Travel Journal Cover

I stayed home the other day to nurse my eye. Part of nursing is also nourishing your soul- and how you'll heal faster if your soul is happy. So I spent a little time working on the cover of a travel journal I am putting together.

Made me very happy.

I like to try different things when I make a journal, see what I like.  My last few travel journals I used a small ringed binder I picked up at Staples that I was happy with, but this time I wanted to try a slightly different shape. So I picked up a Maya Road chipboard book that's still a ringed binder. Love rings so I can  rearrange pages as the day calls for.

This isn't quite the journal I used, but this is another Maya Road journal. Mine is more square and my inner pages don't have the tabs.

 Happy the way my cover came out. Not sure my embossing on the spine is my all time favorite, but still like how it worked out. I covered the chipboard spine with some aluminum tape, embossed with an embossing tool and then used brown, mahogany and black paint over the tape.

The lovely lady on the cover is from the Abraham Lincoln stamp set by Oxford Impressions.

I think she is suppose to be Mary Todd Lincoln but to me she looked kind of like a Spanish lady who might be an historic local in New Mexico where I am heading off too.

In 3 weeks!

I also used a Tim Holtz frame and a small religious medal I had in the stash. I added a little paint to the medal to make it look antiqued. The oval I cut was a lot smaller than the frame opening so I slid in some copper patined paper I had from eyars ago, did a bit of stenciling on it too. I know it doesn't look like an old photo but I love the image it portrays.

On the cover I used some paper scraps and lots of stenciling with paints. I'm happy with the texture it has.

I should just say I am happy overall with the cover. A lot less writing that way.

So the eye is getting there- a little less swelling every day and a little less purple every day. Man, the different shades of purple it has been is amazing- plum, pinkish, Crayola marker purple...

here's my original post in case you are curious.

http://fat-emma.blogspot.com/2014/01/aggresively-icing.html

Thanks for visiting.

Hope to see you again soon.

Weekend Wrap Up

Waiting for my smothered pork chops to finish cooking so we can have dinner-another 15 minutes to go. Katie wants to leave early to get back to school before the big game, and we'll be watching it too- Pats versus Ravens for AFC championship. Glad it is the later game today. Gave me some time to watch a silly movie with Katie and make some time for playing in the studio. Worked on putting together a journal for my trip in February.

Here's a few views.

I love my cover page.  I used a 7Gypsies book cover with the front opening-and I added this lady who is an image from Oxford Impressions. I stamped her on glossy paper twice: on one I cut her out and gave her a bit of color, on the other I colored the the background with mango and brown dry inks and then over stamped that with some copper Pigment ink and this small southwestern image. I then glue the first lady down over the second one. What you can't see in this photo is that I went back later and added some copper Twinkling H2O's on the thicker grey line around the frame and then outlined the swirls with a gold pen. Gives it a bit more depth. 

Am using a 3 ring binder again, one of these mini-ones that you can buy at Staples. I like that because I can make a bunch of pages and then rearrange them as I work on the journal during the actual trip. Here I used a bunch of tags and transparent pages from 7Gypsies that have been sitting in my stash. The left page here has a tree and staying stamped on them from Character Constructions.

I also used some other 7Gypsies paper and pages and on this one I added some 7Gypsies embellishments (from the stash-love using these up!!!!!!) and this Jenni Bowlin journal tag I also found in my stash.

One last look.

So yesterday Katie and I went house and girl shopping- first went to find some sliding storage drawers for a built in cabinet Dave is making for me-our bedroom is a clothing disaster and I really need a big storage place instead of a bureau for my clothes. 

Luckily they opened one of these stores down on the North Shore of Massachusetts which is only a little over an hour away. This is what I think I am going to get for this cabinet-just the sliding drawers.

Right now they are 30% off so I need Dave to figure out my space and size requirements so I can go get them before the price goes back up.

Katie and I also hit Chico's and got some mark down clothes (5 pieces for the full price of 1-that is a really great deal) and went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch.

Not that I needed the cheesecake but it so yummy and how do you chose from this selection?

I had tiramisu flavored cheesecake-delicious. Glad this restaurant is a little over an hour away because it makes it less tempting to go to on a regular basis. Even the salad I ate part of for lunch can't make up for the calories here.

So the smothered pork chops were delicious. Think for dessert I will have a chocolate martini, while I watch the game. Tomorrow, the weekend pigging out is over for another 5 days in hope I can shed a little weight before spring.

Wishes.

Thanks for stopping by and sorry if you are a big football or Tom Brady fan-but

GO PATS!

Chilly

The weather has changed a bit and we're in the cold!!!! But it is Sunday and the fire is blazing in the woodstove and the house is toasty...I can sit home all day and play in the studio...plus do a few other mini- chores I want to get done.

And hurray-Maine won last night against UMassLowell- Lowell is #1 in Hockey East right now and it was a fast paced, nail biting kind of game. Love it. Dave and I went with his sister and brother-in law who we've been to qutie a few games with this year. Fun to have another couple to share the joy and pain with. Had a fun dinner before the game with lots of other Maine fans at the Beer Works ...had some delicious brew and a yummy meatloaf sandwhich...oh yes.

So today I want to celebrate spring and warmth and all those things it is NOT today in New Hampshire. I used green cardstock which I stamped in mango ink some Autumn Leaves postmarks, the word RUSH from a clear mail art stamp set (that I can't remember who made but the I think the company is no longer making stamps) and a great old fashion sign stamp from Oxford Impressions new Spring set.  Then I die cut the little frame (Sizzix) and stamped the words using Technique Tuesday's spring word set (now retired), I die cut the leafy braches (Sizzix) and stamped the chick on white paper (also from the new Oxford Impressions spring set). I colored him and cut him out and then attached him amongst the leaves. Then I took the mango ink and gave the card a few rubs just to give it a bit of depth and a bit more of a vintage feel. I used another older but goody rubber stamp- this time from Hero Arts. The mini butterfly comes from an old mini-butterfly set, and I stamped those in red and then used a Sakura gelly-roll pen to brighten them and give them some depth. Finally I rounded the corners and took I white pen and doodled in the white stitching- it goes around the whole card edge though in this photo you can't see it. 

In case you can't figure this one out, I used the far far away post mark because that's how spring feels right now and I used the rush word because that's what I want it to do.

So have a wonderful Sunday.

Thanks for visiting too.

More from the Archive

More archives today. Here's a card from 2 years ago!

I called this whole set of cards I made The Buggy tea Party.

This card started with a red cardstock base and I added to that first some plumish cardstock and then some light purple polka dot paper. Eyelets were added.  I used water color markers to stamp the flowers along the bottom of the card. The tea pot is from Oxford Impressions- but I stamped and colored that on plain paper and cut that out. Once I attached it I stamped the little butterflies (Hero Arts) and hand added the dotted fly lines. And I added the trim. The saying on the red paper is from River City Rubber Works. Lastly, I added the postmark and posted mark using Autumn Leaves Postal set...another set I just adore and use a lot.

My challenge to myself with this theme was to make a whole set of tea related cards using insects on each card somehow...I think this works quite well... a bit fantasty...a bit tea pot let outside after a great afternoon picnic.

Another BEAUTIFUL day here in New Hampshire...I think summery weather has actually arrived...not too hot, not too cold, clear skies.

GOT TO LOVE IT!

Happy Day!

Light and Airy

It's Wednesday night...one of those nights where I had good intentions but instead took a LONG nap and now only want to crash on the couch and watch tv...eat popcorn for dinner...I think its the late winter blahs...snow on the ground and just keep watching slowly melt...too slowly after Monday's 5 inches of snow rewhitened what had melted...frustration to say the least. Work has just been busy too...this week is one of those super busy almost overwhleming weeks. Last night I motivated myself to do a few things...but tonight...it is NOT happening. I can tell you that.

So instead. I will blog and post this card  made a couple of Saturdays ago.

I started with  a piece of white card stock and some watercolor markers. I colored the flowers (Hero Arts) and with a light spritz of water I stamped them. This technique has been all over some blogs lately- and its a great way to make a nice watercolor look. You can do the same thing with watercolor pencils or watercolor paints. Glad to see its making a comeback. On a seperate sheet of paper I stamped the woman (Oxford Impressions)  and  I used some very light toned Copics to add a bit of color to it.

Then I layered a  piece of textured paper, and put my beautiful woman down and added a few dragonflies (Hero Arts) and a round word (Hero Arts). And I added a saying veritcally (PostModern Designs). I really like this card, its light and airy and the I love the colors...wish my world were these colors right now...not brown and mud and dirty white and grey skies....

Anyhow, hope your Thursday is great.

More of America

Thought I'd show you a bit more of my American Journey book that I started to show you yesterday. The top page is to represent the westward expansion and that mythic period of  our history. I stamped a CHF cheesecloth stamp on each page and stamped clouds (Magenta) on a seperate sheet and after lightly blueing the paper around the cheesecloth I added the cut out clouds. The barbed wire is by Stampotique and the calvary is by Acey Deucy and those got stamped directly on the page. The other images are all stamped, colored and cut out before being added. Some of the Oxford Impression images I stamped on brown paper, to give it a more vintage feel.

The page below is to represent American pride. Stamps are by Artistic Outpost with Hero Arts in the background- both the lines and the stars (stamped those blue polka dot stars on the back side of the blue polka dot paper and then cut them out. The Statue of Liberty (Artistic Outpost) is placed down on some stamped lined notebook paper which I then cut out to make some background paper. I added the Jolee's  flag borders. These 2 pages are at the end of the book, a good wrap up for the other more historical pages. Though I must say I love the retro theme of these Artistic Outpost stamps.

So want to catch the weather to see if we're going to get the BIG storm tonight into tomorrow. Maybe a snow day... tomorrow...on the fence about that...but think I'll get less at home than at work so that is ok with me. Anyhow...happy Tuesday. Stay warm.

An Adventure Today

I admit, every day is an adventure, but today is one where I'm going out and about and not staying right near home- taking a personal day at work and going off with my friend Vicky to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. Can't wait.  We're going to see the exhibit from the Forbidden City in China, which is really exciting...plus Salem is a neat OLD town and its fun just to get away for a day...I mentally NEED it. I'm hoping this will push me out of my mental slump...the other day at work I was just about having it with frustrations and I sat in a meeting where I realized my frustrations were minor compared to this other group of peoples, and its amazing how that lifted me up and made me feel better about me-but really bad for these people. A little sympathy can show you how blessed you are...a reminder we all need sometimes I guess. Plus its nice not having to rush out to work and deal with all the nit-picky details that seem to be there lately.

So today's card is another of my Christmas ones. The background is a word stamp that arrived in a collection of word stamps I won on eBay. Think may from Stampendous???? I know the Santa and Boy are from Oxford Impressions, its one of my favorite holiday stamps. The tape is ends from some Martha Stewart tape (and it looks like its popping up but its not) and the tag is one I bought and the Love Santa stamp is one of my oldest stamps, bought it back around 1999/2000 when I first got into stamping...but it fits the tag Perfectly. And everything is stamped in red (obviously, eh?)...this card was VERY quick and faily easy.

Got to LOVE it!

getting up is soooo hard

Mornings are COLD and DARK. Who wants to roll out of bed? Not me, but I do. The week is flying by...pretty soon I can have 2 sleep in mornings...and since I'm in my hibernating mode I do sleep in...so much for getting up to walk in the morning like I do so well in the warmer months. Maybe I'm part bear- a kind of hibernater in the cold wintery/late fall weather.

So this card came out really nice. The background is a PostModern Design flower background that is embossed in brown. The reading girl is from Oxford Impressions-colored with Copics. Felt snowflake by Hero Arts, circlely punched design (isn't that an intelligent name?) by Martha Stewart and then there's sparkling blue ric-rac trim over that. Loving this circlely punch and how its REALLY WIDE so I can overlap some kind of trim along the middle of this. Love the boldness of Copic color too. (I'd love a chair that color green.) Card reminds me of a cold winter night which is why I added the snowflake.

And since this is a COLD morning...again. Always amazes me how the change of month seems so random-why 31 days in October and 30 in September?, but then you get there and November really is very different from October...Halloween is such a turning point in the environment...bare trees, colder temperatures, obviously darker days...whereas right before Halloween you have trees with some leaves and a bit warmer weather most days. Huh! So much can amuse my tired early morning mind, eh?