Junk Journal

I made this junk journal for a swap in one of my art groups.  I spent about 3 months pulling it all together and really had a lot of fun with it.  The cover evolved as I worked on the project.  I added the cross stitched bluebird, and even a little face made from a piece of an aluminum can that I embossed.

I made several handmade charms to attach to the binding coils.  I have a closer view of the charms & how they were made posted on my hobby site, here:  http://www.hobbyloco.com/charms.html

You can see from the top view that I made the book really thick and chunky.  It is full of all types of papers, pockets, tags, postcards, and random bits of this and that.  There are easily over 100 pages, many are undecorated, but I did embellish a few to get the book started.

I have already posted several of the pages on my Journals & Sketchbooks blog here: http://cherylsjournals.blogspot.com/ - however the pages posted below weren't included in that post.

These pages all feature needlework - crochet or cross stitched motifs:

 

The beach scene on this page was cut from a piece of a junk mail ad.  This seashell is one of my original cross stitch patterns, and is available as a freebie here:  http://www.hobbyloco.com/XSpatterns2.html#seashell

This page has a watercolor painted background and features a cross stitched squirrel.  Also a freebie pattern of mine, available here: http://www.hobbyloco.com/XSpatterns1.html#squirrel

 I couldn't resist adding a small crocheted doily to the book.  I crocheted this doily from a free pattern found here: http://www.freevintagecrochet.com/free-doily-pattern/spool52/five-point-star-doily

If you are curious to see more pages from the junk journal, be sure to visit my other blog here: http://cherylsjournals.blogspot.com/

Have a fun & creative weekend!

a little princess

If you've seen my sketchbook/journal blog, you may know that I have been participating in a "Paper Bag Book" round robin with one of my art groups. 

I finished my page spread in a "Girly-Girl" themed book last month, and since it features a cross-stitched piece - I thought I would post it in this blog for a change.  In addition to the cross stitched princess, I used printed papers, lace, ribbon, leaf rubbings, a printed poem, stamping, Indian ink pens, a paper flower, a butterfly button, and glitter glue on the pages.

I made a little fairy wand from a gold painted toothpick and a glitter covered purple star.  I also made a couple of mixed-media tags which I tucked into the paper bag pocket.  I had a lot of fun working on this!

The pattern for the Little Princess may be found here: http://crossmenot.blogspot.com/ - along with many other cute little patterns.


Happy Stitching!

Halloween Art

Time to make Halloween art and decorate!

I received my completed Halloween banner from I swap in which I participated. It is so colorful, and looks great hanging on my wall!

Over the weekend I participated in an "inchie-a-thon" with my friends at ATCsForAll.com.

I made over 60 Halloween inchies! It was a fun whirlwind of creating and trading ... and next week I will start receiving all those great miniature works of art in the mail.

What fun!

a Happy Day!

My happiest days are spent ripping and glue-ing, splattering paint, stamping and doodling, and making a BIG MESS! 

I made these crazy happy postcards to send out to a couple folks in the IUOMA (International Union of Mail Artists) group - who happen to be crazy happy people.