• Art - Blog - Creativity

    AJJ: cutter quilt

    July 7, 2026 - By 

    The color scheme on this one was completely inspired by this strip of cutter quilt. It was the last piece of it that I had. It was gifted to me in happy mail ages ago. I hoarded it for a long time but am trying to reform my hoarding tendancies.

    The fabric said late 40s or early 50s to me so I embraced the popular colors of that time. This is definitely outside my comfort zone but it’s good to  stretch yourself creatively from time to time.

    I thought shorthand pages fit the time period pretty well. I used a bit of lace and a fussy cut flower to finish it off. Oh yeah…couldn’t forget some words. The inspected by tag was in a little cup that sits on my craft space..I throw random bits in there all the time. Sometimes I even remember to USE them!

    I hope you’ll pop over to Art Journal Journey and check out the other challenge entries for my July theme of Fabric, lace and trims…oh my!

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  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    AJJ: green floral

    July 3, 2026 - By 

    I really struggled to name this one…maybe that’s what happens when I don’t include words. On occasion I’ve set that as a challenge for myself.

    Do you name your artwork? I like to so that my images aren’t just a basic string of numbers. I digress…

    I started this journal page with a piece of Tim Holtz Backdrops. After cutting to the appropriate size, I began my layering process once again.

    In full disclosure, I started with the 3 coordinating scraps of fabric my neighbor gifted me with and the small paper and fabric cluster. I pretty much worked backward find things that spoke to me.

    Bits of scrapbook paper and ephemera helped me round out the overall design.

    The tag I added screamed that it needed a dangle. I love having something with some movement or extra texture on a page. While sifting through a small drawer of beads and such, I found this perfectly matched charm. It may have been an earring in its former life but now it’s a lovely page dangle.

    Besides lack of a good name, this is one of my favorites for the July challenge theme of Fabric, lace and trims…oh my! over at Art Journal Journey.

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    Join in on the fun!

     

  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    Fabric, lace and trims…oh my!

    July 1, 2026 - By 

    I’m happy to be hosting over on Art Journal Journey once again. I believe this is the 5th time I have joined in this capacity. It’s very kind of our hosts to save a summer month for me, as I am currently off work for the season—one of the perks of working in K-12 education. Enough about me… I want to introduce our theme this month:

    Fabric, lace and trims…oh my!

    I have a passion for sewing as well as paper arts, and I couldn’t help but pick a theme that would join the two. I hope you have as much fun playing along as I have making my first page.

    Before I get into the details, I wanted to mention that I’m making all of my pages this month in a very custom size to fit in a ledger with a 4 ring binding.

    It’s been in my stash for far too long not to be used. 

    I really love working with loose leaf type pages, so this seemed absolutely a perfect pairing for my project.

    My pages measure 5in x 8in. Not your typical sizing but when you are working with a vintage item, you just have to roll with it.

    I started with an 8×8 sheet of scrapbook paper that I trimmed to 5×8. The paper itself had a lot of character but I didn’t let that stop me from putting down lots of layers.

    I used a script stamp and distress ink for some background interest. Then began layering a scrap of vintage wallpaper…using the back side because it had that gorgeous aged color. The horse photo has been in my stash as long as I’ve had a stash. I’m pretty sure it was one of the farm horses from my mom’s youth. The photo happened to be torn…tearing the man that was holding the horse in half. Not to worry…I covered him up with a bit of fabric. You’d never have know if I didn’t tell you.

    I was actually inspired to use the photo after all this time because of one of the fabric scraps. It was an off-cut with a horse theme…you can see the tail above the lace medallion.

    Making collages like this, layering up paper and textiles is one of my favorite things to do. Whether is on a journal page, an embellishment for a card or just a quick scrap busting project without an immediate use.

    The words for my page came from my tiny drawer of found text. I never know if I’m going to find something that speaks to me but this phrase certainly did. I love horses but have had a couple bad experiences while riding. I have learned that the trust with a horse goes both ways…they need to trust you as well.

    Typically I wouldn’t add a back to my loose leaf pages but this flyleaf with library pocket was just too perfect. I might add a tag or something into the pocket at some point but for now its just empty.

    I hope you’ll play along this month for my theme of Fabric, lace and trims…oh my! over at Art Journal Journey.

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