Just For Me

Most of my creative energy has gone into making joy journals for other people....and that's been just what I've needed and wanted to do. But I also realized I needed to sneak in some creative time just for me here and there.

So a week or two ago I pulled out my latest Florals Upon Florals joy journal that I assembled back at the beginning of February. I've been tucking in florals that I've come across in my stash...and just recently I started layering them into the journal. 

It's been so much fun!

The base pages are gelli prints and other found papers....some are even just plain. They are different sizes and oriented either up...down....or centered because I wanted them to overlap so I could create a layered floral effect. It's a process I learned while making the Playful Pages journal. I want to work in that journal too!

I love the layered look! 

It looks a little crazy busy and intense in the photos...but when I'm holding it in my hands....it doesn't feel that way. It just makes me happy.

I do have a little regret about the orange fabric....I wish I would have chosen something softer like pink....but I'm making it work. 

What you can see here is one of Lynn's leaf cutouts...blue flowers from a Gudrun's catalog.....and the layers of pink florals at the bottom are from gifted tissues from Judy. 

As I uncover more found flowers I'm tucking them for in for the rest of the book. Some things I've had for years and it's so nice to have a place for them.

Here's a little tour of what I have so far....I'm not quite 1/2 way through.

Clearly something needs to go on the back of this page...but I'll figure it ou.

This is a copy of one of Connie's watercolors....so it gets a page all its own.

I'm having fun with florals upon florals....just for me.

Poopsies

I can hardly keep up with my Janic joy hyacinth....it's nearly fully open and can barely hold itself up! 

And I'm quite taken with blue underbelly of the individual blooms contrasted with the purple. Mother nature is an artist I admire! 

I noticed on my walk today that yesterday's crocus patch was all closed up....and they were just as pretty! It was the middle of the day....but overcast.  Maybe they were taking a midday nap.

 I love this graceful shape.

Sometimes joy feels like finding the perfect paper bag in my stash for Emily's joy journal. I still have some details to take care of....but I bound it today. It's a wild one and I can't wait to share it. I used ALL of her junk!

Paul and I lived in my home state of Wisconsin from 2007 until 2009. We loved living in Madison close to family and my dear friend Becky. But we missed our boys and the New England coast. So when the right opportunity came along for Paul....we seized it and moved back.

Before the move Becky and I spent a couple of nights in Galena, Illinois....a charming small town along the Mississippi with plenty of shops and fun things to see and do.

We went to a toy store called Poopsie's....and I have saved my shopping bag for 17 years. This was the perfect moment to cut it up and it became one of the pages in Emily's journal. It's a little nod to my friendship with Becky....Emily's mom. Our nearly lifelong friendship is why she is my goddaughter! 

I went to the Poopsie's website to see if they were still in business...and they ARE! While I was there I learned that Poopsie is what a beloved grandmother called any and all of her grandchildren when she couldn't remember their names. Now I love this bag even more. 

I used a coordinating page from the CD box set insert to line the inside. All the pages in Emily's journal are double thickness....and I love that Poopsies is on the other side. I think Emily will feel the love.

Tiny Things

I stumbled across this tiny patch of crucus on a walk in a very scruffy corner of our condo complex. 

It's another reminder that spring is here...pushing through the winter grunge.

This tiny puzzle with these 4 tiny houses captured my heart! 

Thanks Becky!

And right on cue....these tiny hyacinth buds are opening. 

And finally....I found this on the living room rug.....a corner snippet from someone's joy journal. They go flying when I clip them off...and I must have worn this for part of a day somewhere in a clothing fold. Tiny things make me smile.

Bones

I could almost see my hyacinth moving today! It's a little Janice Joy in my kitchen!

To think that all of these little buds will open into one big bloom is kind of astonishing. I'm already awestruck!

Emily's line about her journal really resonated with me....she wants it to be a living thing where she can write little things or add tiny bits as she continues to collect joy. 

Living things need bones. Journals need bones...paper bones to hold all the ephemera and joy stuff. The bones of Emily's journal needed to complement her crazy mix of packaging and product labels...and the first thing I thought of was paper bags.

I mentioned my idea to Patty when I was visiting a few days ago....and she immediately kicked into gear and went through her bag collection in her garage. 

This is what I came home with to add to my own bag supply.

I was off and running!

I cut them all open then cut them into medium...and small pieces. 

I made a random collage with the small pieces for a possible cover...and I'm never really sure when I start one of these how it's really going to turn out. 

But stitching changes everything and in the end I was pleased. My only regret is I wish I would have used black thread. I've switched to black for the inside...and I like it so much better.

This will be just part of the cover....I've figured out a way to use part of the Ramen Noodle box as an overlay. This journal will have multiple chunky signatures which will require a different binding. I hope it works! 

I'm well on my way....all I needed was the bones! 

Thanks for your contribution Patty!

Sunday Catch Up

I have a few joy things I just can't leave dangling without a shoutout! Let's start with the fact that at least 8 million people were in the streets yesterday for No Kings 3.0! I I have to believe that makes a difference. 

I finished a puzzle yesterday! This is another one of Philippa's puzzles called Vivienne's Buttons. It's the second time I've done it....and I loved it again!

Last time I put this together I pulled out some of my own favorite 

vintage buttons and arranged them on top of the puzzle!

You can see them better in this photo!

I'm a big button fan!

I didn't waste any time before I sorted out these precious little pieces 

for the next one! They're are smaller than a dime.

This little mini was a gift from Becky....and it will be a quickie!

Janice brought me a hyacinth a week or so ago. At the time...it was just peeking through the soil...the first photo is 4 or 5 days later and the second one is just today. 

I love how it's  pushing its way through the foliage! I've never had an indoor forced hyacinth before...it's really going to be fun watching it open! 

And both amaryllis blooms are in their full glory!

Thank you for sticking around for my Sunday joy catch up! 

Standing With Neighbors

It was a beautiful crisp spring day today.....a good day to be outside in the sunshine! 

I wish there no reason to be taking to the streets...but Paul and I were proud to be standing with our Portland neighbors for No Kings 3.0. We were protesting against corruption and chaos and demanding decency and democracy. 

 

Sometimes it can be as simple as love over fear and caring about each other.

Eclectic Mix

I get pretty excited when my neighbor's crocuses start blooming. To finally have some actual color other than blue sky makes my heart sing!  

I love all the seasons....and I especially love the excitement and anticipation in the transitions! So much joy!

I love the bud stage as much as I love the fully open blooms!

Debbie got her joy journal today. This layered fern cyanotype was one of my favorites. Paper type and exposure length can give such different results for coloring and I really like this deep aqua.The back was one of my very first experiments from a couple years ago. 

The belly band is part of a vintage piece of clothing...or something that I took apart years ago.

  

It's such a pretty textile....and it's about time I used some of it!

I added a layer of interfacing and a fused piece of fabric to the back to give it strength and stiffness making it easier to slide on and off. The button is just for looks.

Debbie's journal is full of her little treasures....as well as some of Connie's art (a mutual friend of ours) and the snippets from my Ounce of Joy giveaway. It was fun trying to make everything work together. There was lots of blue and white...with pops of color here and there. 

Speaking of pops of color....there was a little surprise color hidden in this spread.  Most of these things came from Debbie. 

The bird pocket was from one of her postcards and the tag was cut from some heavy card stock. I attached her Stitcher sticker to the front of the notecard that she used to write me a note that she included with her papers. There's a little surprise on the back.

When I sent my Ounce of Joy snippets I wrapped them in a couple of pieces of tissue so they would stay distributed in the envelope. If they piled up in one corner it wouldn't fit through the guide slot and would have cost more than one stamp. 

Debbie's snippets were wrapped in this colorful tissue...and that is exactly how I got them back....still wrapped in the tissue. I glued a piece of it on the back of the card and I love how you can still read the note she wrote to me. And now it's now going back to her. 

Several full circle moments in this book.

Here's how I used some of my snippets...

and I cut out her little teapot to tuck in the pocket

Did I tell you that Cherie sent me more clothing tags to use in other people's journals? I attached one to a little painted cyanotype in the front pocket. And you can see the piece of grandma Dorothy's tatting there on the joy calling card! 

Here are the new tags from Cherie! 

Who even knew this was a thing!

Here are a few more pages...not all...but you get the idea.

This was fun to make...and I hope Debbie enjoys this eclectic mix!