Using Up Some of My Graphic 45 Papers

I have been such an absentee blogger.........sorry about that.   Will try to do better in the future.

I use all different kinds of substrate when I sew my Remains of the Day journals but for this post, I used Graphic 45 papers as the base as I recently won a bunch of them on their blog.   Other things I use are magazine pages, dictionary pages, cardstock, graph paper, music sheets, sewing pattern catalog, atlas books, old art books, my decorated papers and the list goes on.

I have a ton of stuff that I use from my studio and items I get at thrift shops and flea markets.   What I put on the pages is not planned.   I just grab items from file folders of stuff or things that are in a pile next to my sewing machine.

Here are some pictures of my ROD work area and then of the pages themselves.  

I have had the grocery cart for a long time but just recently realized that it was great to hold all of my paint chips I have accumulated over the years.   There are eight different sizes and shapes in there.

The little grocery cart is so handy holding all the different sizes of paint chips I have collected over the years.  

Trust me on this one...........this is just a very small sampling of all the different things I use on my ROD pages.    The huge ceramic hot air balloon reminds me of all those trips to Albuqurque

I added a pocket with a piece of atlas map which was appropriate for the paper.

Here I added some vintage ephemera I received from OWOH.

I made a pocket of a piece of G45 paper.   I sew a music page in so you could collage pictures on it or glue paper on it to write a journal entry.

I made another pocket using some vintage ephemera for the front cover of this G45 paper.

A page of a hymnal made another great pocket.   On the right side is a memo sheet sewed on to the sheet music.   I found a whole book of these memo sheets at Goodwill.   Way too cool.

On this inside page, I recycled a window envelope which I sewed so that there would be one pocket on each side of the page.   I also found a package of "Hello My Name Is" at a thrift store so attached it to the window envelope.

On the left page there is actually two pockets, one where the Gaslight Theater paper is and one where the Mickey Mouse paint chip is.   I also made a pocket out of the atlas paper on the right side.

Another pocket with some sheet music on the left.   On the right I sewed a piece of ephemera to write on and I think below that is another pocket.

I found a whole box of these labels so I thought it would be cool to use them to write on.   On the right is a paint chip sewed on for a pocket on top of a "Did You Know" book page that I found at a thrift store.  Lots of interesting information on a bunch of things when they were first discovered, etc.

On this one, I put the paint cip pocket right on the cover of the page.   I always add other pages inside so there will be places to collage and write journal entries.

There are two pages inside this one.   One with graphic paper and one with an atlas page.  On the right side is a little book sewed to the graphic paper.

On the back cover, I sewed a security envelope so that there was a pocket inside and on the outside of it.   I recycle all the window envelopes I get from junk mail.   I also found a box of new security envelopes at the thrift store for 99 cents.   Can't beat that, can ya.

Here is the backside of the above picture........something to write on and a pocket to put stuff in.

These pages make a great travel journal because there is so much area to write on, collage on and pockets to put stuff in.   The Remains of the Day Journal is one of my all time favorite online classes........probably because I have so much ephemera and paper.   I think the G45 papers worked really well for these pages.

A Wonderful Gift

I follow the Graphic 45 blog as I like their papers a lot and like seeing what they and  their design team creates.    Would you believe it on one of their giveaways, I won all of this wonderful paper.   I have not photographed it all.........only a sampling.    I tend to hoard these papers but probably not as much now as they sent me a couple sheets of some designs and they were very generous in the amount of paper they included in my package.   Way too cool and it really makes one's day a little brighter.  

Many thanks to the Graphic 45 Team.  

LET'S CELEBRATE OUR FREEDOM

HAPPY  BIRTHDAY  AMERICA

I know a lot of you have seen this but I thought it was appropriate to post a picture here of the American Flag Purse I made out of bottlecaps.

I hope that as we celebrate today with picnics, barbeques and family gatherings, that we all remember the Service Men and Women who have fought for our Freedom and the ones who continue to do so.

Rusted Fabric

A really great gal, friend and artist, Jane, and I have been talking about rusting fabric so it inspired me to play a little with it.    I told her I would post some pictures of what I have done so here you go Jane and anyone else who might be interested.

I got an old piece of vintage fabric that was torn out of my big box of old linens.   Another reminder to never throw anything out as this was perfect for this project so I decided to rub it with rust randomly.   I then wet it completely and put it out in the Hot Arizona sun to dry..........boy that was a fast project.........dried in minutes.   I was going to heat set it with an iron but found that was really not necessary now.   I even sprayed a little color on it and the rust remained intact.    So here are some pictures of it.    I think on my next piece of fabric, I will rub more rust on it.

I haven't exactly decided what to do with it next but I probably will add some stamping to it and some color and use it for a cover of a fabric journal which I learned from Mary Ann's Remains of the Day class.  Now I need to rust some of my lace.   Oh dear the possibilities are endless here once I start thinking about it.    I have tons of pages already done so it will just be a matter of finishing the cover and assembling.     Here's a link to one of the ROD journals I have made.

I just put a couple paper towels with water and rust pieces and took it outside to see what it does.   You just never know.......maybe wonderful.........maybe a piece of cr*p ready for the landfill.....who knows until you try.

I have  been doing some more experimenting with rusting keys.   I put some keys, pieces of rust and water and took the container outside in the sun.   Oh my gosh, does it really rust out there in this heat but it looks different than the other keys that were rusted inside.    Also, I found out that if you  put just the brass keys out in the direct sunlight, it really tarnishes them and gives them a bluish/redish patina which will be great to have just as they are or to then rust them.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful Holiday weekend.

I've Been Experimenting........

A while back I got a bunch of keys and wanted to experiment with them to get them rusty.   I have read many ways to do this but I just decided to grab a bunch of them and put them in a container with water and some already rusted pieces.   I was talking with my "rusty" friend this morning and remembered that I hadn't looked at the keys lately.   Well, of course, the water was all gone (being in AZ and over 100 degrees everyday) but there was a lot of rust at the bottom of the container.   I poured the keys out and this is what I found.   A lot of rusty goodness.   Love it when a plan comes together.  

It is hard to see in the picture but some of them have a bluish and redish patina on them........very cool indeed.   So, I am going to do another batch of these.   You can never have enough rusty keys in my world.

I purposely put them on white paper so I could get  some rust on it to use for making background papers. 

Hope you all have a great weekend and stay cool.........Good luck here in the desert. 

More Rusty Goodness From My Friend

Well, I haven't posted in a long time about Artsy stuff but I so need to get back into it as it really is what I love and think about most of the time when I am not otherwise occupied with everyday life.    

A while back I received another wonderful box of rusty goodness and some other items from my friend, Julie.   I am just so lucky to have her as my friend and trading partner.   We have been having a lot of fun trading items.     She is also a big time thrift store, garage sale, swap meet person like myself.   I would so much rather do this than visit any Mall around.

How about a game of horseshoes....way too cool........all rusted up.

That heart piece is really great,  and the buckles, springs and odd pieces of rusted goodness will be nice for certain projects.

All different kinds of things in this box including some rusted wire.

Flat pieces of rust and such.   On the side of the cigar box is an old rusted frame and a really cool old rusted rake.   Way too cool and long flat pieces to work with.

Oh my, look at all those faucet handles, knobs and such.   Way too much fun.

You can never have enough old bottle caps.

The mesh that she sent is just so cool. Will look great in an altered project or two or three.

Now I need to get going and make some things with all of these goodies that my friend sent me.   I hope it is cool wherever you are because it is Hotter than Heck here.   Oh how I miss the Pacific Northwest on days like these..........it is over 100 degrees in the SW Desert.

Happy Father's Day/Happy Anniversary

It has been ten years since Dad passed away.   There are many things to say but the most important one is that "I Miss You" everyday.    And I am really a chip off the old block as I am so much like him.  
My thoughts and prayers are with you today Dad.

On the 22nd of June, it would have been their 71st anniversary.      Their last anniversary celebrated together was their 60th.   What an accomplishment.   

Here is one of the pictures that I like a lot.   It is taken with their best friend, JeJe.   It makes me laugh because this picture was put in their church directory.   After both my parents passed, I brought JeJe from Oregon to live with me as it was my father's wish.    We had so much fun with him.  JeJe has passed also so I remember all of you today.

I Honor You Today Dad

My father served in World War II.   He was a gunner on a Liberty ship.   He was with the Armed Guard, a division of the U. S. Navy.    He served in the Atlantic and the Pacific.    He had to leave his wife and three children to serve our country.    He never talked about his time in the service until the last few years of his life.    He was and should be proud of his Service.    I honor you today Dad.  


Upon my parents passing, we found a large box of correspondence between the two of them while he was at sea.   He sent a lot of V-Mail to Mom and she corresponded by letters.    It gave me goosebumps to read the mail.

My father is buried at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.   This is a picture of the Boy Scouts putting 140,000 flags on the Veteran's grave there.  They do this every year for Memorial Day.   My thoughts are there today for not only my father but all the Veteran's who served our country.   And a special thanks to all the Boy Scouts who give of their time to do this.    It is a breathtaking sight and we appreciate all the work involved in putting the flags up.

I would also like to honor a really good friend of my father's, Bud Abbott, who was also a WWII Vet and is now laid to rest at Willamette National Cemetery.

And I would also like to honor my cousin, Alvin Schmid, who served our country and is laid to rest at Willamette National Cemetery.

And I would also like to honor my nephew, Gene Haun, who is in active service in the U.S. Navy and has to be away from his family for long periods of time.   We love you and appreciate what you are doing for our Country.

Thanks to all who are serving now and who have served our Country in the past.   We Honor You, We Respect You and we are forever grateful for what you have done and are doing for us.

You Can Never Have Enough Resistors

The other day a friend gave me a box and told me to look in it..........guess what was there.......more resistors for my collection.   I love these guys.   These will make a great addition to the ones I recently got at an estate sale.

Here is a link to a March post I did about making bracelets with these resistors.  

Also, check out the piece of linen.   This is actually card table size.   It was white and I colored it.   Love the way it came out and how the crochet lace looks too on it.   It is another piece of very old linen that I got from my friend.

Happy Mother's Day

I would like to say a Happy Mother's Day to all of my family and friends who are Mothers and who are not as I am sure you have helped and brightened someone's life while traveling down the highway of life.   I hope you have a wonderful day of rest and relaxation or doing whatever you like to do best.  

In Memory of my Mom, here she is in her Senior High School picture.

You are in my thoughts today Mom.   Thanks for everything.

I want to also say a Special Prayer for a friend  who lost his wife and her children who lost their Mom  yesterday in a freak car accident.    She had just said goodbye to her husband and son when she was leaving a car show in her 1955 Chevrolet.   She hit a curb trying to avoid another car and it flipped over and killed her.   Her and her husband were high school sweethearts.  She was only 68.    It happened not more than a block from where her husband was loading another car on a trailer.   I hope everyone who reads this will say a prayer for this family.

Golf Cleats, Plumber's Tape, Sewing Machine Parts

Well I got a call that there was an estate sale just a few blocks from my place so I went down to see what it was all about.

They had a lot of nice stuff but I thought it was priced high and there was so much that I was not really interested in, i.e., furniture, dishes, knick knacks, linens, etc..      You just never know when you go to one of these what you will find and that is the fun of it for me.  

I found a little box of old sewing machine parts which one can always use in assemblage, some plumbers tape which I have used before for a book spine and some golf cleats.   I bought the golf cleats because I had read on a yahoo group some time ago that someone used them to make jewelry with so since these were so cheap, I picked them up.

Sewing Machine Parts

Golf Cleats for Found Object Jewelry, Etc.---I have never done anything with these before but I saw some really nice altered jewelry pieces that someone did but I don't remember where it was now so will just have to come up with something on my own.   Or, I am sure they would look great on an altered piece too.

Plumber's Tape---Sometime ago, I used this kind of material for a spine of a glass journal I did.   When I saw this roll of it at the sale for 25 cents, I grabbed it up.

I don't know how old this is but it was neat and it now sits on top of the refrigerator.

Old Food Scale

I just ran across this wonderful blog and giveaway at Bluebirds Living in the Meadow.   When you have a minute, check it out.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.   It is really warming up here in the desert now.

More Stuff I Found Along the Way....

Well it has been awhile since I posted some thrift store finds that I couldn't resist...........all very cheap, of course.

The following four pictures are pretty self-explained.......unused great items for the artist.

A whole set of charcoal pencils and stixs and graphic pencils in hard and soft sizes.  

NuPastel color sticks

Colored Charcoal Pencils

This was all packaged and never been opened.   All new watercolors paints and paper and instruction book.    And another piece of hand embroidered old linen.

One day I found a package of wood chop sticks which contained 50 sets......all brand new and each set wrapped individually.  Then on my next visit, I found a package of new real Ivory chop sticks.    Never seen something like this before.   I just know they both will be handy in some art project.

On the left side are some sacks that normally would be used to hold a quarter of beef, venison, pork, etc.    I loved the soft, open-weave fabric and thought they would be good for some art projects or to layer it for collage, etc.  There were four of them and very large in size.  The next items  were a set of three shadow boxes from IKea.   The roll is 250 feet of laminating paper.........and the far right items are three flat panel canvases which were a downright steal.

Have a great day everyone.