100th Post and GIVEAWAY!

well, here it is. my 100th post! i am pretty darn excited to have reached this milestone.

i've been really into making these crazy quilted journals ever since i started the "remains of the day" class with mary ann moss.

at first i was going to make one just for the purposes of the giveaway but one led to two and then three...and a few days later, i had made FIVE! you can find them in my etsy shop here!

the covers are constructed with all kinds of wonderful fabric scraps--some vintage, some new. they are wrapped with recycled sari silk ribbon (my favorite embellishment these days!)

the pages are a mix of my favorite vintage paper (maps, ledgers, music sheets, atlas, childrens' books), scrapbook paper, and recycled paper (catalog pages, security envelopes).

SO...one lucky commenter will win a custom made journal all of their very own! (you get to pick the color scheme for the cover and customize the insides with your favorite kinds of paper!) and another will win a collage pack filled with wonderful paper and journaling goodies. just leave a comment to let me know you were here! i will announce the winner on Monday, September 6!

**bonus entries**

1 extra entry for blogging about the giveaway (just leave a separate comment with a link to your blog entry)

1 extra entry for becoming a follower of my blog (if you are already a follower, just let me know in a separate comment!)

AND

1 extra entry for voting for Merritt Trace Elementary school in the Kohl's Cares contest on facebook (if you've already voted, just let me know in a separate comment). their library and 26 classrooms were destroyed in an arson fire. please give them 5 stars; they could really use our support! :) voting ends september 3.

so, to recap: to enter, just leave a comment. for each additional entry, leave a separate comment. additional entries are not necessary to win, but they do boost your chances! ;)

and THANK YOU for stopping by. your comments and support over the years mean a lot to me and encourage me to keep on blogging and creating art!

More Journal Love and Getting Ready for My 100th Post!

spent some time in my journal the other night and thought only an hour had gone by...

to my surprise, the clock read almost THREE in the morning! i had been journaling for almost three hours! i like to switch back and forth between journals and pages within journals while i create. it keeps my art brain happy. :)

writing this post tonite, i realized that it is my 99th post since i first started blogging back in October 2007. (my photos were so small! and i had a studio....sigh!) it's funny that my first entry was called "it's getting easier." and it's true. when you start doing something you love, you are relieved to find how truly EASY it really is. when i wished for a studio, and allowed myself to grant that wish, it came together almost effortlessly. i think when you truly want to make or do something, just that little step of granting yourself permission to dream is such a BIG and powerful first step. after that, things seem to fall into place!

so in order to celebrate three lovely years of blogging and creating, i'd like to celebrate with a giveaway! in my 100th post later this week, i'll give all the yummy details. (hint: it involves handmade journals and journaling supplies!) stay tuned and thank you for sharing this adventure with me!

Remains of the Day Journal FINISHED!

i've been taking mary ann moss' "remains of the day" online journaling/journalmaking class for a few months and i've finally finished my first journal!

these are a few close-ups of the inside pages. the pages are sewn together from scraps and random paper from my studio stash. above is a security envelope. there is a use for junk mail afterall!

there are cute little pockets here and there holding little notecards and tags for hidden journaling.

this is the front and back cover. it wraps around the pages and closes with a long, silky ribbon.

view from above...random vintage papery goodness!

i love the random colors, textures, patterns and loose threads. this is journal love at it's best!

Please Help Re-build Trace Elementary School

update: Trace is #20 on the list and eligible for $500,000. Please take a moment to vote for them to secure their spot. The top 20 schools will receive this generous grant. The money will help rebuild the school that was devastated by a recent fire.

On July 5, someone set fire to Merritt Trace Elementary school. The school was mostly destroyed along with millions of dollars worth of books, supplies, computers, furniture, etc. 26 classrooms, and the library were completely destroyed. Classes will be held in portables until the school is rebuilt.

If you have a moment, please log onto your facebook account and vote for Merritt Trace Elementary on the Kohl's Cares facebook page. The top 20 schools with the most votes will receive $500,000. You can vote up to five times for your three favorite schools. Please spread the word!

Trace Elementary is a Visual and Preforming Arts Magnet where students receive opportunities to play instruments, learn how to draw and paint and act in school plays. In times when schools across the nation are cutting out music, art and drama--and even cutting the number of school days--to make ends meet, schools like Trace are rare and even more in need of our help.

My first art teaching job was at Trace. My stepdaughter attended 4th grade there and my stepmom taught there for several years. It saddens me to think that someone would intentionally start a fire to destroy a building--but a school? Unbelievable. I hope the best for the school and the community. Thanks for your help! :)

five, 10, fifteen, 20

i'm currently taking an online art journaling course called "nourish your soul" with hope karney. one of the recent assignments had to do with journaling to/about yourself at various points in your life, going back 5, 10, 15, and 20 years ago. it was a fun and informative exercise that i would recommend to everyone. even if you don't journal, just think back to what you were doing at those times in your life. who were you? what did you worry about? what was going on in your life? what would you tell yourself at each of those ages?

it was weird to realize that i actually could remember myself and my life 20 years ago--i always think i'm still somewhere in my 20's! to think that i was thirteen 20 years ago seems like a lifetime ago! i really feel barely out of college some days. i guess that is how it will be for the rest of my life. always feeling like the kids were just babies, or i was just in my 30s, or the grandkids were just born. anyway, i'm happy to report that i've had a great 33 years and i'm looking forward to the next 33. i just hope they don't go by in a blink of an eye. but that's what life is. just barely a breath, a heartbeat, a blink. doesn't feel like it when you are in the present, but it sure does feel like it when you look back toward the past. it's true what they say (who are they, anyway?) there is not past or future. just now. just today.

i don't want summer to end!

i know we still have a month left of summer, technically. but school starts back in just two weeks, so it's hard to fool my brain into thinking there's still any summer left. :(

i've been journaling here and there. i'm noticing that i'm choosing bold, bright, rainbow colors. i'm not ready to give in to the earth and jewel tones of fall.

i went to a mini-journal-making class on friday with my stepmom. we took a class with lisa sonora beam called "the daily observer: max your creativity with mini journal magic."

three hours of uninterrupted, kid-free journal making. it was wonderful! :) we made several journals of different sizes and shapes and using all kinds of wonderful vintage and new paper. lisa had a stash of paper for us to use and our fellow classmates each brought a pile of papers as well (as they say, one person's trash is another's treasure, right?) :)

here are the 4 journals i made in class. still need to add some ribbon ties, stickers, etc. we used greeting cards to make some of the journals (love that method!). lisa has a tutorial on her blog here.

summer has been busy with road trips, picnics, swimming, days at the beach, walks to the park and birthdays! my daughter turned 8 and we celebrated with family and a few of her friends at the park a few saturdays ago.

she chose a jungle theme and helped decorate the cake with jungle animals and rainbow sprinkles. i love to put together birthday parties with themes. each year since she was two, she's helped pick out the theme and decorations. her favorite part (mine, too!) is putting together the goodie bags. it was easy with the help of the michael's dollar bins--there was a ton of jungle themed crafty kid items!

i hope you are enjoying these long, warm summer days! fortunately, i live in sunny california, so we will most likely be wearing flip flops and enjoying trips to the beach long into september (and maybe even october!). july has been pretty chilly so far (i think we've barely broken 90 degrees once!) but that's ok by me.