Farewell, Keyboard!

You served me well for many years!

It's official: the keyboard I inundated with an exploding coffee is toast. Half or more of the keys are essentially glued to the backing and will not release. Even the ones that can move try to stay when depressed and won't pop back up without fiddling. Sadly, I had to get a new keyboard today so that DH could have his back. I'll try to avoid throwing a latte on this one. 😢

Two sets of corner pockets with tags.

Art-every-day. Today, some corner pockets for journals and tags to "match" them. Two separate recipients, two different styles.

Zig Zag and the Journal Pocket

Art-every-day.  I accidentally stumbled onto some instructions for a shabby chic journal pocket and had to try it right away.  The pook pages I used were seemingly much more fragile than those used by the designer, as she had sewn the pages together and tied a bow through a couple of punched holes.  Trying to sew the pages resulted in dust.  The book I used dates from 1883 and crumbles when you look at it.  The title of the book is "Zig Zag Journeys in the Occident" by Hezekiah Butterworth.  It is full of gorgeous illustrations.  I'm showing the front of the pocket I made and also the reverse side (with one of those marvelous illustrations!) here. 

Journal pockets and tags

As part of an exchange in the journal group, I made these three pocket folders with 3 tags for each one. The recipient's favorite color is purple. I don't actually have very much purple, so I focused on the tags, as they can be removed and used on other projects where the purple would be better used. The pockets themselves are more neutral.

More Clusters

Well, despite yesterday's series of horrible fails, I did get to work on some new clusters for my journals. I completed 9 of them, all with pretty much the same theme. The backing is an old paper bag shopping bag, followed by some green-ish auto paint masking paper (snatched from my DH!), then some old book pages. The purely text one is from a falling apart book from 1890, the calculus one from 1914. The rest of the stuff is gleanings from over time, too.

Today was a day of disasters!

Today has been a disaster of a day. They happen to all of us occasionally, but....today either I was particularly clumsy or the stars were definitely not in my favor. It all started first thing this morning. DH went off to Bozeman for an errand and before he left, he got me a 20 oz coffee. I finished getting ready for the day, gathered the coffee and made my way to my studio. It was a bit early and the coffee was too hot, so I left it on my desk for a bit. When I finally picked it up, the cover exploded off and drenched my desk, my computer/keyboard, and everything else in sight, including me and the floor. At least half of the huge cup was gone. The keyboard may be ruined, as I started draining coffee out of it and an hour later, coffee was still dripping out. I'll wait until it dries out before I try to use it. I did get the computer back up and online, but had to scrounge for another keyboard. AND clean up the HUGE mess. DH can home at this point.

After I finally got that mostly sorted out, a wasp invaded my studio. I'm very allergic to them, so now I had to abandon working altogether until the wasp was gone. Then DH discovered that the car paint he had gone to get in Bozeman was not a very dark gray (as it appeared on the color card at the auto paint store) but an extremely dark purple. This is to be the trim color on the vintage Austin Healey he is restoring (the main color is black) and he was in a fit. I actually like the purple (by itself it looks black, it only looks more purple when compared to the black). He finally came around/calmed down and decided he also liked it, so I guess we will end up with a black and purple vintage sports car. What more can happen??? I'm back in the studio, no idea where the wasp has hidden. Maybe it will find its way out again. I'm hoping tomorrow goes more smoothly.

Another Bird Envelope Journal page

Art-Every-Day. I've finished another page in my Bird Envelope Journal. The background is a napkin, collaged onto an old book page.

Now, a Steampunk themed pocket folder for Journaling

Art-ever-Day. Inspired by the mosaic tile-look pocket folder, I made one that is very similar (one extra pocket) in a steampunk theme. I decorated a large paperclip that will show decoration on each side.  The first photo is the opened folder, with tabs of white paper showing where the pockets allow fun additions.  The second phot is the closed pocket and one side of the decorated paper clip that holds it closed.  The third photo shows the other side of the paper clip, holding just the one pocket closed.  

The Husky and the Deer

Our little town has resident deer.  They don't cause much mischief and one family of them live across the street from me behind a house that has been vacant for a number of years (some legal issue with inheritance).  They graze on lawns for the most part, and this year one of the does has a still-spotty fawn.  The husky down the street was apparently able to see the two deer and set up a horrible ruckus of howling and yelping.   I thought a dog was in trouble and rushed out to see what was up. It sounded like he was in terrible pain.  Nope, just sitting there and making noise.  My DH, who is a bit faster than me, was already out and as I puffed up beside him, he told me the story.  The doe ran from the dog in one direction, the fawn in another, and the dog's human dragged the dog inside.  The howling stopped.  The doe, who was now in our side yard, stayed as still as a statue, except for her flicking tail.  The fawn?  No clue.  No one was hurt.  The doe eventually wandered off to find the fawn and all is quiet once more.   I suppose I'll see them grazing the lawn after sunset tonight, as always.   Life in a small town has its moments.

More Envelopes!

Today, a bunch of new envelopes.  Here are ten policy-style envelopes and 7 standard envelopes, all from scraps of paper.

Two more Bird Envelope Journal pages and a little booklet

I've completed two more pages in my Bird Envelope journal.  The first of these uses two of the clusters I created last week, using some old photos and miscellaneous paper and lace scraps.  The second page serves as a place to put the little foldable journaling booklet shown in the third photo. 

A folding pocket booklet from very busy paper

I've made a small pocket folder to use in a new journal. I'm showing this one opened, with tabs of white paper showing where the pockets are to be found. The envelope flap tucks into the fan decoration. The pattern of the paper is so busy, I decided against more decoration. Size is about 3 3/4 x 6 1/4.

Color-block cards with Stained glass accents

Here are 6 cards I made today, using some gorgeous color-block papers and some stained glass images. 

A dozen botanical-themed cards

Today, I made a dozen botanical-themed cards using some beautiful Tim Holtz paper.  I first matted the images on gold metallic paper, then on black, and finally onto a white card base.  Here they are:

ATCs and little folders

I've made a couple of 3-card sets of ATCs and folders in which to store and gift them.  ATCs are small Artist Trading Cards which measure 2.5 x 3.5 inches.  The covers also have bits of scrap metallic fabric.

Set 1:  Bird Theme

The three cards

Front cover of the folder

Cards stored inside folder

Set 2: Botanical Theme

The three cards

Front cover of the folder

Cards stored inside folder