My Iceland Journal

Howdy. Or I should say "langt síðan síðast". I got this off the internet because my knowledge of the Icelandic language is about zero. I hope its the right way to say "long time no see."

Anyhow, I am still here on this island here in the North Atlantic. This is another pre-post that I wrote before I left, so I am assuming I am having a wonderful time and seeing fabulous things like glaciers and  volcanoes and maybe even a puffin or two.

Or an Icelandic horse.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/03/22/sport/gallery/icelandic-horses/
Aren't these guys cute? Wish this was my photo but its not.

So I wanted to share the journal I made with you. I did not take my journal with me on this trip. First of all I am traveling with friends, and they may not be as tolerant of my journaling time as my family. Plus I think we 're going to be on the go. So rather than lugging it and not using it, I decided I would collect on my trip and do my journal when I got back home. 

But I got my journal ready for my return.
I started with this book cover I had sitting around. Its a tri-fold with 2 big pockets. I started by painting it.

I went with blue for 2 reasons. One, its one of the colors in the Icelandic flag. Also, its a cold color. I thought that might be a good choice for Iceland. :) I used clear modeling paste and a stencil to make this mountain design.

I found this 1950's children's book about Iceland on eBay awhile back. I decided to buy it and use it in my book because I love this map cover. It also came with some stickers- none of which had been used. I think some of them will show up in my journal when I make it.
Iceland looks so little on this map compared to Greenland, but I guess its mostly to scale here.

I took the cover off the old book. I used it and a few of the pages in my main journal signatures. Some of the rest of the book you can see on the left. Look at those great photos. I think some of those might have places when I make up my pages too. Or maybe I will this these unused pages and make a second little set of signatures too.  I'll see when I return.

Here's my binding holes for my signatures.

And my pattern.

And this time I tried my hand at beading the outer binding. I've never done this before and am pretty happy with the results. I even had these little Viking looking beads in my stash. I added one on each end. Perfect for a journal to a country that was settled by Vikings.

More views inside.

And here are some of the stickers.  I like that they are old and have that funky coloring. They'll give a little vintage interest to me pages.

I'll have a lot more to show you of this project once this trip wraps up and I return home. Its my planned project for next week.
Hope everyone is doing well and having a great week. See you soon.

Indigo Blue

I'm away this week. Sorry, no T gang for me today,  but I  did write a couple of pre-posts with some "things" that I haven't gotten around to posting. I do have my phone with me, and I might try posting some trip photos live, if I'm in wi-fi range, as I won't have phone service nor am I traveling with my computer. But I am sure when I get home I'll have a lot of Icelandic views to show you (whether you get any views this week or not.) :)
Today I want to show you some fabric dyeing.
I bought one of these indigo dye kits off of Amazon last summer, and never got around to experimenting with it. I had even bought a bunch of white cloth for dyeing. So this summer I decided it was going to happen.

 First thing I learned using indigo dye is that the dye looks more greenish yellow in the bucket. The blue color actually comes once the dye gets exposed to oxygen and oxidation occurs.

You can see the green turning blue here on this dyed piece.

Last summer  I learned a little bit about Shibori dyeing. I love making different folds.The more I fold and dye, the more I've figured what general result each type of fold gives.  But still, not knowing exactly what will be the final result is part of that art adventure.  I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.

This is one I think really came out nice because its got such great symmetry.

 I find the process fascinating. You can see my skills are at beginner level, but I'm still happy with my results.

A snuck in a little tie-dye too. :)

I find it interesting how slightly different folds and and how the rubber bands you use gives you such a totally different piece of fabric. That's some of the fun.

Some pieces are better than others. But to me, they're all perfect because I'm just playing. I guess I am easily amazed. :)

Then I tried folding and dyeing some colored fabric. I pulled out my scrap bin and pulled out some plain pieces. It was exciting to see how different colors worked with the blue dye.
Here's some of those results.

Now I just need to decide what I want to make with all these pieces of dyed fabric. :)
Hope you enjoyed your views today, and are having a great week so far.
Thanks for stopping by, and I  can't wait to join in with the T gang next week.

I'm Jetting Off

I'm on my way to explore a new land. Who knows what exciting stories I may have to tell when I get back? Huldufólk (elves), puffins, glaciers, volcanoes, icebergs, Icelandic horses, turf homes and Viking sites...and who knows what else? Us geeky science teachers take off this afternoon.
I have a couple of pre-posts but I won't be joining in for T for Tuesday tomorrow. If I can, I'll post some photos from my travels, but I am not taking my computer so I'll have to see if I can figure it out on my phone. And if not, I'll have plenty to show you when I get home. 
But before I jet off, I have one more piece for Art Journal Journey. Thanks Yvonne, I've really enjoyed your theme of "In My Garden".

See you next week!

Garden Angels

Its been a busy but relaxing Saturday in my world. I love days that are fun but you still get to sneak in a long nap- maybe its the benefits of having thunderstorms and rain move in in the late afternoon. :)

So another page for AJJ. Thanks Yvonne for picking such an inspiring theme.

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I was playing with some stamps the other day, having fun playing with some I haven't used for awhile. These lovely ladies got turned into garden angels on my Gelli print background. Since the theme at Art Journal Journey is "In My Garden", I made these ladies become bearers of the green thumb. Just got to watch how I space out my letters a little better as my garden word ended up pretty close to the edge of the page.

So we had fun playing with dogs today in our boat. I also had fun playing with my new little water camera again. 

And no, I still haven't figured out the date yet. An yes, I'm shooting blind so not all my photos are "perfect" but I love them that way.

I was trying to catch a photo of one of the dogs jumping off the boat. But I never managed that since the shutter on this camera isn't super fast. One minute they are in the boat, and then the next they are in water. But I will keep trying.

This was the best I caught.

I really want to catch one of them airborne. I think Maddie gets more air as Pete (the black dog) kind of drops in.  

Because of the lens on the camera it looks like there's big rolling waves. But there wasn't, We anchored on a popular sandbar that is shallow enough you can walk around. There were a lot of boats there.

I think everyone was trying to beat the heat.

Thanks for stopping by!

My Summer Art Journal

 Happy Friday everyone.  Time for a party, as it Paint Party Friday again. Thank you Eva and Kristen for hosting. 

So the heat and humidity is back here in New Hampshire. We've had a lot of it this month but one thing for sure, my gardens are loving it.

So today I have some doodled, stamped, colored and painted pages from my art journal. They're nothing special but just me having fun and keeping a journal of the summer. 

The top page is me playing with some of my animal stamps while trying to work through a little mental stress.

Last week was  wait for medical results for my husband. As I was working on this page, I was thinking about them. I had been thinking about them all week actually, and I had some of that uncover stress. You know, it is there, but not not staring you in the face. Then you get good news and you feel all the weight lift off of you. You're then filled with a lightness that makes very happy.  

As I worked the hubby called with his good news, and that changed what I was doing with this page.

 (FYI-The hubby needs a kidney transplant and I'm his donor. We were waiting on his test results to see if he was ready for the transplant-which came in while I was in the midst of my page.  Now we're waiting for my team to once again clear me with the hopes that I take first quarter off from school and we do the surgery in September.) Keep your fingers crossed.

 And these are just some more fun.

I'm away next week so I won't be joining the party next Friday. 

 I'm really hoping to go see the new Star Trek movie this weekend. This is the one movie I've wanted to go see all summer.  They've done such a good job with these last 2 new ones that I have high hopes for this one. And it got great reviews too.

And I think the hubby wants to go out in his boat, if we don't get thunderstorms. We shall see.

 Hope you have a great weekend.

And as always, thanks for stopping by.

Leaf Flowers

Some abstract flowers today for Art Journal Journey. I made these up, they are not really "In My Garden", which is the theme this month that talented Yvonne has chosen.  I would take them though.

They are all hand painted on a Gelli print, then I did a small amount of stamping to finish off the page.

Our heat is coming back today. Sounds like a good afternoon for my hammock and my book. The dogs are exhausted after our walk and then they ran around while I did a bit of work in my garden. I need to think about packing as I leave on Monday afternoon, which I might start or wait until tomorrow. I have the entire day and night to myself tomorrow as my hubby has work, dialysis and then is going for an overnight sleep study test at the hospital. And tomorrow my daughter has to work and then is going off to the boyfriends for part of the weekend. So it would give me lots of time to pack. Never mind that's me in this summer break mode, everything seems to be put off until tomorrow. (Except my morning walk, my art time and my book and my hammock. I must be really burnt out to be living at that kind of pace-and loving it!)

Anyhow, hope everyone is having a wonderful day.

Birds and Blooms

So yesterday some storms blew through and today (Tuesday) was just gorgeous. I opened all the windows, let the wind blow through and cleaned. From top to bottom. The dogs were at daycare so it was the perfect day to get that much needed chore done. ( I think the dust kitties were the size of a real large cat-eeks!)  With the heat and humidity we had for like a good 2 weeks, it just doesn't get you motivated for pushing  a vacuum around (or doing any other type of heavy duty cleaning).  Anyhow, it made for a productive day. :)

And after cleaning, it was no guilt play time!  I didn't need to feel like I should have been doing something else.

In my Garden is the theme is month at Art Journal Journey.  And in my garden are lots of flowers that I can pick and make bouquets with. Well, at least right now there are.
I used a Gelli print background, some paint, a free hand cut vase from red paper, some Stabilo pencils and lastly this fun little  bird stamped image. 

A short post from me. Thanks for coming by and hope you enjoyed your visit.

How Long Does The Ice Stay Before It Melts

Happy Year 3 Celebration to T for Tuesday! Stop by Bluebeard and Elizabeth's blog for the party! 

So today I have a new insulated mug to show you for T Day. 

My brother-in-law was telling me about his Yeti tumbler on the 4th of July. He said it keeps his drink cold all day at work, and then the next morning, it is still cool. My hubby has a Yeti can/bottle holder that I got him for Christmas which works as well keeping a bottle or can cold for a long time.

So I keep myself hydrated this summer by filling a pitcher with water, a couple of tea bags and ice. I then fill a glass with ice and add some of this tea. I drink off the pitcher all day. Of course the ice in my glass melts down and the sides of the glass get covered in condensation, which then drips down onto my work table and drips onto my artwork...  :)

   Well I was sick of the warm watered down tea and all the condensation drips, so I happened to be in a store last weekend during my road trip north and saw these Yeti tumblers. So I decided to splurge on one for myself. Last week I was experimenting to see if it worked as well as Yeti advertised and  as my brother-in-law said.

(My brother-in-law is a smart man. His is a genuine physicist , with  PhD, so if he says it stays cold for so long, I would suspect it does.)

Here's my first cup of tea for the day. You can see the time I poured it.

Time for another refill. But this is the same ice as in the morning. A little melted, but still there.

And I need more tea. Still, the same ice. A little more melted, but keep in mind we were having a hot day!

And no condensation. (Big smile)

And I made a fun little journal page with some ice, but it must not be in my Yeti mug because it is melting.   

I'm linking up to Try It On Tuesday. The new challenge is Make Us Smile. I used these fun stamped angry penguins from Katzelkraft. They're not happy their ice is melting.  Ha-ha.
Best thing to do when its hot is sip my COLD tea and read.  Makes me happier than those penguins.
And here's a book I read that was only so-so. It had good parts that I enjoyed and then all of a sudden it would drone on. Then it would pick up again.  But I did learn a little bit about rare wines, and a bit about the fake wine market.

So when that was finished I moved onto these 2 books.

 I read this Vampire book years ago and pulled it out of my stash.  Its a fun read. I wanted a light and fun read after the wine book. This is the book that initially inspired the HBO show True Blood, and is the first of the whole set of Sookie Stackhouse novels.
 And this is an interesting book about Iceland.  I buzzed through a lot of the saga info, for although interesting, not what I was up to reading. But I finished the book in a night. The photos are pretty cool too. I'm getting excited, can you tell?

OK, I've babbled on quite  bit today. 

Stop by and join up with the T gang on this celebration Tuesday.  And hope your Tuesday is a great day too.

Always Follow Your Heart

Today I have a different kind of garden page for Art Journal Journey. This month's theme is "In My Garden", hosted by Yvonne.

My page is a little abstract, but the garden should be a place created with love, that is if you love working in outdoor spaces.

When I was cleaning out some papers last week I found this very pretty paper towel (kitchen roll). It was covered with ink from various spraying and stamping of other projects, and I liked it enough to attach it onto the watercolor paper which I used for my journal page and  so the paper towel became my background. 

The flowers are stamped and then painted. I hand cut the heart and also stamped the saying.  To get it to stamp clear enough  to read I first put down a bit of green paint. That's one issue working with paper towels, they have a little texture to them.

So yesterday we went up to my mother-in-laws since she lives on a pond and it was so humid a little swim was necessary.  I brought my water camera along because it was another opportunity to play with it, and I got some photos that really made me happy. One of my husband's sisters was there, along with her daughter. And we had the dogs too.

I got some really cool underwater photos. (And yes, I still haven't figured out how to set the date yet.)

I love this one of my niece. She had just dived off the swim raft. I shot all these underwater shots blind,  just by putting the camera in the water and clicking the shutter.

I even got a shot of the "killer" sunfish who guards his nest ferociously at the bottom of the steps.  He likes to chase you and "gum" you with his stubby teeth. It makes it a little tricky getting in and out of the water.

Yesterday's dog trick was to teach them to climb the ladder onto the swim raft. 

Pete, the black dog in the back, was very quick to figure out the ladder to get himself up on the raft. But Maddie figured out how to leap off. Of course, none of us for expecting her to do that so I never got a shot, but she looked fantastic, getting a lot of air.

I think the view from the water perspective is great. Certainly changes my summer photos. :)

Hope everyone's new week starts off in a good way.