Gathering Dust

Time Capsule Journal Page and Using Doilies to Make Backgrounds

When I was in college I started making "time capsule" pages in  my journal.  They were simple pages, just notes about current events, favorite movies, what books I was reading. 

Once I got out of college, I stopped keeping a journal and really didn't think about them again until I ran across a journal stuffed into a brown accordion file folder.

That inspired me to make a new time capsule journal page with stenciled backgrounds for my mini class at Birdsong.

For backgrounds on my journal pages, I played with a combination of stamp pads, stiff plastic doilies, paper doilies, colored pencils and distress brush markers.

For the green and blue pages  I put a stiff plastic doily under my paper and rubbed colored pencils over the paper, picking up the pattern of the doily.  In some places, I used more than one color and after rubbing, blended the colors with a baby wipe.

The brown page on the left was made by putting an ornate paper doily over the paper and using a distress marker to paint through the cut-outs in the doily.

The brown page on the right has a very faint pattern.  I made it by pressing a stamp pad on to a plastic doily, which pressed the pattern of the doily INTO the stamp pad.  Then I pressed the stamp pad onto the paper.

To make my May 29, 2015 time capsule page, I used two types of doilies and distress markers to make a lacy background.

I added a coordinating piece of wallpaper to one side of the page and started writing.

Just for fun, I took one of my 1982 "time capsules" and reworked it into a journal page in the style I might use today.

"Mr Mom", "War Games" "Serpentine"- does anyone else remember those? It was fun to go back and remember some of the little details of my life 30 years ago. 

Making my 2015 journal page was fun, and I'm planning on making more of them, maybe a few times a year, so I can record the minutia of life in 2015 and beyond.

If you'd like to make your own time capsule pages, here's a list of prompts that I had written in my original journal. If you right click on the image you can save it to your computer.

 

How To Make a Little Itty Bitty Book

When Karla asked me to do a short class related to journaling at Birdsong, she wasn't specific about what she wanted me to teach.  So I started brainstorming, just jotting down random thoughts and ideas about journals that I'd picked up from blogs, books and Pinterest.  I finally decided to teach a "time capsule" journal page.  I'll do a post on that later.

But, what to do about all those other loose thoughts and ideas I'd brewed up while I was brainstorming?  I decided to make a tiny little book- a zine.

The basis for the book is one piece of 8 1/2" x 11" card stock, a little cutting and a lot of folding.

My pictures in the examples show the book with the pages filled.  If you want to make a book, I'd suggest folding a BLANK piece of paper to make your book, and then do your writing, drawing or collaging on the pages.

Step 1:  Fold your paper in half the long way.  Make a nice crease on the fold.  I like using a bone folder, but a spoon will work, too.

Step 2:  Open the paper to full size and this time, fold the short way.  Again, make a nice sharp crease.

Step 3:  Unfold your paper.  Fold each of the short sides so they meet in the middle.  (Double check : Your folds will have divided the paper into four sections across the long edge)

Step 4:  Open up the folds you made in Step 3.  Fold along the center fold, going the short way.  Starting at the folded side, make a cut to the through both layers of paper to the fold you made in Step 3.

Double check:  When you open your paper after cutting in Step 4, it should look like this:

• Three folds going the short way, creating four sections.
• One fold going the long way.
• One cut in the middle of the paper, going the long way.

Step 5: Pick up your paper with the fold and cut on top.

Here's an "aeriel" view of the book.

Step 6:  Pinch the cut edges together, making an "X" shape.

Fold the "legs" of the X together and you'll have an little eight page book.

Suggestion:  I found that it was a good idea to pencil in page numbers while the book was folded. 

Then unfold, decorate the pages, and fold back into the book shape.

If you'd like a copy of my "Itty Bitty Book of Journaling", you can right click on this image and save to your computer.  Print it on a full size piece of paper, fold and cut and you'll have your own book.

I think this mini book idea would make cute gift tags, too.  Some ideas:

For a bridal shower, each page could have a favorite recipe; for a birthday, each page could have a picture of the birthday person at a different age; for a baby shower, each page could have coupons for baby sitting.

 

How To Make a Dennison Mini Notebook

 Thanks for all the feedback on my last post.  I think a lot of you are noticing the same things I am.  More people read blogs on a reader, and it's harder to comment; Instagram and Facebook are a quick alternative to blogging; and some people have simply lost interest in the time it takes to blog.  My conclusion, mentioned by many of you: blogging changes and evolves just like everything else.

My love for vintage office supplies, Dennison in particular is something I've mentioned a time or two before.  In my ongoing project of cleaning and condensing my craft room, I put all my little red edged labels in one box, which left me with some empty boxes.

I love old boxes, too- and just couldn't throw away a Dennison box, so using inspiration from  a project I saw here, I made a mini journal.

Note:  The steps may seem long, but after you make one book, you'll be able to make a second in less time than it takes to read these directions.

Here's how:

1.  Measure your box to figure out what size to cut paper for your pages. 

• The height of your pages will be the height of your box less about a 1/4".  So if your box is 3" tall, your pages will be 2 3/4" tall.
• The width of your paper will be twice the width of your box less 1/4".  If your box is 2" wide, your paper will be 4" minus 1/4" = 3 3/4".

 

3.  Cut eight pieces of paper of the size you calculated in step 2.  I used a light weight cardstock, but you could use just about any paper that is sturdy enough to be folded.

Fold each piece of paper in half so the short sides meet.  I used a bone folder to get  a sharp crease on my fold, but you can use the back of a spoon or a ruler.  (or you can skip this step, a really SHARP crease isn't necessary, I just like it.)

Nestle four folded pages inside each other like the group on the bottom of the picture above.

Do this with all eight pieces of paper, so you have two groups of four pieces of paper. ( Each group is called a signature.)

4.  Mark the holes that you'll use for sewing the book together.  I usually make them about a fourth of the length of the total book from the top and bottom. 

In other words, if your page is 8" long, I'd mark the holes 2" from the bottom and 2" from the top.  (The math on that is 8" x 1/4" = 2").

But if you hate math and measuring, just eyeball it.

5.  Using an awl, a Japanese screw punch or just a skewer from your barbeque grill, poke the holes all the way through all four sheets of paper.

A trick I learned from Mary Ann Moss is to use the center of a large telephone book to cradle your paper.  It's best if you open the yellow pages to the home security or plumbing sections.

(I just made that up to see if you were paying attention. It doesn't matter what page the book is open to.)

Do this with both signatures (sets of four pages).  After you punch the first group, use a page from the first group to use as a guide to punch the second group, so your holes match up.

6.  Cut the box open.  I admit, it was hard for me to cut a perfectly good Dennison box, but when I convinced myself that I was actually saving it, it made the cut easier.

7. Using one of the pages you already poked as a guide, make two sets of hole on the spine of your box.

We'll be sewing each signature (group of four pieces of paper) through a set of vertical holes.

8.  The next step is sewing your pages together.  There are many kinds of special thread that are made just for book binding, but I've mostly used baker's twine or dental floss (if I want a minty fresh book). 

Line up your signature with one of the sets of holes and pull the threaded needle through all of the pages and the spine of the book.

9.   Don't pull the thread all the way through, live a "tail" long enough to tie when the thread comes through the other side.

10.  From the back (or outside) of the book, bring the needle through the second hole.  You'll be bringing the needle back to the inside of the book.

11. Tie the two threads together and your first signature is in the book.  Repeat with the second signature, and you've got a mini- book.

There are endless variations on this.  You can add more signatures, use a different kind of box (Pop-Tarts or Animal Crackers, maybe).

I'm using my mini book to write up my daily "to do" list.  Since the book is so small, I can't fit a lot on a page, so I've been much more selective about what I have to do, and much more successful with completing that list!

Making a Security Envelope Book

Before I took Mary Ann Moss's Remains of the Day journal making class, I hadn't given much thought to safety envelopes- envelopes with a pattern inside meant to keep nosy people from peeking through the envelope.

Then I started to notice them at work, and I wondered just how many different patterns there were.  I had the girls I work with save envelopes for some future art project.  At first I thought I'd piece the envelopes into some kind of paper quilt.  When I couldn't decide what you'd do with a paper quilt, I decided to try a book instead.

Here's how I made it:

(Note: These are really basic bookmaking instructions. I didn't invent them, this is just kind of an accumulation of ideas I've cobbled together from lots of places. I am, by no means, implying that I discovered how to make a book.)

Gather Supplies

Grab some safety envelopes, sturdy paper to be used as pages (I'm using some recycled watercolor notecards), a paper cutter or scissors, an awl, several glue sticks and some twine, ribbon or thread to tie the pages together. 

The watercolor paper I'm using for my pages is approx 7" x 10", and when folded in half makes pages that are 7" x 5".  I've used 8 pieces of paper.  Each piece, when folded makes 4 pages.  The book will end up being 32 pages.

Open the envelopes and trim off any parts you don't want to use.  I trimmed a lot of the white flaps and some windows.

Covering the Pages

After the envelopes have been trimmed, they can be glued, patchwork style onto the paper that will be used for pages.

Cover one side of the paper, and then turn it over and trim any overlapping edges.  Then cover the other side.  Do this for all pages.

As you're gluing envelopes, images can be glued down and windows glued over them.

Making the Cover

The book cover can be made of the same paper as the pages, or something heavier.  I've used a binder cover.  The cover size should be between 1/2" to 1" larger than the pages on all sides.

Measure to find the center of the cover and fold about a 1/2" on either side to create an approximately 1" spine.  To get my fold even and crisp, I laid a metal ruler on my fold line and folded against the ruler.

Use a pencil to mark four dots on the spine about a quarter of the way from the top and  a quarter of the way from the bottom.  This will be where you poke holes to tie your pages to the cover.

Lay a plain piece of paper next to the book spine and mark on the paper where the spine holes are.  This plain piece of paper will be used to guide where to poke holes in the folded pages.

Sewing the pages to the cover.

In my example, we'll be using eight pages folded in half.

Nestle two pages together, and using your paper template and awl, poke holes in the fold. This group of pages is called a signature. Repeat this with the next set of two pages, creating another signature.

Cradle one signature inside your cover.

Thread your needle and push it from the cover side through the top hole on the cover and signature.  Leave about an 8" tail.   On the inside of the signature pull the needle through the bottom hole to the outside of the spine.  On the outside of the cover, tie the two pieces of twine together.

(In other words, you're just threading the twine through the top hole in the cover and signature and then the bottom hole in the cover and signature, leaving the loose ends on the outside of the cover to be tied together)

Do the same thing with the next signature, using the same holes.

Follow the same instructions for the remaining signatures, using the other set of holes in the spine.

When you've got your book put together, the decorating begins.

Washi tape and labels.

Journaling spots and glassine envelopes.

Clip Art.

You can make books like this using lots of different supplies- cardstock, magazine pages, vellum, even fabric. These books are great to use for a pictures and keepsakes from a special occasion- a wedding, a family reunion, a trip.  I keep a small version in my purse (with plain pages) just to take notes and doodle.

Let me know how your bookmaking goes, or if you have questions.

If you are curious about safety envelopes check out this website.

 

Jewelry On Etsy and Favorite How-tos

I've listed a bunch of vintage jewelry in my Etsy shop SugarPinkMoon.

Some is ready to wear, some is bits and pieces to use for crafts or remaking.

And I've added some fun and/or attractive books to Gathering Dust.

I hate to do a post where I just ask you to buy things- but I don't have any new crafts to show you---I mean I've been busy sorting and listing all this stuff!

So I'll leave you with links to what appear to be my two most popular how to posts.

Christmas Gift Tags

Making tags with those little pieces of paper you can't stand to throw away

Sorry for the repeat posts, but if you talked to me in real life, you'd notice I repeat myself, too.

Printing on Fabric the Cheap-o Way

When I'm crafting with needle and thread, I like to add images printed on fabric- but using the pre-packaged sheets of printable fabric is expensive. 

I thought I'd share an inexpensive way to print on fabric that I learned from Diane Knott.

Start with a package of full page size labels.  These are Avery 48165.  I bought a package of 10 at Wal-Mart for $4.44. 

You'll also need some medium weight fabric to print on.  I've had good luck with bedsheets and tablecloths purchased at estate sales.

Take the backing off a label sheet, exposing the sticky back.

Press the sticky side of the label to the fabric.

Turn over the label to the fabric side and smooth out any wrinkles.  I've been able to smooth out most small wrinkles just by running my hand across the fabric. 

You will have less wrinkles if you iron your fabric first and work on a hard surface...of course I was in too much of a hurry to do that, so I have some wrinkles- but that's ok, it all turns out fine in the end.

Trim the fabric around the label, so the fabric won't catch when it goes through the printer.

Put your fabric in your printer, making sure you know if your sheet needs to be fabric or paper side up.

...and start printing.

I've found depending on the fabric I'm using, I can re-use a stickly label up to 4 or 5 times, if I do my printing all at the same time.

I use an ink jet printer, and I've only used this method for "craft" printing- not for anything that is washable. I've heard that if you are going to wash your fabric, you might want to treat your fabric first with a product like Bubble Jet to set the ink.

I just printed these for an upcoming Back to School book page swap hosted by Michelle Geller.  I've admired Michelle's handmade books for ages, so I'm excited to be in the swap.

I've sandwiched the printed fabric, a background fabric and fleece and I'm going to machine stitch them together and then hand embellish them...fourteen of them-and then I have to figure out what to do with the back....I better get busy.

Speaking of busy, I've added lots of new treasures to both my Etsy stores SugarPinkMoon and Gathering Dust.

Metal Stuff

Pretty Stuff

...and "low color" stuff.

New Kitchen Curtains- Sure, Just Hand Me That Scissor

I've seen several pictures on Pinterest of lace curtains made by sewing doilies together.  I love the look, and decided to try it.

It's easy to sew the doilies together, but hard to get them hang straight.  I really didn't like this asymetrical look- especially since the doily on right side look out of kittywumpus.  I even tried sewing another squarish doily to the middle, but it still just wasn't what I was looking for.

Today, I decided to give it another try- using a tablecloth- a VINYL tablecloth- no hemming, no fraying. 

At first I just cut off the lace edges - the long sides went to the biggest windows- middle window and the window over the sink. and the short sides went on the smaller side windows.

I was left with the center of the tablecloth- which had a really nice pattern.  I stitched a quick rod pocket and hung it in the center window.  It's sheer enough that plenty of light comes in, but it hids the cobwebs between the windows.

This might not have been my first choice for curtains, but it was cheap, and will certainly work until I figure out how to sew those doilies together.

Ditty Bag Redux via Sew Somerset

Last January, I had a How To on making these lace bags on my blog. 

Last week, the mail box had an early copy of Stampington's Sew Somerset and I was tickled to see they had published one of my little bags.

I love making the bags, using little bits and pieces of pretties.  I was just using doilies and lace, but I've started adding other goodies-  images on fabric.

...embroidery and charms.

...and even a cross stitch band sampler.

I've added another kind of bag, too.  A zippered bag with a strap- I'm calling them flea market purses because they're so handy for carrying the flea market essentials- money, keys, lip balm, tissue, sun glasses etc etc, but the strap is long enough you can wear it across your body, leaving your hands free for shopping.

They've all been walnut stained, so they are "pre-grunged" for you- you don't have to worry about getting them dirty, they already have an aged look.

You can check them all out in my Etsy Shop.

Have a Heart: Little Hearts to Sew Up Fast

 
Karla's Bird Song art retreat is coming up fast, and I want to have some goodies to add to the tote bags we made last month.

I started making these little "bee-hearts" and as I finished each one, I put it in this white wooden bowl.  Whenever I make more than one thing, I like to line up all my "creations" so I can look at them and get a... a... a sense of accomplishment- yes, that's what it is.

Dear Hubby saw them and asked what they were.  I said "Are you asking me why I'm sewing hearts out of a dirty coffee stained towel?"  He said "No, I think they look nice". 

I'm not quite done with them, but I thought maybe you'd like a quick tutorial on making them- they are pretty simple, you can probably just LOOK at them and figure it out- but I think there are so many possible variations that maybe they'd inspire you to make one...or a bowlful.

 
I used a wooden craft heart and a pencil to trace a heart on my fabric.  I know they make special pencil for drawing on fabric, but I didn't have one, and I've got kind of a dirty look going on anyway so, I wasn't too worried about it.

The fabric I used is a heavy dish towel.  Remember when I was coffee dying all those lace bags?  This is the towel that I used to blot the bags and clean up any spills.  Even after repeated washings, it still had an uneven coffee stain look to it- I thought it was perfect for this project.

 
Layer the fabric with the traced heart on top of another piece of fabric and start stitching.  I suggest starting your stitching in the lower right hand corner because it will make stuffing the heart easier later on.  I used three strands of embroidery floss. and my stitches are about 1/4" long.

 
Keep stitching around your heart until you get to about 1 1/2" - 2" from where you started. 

 You don't have to cut or tie off your thread- just leave it on the needle.

 
Using pinking  shears, cut about 1/2" outside your stitching. 

Note: If you decide to make more than one heart, assembly line style- don't do all your pinking in one step.  Maybe I just have bad pinkers, but I thought it was HARD- and I have  blisters to prove it.  Definitely take a break in between pinking your hearts.

 
 Now, if you want, stamp a little design on your heart.

 

Now your ready to use that little gap in stitching to fill your heart with fiberfill. 

I swear, a bag of this can last me forever-  I take a few handfuls out, put the bag back in the closet, and the bag is full the next time I go to use it.  It must grow while it's in the closet.

Stuff your heart and pick up your already threaded needle and finish your stitching. 

 
Then, go make another one.  And another one....

 
I think these would be nice as sachets with lavender, but just like an invisible sewing pencil, I didn't have any, so I just went with what I had.

 
I did try some variations- plain white cotton with blue thread, tea stained with a button, satin with a mother of pearl button and a bit of lace over a damask napkin.

Other ideas- sew on a ribbon for hanging, embroider a name, use to tie on a package, pastel hearts in an Easter basket... any other ideas?

Quick and Easy Handmade Journal

 
 
I've been a little under the weather, so I don't have any "new" junk to show you.  I've been taking it easy, sitting on the couch with scissors, glue and a stack of papers.

Here's a super easy way to make a journal /diary/ scrapbook.  Take a photographer's photo album- the heavy cardboard folder that a picture is displayed in, and cut it at the fold.

Glue on an interesting image to the front- this is from  Green Paper Packages. 

 
Add some pretty paper or a simple collage to the insides of the folder.

 
Hole punch the covers and some sturdy weight paper, add some ring binders...

 
...and you've got a blank book, ready to use...

 
...as a scrapbook, journal, diary, or photo album.  I'm sure I've shown this project before, but its such a simple fast idea  that can be used for a last minute gift, that here it is again.

 

I'll have more book projects to show you later in the week.  This album is for sale in my Etsy Shop- Gathering Dust.

 
While I've been convalescing, I've finished made some more lace bags for my Etsy shop, too. 

Convalescing makes it sound like I'm recovering from something really serious instead of just a little cough, doesn't it?

 
If you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, you've heard me talk about how much fun we have at craft day at Karla's Cottage. 

Now's your chance to craft at Karla's, too- she's having a two day workshop at her cottage studio.  Karla is a wonderful hostess, and the biggest bonus of craft days isn't the new projects you work on or the new techniques you learn, its the time spent with sharing ideas with other like minded creative people.  You can read the details  here.