Love it when I buy a bag of buttons at an estate sale, get it home and realize the buttons are already strung together and sorted!
Speaking of buttons, I've added a bunch to my Etsy Shop SugarPinkMoon.
And bunches of flowers, too.
And you'll find ledgers and other vintage paper in Gathering Dust.
Thanks for taking a look!
I've had lots of diaries, scrapbooks, idea books and journals over the years. I started with one of the five year diaries with the lock and key when I was about ten, moved on to a fabric covered journal when I was high school.
I stopped journaling when I found out a college roommate had been reading my journal. Looking back, I can't imagine why someone would do that. It just couldn't have been that interesting.
I've made lots of scrapbooks, idea books and gluebooks since then, but they weren't really ongoing journals. When I made my Valentine journal in Karla's class at the begining of February, I decided it would be a semi-daily journal.
I've kept it in the living room, next to my "craft chair"- along with some markers, glue sticks and random papers and images from my stash.
I haven't made myself finish pages in any certain order. Here are some pages that started one day and added to later.
EARLY IN FEB:
NOW:
EARLY IN FEB:
LATER IN FEB:
One of the biggest influences to what I've doodled or drawn on my pages is Mary Ann Moss. Seeing her patterned journal pages made me realize that it was "okay" to draw some arrows on a page if that was what I felt like doing.
I guess the whole point of my post is: this journal is just FUN- it's not art, it's not documenting any important events, it's just a chance to play.
A doodle page drawn by Karla for her Snow White class. I loved coloring it- coloring is very relazing.
Inside the back cover- drawing with Sharpies is great!
I haven't finished or filled every page in my "February" journal- but that's ok. It's a work in progress- and I'm going to have to have a March journal in waiting before this one is done.
I have lots of blanks books that I use to keep recipes, clippings, gluebook type collages and doodling, but I've really never had a book that I said was "my journal".
I decided that the book I made in Karla's Journal Workshop would be an actual journal for the month of Feb.
To emphasize it, I wrote "This is my journal" on the inside cover. Pretty clever... That's a good way to start if you aren't sure what to write.
The paper in our class kits was vintage in all different shades of cream, white, sepia and tan. I used red toile tissue paper, red flocked paper from Paper Source and some advertising labels to add some color to my pages, and create journaling spots.
This is my first page- the picture of the girl cutting the doll's hair was the cover of a 1930s magazine. I liked the picture because I thought the girl was being just a little bit brave in cutting her doll's hair- I was always too afraid to do that.
On the right side of the page is a quote from Coco Chanel:
"A girl should be two things, who and what she wants".
The quote comes from a collection that you can find on the Ipad App Nostalgic Musings by Hope Wallace Kearney. It's the best $.99 you can spend.
Throughout the book, I've added touches of red and journaling spots.
The envelope is to hold labels that I'll use later.
Some pages may not have any writing, just pictures.
Different pages are in different stages-this page is ready for writing- or something else.
Karla's kits had an extra large page from an 1880s journal full of receipts with great lettering. I'm not sure if she picked this one out specially for me, but I sure like it- it's a invoice for ironstone from the Alfred Meakin company. I have a lot of Meakin ironstone, but this is the first Meakin invoice I've ever seen.
Some people used ribbon to tie the signatures in their journals, but I'm more of a twine girl. A nice thing about this kind of binding is that it can be untied, and more can be added to it.
If you'd like to try making your own journal, Karla is selling kits- but I think she's selling them about as fast as she's making them, so if you don't see them in her store, email her to have her reserve one.
Earlier this summer I showed you my pages for Michelle Geller's Back to School swap. The finished book came in the mail last week, and it is just fun and fabulous, and all the little details are amazing. I've looked through my book ten or twelve times, but I keep finding new things.
Michelle made the covers, assembled the books and added little surprises through out.
Like the packaging. The books were wrapped in old fashioned tablet paper with the pale blue lines, ruled numbered tape and personalized flash cards.
The artist list was inside the front cover, library card style.
This is the first page, made by Jan Clem. It's mechanical! Pull the yellow ruler tab and the page opens TWICE!
Sheila Earhart's page- all about the Grand March, complete with medal.
The back of Sheila's page and the front of Cynthia Fawcett's page.
Another cute detail- the back of Cynthia's page uses a clear triangular ruler as a pocket- and folds out to reveal a tag underneath.
There were 14 swappers, so I've got a lot more idea filled pages I could share on my blog...let me know if you like to see more.
Last week I decided that I was going to "take the week off". I was still going to my big girl job, but when I got home, I was going to do whatever I wanted.
(That's not as provocative as it sounds, mostly it meant I did some sewing, crafting and organizing)
I finally finished the cover for my Remains of the Day journal. I may be the last person on earth who hasn't already taken this on-line class, but I've heard nothing but good things about it, so after three years of pondering, I decided to jump right in.
It's great because not only do you NOT have to sew straight, you're encouraged to stitch crazy- like I did with my wandering seam on the piece of brown tapestry.
(picture borrowed from Mary Ann Moss, creator of the class)
My next step will be to make pages- stacks and stacks of pages like these, hopefully using up many of those little scraps of paper that are too cool or pretty or interesting to throw away but seem to take over.
What I love about this class is that about the only thing you need is a sewing machine and paper- any paper. And I do have plenty of paper (and other stuff).
Last week, on my "vacation", I sorted some of my paper, housed it in cigar boxes and made labels.
I've done the same thing with this cubby that I filled with cigar boxes. The labels help enormously.
I've never believed in being super organized- I want to be able to find things, but time spent organizing is time NOT spent crafting. But I keep looking at these cigar boxes and their pitiful handwritten tags and wondering if I should make all new matching labels or tags.
All printed in the same font, on the same size tag, all with a string, or NO string, but all the same; or all with red Dennison style labels. It would take some time, but the uniformity might stear me onto more creativity.
I don't know, what do you think? I know, I know, such problems...storage, scraps and sewing.
Sew Somerset magazine apparently was able to overlook my lack of sewing skills and published a mini quilt I made. I got my preview copy in the mail yesterday, I believe it will be at the craft and book stores on Jun 1. I didn't know it was going to be published, so it was a nice surprise.
So much of the time when I unpack my auction or estate sale finds, I realize that besides buying "stuff", I've also bought WORK.
It would be so much easier to be the kind of antique dealer that goes on a shopping trip, buys a vase, a plate, a figurine, a book, a candlestick etc etc and could just slap a price tag on it and call it ready to sell.
But I just seem to be drawn to projects- like this bundle of baby shoes- they'll have to be stuffed with tissue, laced and possibly cleaned before I can sell them.
A stash of beautiful baby clothes- but they need to be soaked, washed, starched and ironed.
I also have a habit of buying items that need "just a little tweak"- like these bank boxes. One of them I can't open, and the other won't stay closed!
A box of old letters- actually any box of old paper- I can't resist. But they'll take sorting and bundling to get them ready to sell.
Same with this box of old snapshots. Great fun to look at, but time consuming.
But really- I'm not complaining. I enjoy the "work" of getting things ready to sell, and get satisfaction in the cleaning, sorting, arranging and even ironing.
Can't you tell how happy I am?
I think if you talk to anyone who's been to an art event, or even just spent a productive craft day with creative friends, you leave feeling re-energized, full of ideas and plans for new projects.
That's been the effect Bird Song had on me. I finished Karla's necklace project and I think her idea of using a crochet medallion as the focal point was such a beautiful and unique touch.
This is my finished project for Lisa's Faire Theater class.
This was her example.
I does look like I strayed a little off track- but I couldn't find a cigar box to use for my project. I know that not everyone travels with a bunch of cigar boxes, but if I'm crafting or antiquing, I usually have at least one or two filled with supplies or things I'm selling.
So, I improvised- I used a book cover and foam core to make a theater in the round.
Lisa had beeswax to make fairy wings, but I used it to cover the back of my stage. I'd never used wax before, and it was fun...I'd love to try more encaustic art.
Another project I finished last week was this sampler. I've been wanting to do a sampler for a while, and with Memorial Day and 4th of July coming up, I went with red and blue on an oatmeal colored cloth.
I picked out the alphabet from a book, and the border from another book- but I think it needs something else.
- vines around the letters?
-some kind of filler figure between the letters and the borders?
-something 3-d like sewing on lace or buttons?
-maybe a straight stitch border around the letters and another around the outside border?
Suggestions?
Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
(A not so obscure reference to the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.)
Tomorrow, Karla and I are on our way to Paper Cowgirls in Texas. This will be the first time in years that I've been in Texas when the temperature is under 80 degrees. I'm hoping we can see some blue bonnets.
Karla and I are both teaching classes. It's my first time teaching a craft class and my first time putting together a craft kit. It doesn't sound hard, counting buttons, cutting ribbon, but it is. I mean, it's not hard work like mining coal or pouring concrete, but I didn't realize how much went into it.
I followed Karla's advice and made extra kits. She said "It's just as easy to make thirty as it is twenty". When I get home from Texas, I'll be listing the extras in my Etsy shop.
Thank goodness BOTH Karlas helped me put my kits together. Karla the artist figured out my presentation- tieing the papers and cloth together, and Karla the accountant meticulously cut ribbon and counted buttons.
And what did I do? Mostly I whined "this is hard......"
One think I've learned about craft classes from both Karla and Lisa is that it's fun to have extras supplies so everyone in the class has a chance to customize their project.
I was planning on packing my supplies in a vintage suitcase- something I usually have "in stock"- but I sold my last suitcase a couple weeks ago, so I decided to substitute this artist's case. It's kind of like a wooden brief case- made to hold an artist's paints, brushes and canvases. But it was UGLY plywood, so I did a little decoupage on it, using some of my favorite old papers- dictionary pages, old magazine, catalog and ledger pages.
Inside, I have lace, scraps from a stained Quaker tablecloth, ribbon and buttons.
Underneath, I've stored my class samples, extra background papers and vintage wallpaper.
The last time I was at Karla's she had her class kits stacked all together and they were so pretty- I had to get a picture. That is some vintage goodness!
I like to set goals- I don't always meet them, but I if set a goal, and make it "official", either by writing it down or fixing it in my head, I accomplish a lot more than if I just have some vague ideas about doing "stuff". Writing it down makes me accountable to myself.
But enough Oprahsizing- this weekend I said my goal was to get the total number of items in my Etsy shops- Gathering Dust and SugarPinkMoon up to 100.
When I started yesterday, I had a total of 30. Now I have a total of 70- but along the way people are BUYING things, so the count goes down. Geez....
Ok,you know I'm kidding. I LOVE it when you buy things from me. Even though I've been selling antiques for almost 14 years, I still get a thrill when someone wants to buy something I picked out.
When I got my first booth at the antique mall, my rent was $250 a month, and I had a 6 mos lease. I remember talking it over with my husband, and realizing that I was committing myself to spending $1500.
But I really wanted to try it, so we decided I should risk the $1500. I moved in and went back the next day and realized that I had sold two pieces that I had brought in on the first day - for a total of $18. I was SO THRILLED. I remember thinking "Now, the most I can lose is $1482"- always the accountant with the financial statement running through my head.
So, I haven't quite met my goal yet- but I still have a few hours. In the meantime, here's a look at some of what I have listed so far- including a bunch of funky plastic stuff- buttons, jewelry, even a clothespin.
I'm going to take a listing break and read some of Tina Fey's book BossyPants. Tina is my new hero ever since I started watching 30 Rock a few months ago. I relate to Liz Lemon because she wears clothes with food on them and sometimes has lettuce in her hair, and sometimes, I do too.
Sorting through some boxes of old photos for the flea market next week and I found some cool pictures where the image had "ghosted" over onto the opposite page. I could understand how there could be a mirror image- but I think its strange that there are two images on the "ghost side" mirrored horizontally.
Here's another one with a mother and her children.
The outside folders are nice, too. The heart shaped box is a candy box I decorated with pale laces and trims and and a picture of a pixie looking baby.
Another spooky find- this German book that translates to "The Horse Book". The German font gives it a real gothic feel.
I think this book would be great as part of a Halloween vignette. All these "spooky" goodies are available in my Etsy Shop.
If you'd like some other Gothic decorating and craft ideas, the Romantic Gothic Ghosts on-line class that Karla and I put together last year is still available. Information is here. Lots of low color fall and Halloween ideas that last past Oct 31.
On the subject of books, here's another kind I've been playing with. It's a pocket diary from the 1960's. I've made simple collages on some pages, and on some pages, just glued a single image, photo or card. It's kind of a gluebook, but I'm using a bit of ink too.
This one is for sale in my Etsy shop.
If you'd like to make your own, I have some "undecorated" datebooks for sale here.
Speaking of gluebooks, my friend Mary Green of Green Paper Packages is hosting a glue book swap, and all the players will end up with their own gluebook with swap pages, a vintage cover and a set of ephemera pages from Mary's collection. You can check the details here.
One last "book" topic. Even though I usually lean towards whites, creams, tans & pale colors, I couldn't resist these vintage images of children's clothes patterns from an old magazine. I used some vintage wallpaper as a background, index cards and a ring binder to make a simple book that I called "Mother, Make Me a Frock". It's available here.
