Art Journal Class: Weekly Art Date

Woohoo! I'm just about ready to roll out my newest online art journal class:

Learn more at the Weekly Art Date blog.

You spend so much of your time taking care of everyone around you. Isn't it time that you took some time for yourself? With Weekly Art Date, you'll have a reason to just say no the next time somebody tries to stretch your resources just a little too thin... "I'm sorry, I can't, I have my Weekly Art Date that night." You can't say yes to everybody all the time, but you can say YES! to weekly inspiration, can't you? Maybe you can't squeeze in time every single day to work in your art journal, but most of us could schedule in some time each week to make the magic happen.

Join Crafty Moira in her studio each week for a little dose of TLC for artists. You're busy, don't we know it, so this course has no deadlines, no time limits, and, best of all, no unrealistic expectations of YOU! Do what you want whenever you can round up a few precious moments of me-time. The course and all the content will be available to you after the course ends (in other words, once you're in, you're in forever!) plus all of the content and videos created by me will be available for you to download to your computer to keep for as long as you'd like.

My Weekly Art Date will run in four parts throughout 2012:

Part One runs from January 1st - March 16th ($15)

Part Two runs from April 1 - June 8nd ($15)

Part Three runs from June 24th - August 31th ($15)

Part Four runs from September 16 - November 23th ($15)

Part Five runs from December 2nd - December 16th (Bonus Course: Free for all full-year students!)

Sign up for the full year for $45, a savings of $15 over paying for each part individually. That's like getting one full course for FREE, plus you get free access to Part Five! That's only $3.75, less than $1 a week, for a whole year of art inspiration!

Need more incentive?

All full-year students will be automatically entered to win in each of the 12 monthly Weekly Art Date giveaways. Prizes will include anything from art supplies to bonus downloads to original art by Moira. No need to remember to sign up by a certain date, and if you win, your prize will be automatically mailed out to you! How awesome is that?

(Don't worry: if you can't sign up for the whole year at once, you can still enter the giveaways! All full-year students will receive one automatic entry, but everyone will have a chance to enter. Full-year students can snag an extra entry by commenting.)

Also, all full-year students will receive a download link immediately upon signing up for my 2012 Creativity Prompt Calendar. You'll be able to print up this gorgeous full-color calendar full of 260 prompts (one for every week day) designed to keep you inspired all year. This bonus download will include a text-free version of the calendar that you can use to design your own calendars in years to come.

(All students will receive each month's daily prompt calendar on the first of the month.)

Already signed up for another paid course with me? Check inside the classroom for a special returning student discount!

If you'd like to sign up for Weekly Art Date Part One only, click the first PayPal button below:


If you'd like to sign up for Weekly Art Date for the full year, click the second PayPal button:


Please note that you do not have to have a PayPal account in order to sign up for the class. Also, please note the following terms and conditions:

Due to the digital nature of this product, no refunds will be issued after the start date of this class, unless you have never been granted access to the paid classroom at artjournaling.ning.com. (January 1st for full year access & each start date for the separate parts). That being said,  it's very important to me that you are happy with this class! I encourage you to contact me with any questions, problems, complaints so that I can do my best to resolve any issues for you. While I'm not exactly a technical expert, I'll do my best in that regard. If you need further explanation about a technique or a material, feel free to ask me by leaving a comment in that specific discussion area at the ning site, on this blog, or by email: moira dot richardson, via gmail.

Art: Film Challenge

I can't remember for sure if I blogged about the challenge that Nick and I started last week. I challenged him to make a "bad" painting every day for a week. We chose Nature as our theme. The idea was quantity, not quality, though I have to say that we turned out 14 nice looking paintings between the two of us!  This week, our friend Rose is joining us, and the theme is Film.

Here are my first two pieces:

When I heard film was our theme, I knew I'd be exploring film noir. I used a quote I found on a noir fans website (a collection of favorites) and an image of Rita Hayworth, that I altered in Photoshop to look like a stencil. (Who knows: maybe I'll carve a stencil of the design for future projects?). I painted the background purple, let it dry, then painted quin. magenta fluid acrylic on top. While it was still wet, I covered the surface with saran wrap (also a "film") and let it dry. This gave me a cool texture. Made a packing tape transfer of the stencil image, wrote the quote using a Copic marker, and covered the whole surface with gel medium to affix the tape transfer. Finished by adding a layer of self-leveling gel (which is still wet, hence the smoky patch in the middle of the image.)  This is a 12x12 canvas, which is a new size for me, and I love it! Will be buying more in this size today.

Here's my first piece this week:

Also purple... hmm... maybe I'll stick with the same palette all week? We'll see...

Helped Wanted: Baby Craft Ideas!

So... I'm not a baby person. I think babies are cute and all, I just don't wanna own one. So baby crafts = not my thang. Now that my sister has officially announced her pregnancy (you know, on Facebook), I can put it out there that I need suggestions for cute baby-themed gifts that I can make! Got babies? Great! I need your advice! My sister is due in April. I want to make something cool for the nursery (ideally that is cute and functional!) and I want to make something cute for the baby. We don't know the baby's sex yet, so preferably something gender neutral, at least for now.

If you have a project on your blog or know one from another blog that you think is super cute, please add it to this linky! It doesn't have to be a tutorial, just something to give me ideas! Or leave a comment below with your ideas.

Random: My Art Gallery

In yesterday's discussion in my online class, Falling For You, I mentioned that my studio space was my art gallery. I thought I'd post some pictures of the walls in my studio ( / boyfriend's studio / living room) to show you!

Eventually, I'll post pictures of the whole studio to give you a tour, so consider today a sneak peak. This

is the wall right above my desk, which is to the right in the picture. On the far left in my font light that my cat, Smudge, likes to attack when I'm not looking. The white bins underneath the hanging light are where I have sorted my fabric into color families. I have lots of pretty fabric and am working on using it! 

Nick hung all of my paintings (some of which have hand-made frames... they all will eventually) for me. I didn't worry too much about the order, other than alternating framed with not framed, because I basically just needed them out of the way so I could make more paintings! I should photograph and list these for sales, but I haven't gotten around to doing that just yet. The empty space in the line up is from the painting that I sold. (Hurray!) I have about 7 more paintings ready to be hung, so some of the empty space will be filled in soon.

In the corner is a vintage oval photograph that I trash picked. It was probably tossed because a part of the frame was broken off, but I just think it's the coolest thing ever. She is kinda creepy, but definitely my crafty muse. 

The group of four paintings here are the four seasons doll paintings that I created in Doll Dreams. I think Summer (top left) is the best of the bunch. On the right right is my signed Rasputina poster. (Yay!) The painting in the lower left is part of a creepy nature series that I've been working on this week. I'll post pictures of the completed series soon.

This is the main "gallery" wall. Nick has a collection of black & white images, some are photographs, some are his etchings work, and the text piece was a gift from my friend Jen. I decided that I wanted to have a spot in the room where all the pieces would be grouped together. There are still a few spaces in the area so I'll have to make some b&w art (maybe for this week's "bad" painting challenge since our theme is film?)

To the right and below is Nick's studio space. 

The colorful pieces are several paintings by me and three framed prints of my art journal pages. I'll eventually have another row of three above the six that are already there. Below the prints on the mantle are four more canvases, a piano sculpture by Nick's uncle Roger, and some miscellaneous stuff. I'll post better pictures with the next installment.

Art In Progress: Art Quilt, Part Two

I finished my art quilt... yay!

She is already hanging on my studio wall, and I'm already thinking about the next one... I don't think I mentioned in my last post, but the girl is one of my drawings that I scanned and printed on fabric. The text is my own hand-writing turned into a font and printed on fabric. Cool, right?

I decided to glam her up with a bunch of purple sequins. I did a tiny knot for each one to hold it in place. It was time consuming but so so worth it! I also added a lovely orange button in the center of her flower. Even though I think she's done, if I found some lovely metallic thread, I might have to embellish her eyes. Maybe on the next girl...

Another button and some rick rack! I don't know if there's a certain way you are supposed to sew rick rack, but I just do a tiny stitch at the top and button of each wave. It works for me!

This was such a fun project! I'll definitely be making more of these! I thought I wasn't into quilts... but I was wrong! Still, I don't see me ever making one much bigger than this one (at 8 x 10 inches).

Art in Progress: Art Quilt!

Here's what I'm working on today:

I decided to step back from my owl painting until I decide what's next. (I have an idea in mind, but I'm still contemplating.) I need to be recording videos for Falling For You and updating my schedule. (Originally, I had a solid schedule for the first four weeks and left the rest fairly flexible. I've come up with new prompts and techniques, so I have to figure out where they will fit in. I think a planning trip to Panera tomorrow is in order!)

I also need to be prepping class supplies for my Bling Bling classes this week. We are making chunky fabric bangles, and I've decided that the best way for us to do the project is for me to precut all of the student fabric choices into the required strips before the class. I was going to have the students cut their own strips but a) I only have one pair of fabric scissors & b) I am kind of fanatical about my fabric scissors not being used to cut pipe cleaners, the other component of our project. Cutting the strips should be pretty fast using a rotary cutter, but I'm procrastinating.

Yes, I consider making an art quilt procrastinating.

I am almost always making something. I'm either working in my art journal, sketching, painting, or organizing my workspace. I make jewelry samples for my classes, research new projects, and buy crafty supplies. The only time I'm not making something is if I'm really not feeling well or late in the evenings when I'm vegging out watching tv. More often than not I'm journaling while I'm watching tv or simultaneously reading a crafty magazine, like ReadyMade or Cloth Paper Scissors. So, yeah, I procrastinate by doing something other than what I'm supposed to be doing.

I've been wanting to make art quilts for a while now. I love that it's sort of like a tactile journal page. I figured that I could apply similar techniques only using fabric. The problem? All of my fabric was stored in boxes on top of my kitchen cabinets (hey, it's a small apartment, gotta make use of the space we've got!). Also, I have no available space for sewing. So I've been thinking about organizing the area for months... and finally got around to it last week.

I bought translucent bins from Ikea and colored coded all of my fabric. I LOVE this idea and can't believe I've never done it before! I have 7 bins of fabric: pinks, reds, black&white, golds/yellows/browns, greens, blues, and random prints that don't fit anywhere else. I set up an extension cord on my huge craft table for my sewing machine and today I finally got to make my art quilt.

I'm really not good at sewing. I don't care about even stitches and straight lines.  Truth be told, I have a love/hate relationship with my sewing machines, leaning mostly to the hate side. I am constantly breaking needles, snapping threads and swearing at my machine. Surprising, I had no issues whatsoever with today's project! I didn't break any needles, I only had to rethread the needle once, and I didn't swear even once. Woah!

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My general method was: I chose an ugly fabric to be my base fabric. I layered bits and pieces of fabric until I liked the look. I pinned everything in place, stitched around the edges, then went in with more stitches to make sure everything was tacked down (I left the side of the green fabric on the left undone because I loved the frayed look of the fabric as is.). I then cut a piece of batting and a random piece of fabric (the pink batik) for the backing. I sewed this randomly together. 

My original plan was to bind the edges using black, but I rolled over the backing fabric and decided I liked how it looked. So I trimmed off the extra base fabric, rolled the edges, pinned into place and stitched the edging. Next I'm going to add buttons and whatever else catches my fancy. I'll post the finished piece here when it's done.

Painting in Progress: Owl, Day Three

Here's where my painting stands right now:

Is it finished? I'm not sure. I might give his eyes some more paint and add more feather detailing... but he might be done. Nick thought I should add a tree in the background, but I'm kinda liking the simple look, especially since there is a lot of detail in the background, it's just subtle. (It doesn't exactly look subtle in this photo, but that's because I had to use the flash to take the picture. The white that shows up with the flash is much more subdued.)

What do you think?

Painting in Progress: Owl, Day Two

Today I added some burnt umber mixed with glazing medium and two drops of quin. magenta to add darker feathers and to work on the owl's eyes. He's not finished yet, but here's where the painting stands right now:

Next step will be working on the eyes a little bit more and adding white feathers and highlights.

Painting in Progress: Owl

I've been inspired to paint lately. I finished working through my first box of 20 canvases and am currently working on box number two. I have, let me count, 20 of my paintings currently hanging on my studio walls (it will be one less very soon, as I've sold one of them! Yay!). I also have several paintings in various stages and one finished piece that I haven't hung yet. Woo!

Today I've been working on an owl painting. Why an owl? Well, let me give you my very scientific reasoning: I googled "what should I paint on my canvas" and in the first result link that I clicked, the answer was, you guessed it, an owl. So there ya go. Google inspiration.

Since I have a massive supply of yellow ochre heavy body paint, I decided to use it for my background color. I started with a huge canvas that I trash picked last month. It had a half-finished pastel and graphite image of a long skinny guy walking under a moonlight sky. It was interesting and I should have taken a photograph, but, oh well. I just covered the whole thing with yellow ochre and let it dry.

Next, I sketched in the basic outline of what I thought an owl would look like and painted in the shape with titan buff soft-body paint. Now to work on the background.

In addition to a large quantity of yellow (baby poop) ochre, I have a bunch of ancient modeling paste. I figured I'd put it to good use by pulling out one of my trusty templates from The Crafter's Workshop and my palette knife. I added large circles with modeling paste, as seen here:

(Oh, and the red up in the corner was a test run of Quin. Red fluid acrylic that I just dripped onto the canvas, let it run a bit, then laid it flat to dry overnight.)

Next, I wanted smaller circles, which I forgot to photograph, so I altered my large stencil with painter's tape to make a smaller circle and added those with more modeling paste. Brilliant! I was thrilled with how well this worked!

Once the modeling paste was completely dry, I mixed up a blend of yellow ochre, iridescent medium, glazing medium, and water. I mixed this up in a used prescription pill bottle which worked amazing well! I just shook it up and get to work painting over the whole background. I love that the background now had this monochromatic awesome texture thing going on, but it was still a little too, well, yellow ochre for my taste.

To correct this, I used another pill bottle and shook up a watery gesso mixture, which I painted over the whole background, including the red drips as seen in the earlier picture. Much better!

Now it was time to start the owl, and I have to say, I'm happy with the way it's coming along. I used: white, burnt sienna, and quin. magenta paint for my color palette. I originally painted the eyes white, but decided a few minutes ago that quin. nickel yellow was the way to go. They are crazy bright, but I'll decide how I feel about them in the morning. I still have to add the black part anyway.

The next thing I'm going to do is use a darker brown, burnt umber mixed with burnt sienna, most likely, to add more definition, but my light is bad now, so I'm calling it quits for the evening.

Here's where he stands right now:

Art Video: Painting Start to Finish

I haven't really decided if I like this painting or not, but I think the process is cool! AudioSwap on YouTube isn't working, so I hope you'll forgive the music until I can get it changed!

Mixed Media Art: Be A Dreamer

For this piece, I started with a background layer of masking tape, which I then painted over using two shades of blue craft paint & some Adirondack color wash in Wild Plum. After this layer was dry, I used clear gesso to "seal" the layer and give me tooth for further layers.

Next, I found an image in a catalog (TOAST) and added the iron-on butterflies in the corners. I glued the image with gel medium, outlined it in blue and purple oil pastels, which I blended with my finger.

Then, I traced the girl's face and hands with a black Sharpie pen (note to self: should have done this before the oil pastels because I think I ruined my pen... sad face!). Used a touch of a pink neocolor II on her lips and used 3 shades of purple neocolors to change her hair color.

Added a piece of vintage sheet music and wanted to iron another butterfly on top, but the iron wasn't hot enough & I'm impatient, so instead I used a Sharpie poster-paint marker to write the word "dreamer" and draw a little heart. I went around the edges with black pan pastel, which I just love.

Loved it at this point, but the bottom right corner was looking plain so I decided to find a quote to add to the space. It reads: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." (Henry David Thoreau)

Since I was using my Uni-Ball Signo UM-153 white gel pen anyway, added some doodles and hearts, as well as some highlights on her face.

Finally, I used one of my new stencils from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's line with the Crafter's Workshop to add the white triangles around the figure. I used white pan pastels and an eraser to get rid of the bits that ended up on the girl.

I am loving this piece! (It it a painting? A mixed media canvas? I dunno what to call my work, but it makes me happy regardless!). I worked on it for at least three hours during crafty morning with my friend, but maybe longer! Still, I consider it time well spent!

{FYI --- We'll be learning the techniques I used to create the background of this piece in my new online art class: Falling For You. There's a giveaway going on right now until tomorrow morning if you'd like to try to win a spot! I promised two winners if we reached 50 entries & we're pretty close to reaching that!}

Art Journal: Beach Playlist

This page was a fun one! I started by gluing half a sheet of old music to the left side of the page. Dry-brushed on some neon green craft paint when it was dry, then used watered-down black craft paint to add lots of drips and splatters.

The image came from a glossy magazine that has long since lost its cover -- no idea which one! (Wish I did! I'd subscribe!) I used a white Sharpie poster paint pen to add text at bottom and a Uni-Ball Signo Gel pen to add white text on the girl. Text is bits and pieces from all of the songs. I used Copics to add color to her face, accented with a black Sharpie pen.

For the list, I tried writing over the background, but none of the colors showed up very well, so I covered it with a graph paper list instead. Luckily, I had the perfect colors in washi tape! (Love the lace one!)

List is:

redemption song - bob marley & the wailers
blue skies - tori amos
summertime - morcheeba
dancing queen - ABBA
summertime - janis joplin
good day sunshine - the beatles
love street - the beatles

Teen Summer Classes: Shrinky Dink Self-Portraits

 This week I taught my first summer Shrinky Dink Self-Portraits class. For the class, students draw self-portraits, which they transfer onto shrink plastic, color, and then bake in the toaster oven I bring to the classes with me.

For the class, I place stand up mirrors at each seat around the table. Students fold a sheet of printer paper in half and draw their self-portrait within the space.

After asking the students to tell me what a self-portrait is, I explain that a self-portrait is more than just a picture: we want our self-portraits to tell a story about who we are to someone who doesn't know us. So if you like cats, you might want to draw a picture of a cat. Or make your drawing of you be wearing a t-shirt in your favorite color.

I always have at least one student tell me that they can't draw, and I tell them that this project is a good way to practice their drawing skills. I tell them that drawing takes a lot of practice and that even people who can draw well didn't start out that way.

I also always tell the students that their drawing don't have to be perfect, because perfect is boring. I love it when I say this, because there is always at least one student who repeats the phrase to herself, like she is trying the idea on for size. I like to imagine that at least a few of my students here and there take that phrase home later and own it.

After the students have drawn a portrait they like, they trace it on to the shrink plastic (rough side) in pencil, and then trace over the pencil lines in marker.

The last step is to add color using colored pencils. Then they bring the design to me, where I punch a hole and bake it until it shrinks. This process amazes anyone who has never seen shrinky dinks in action!

I add a jump ring and ribbon to complete the necklace, and every student left wearing their creation.

I also make take home kits for the students which includes two small pre-punched pieces of shrink plastic, several long ribbons, and at-home instructions. So much fun!

Busting that Stash: Buy Nothing Summer

Okay, I've been thinking a lot about the abundance of crafty stuff in our home, and not just because I've recently started watching Hoarders on Netflix. Nick and I moved from a three-bedroom apartment to a one-bedroom place, so there's considerably less room for all of my supplies. I did downsize quite a bit before we moved, I swear; I even gave away several giant boxes of mixed media items to an artist in Connecticut and sold most of my yarn at a huge discount to a woman who teaches disadvantaged teens who to knit. We made many, many thrift store runs before our move... and yet the boxes are still piled up.

The problem is that everything has a potential use. I'm definitely not a hoarder holding on to completely useless things, but I do, admittedly, have many more things than I am likely to find time to use. I think the problem with letting crafty things go is that a use always turns up... eventually. And frequently after I've given said item away. Sigh...

The issue is that limited space really limits my options. Not only to I need to be super organized, which ain't my strong suit, let's be honest, but I need to get rid of more stuff. If I can't part with it by making donations, then the only logical thing is to part with it by USING it. I have already make a window privacy screen and a Swiffer cover without having to buy anything, so those have been small steps to busting my stash... but I completely countered that, I suspect, by giving in to my desires and buying a bunch of washi tape. (To be fair: I have used said washi tape every day since I've bought it, so I think it's a completely justified purchase.)

So, here's the plan: I'm going to buy nothing for my art from now until September 1st. No new markers, pens, or pencils. No giant dictionaries (ask Nick & he'll tell you that me + dictionaries = obsession). No more washi tape from Pretty Tape or Happy Tape.* No pretty yarns from Darn Good Yarns. [I have been coveting this one for weeks!] No boxes full of recycled wonders from the local recycling center. {This one might be impossible, but I'll do my best!} No yard sale treasures brought home to add to the clutter.

*Full disclosure: I ordered a huge stash of washi tape just this morning. Mwuahaha!

The only exceptions I'm going to make this are:

1) I'll definitely need to buy supplies for the classes I'm teaching. These items are strictly for student use and a required for my work, so these won't count in my Buy Nothing plan. I am, however, going to work on busting my stash by using as much of my own stuff (specifically: scrapbook papers, magazines, & other collage materials) as possible.

2) I might need to make an exception to this rule for business purposes, if I sell out of lockets or something in my etsy shop. This is pretty unlikely though since I think I'm well stocked on most items right now. Still, since I have a huge art sale on September 10th, it's possible that I might need to buy supplies for prepping inventory. Generally, this includes glue dots, zinc washers, and E6000. Maybe some 20 gauge wire or necklace chain. Possibly a spool of thread. Probably I have everything I need on hand or can make do without it if I don't. I am almost out of business cards though, which aren't a craft supply anyway. Just wanted to remind myself!

3) Um, yeah, so if I find something on the side of the road and I gotta have it; it's okay to bring it home. If I do bring something home; however, I must donate or trash something from my stash immediately to make up for it. I am, however, going to avoid my favorite "curb alerts" most of the time... I will be too busy making art anyway!

That's it! Eleven weeks (!!!) of buying nothing for my art. Can I do it? To be honest: I'm not sure! But I'm sure going to do my best! I'm pretty sure I have enough crafty goodies around me that I could craft all day every day for eleven weeks without running out of potential projects! I definitely have enough supplies to make:

• a dozen or so art journals, especially if I make a journal using recycled cardboard and whatever random paper I find in my stash. It's totally possible that with a little ingenuity, I could double this number.
• several full-size quilts or a bunch of smaller art quilts. (unlikely, but possible)
• two decorative styrofoam head sculptures (hey, I gave away two!)
• 20 or so embroidery hoop wall hangings
• 10 mixed media paintings on canvas
• about a billion hemp bracelets
• 300 or so optical lens pendants (seriously)
• umpteen Scrabble tile necklaces
• several dozen bamboo bracelets
• 5 dozen dictionary pencils
• 1 funky recovered couch and 2 matching pillows
• countless zippered pouches

What should you buy less of this summer? I challenge you to bust your stash this summer, too! If you are going to join in the fun, leave me a link to your blog and I'll post it here.

If you decide to participate, feel free to grab this icon and link back to Crafty Moira.

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Giveaway Day: Candy is Certain Mixed Media Painting

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED TOMORROW A.M.

Want to win this?

I've been wanting to feel like more of an artist lately, so in January and February, I made a bunch of mixed media paintings. This piece is called "Candy is Certain". [I think it's on a 9 x 11 canvas, but don't quote me on that!] The text on the image reads: "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first." The materials are: canvas, paper, vintage dictionary, and, naturally, candy in the form of rainbow sprinkles. I added embellishments using a Sharpie Poster-Paint marker. This is a signed, one-of-a-kind original by me. I hope you like it!

If you win, you'll get this piece PLUS an added bonus: 5 adorable resin settings with an 18x25 center.

I use these frames to make pendants, brooches, rings, and magnets. I've glued them onto mixed media pieces, too. Just glue on your choice of jewelry finding with E6000 and add your image to the center. I'm sure you will find something fabulous to do with yours!

All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me your favorite candy. It can be something that you liked when you were a kid or your current addiction. That's it!

My current favorite candy are these maple hard candies that I bought at a gift shop in Maine (the one with the giant chocolate moose!) I always like those maple sugar candies, but they are pretty pricey. The hard candies don't have the same texture, but the taste is FABULOUS. I think they are even better because they last way longer.

Want a bonus entry? Become a follower of my blog and leave me another comment telling me you did (or that you already are).

{Want to win some zippers instead? Enter my other giveaway day giveaway here!}

I will choose a winner using a random number generator. The last day to enter is Wednesday, May 25 at 9 PM. Winner will be announced on Thursday, May 26th. I will ship internationally.

See all the giveaways!

Sneak Peek: Providence Arts Festival

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Random: Studio Destashing

Anyone who knows me, probably knows that I am a major packrat. It's not my fault; it's genetic. Seriously. The packrat gene definitely runs in my family. Being a packrat is not the same as being a hoarder. A hoarder keeps everything and is practically unable to throw anything away. I'm definitely not like that. I go through tossing binges where anything and everything could end up in the trash, on the curb, or at the local thrift store. When I moved to Providence from Greensburg, PA, I got rid of just about everything that didn't fit in the back of my dad's small Toyota, selling all my furniture and trash-picked treasures to fund the trip.

I don't keep things just for the memories attached to them either. I hardly have any items that I keep purely for sentimental value. Sure, I have photographs, letters from friends, and a few mementos from departed loved ones, but it's not like I keep every single photograph, letter, or memento. I have a select few items, like a metal lobster claw that I found on the beach the last time I saw my father before he died, ashes of my dear friend Fiend who suicided in 2002, a half-empty bottle of my grandfather's shaving lotion, but mostly the stuff that I have is of a crafty nature.

Everything has a potential crafty use: old glasses bottles could be used in a mixed media collage, tangled and broken necklaces could be reinvented into new jewelry creations, saved wine corks might eventually be carved into stamps. The problem is the same one that most Americans face: time. Who in the world has time to do all of these crafts? Even I, who works very part-time out in the "real" world and mostly from home can't possibly finish all of the potential crafts that might happen from my crafty stash. And what good does a huge stash of yarn do if it's just hanging out in plastic bins in a closet somewhere?

Craft Serendipity: Freezer Paper Journal Covers

First of all: have you entered my giveaway yet? You could win a $25 gift certificate to Literary Tease!

Today I'm going to give you the basics on how to make this:

Freezer Paper Journal Cover

But, first, a story: I recently made a lot of sheets of stitch paper as described in Kelli Nina Perkins awesome book, Stitch Alchemy. The fabric / paper fusion material uses large sheets of freezer paper as a base. Instead of throwing away the freezer paper away after I peeled the stitch paper from it, I've been using it as a base for messy art projects. I put the shiny side down on my work table and work on the non-shiny side.

As I was working on my studio tasks for today, I needed to clear my craft table for another project. I looked at the sheet of freezer paper and decided it was much too pretty to throw away. It's covered in bright spray paint splatters, messy paint drips and splatters, and shiny streaks of gel medium, and it's beautiful. I put it off the the side and once my table was cleared, I started on my first project of the day: making a canvas-bound art journal for myself.

Nancy Rafi, of Rafi Designs, makes gorgeous hard-bound journals and I've been wanting one of my own for months. Hers are beautiful, but I wanted a nice blank journal that I could decorate myself. Plus, I like working in 8 x 10 size, and hers are 8 x 8. When I asked Nancy about her source for the book cloth tape, the only thing I didn't have on hand in my studio, she was kind enough to send me a sample. You'll be seeing more of my journal soon, I'm sure, but here's the blank journal I made:

After making the journal, I had leftover strips of Fabriano Artistico paper which were just the right size to make mini journals, 5 x 6.25 inches. I didn't have canvas in the right size and didn't feel like cutting any boards down to size, so I needed something else to make the cover. I turned around, looking for inspiration, and I saw the freezer paper. Perfect!

I tore pieces of freezer paper to fit the cover and headed to my sewing machine to sew the paper onto the first folded page in the journal. Just before I started, I realized that I'd probably want to cover the stitches on the back of the cover and that using the Artistic paper was probably a waste for the cover. (I love Fabriano Artistico hot press 140 lb watercolor paper, but it's expensive, for paper: $4 a sheet.) Instead, I came back to my studio and grabbed a few 8.5 x 11 sheets of cardstock from my printer. This actually turned out to be a great idea!

I used a zigzag stitch to sew the freezer paper right in the center of the page. I considered trying to line up the edges, but it's actually better to have some room around the edges. You can't pin the paper into place, so it might move on you when you first start. I sewed around all the edges, overlapping a little bit at the end. Be careful to stay on the freezer paper when you are stitching. You'll be trimming this later and won't want to accidentally cut the stitches.

Accidentally beautiful scrap!

For the first journal, I then trimmed the cardstock to fit the freezer paper, which I already measured to fit the journal. I folded this in half and will be binding the journal with a simple pamphlet stitch. For the next two journals, I decided that it would be better to coat the whole thing front and back with gel medium (allowing one side to dry before doing the other). Then, I cute a piece of rice paper to cover the stitching and glued it in place with gel medium. I let this dry overnight. Then, I'll trim the cover, fold, and bind. This will give the stitches more strength and make the cover better lasting.

This is pre-rice paper but shows how the journal will work.

You could definitely bind the three signatures together for a chunky, awesome journal, but I think I'm going to leave them as three separate mini journals. Each one has three small pages of watercolor paper folded in half. They will make a great travel journal to toss in my bag before a trip (like New York next month!). If you don't already know how to do a pamphlet stitch, I found this tutorial at Sarah Nielsen's blog.

[Note: I always sew my pamphlets so that the tied ends are on the outside. This way when I'm done working in the journal, I can add beads or other adornments! I don't recommend adding adornments until after you're finished working inside the journal because the beads tend to fall off and/or get in the way.]