year!!!

All things are new at some point...

All things are new at some point…

This ranks as one of the scariest things I've ever done . . . starting my own blog.  I know that most of the world has been on this for some time now, but this is all new to me.  I have always been challenged by technology, so at the beginning of this new year I am, in deed, venturing into a brave new world.  And I am checking off the item that reads "figure out how to start my own blog" from my New Year's resolution list - and it's only the 4th of January!

A "thank you" goes out to all the lovely ladies who have taken my classes at "Paper Tales" these past two months.  After teaching a class on "Doodling and Letter Play," I was asked where my Face Book page or my blog could be found.  When I replied that I had neither, some pretty baffled faces could be seen and the next question was, "How do we follow you?"  It was the grandest of compliments!  After my heart came back to earth, I decided then and there that I had better figure out this technology thing.  Now, the big test will be to see if I can actually post photos to this site…