Today I’m off to meet up with my fellow alumni in Florence, Italy for the opening of our reunion show – Cacciucco 2012. It’s amazing to me that 10 years have passed since I first stepped foot onto Italian soil. So many amazing memories and feelings of nostalgia, for sure. I’m excited to have this opportunity to regroup with my classmates again… not to mention, show a bit of what I’ve been up to.
Now that I’m married and a mama… life has definitely changed so much. I might not be a famous artist exhibiting in museums or fancy galleries. But seeing the world with an open, creative mindset is something I treasure… and honestly still learning and growing into.
For this alumni show, I created series of prints around Mother Goose nursery rhymes. I guess you can say, I have babies on my mind. The rhymes are personified into girls… my illustrations, tweaked into digital designs and presented as prints at the exhibit. I honestly would have opted for giant subway sized prints… and sort of make it neverending, flowing down onto the floor, like draperies of paper. Or maybe a million postcards, that people can take away… but budget resources restricted that vision. However, I suppose the idea is forever here on my blog…
It would be fabulous if you can visit the exhibit in real life, here in Florence. But otherwise, I hope you enjoy seeing the prints here online instead. Thank you!
Since I’ve been designing bits and pieces for my own December Daily preparation, I decided it would be nice to share the work in the form of journaling cards. Although I suppose they are 4×6 decorative cards that would be great for layering on your pages or as title cards for project life scrappers.
You can customize using the Photoshop, changing the background of stars to various colors and using the rounded edges mask or not. Edit the numbers to change the date and you’ve got yourself a whole set of pretty cards for December! I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think. Happy scrapping to you all.
Recently, I saw the cutest idea on Design Mom – pom pom bookmarks! It’s a simple idea, but so darn adorable… so I had to try it out. I always have this longing for crafting with practicality and bookmarks are always useful in my book – LOL!
I started making a few pom poms from a bunch of yarn I had lying around (it was actually a huge mess because my Westie pup, Vash, got into it!) I quickly realized that the more yarn you use the puffier and tighter your pom poms will ends up. Not to mention you have to trim them nicely to get a symmetrical shape in the end.
Then with some other basic materials I decided to upgrade the whole idea. I’ve never liked “string” type bookmarks, not enough foundation for me. I decided to add a solid paper portion that slips into the book instead. With a bit of glue and cardstock I made myself a sturdy base with the pom pom hanging at the top.
I think of it as a 2.0 version of the pom pom bookmark. I also decided to collage over the cardstock with old bookpaper and ink the edges with copper paint. I suppose it doesn’t exactly match with the blue… a bit eclectic!
The point is that the idea can be taken further depending on how you like your bookmarks – thinner material or thicker? Different decorations? How about using leather instead of yarn for the pom pom? What else can you add instead of a pom pom? Hmm. For now, I’m pretty content with my lovely little up-cycled yarn pom pom bookmark 2.0. Craft happiness for the week! Enjoy!
Paloma Faith is an English singer-songwriter and she hit the commercial scene around 2009… but she had been around for much longer singing soul and jazz classics and dabbling in a band while attending college. Although there are music snobs out there that like the indie folks more… I do appreciate the commercial pop music scene, because I would have never heard many artists otherwise.
I really like her song Upside Down – a catchy tune in cabaret old timey style. I sort of like how the song is about being different and encountering different struggles in life, but there’s nothing wrong with doing it your way and staying true to yourself. I ended up drawing a girl upside down with a silly grin… LOL.
Watch the video above and sing along with the lyrics below…
Angels watching over me with smiles upon their face
Cause I have made it through this far in an unforgiving place
It feels sometimes this hill’s too steep for a girl like me to climb
But I must knock those thoughts right down I’ll do it in my own time
I don’t care (care care)
I’m half way there (nowhere)
On a road that leads me to straight to who knows where
I tell you what (I tell you what)
What I have found (What I have found)
That I’m no fool (That I’m no fool)
I’m just upside down (Just upside down)
Ain’t got no cares (Ain’t got no cares)
I aint got no rules (Aint got no rules)
I think I like (I think I like)
Living upside down (Living upside down)
Watchin people scurry by rushing to and fro
Oh this world is such a crazy place it’s all about the go go go
Sometimes life can taste so sweet When you slow it down
You start to see the world a little differently When you turn it upside down
I don’t care (care care)
I’m half way there (nowhere)
And I’m just soaking up the magic in the air
I tell you what (I tell you what)
What I have found (What I have found)
That I’m no fool (That I’m no fool)
I’m just upside down (Just upside down)
Ain’t got no cares (Ain’t got no cares)
I aint got no rules (Aint got no rules)
I think I like (I think I like)
Living upside down (Living upside down)
(Whoa Whoa Whoa)
You gotta slow it down
(Yeah Yeah Yeah)
But then you pick it up
(Whoa Yeah Whoa)
C’mon and try a little topsy-turvy back-to-front the right way round
Take it slow slow slow (You gotta pick it up)
Yeah Yeah Yeah (See you slow it down)
Hey Yo Yo Yo (Tell me something something)
I tell you what (I tell you what)
What I have found (What I have found)
That I’m no fool (That I’m no fool)
I’m just upside down (Just upside down)
Ain’t got no cares (Ain’t got no cares)
I aint got no rules (Aint got no rules)
I think I like (I think I like)
Living upside down (Living upside down)
I tell you what (I tell you what)
What I have found (What I have found)
That I’m no fool (That I’m no fool)
I’m just upside down (Just upside down)
Ain’t got no cares (Ain’t got no cares)
I aint got no rules (Aint got no rules)
I think I like (I think I like)
Living upside down (Living upside down)
You can check out her collection of music and a listen via
Following my previous posts about my bookbinding tools/materials, preparing my journal cover and folding paper for your journal – this week I would like to finish things up! It’s time to stitch up my handmade journal and put it to use. The first thing to decide is how I will sew everything together. That will determine how I should punch the holes in my paper and journal cover.
I decided to just do some simple longstitch binding, but with a continuous string… a bit out of laziness perhaps! Instead of sewing each individual signature and knotting it up, I would just continue weaving in and out all signatures and then backwards, so there’s only one knot in the end. With that decided, I punched holes in all my signatures of papers with an awl and ruler. You can also create a guide for your holes with thick cardstock and use it as a template to punch all your holes. That can help to ensure that the holes are all exactly in the same spot per signature. However, I just measure and eyeball it…
Once all my paper signatures have been punched, I do the same for my cover. However, instead of punching for each hole and each signature of the journal, I’ve decided to just slit my journal cover. It’s less time consuming and I actually like the rustic look of it in the end.
With all my materials ready to go, I thread my needle and start sewing the paper signatures to the journal cover. I’m using a rusty orange colored string that is fairly thick, so I have to make sure and tighten properly as I weave in and out while sewing.
Although it might seem complicated to understand… you can actually make up your own sewing patterns and create different looks in the bindings of your journals. Try drawing out a diagram and using your pen as the needle to see what would work out. It’s a great way to discover your own method of stitching up your books!
For my journal, it was really important that I kept everything tightened up properly because there are slits in the binding and my thread is so thick and stretchy. BTW, there’s no need to use a curved needle for this project, I just grabbed whatever was handy. In this case it would have been better to use a straight needle! Sometimes when I use really thick string, I might need to use pliers to help push and string the needle through everything…. just depends how skillful you are with your fingers and hands, I suppose!
As I mentioned earlier, doing the longstitch with one long piece of string will result in these criss cross parts on the edge of the binding. I sort of think they are cool, but if you don’t like that you’d better plan up a different stitching pattern for your journal. There are so many different binding methods and patterns possible – the sky is the limit!
Another detail I added to my journal was some velcro closure. I simple glued the velcro bits to my cover, leaving room for a bit of bulk as I might add bits and pieces to my journal papers. Although some find the velcro noise annoying, I like how practical it is! You can also try using a buckle, buttons or ribbon/string wraparound closure as well. It’s all up to your imagination.
With just a little effort, I’ve made myself a lovely leather journal for doodling and experimenting in… how cool is that, huh?
You can see that it looks a bit imperfect and the string is quite thick creating a sort of staggered effect in the binding. I really like the rustic feel of it – I think it matches the coloring of my journal and raw edges of the leather. Just my preference! The cool thing about having a soft leather cover is that the journal opens up flat and it’s very comfortable to write and draw. Of course, I had to pop in a doodle on the first page to welcome my crisp and clean new journal. No surprise that it’s my default girl drawing!
Have you made your own journal before? Hope you will be inspired to make yourself a handy little creative idea keeper – share your thoughts below!
Angel policy: All free printables posted are for PERSONAL USE ONLY. Feel free to share as long as you link back to this website. Thank you for spreading the love!
Appreciate my work?
Need calendar and art printables? Check out the premium poster printables in my Etsy shop Print up to 1 meter tall at 300dpi.
DISCLAIMER: This blog contains advertisements as well as affiliate links. We might be compensated if you click through to affiliated recommendations through ShareASale and other reputable companies. As an Amazon Associate I also earn from qualifying purchases.
For more information: Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy Cookies Policy
