Continue On

I continue on - healing from a concussion. The only creative thing I am doing lately is working on journal pages as I also continue to take a course from the amazing Judy Wise.
Here are some pages that I painted and decorated, and are waiting for me to write on them.

On the bottom of this page I stuck part of a tag that was on my new jeans. It says "this product is made from the finest materials and designed to move naturally with your body." I thought those words worked so well for my new journal.

Judy talks about the importance of including your own work on journal pages, so I included a copy of a painted face that I tore and added some paint and scribbles too.

This page went in an entirely different direction, but I loved doing it. I am excited to add my thoughts by writing (hopefully daily) on each of these pages.

One of the things Judy showed us how to do was to make a stencil of ourselves, so that is me smiling away on the corner of that page.

I found this artwork in the newspaper with an article about a women who fell when skating and is struggling to heal from a concussion. I knew it had to be included in my journal.

Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

All you need to make these beautifully dyed eggs
is some onion skins,

some white eggs, and a pair of old nylons that you cut the legs out of.

Each egg turns out so beautiful. Last year I wrote a post with instructions on how to make these (you can find it here). And since Easter is only two weeks away, I thought I would show you these eggs with some time to gather what you need in case you want to join me in making some.

I have found that it doesn't make a difference in the colour on the egg whether you use the red onion skins or the yellow ones. What does make a difference is how tightly you hold the peels against the egg, so I always nestle them as tightly as I can. When the eggs are finished, I then rub them with a paper towel that has a little vegetable oil on it. This gives the eggs a nice sheen.

I always love how they turn out.

Journal Page #1

I have been a maker of books for a few years now, but I have never been a journaller. I have wanted to write in these books, but I never managed to. So when Judy Wise offered up a class on journaling, I jumped at the opportunity to take it. It helped that I made a new journal that I knew I was going to throw paint into, and not worry about messing up.

And here is my first page in my journal.

I am far behind in the lessons, as Judy has many ideas on page development and writing prompts - but I will get there. I will continue to work at the speed that I am able to . Learning, trying and growing.

Journal For Me

I have used my bird drawings on the covers of
the new journal I am making.

Here they are as a work in progress, ready to be bound into a book.

And here is the journal ....

Inside front cover, and lovely blank pages ready for me to journal in.

Inside of back cover.

and the back of the book. It measures about 10 inches by 7.5 inches, and I can't wait to have the energy to work inside it! ......Concussion symptoms are still making it difficult for me to function as I was previously able to (trying to avoid the word normally, as I am not sure what that is right now). I am thrilled with how this book turned out, I really enjoyed making it.

My New Little Chair

I have a "To Create" List.... There are so many things I want to create, and I don't know if I will ever have time to get to them all... I doubt it. Creating a chair out of plaster has been on my list for a number of months now.... and I am happy to say I now have created the chair.

I started with a framework made of wire and a bit of plaster to hold it together.

I then added a layer of plaster gauze....

and some more plain plaster that once dry I sanded down.

I then painted it, added a thin layer of wax, and wove the back with some aged twine.

I then had some fun taking pictures of my new little chair (sits about 5 inches tall).

We still have so much snow.... but I wanted to see some signs of spring, so took my dried flowers and my new chair outside in the snow and the sun and had some fun taking pictures.

Working Teeny Tiny

Something about working teeny tiny has been very appealling to me lately.

And so I created this teeny tiny accordian book....

It is small when it is closed.....

and not much bigger when it is opened.

Here is the front, tied up and waiting to be explored.

and here it is when opened. It says 'place to grow'.

Here is the backside when it is opened. A fun adventure in the world of teeny tiny.

Faces and Tea Bags Collide

I am still enjoying mixing some of my images with tea bags.

I took a black and white quick sketch that I did some time ago that I thought would look good on a tea bag, and I transferred the image. I then used pan pastels to add the colour, and a fine marker to add some detail.

This drawing was also one I did some time ago, but was not a quick sketch, but rather a drawing that took me quite some time. It too was just done in pencil with no colour. Once I transfered the image, I added colour with pan pastals, and detail with a fine marker. Adding the marker gave these pieces quite a different feel then the bird drawings that collided with tea bags not long ago.

Tea Bags and Creations

I use tea bags in many things I create.



And lately I seem to get some comments about the type of tea bags I use

Tea bags come in a variety of shapes - round ones, square ones or rectangle little pouches with strings attached to them. My favourite ones to use is the rectangle shaped pouches with strings attached.

Many brands bag there tea this way.

Lipton, TAZO, STASH, President's Choice, TWININGS are all brands I buy in Canada.

Once I have brewed my tea, I save the tea bag and let it dry for a couple of days.

I remove the string at the top of the bag by undoing the knot or removing the staple. I then open the bag into a tube and empty out the dried tea.

I then open the fold on the back of the bag.

It opens up larger than expected, and measures about 3.5 inches X 5.75 inches (14.5 X 9 cm).

Some people iron them flat at this stage, but I don't usually.

The colouring on the bags depends upon the type of tea. Some types of tea (such as Chai or Camomile) make it harder to open the bags, as it sticks more, and when open the bags sometimes ripe or have wholes in them. I seem to find a use for all of them anyway.

I have used tea bags on the cover of books.

on a collage block

to laminate feathers or flowers,

as a page inside a book,

in the creation of my tea bag luminaries,

or a variety of cards,

in a variety of accordian books,

and most recently in these type of creations.

I know I will continue to explore the use of tea bags in a variety of things I have yet to create.

It will be so much fun!