• Blog

    T Tuesday: coffee dye results & more

    July 29, 2024 - By 

    A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I was doing a bit of coffee dyeing. The heat and humidity were high. The papers took a good while to dry. I had to flip and rearrange the stack multiple times.

    The Results



    These were my favorites of the batch. I definitely learned some things about how the types of paper reacted. Some really thin paper that I thought would be great, really didn’t hold onto the coffee. I bought a vinyl lace tablecloth at the thrift store this winter for the purpose of coffee dyeing papers…do you think I can find it?!?! UGH! So frustrating. I’m sure I’ll find it in the dead of winter when I’m not able to easily coffee dye.

    Vintage finds

    I went to a vintage tractor, car, machinery, etc show with my neighbors on Friday. They have been telling me for years that I’d love it. They were right! So many things to look at. I have enough photos to do an entire post about it. But I couldn’t wait to share the items I bought at the flea market that was also on the grounds.

    I instantly fell in love with this little drawer. I love using interesting vintage items for storage. The color was what got me. I have a decorative wooden box the same color.

    Don’t judge me for the poinsettia tablecloth. It stays on our game table year round simply because it fits perfectly and I like the color in the space.


    Look at the adorable price tag. The booth that I purchased this from had all fun handmade price tags made from recycled boxes. Mine was a Raisinets box.

    I found some vintage papers that will be great for junk journals.

    And this amazing box of postage stamps. Some are sorted into small glassine envelopes but most are piled in the box and other envelopes. It’s a massive amount of stamps really.

    Look how fantastic the glassine envelopes fit in the drawer. It was meant to be.

    I fixed myself a hardy breakfast this morning. I had cooked way too much broccolini yesterday but it was great warmed up alongside the eggs. I used some Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion on top for a flavor boost. I love that stuff on eggs and was really good on the broccolini too.

    Today has me trying some new recipes for dinner. I love trying new things but I hate having to measure and follow directions. I’m more of an intuitive cook but I try to follow recipes at least the first few times.

    T stands for Tuesday
    What are you doing today?
  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    Pretty in pink

    July 28, 2024 - By 

    I really enjoyed putting this page together mostly from scraps. I chose the main image first from this ephemera book I ordered on Amazon over a year ago. Then I went about pulling out pieces from my scraps that spoke to me.

    The pink scrap wasn’t long enough but I decided to use it anyway and embrace the imperfection of it. The overall page still measures 7×10. I used layers of organza ribbon, lace harvested from a shirt and a bit of curtain scrap to help with the illusion of a full length page.

    I used a bulb pin to attach a pretty vintage button for even more texture and a bit of bling.

    I added a ticket cut from scrapbook paper along with a couple other random scraps to my design as well as the postage cancelation sticker. With that I felt I was done and stamped the date. As I was setting up to photograph the page for the blog, I decided it needed a bit more. I found a Tim Holtz butterfly that made me happy. I seem to be all about the butterflies lately.

    This may be my last page for “I’ve got a notion”. Time will tell.

  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    Possibilities

    July 23, 2024 - By 

    Today’s page for “I’ve got a notion” over at Art Journal Journey (which I happen to be hosting this month) is a departure from what I’ve have done so far.  All my previous pages have been loose leaf style and have went into my planner journal. I decided to go back to my roots with art journaling. This book is nearly filled to the brim with journal pages. It kind of got lost in the shuffle and I forgot it even existed…until now.

    I once again used sewing pattern paper in the background. It always provides good texture as a backdrop. I did some simple layering of scraps to form mini collage areas ripe for text.

    I also used some flowers I stamped on book page and fussy cut. The words came from a Tim Holtz sticker book, but what really cracks me up and I only noticed when writing this post…there is a spelling error. The i is missing from possibilities. Makes me feel a bit better about my own typos and grammatical errors that inadvertently get published.

    This is definitely not my favorite page of the bunch. But I’m ok with that. It’s about the process sometimes. Muddling through. Practicing. Honing your skill.

    Won’t you join me for I’ve got a notion .