• Art - Blog - Creativity

    Fabric, lace and trims…oh my!

    July 1, 2026 - By 

    I’m happy to be hosting over on Art Journal Journey once again. I believe this is the 5th time I have joined in this capacity. It’s very kind of our hosts to save a summer month for me, as I am currently off work for the season—one of the perks of working in K-12 education. Enough about me… I want to introduce our theme this month:

    Fabric, lace and trims…oh my!

    I have a passion for sewing as well as paper arts, and I couldn’t help but pick a theme that would join the two. I hope you have as much fun playing along as I have making my first page.

    Before I get into the details, I wanted to mention that I’m making all of my pages this month in a very custom size to fit in a ledger with a 4 ring binding.

    It’s been in my stash for far too long not to be used. 

    I really love working with loose leaf type pages, so this seemed absolutely a perfect pairing for my project.

    My pages measure 5in x 8in. Not your typical sizing but when you are working with a vintage item, you just have to roll with it.

    I started with an 8×8 sheet of scrapbook paper that I trimmed to 5×8. The paper itself had a lot of character but I didn’t let that stop me from putting down lots of layers.

    I used a script stamp and distress ink for some background interest. Then began layering a scrap of vintage wallpaper…using the back side because it had that gorgeous aged color. The horse photo has been in my stash as long as I’ve had a stash. I’m pretty sure it was one of the farm horses from my mom’s youth. The photo happened to be torn…tearing the man that was holding the horse in half. Not to worry…I covered him up with a bit of fabric. You’d never have know if I didn’t tell you.

    I was actually inspired to use the photo after all this time because of one of the fabric scraps. It was an off-cut with a horse theme…you can see the tail above the lace medallion.

    Making collages like this, layering up paper and textiles is one of my favorite things to do. Whether is on a journal page, an embellishment for a card or just a quick scrap busting project without an immediate use.

    The words for my page came from my tiny drawer of found text. I never know if I’m going to find something that speaks to me but this phrase certainly did. I love horses but have had a couple bad experiences while riding. I have learned that the trust with a horse goes both ways…they need to trust you as well.

    Typically I wouldn’t add a back to my loose leaf pages but this flyleaf with library pocket was just too perfect. I might add a tag or something into the pocket at some point but for now its just empty.

    I hope you’ll play along this month for my theme of Fabric, lace and trims…oh my! over at Art Journal Journey.

    Art Journal Journey
  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    AJJ: Flower Specimen

    July 26, 2025 - By 

    Todays journal page came from a little sewing table organizing. This always seems to happen to me. I go to organize then get distracted or inspired, abandoning my original quest and dive in to my latest thought.

    There happened to be a stack of sewing pattern paper at the back of my table begging to be used, as well as some fun orange papers I picked up in a grab bag at a recent rummage sale. This was enough to get my mind onto creating instead of cleaning and organizing.

    I folded the pattern piece to the approximate size of my journal, then stitched a rectangle in the center to hold things together as I began building the page on the other side.

    I used a length of eyelet lace and a scrap of vintage plaid for the next layer…giving them a little stitch together before using Fabri-Tac to adhere the piece to the sewing pattern paper. The teal brought out the leaf color from the orange floral paper just perfectly. Plus I love that combination. I also really love pink and orange together.

    I decided to highlight the “specimen” with a circle die cut before layers some ticket and label stickers.

    Behind the floral paper is a pumpkin vine embossed piece. Not really my cup of tea so I covered the majority of it with the floral paper. I ended up adding the bit of fabric ruffle to hide the rest of the pumpkins…out of sight, out of mind.

    The upper corner felt a little lacking so I stapled a tiny piece of handmade paper and added a tiny specimen card with a butterfly. These additions made it felt complete.

    I had so much fun making this page. Getting distracted isn’t always bad, I guess.

    Stop by Art Journal Journey and check out the linked pages everyone is creating based on my Botanicals theme this month!

  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    AJJ: fabric floral

    July 19, 2025 - By 

    I had a little play this morning with some fabric I picked up at a church rummage sale on Thursday.

    I cut a paper scrap down to 7×10 to fit in my planner journal then tore the fabric to approximately the right size. Next I put a bit of tape runner in the center to hold the fabric in place while I stitched around to create a stable base to work.

    Teal and orange are such a wonderful color combo. The bits of teal against the warm palette were very inspiring.

    I pulled from my stash and starting the layering process.

    Adding more and more bits from my table.

    I keep this glass cookie jar on my sewing table to toss little bits of this and that in as I am crafting. This system works really well for both containment and inspiration.

    This color scheme really spoke to me. It was hard to decide when this one was done.

    The mix of fabric, lace and paper has me very pleased with the end result.

    I’d love it if you’d stop by Art Journal Journey and play along with my Botanical theme this month.