Creatively Connecting

Cherie and I had a Zoom call this morning....and it was so nice to put a face to a name and to hear more of the back story of her choices for her joy journal and for me to share more about my process. Our mutual fondness for textiles was clear as well as the joy that we both find in making things for others. What a treat this was!

I think there are enough of you who have interest so I thought I would share some of the pages in her journal. The rest of you can get a head start on your day. 

Before I knew anything else I knew the first page was going to be Cherie's dad's doodle. I also knew I was going to cut out one side and fold it into a page. What I learned in today's Zoom is that he doodled all the time...even on napkins in restaurants then gave them to the wait staff. He's a legend for his doodles...and Cherie chose this one for the journal. 

I always pause for a moment when I cut into someone's art....but she said to go for it! 

This...by the way...was the only actual piece of regular paper Cherie provided. And at this point I still didn't know how I was going to hold everything together.....but lots of ideas were going through my head. This is where it started.

On the back was another doodle of a bear flying off with balloons with the caption 

Oh my I did not plan this! Look where the caption landed on the folded page! I didn't plan this either! The fold was completely determined by how wide the front flowers would be for the cover. Serendipity!

  

The second thing I knew I was going to do was cut her quilled tree card in half. That also was a little unnerving. 

But it was too wide as is....and then I could use it in two spots. I stitched it onto a piece of cardstock to create the fold and tucked it in as a page.

The other half has the fold on the right side and opens out....and it worked out well. 
The photo is a bit blurry because it's a screenshot from a video.

Using the color scheme from the cover I went to my scrapbook paper stash and pulled several pieces of medium weight paper in all kinds of patterns. Books need paper...and I needed something to stitch the clothing tags to.

I wanted the tags to stick out just a bit...and layer up and down the side of the journal on different pages.

It was like putting together a puzzle.

I do love mixing patterns....and I went a little crazy in Cherie's journal!

Tucked behind that second page were the first two trees.

They were like a little hidden surprise!

Cherie included a tiny gift bag that I cut up and made into a little pocket....

it was the perfect size for one of my little share your joy tags.

I used every single clothing tag....and every bit of ephemera Cherie sent. 

And I'm so tickled where this caption landed...with no planning on my part. This page got a tag too.

There are several more pages....but you get the idea. But my favorite moment may be on the back cover where I used this monogram of Knowledge, Wisdom and Truth that came from the inside edge a men's shirt. Such a beautiful hidden detail.

Using scraps from a previous project...I worked it into a little fussed quilt block for the back cover. I really wanted to stitch it...but I didn't think about it before I fused it. If I stitched it after it would have messed up the free motion on the back. But I think it's the perfect finish for this charming and personal joy journal.

I learned today that Cherie actually collects men's shirts and I was able to see her impressive stash in her cupboard this morning on our call. This quilt is made entirely of men's shirts! Isn't it gorgeous!

If you're still reading...thank you for walking through this journal with me...it was a joy to create. And I thoroughly enjoyed creativing connecting with its new owner! Pure joy!