"Grown Up" Chunky Book

Remember Chunky books? - those little board books for babies that were a couple inches thick and made of heavy chipboard (baby bite-able!) pages. Here is my grown-up version thanks to Marion Smith (http://www.apieceofcraft.com/) for the design and class. It was actually a kit from Live with Prima with slightly different product but I adapted it to use products I had on hand (which were still predominantly from Prima anyway). I LOVE looking at it.


The book is about 3 inches thick!! and filled with the most beautiful papers and flowers.

I used Prima's "Tea and Silk" line of papers plus some "Rue 88", many of their lovely flowers, some of their onyx crystals, ribbons, and various other rub-ons and buttons.

The book is full of pockets and tags which I hope to fill with quotes and sayings that have special meaning to me. Not sure if I'll add photos too. Probably not since I don't want to cover up much of the pretty papers. I'm thinking some hand writing is all this chunky book needs.

Thanks for looking.

Jill

My Art Journey Book

After about two years of having and viewing this tutorial from Donna Downey, I finally got around to making my "Journey of Me" book. I'm using its freestyle, grungy, casual format to journal my thoughts along my art journey. Only have a couple of entries so far but I'm looking forward to filling it day by day.

Sorry for posting the pics backwards - here is the cover w/ the book closed. Love its grungy style! Yes, that's "roughed-up" corrugated cardboard for the covers.

Thanks, Donna Downey, for the inspiration not only to make this particular book but also for the idea to record our thoughts along the way of our journey to becoming who we were meant to be.

Jill

Envelope Birthday Book

Here is a book I made for my sister's 50th birthday present. It's made of regular greeting card envelopes bound together in a book. The cover is a Hambly transparency with a cute little crepe paper ruffle (sprayed with Key Lime Pie Glimmer Mist to give it color).

Inside each envelope I placed a note along with a gift card for a particular place.

You'll notice on the pages I did a lot of the penant banners. I sort of caught the bug from www.houseof3designdistrict.blogspot.com and have been using this idea - uh, like everywhere.

The design for this book came from Heidi Swapp too. She did a 6x9 envelope book as a free class on her webshow. This was my version using envelopes and papers I had on hand.

Thanks for looking.

Jill

Packing up again!

So ... just when I get some energy going in the studio, it's time to close up shop again.

We bought a house and will be moving in a little more than a month. In the meantime I've got PACKING to do. I'll have to pack up the studio first to rid myself of the distraction. How sad to box up my lovely papers and ribbons and embellies. I'll miss them but what fun it will be to organize new space again. This time I hope to customize it a bit with some cabinetry (haven't run that one past DH yet though so we'll see). I'd love a look that's just a little bit above my current stacks-of-plastic-bins look.

I have been getting a few things made over the past several weeks though. Will share with some pics as soon as I download them. Mostly I've been making projects from free online class videos. I'm getting hooked on a few - Heidi Swapp (www.heidiswapp.typepad.com) does one on Wednesday nights and Prima does several each month (www.primamarketinginc.com). The Prima ones are actually kits you can pre-order before the show and then make right along with the artist during the video. How cool is that? You should check them out.

I've also been taking some cool spring photos. Remember that old Garden Book class I taught about a year ago? I never made one for myself! So ... now it's time. I've been collecting some great photos of the flowers and flowering trees this spring. It's been gorgeous here in IL.

Check back soon for those pics.
Jill

Creating again ... one project at a time.

I know it's been a long time coming, but life happens ...

This is my first FULL quote book, "words to live by". I'm so inspired by neat quotes, poems, and verses that a couple years ago I covered this composition book to have a pretty place to write them down. It's much better than the collection of little bits of scrap paper I had collecting all over my desk. Anyway ... I recently filled it to the last page!

So I had to make another one, "more words to live by", since I keep collecting more to record ...
I loved the Asian theme of the green one so I kept it going here. I just love the fact that I'm on my second book. And, yes, I do refer back to them and use the quotes on my scrap projects - LOTS. Next up was to find a way to collect the project ideas that I've accumulated in this random mess of notebooks into one convenient place. I was constantly picking up a different notebook whenever I needed to record an idea for a mini book or other art project. I wanted one place where I could keep and record project ideas, design sketches, color and paper swatches, etc. So I created this out of an old Bo-Bunny canvas binder. The canvas was too light so I sprayed it with Glimmer Mist (suede), then used some Tim Holtz stencils and distress ink to create a scroll-y design on the binding.
Some 7 Gypsies, Prima, and Basic Grey papers, some manilla file folders and Prima embellishments later and I had a working home for the project ideas floating around in my head and swimming in that stack of notebooks scattered all over the place.

I've been playing around with different mini book binding options. They're really more like glorified cards but are sort of a fun, quick way to make a little mini as well. The vintage chocolate ad was from www.graphicsfairy.blogspot.com. Inside I did a little booklet with the verse "The Truth about Chocolate" printed inside.
Of course I had to stamp up the inner pages. Who likes just plain text on a page?!? Also had to do my share of distressing as always. Love the silky ribbon. It reminds me of all the wonderful rich shades of real chocolate. (Yep - been on a little chocolate kick lately.)
Another binding mini option was this accordian fold binding. This idea came from a webisode on www.heidiswapp.typepad.com. I used some 6x6 papers from Memory Box, a Hambly transparency for the cover, and some plain cardstock.
Here is how I embellished the book. It's going to be presented to my parents as an Anniversary card in late May. They're on their 60th. I printed out a neat quote (you guessed it, from my quote book) on strips of cardstock and that became my journaling for the book. I think I got carried away with the flowers on the cover but ... oh well.
The quote throughout reads: "Time is a companion that goes with us on the journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived."
OK - that does it for now. Been on a role, I guess. That must be why no one has anything clean to wear these days. Back to life ...

Thanks for looking -
Jill

Scraplifting is better than no scrapping at all ...

Hey there!
I realize it's been AGES since I posted and this will hardly qualify as living the creative life ... but what's a girl to do. Been busy with life these days.

This was a super cute Make-and-Take project that 7Gypsies did at the recent CHA convention in California. They kindly posted instructions and the calendar pages for download on their website. I just happened to have all the supplies needed to make one for myself. Such a gypsy, aren't I?


Saw this idea on Heidi Swapp's blog. She'd done this really simple digital kit for a cute banner and I knew my girls would LOVE it if I dolled up the house a bit for Valentine's Day. So here's mine. I found some cute pink damask file folders in the dollar section at Michaels and used those for the base of each little pennant. Ruffled some crepe paper and printed tissue paper, inked and trimmed a bit. Cute, I think, and the girls did love it.

So, beyond these two mini "lifts" I have done very little creative lately. I have been trying to keep up with the kids after school activities as well as keep up the ho-hum household stuff. We're also jumping back into house hunting mode now that the holidays are over. I'm finding that my focus is on creating a future home for us more than creating lovely art projects. However ... keep checking in. I think some creative things may crop up every now and then. I do try!

Thanks for looking.
Jill

Busy with LIFE ... be back soon!

Been a bit busy with the daily grind but I have been trying to squeeze in a little creative now and then. Have some pics of latest little projects to post plus an update of what in the world I've been up to.

Come back tomorrow.

Jill