Creating New Journals

Today I wanted to share with you the journals I have been making.  It seems to be taking up all of my creative time to decide what type of journal I want to make out of the materials I have around the house.  The first journal I made was to bind and cover my 29 Faces in 30 Days.  I did these faces on loose mixed media paper and now needed to bind them.  I had a chipboard cover that belonged to some old book that ….hmmm OK cann’t remember why I had the cover, but anyway, I used it.  Cut it to size and decoupaged craft paper over it.  Then I decided that because it was for 29 faces it needed a face on it.  So drew a face (was able to do that without a lot of stressing because of the 29 faces challenge) and here it is!

29 Faces in 30 Days Journal

Face for 29 Faces Cover

I used Coptic stitch to bind this.  OK it isn’t perfect, but I really like this type of stitch.

Coptic Stitch on 29 Faces Journal

I like the way the book opens up and lays flat.

Spread from 29 Faces Journal

So now I need to make some art journals to work in.  Where do I get my supplies?  My daughter is a maintenance tech at the apartment complex we live in.  When people move out, they leave all kinds of things.  If she thinks I can use them in my crafts, she brings them home.  She brought home a sketch book someone had left.  It didn’t have the front cover on it, so I cann’t tell you exactly what it was.  It was 14″ x 11″ and most of the pages where blank, so I took it apart to make myself a journal.  I had 20 sheets which I folded in have and ended up with 5 signatures of 4 sheets each that are 7″ x 11″.  Then, OK I spent money.  I bought chip board (the cheep kind) for $3.99 to use for the cover.  Cut it to size.  Covered it with craft paper (I love this paper so much I don’t know if I will embellish it).  And sewed it together again using the Coptic stitch.  So here it is.

New Art Journal

I also put together my little Right Brain Planner that I got from Braveheart.

October Right Brain Planner

What’s next?  I have a lined book, sort of like a composition book, but larger and with thicker paper.

Journal to be

The top left corner has had coffee spilled on it (since I will be covering it with paint and gesso, I don’t care) and the black covering is peeling.  So far I have glued back down the covering and torn out every 3rd page.  Yep, I saved those pages and am going to make another journal out of them.  🙂

So this is where I am at the moment.  I will share the completed journals as I finish them.  I also have two more tablets of paper that my daughter brought me, I think I will make journals out of.  Having to use what ever paper is available can be a challenge, but I figure I am very blessed to have these free gifts from the Universe, and I like the challenge of the unknown paper.

Hope you have a creative and beautiful day.  Namaste

Reflections Of My Week

Current time:  10 40 a.m.

On the menu:  Cheerios with fresh strawberries, walnuts and slivered almonds.

Out the window:  Makaya (my cat) chasing dragonflies!  Hopefully he won’t catch any.

Read:  Moonlight & Vines a collection of short stories by Charles de Lint.  I love this

            author and have a collection of his books. 

Listening:  to the washing machine…doing my laundry.

 

Good things

• Morning coffee.  Just switched to 1/2 decaff and 1/2 regular instead of just decaff.
• Facebook messaging with an old friend.
• My art makes me smile.
• Getting some new craft supplies. 
• I just ordered the Right Brain Planner.  It will start in October.
• Meeting my goal of working out 5 times this week.
• Meeting my goal of 5 faces in 5 days for my 29 Faces Challenge.  Soo proud!
• Started my ABC Journal…only finished A & B, but I did say “started”.

 

Icky things and their silver lining.

• I paid all my bills for the month  🙂  Love it when I don’t have to think about it for a whole month!
• Didn’t make a list this week of things I need to get done.  So starting a list of things to accomplish for this next week.  Seems to help if I write it down.  Not very good about making list, but they do help.

 

Around my life

• Enjoying working on the 29 Faces in 30 Days challenge.  Hard to keep up, but feel it is good for me to push myself.  It is giving me the practice that I know I need and want, just usually procrastinate away.
• Have started my ABC journal.  This is just a little, easy, fun journal. 
• Trying to decide how to bind my 3 journal that I am making with loose pages.  Never done loose pages before.  Love working on them, but can’t make up my mind on a good way to bind them.  One is my ABC journal (6′ x 9′), another is my 29 Faces Journal (9′ x 12′), and then my Mixed Media Art Journal (11 1/2′ x 12′.

 

I am participating with Cynthia Lee and The Scattered Life Collective.  Come play with us 🙂 

Sending hugs and smiles!  🙂

Making a list for September

Making plans for September.  What new things to I want to participate in?  Want to be careful to not over commit.  I seem to want to try everything.  But that will mean I will not succeed at any thing and will end up feeling bad about myself.  Not a good place to put myself in.

1.  I of course will continue to participate in the activities of the Glitterhood.  The Book of  Days and the Book of Mirrors.  We are only in our 9th week of our 18 week program.

2.  I will continue with my blog.  I have enjoyed the experience of writing my blog and posting my art and photos.  So will continue this.

3.  I am starting a plan to have a me date one day a month.  To go somewhere, anywhere, even if I have to go alone.  This is something I read about with one of blog along friends.  I just am having trouble finding it so I can give credit to her blog.  (If you are her or know who she is, please let me know.)  To get out, take photos and see something.  I realized yesterday that I was feeling sorry for myself for never going anywhere.  So…No feeling sorry for myself allowed!  Go see and do!  I told my daughter about this.  Told her I wanted to go downtown Sacrament for a day trip this month and she wants to go too.  Company is not necessary, but always welcome.  So we are going on the Friday the 13th!!

4.  I am going to be practicing drawing faces.  So I decided to join the 29 Faces in 30 Days group.  Raine Phoenix and Sweatred Clover are also participating in.  Are you doing this?  Would love to know!  🙂

5.  I am probably going to join the Right Brain Planner that Cynthia Lee shared on her blog post

http://spirituncaged.com/2013/08/31/%E2%96%B6-august-right-brain-planner-and-art-journal/

Hope I did that right.  hehehe

6.  To make some new journal to work in as two of mine are complete.  Will share this with you in a future blog.