inspiration monday

now that all the pages in my "elvie journal" are filled,  it's time to create a new

journal!  but this time,  i'd like to do something a little different,  and the great thing

about putting together your own journal is there really are no rules!

 you can use any paper you like, and fold as many pages as you want......

you can add your own artwork to the cover

 (for mine,  i've taken inspiration from my "orange journal").....

you can sew it together however you like

using your favorite color of thread.....

and once you're finished,  you can add any artwork you want
to all those fabulous pages inside!
voila......your very own custom journal!


{this "wings journal" was created using davey board,  
scrapbook paper,  silvertone eyelets,  waxed linen thread,  
140 lb. fabriano artistico HP and CP paper,
pitt pens,  pan pastels,  8B graphite pencil,  
and winsor&newton workable fixative}


{if you'd like to learn how to create your own
coptic journal with a sturdy watercolor paper cover,
please join me over at creative workshops 
for my "life stuff" online class!  you can read more here!}

inspiration monday.....and a giveaway!!

welcome to my cyber-celebration....

the doors to my new online class, "life stuff" open today!!

  woo hoo!!

to get things started,

i'd like to share a little sneak-peek of what's going on in the classroom:

first, we'll take some large sheets of watercolor paper.....

and tear it up.

then we'll fold it in half......

and we'll create some whimsical artwork using all our favorite supplies.....

(i'm providing this "life stuff" design to get you started, 
and there's lots of video instruction devoted to 
creating the front and back cover artwork, as well as making the journal!)

and then we'll sew everything together!

⬆front                                                               ⬇back

but the celebration doesn't stop there, because
i'm giving away this life stuff journal!
it's filled with yummy blank watercolor pages.....
and lots of love, hugs, and gratitude for all of the wonderful ways
you inspire me through your heartfelt notes, comments, and visits to my blog!
thank you SO much, dear bloggy sweeties!!

***

this giveaway is for a blank watercolor "life stuff" journal!  to participate,

all you have to do is leave a comment (just one, please!) on this post by 
wednesday, october 31st at 10:00 p.m. (EST)!  
once the comments are closed on wednesday, i'll randomly choose a name 
and announce it on thursday, november 1st!
please make sure your comment either links back to 
your blog, or you leave your e-mail so i can contact you if your name is chosen!
(this giveaway is open to all those who are 18 years of age or older.)

***

and.....if you'd like to learn how to create your very own coptic journal,

  please join us in class!

{this class is hosted by creative workshops.  all those who are registered will receive an invitation to the class,  and all of the videos and printouts will be available right away.    the class is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so you can work at your own pace and you'll have access to the class whenever you want.  this class will be offered for at least one year (and most likely much longer), so you'll have plenty of time to finish viewing all of the videos.  for registration, please click here!}

**edited:  comments are now closed.  thanks SO much for participating!!

inspiration monday.....and a giveaway!

when you go out searching for the perfect journal,

what do you look for?

one that lays flat when you open it?  

one that's not too small.....or not too big?

one that has the perfect paper inside?

well, i think there's no better way to get exactly what you want than by creating it yourself!

so, let's make a journal.....in my new online class, offered over at creative workshops!!  

i'm super excited to announce my new adventure....

life stuff:  a coptic journal project

.....and it starts on october 29th!!  woo hoo!

i've got lots of videos and printouts to show you how to create your own
40-page watercolor journal with those

gorgeous coptic chain stitches trickling down the spine......

and we'll even put some artwork on the covers!

(i'm providing this artwork design for you to use, 

but if you'd rather create a more personalized cover, i'll share some tips on that, too!) 

and once we're finished, you'll have your very own coptic journal

with lots of blank pages inside to create all that happy-life-stuff-artwork
you have swirling around in your head!

for more information and registration,
please click here!


****

to celebrate, i'd love to give away a seat in the class!
all you have to do is leave a comment (just one, please!) on this post by 
wednesday, september 19th at 10:00 p.m. (EST)!  
once the comments are closed on wednesday, i'll randomly choose a name 
and announce it on thursday, september 20th!
please make sure your comment either links back to 
your blog, or you leave your e-mail so i can contact you if your name is chosen!
(this giveaway is open to all those who are 18 years of age or older.)

and.....if you've already registered for the class, please join in the giveaway!
if your name is chosen, your registration fee will be refunded to you!

****

edited:  comments are now closed.....thank you to all those who entered the giveaway!!

{this class is hosted by creative workshops.  once the class opens on october 29th, all those who are registered will receive an invitation to the class and all of the videos and printouts will be available right away.    the class is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so you can work at your own pace and you'll have access to the class whenever you want.  this class will be offered for at least one year (and most likely longer), so you'll have plenty of time to finish viewing all of the videos.  for more information, please click here!}

pretty in pink

there was a time when the first color i reached for in the crayon box was blue-violet. everything in my world was blue-violet. and then one day my eyes were opened to orange....any shade of orange. i love orange......especially with this color infusion of hot pink!

this dynamic duo looks great in little diamonds.....

or as dots on steroids....

or all folded up neatly, with just a peek to lure you inside for more.

it's orange, it's pink.

it's a dreamsicle, with a cotton candy chaser.

(the only thing missing are the chocolate chips.)

this journal is available in my shop here.

happy jacket

sometimes when i'm standing in the paper aisle over at one of my favorite paper haunts (and i'm trying to ignore the increased rapid beating of my heart and sudden clamminess on the palms of my hands due to the excitement of being in said paper aisle), i ask myself,

"if i were a blank journal, what would i want to be covered with?"

because paper on a blank journal is really kind of like wearing your favorite jacket. you know....that feeling that you look really good in that jacket.....

and it makes you happy.

so, i hope this little doodle journal feels really good in this new jacket.....

and i hope it feels happy.....

because it sure makes me happy!

more info and photos here in my shop

purple hearts

i was cruising the aisles of one of my favorite art stores the other day,

and this paper caught my eye. how could i possibly resist those charming little clusters of purple hearts.....

especially when i knew how sweet they would look alongside six rows of delightful little chain stitching!

more photos and information about this journal here.

a journal and a dancing mango

when i saw this paper, my memory reminded me of a time when my favorite outfit was a pair of stonewashed blue jeans and a beautiful brown suede fitted jacket.....you know, the kind with big leather patches sewn on the elbow section of the sleeves (which kinda indicates how far i'm going back in time!). for whatever reason, these denim blues and brown flourishes really spoke to me. isn't it amazing how one little piece of paper can provide such a random slice of joyful nostalgia?!

and speaking of random, the number 45 was chosen for the giveaway...... which means that darlene over at a dancing mango will be receiving a set of holly jolly note cards!! congratulations darlene! i'll be contacting you shortly for your address!

and thanks SO much to everyone who participated! your sweet comments and support mean more to me than i could ever express!!

i hope you have a fabulous weekend!!

little birdie

"you must loooove the little birdies to give them THIS to perch on"

as said by steve martin in the movie "roxanne"

the other day i was running errands and had just enough time to stop in michael's.....just to see if there was anything new.....or heaven forbid maybe something that i don't already have (highly unlikely, but always possible, i suppose). as i was running through the paper aisle, i must have left shopping-cart-skid-marks on the floor when i spied this!! and there were lots of fun coordinating papers to go with it, too, so i immediately thought of creating a journal......to give those sweet little birdies something to perch on....

you can see more photos and information for this journal here

count your blessings

bless-ing: (noun): a special favor, mercy, or benefit.

a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness.

if i were to write down every single blessing that was showered down upon me today, i could easily fill an entire book.....i just hope i can count that high.....

more information and photos of this journal can be seen here

red botanical

i feel like i've been neglecting my etsy shop again. i don't know how i always get so sidetracked....i have SO many things that i want to do and the day is gone before i even get started on my list! anyway, i was out snooping for supplies the other day and saw this paper..... and immediately started to drool....so, it went in my cart....automatically.

actually, if you've visited my blog before, you probably already know that i didn't just buy one sheet of this paper, i bought three. that way when i use one, then i'll still have two. there's logic there somewhere....it's when i try to explain it to my little dutch boy that things get sketchy.....

see more details of this journal here!

be happy

happiness is.....sleeping late on a saturday morning.....receiving flowers just because....cooking fish without overcooking it....date night.....the sound of the ocean....my family.....time spent being creative....saying "i love you".....hearing "i love you".....opening a new box of crayons.....answered prayer....hugs from great friends.....listening to frogs sing right after a rainstorm.....being part of such a wonderfully creative blogland neighborhood (and having such great bloggy neighbors!!).....a bike ride after dinner.....hearing my kids laugh....seeing things with new perspective......feeling healthy.....a piece of dark chocolate (or two) around 3:00 in the afternoon.....living a full, very blessed life......

what's on your list of "all things happiness"?

you can learn more about this journal here in my etsy shop

edited: my sweet friend laura over at prairiepeasant just notified me that one of my journals is featured in the etsy newsletter here.....oh, yes....happiness all over the place.....yes, yes!! :)

book of bliss

bliss...happiness, gladness, joy, peace, paradise, serenity, cloud 9, enthusiasm, optimism, laughter, excitement, delight...bliss.  

see more photos of this blank journal here in my etsy shop!

happy dreams

Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true. Joseph Cardinal Suenens

i don't know how or when it happens, but it seems like one day i'm rolling along just fine balancing the house, the etsy shop, the blog, the errands, the studio work, the appointments, the life-in-general-stuff...and then just like that, something will happen to throw everything out of balance and it takes me forever to catch up!  so, this morning i made my list of priorities, and decided that the house needed my attention first (the dust bunnies were starting to carry their picket signs again in protest for better conditions).  and, actually, i really don't mind cleaning the house or the wonderful sense of satisfaction when i'm done...and the big smile on my dutch boy's face when he notices i spruced the place up a bit certainly makes it all worthwhile!  but, i must confess that i'm dreaming of a day when it won't be so obvious that i cleaned....or, that the house won't get so bad that i have to pretend that i'm not home so that the health department van that keeps circling the block will go away.  yes, a clean house and life back in balance...now, that's a happy dream!

you can see more images and read more about this handmade book here or here.

inspiration monday

many years ago, we had the fabulous opportunity to live in brussels, belgium.  oh, the memories i have...the mussels, the fries, the belgian waffles, and, of course, the dark belgian chocolate!  and, just so you don't think it was all about food, the architecture was spectacular too (but i really did love the food!)!  but as beautiful as brussels was, there were a few times when we were able to take the train to london...and when that train would pull itself out of the chunnel and into the outskirts of the city, i was as giddy as a school girl on her first field trip!   so when i came across this fabric in my stash, all of those wonderful memories instantly came back to me and i was totally inspired to put that energy towards this new journal.  if you've been to london, you might spy one of your favorite landmarks on the covers.  and if you haven't been to london, i highly recommend it...and while you're over there, head on over to brussels and paris, too!

you can see more photos of this book here, and in my etsy shop here.

know life

i thought i'd share one of my most recent books with you today.  this blank journal is covered with linen book cloth and bound using a 6-needle coptic stitch.  the quote on the front is actually a clear sticker that i've had forever, and i burnished it onto one of the decorative papers that i used inside the book.  then, i inset it onto the front cover to help keep it protected.  i think that these papers have a little bit of a 60's vibe...you can see more photos here!

learn, grow, laugh

i was pawing through one of the drawers in my studio several days ago and came upon my dymo label maker.  and because i'm always thinking books, books, books, this idea popped into my head!  the design is simple.  very simple.  i hope it's not too simple...sometimes i worry about stuff like that!  each label has been inset into the cover, and i've used a coptic stitch for the binding.  for a peek inside (there's some fun papers hugging the signatures), click here! 

butterfly coptic

i was instantly drawn to the calmness of this paper...and i'm especially loving that big white butterfly on the front!  this journal was constructed in the same way as my other recent journals:  a coptic binding, with 70 lb. writing paper inside, along with some other coordinating decorative papers.  i have some other ideas for switching things up a bit inside.  now if i could only find the time to do it all! 

dragonfly, dragonfly

i stumbled upon this paper and went crazy...and you know that i bought extra,  just to keep my paper stash happy!  finds like this really make my day, and when i noticed that little faux postage stamp, well, that was the cherry on top!  don't you absolutely love it when a plan comes together?! 

handmade, coptic bound book with decorative paper wrapped around italian velata signatures. 

you can find this journal on flickr and etsy.

 

bird coptic

i just finished my latest coptic book structure.  this one has the most beautiful collaged-look decorative paper...and i really love the bird that's featured center stage.  and i got so involved in sewing the book together, that i completely forgot to add some other papers around each signature inside (of course, i noticed this omission after i was finished sewing the book together!).  so, still wanting to add a little interest to the text pages, i decided to take my scraps,  paper punches, needle, and thread, and sew some bits and pieces here and there throughout the book.  i'm loving the end result...and it seems to have satisfied (for today) this crazy obsession i have for sewing on paper!

click on each image for better view