I am both honored and humbled to be included with the most talented of jewelry designers being featured in an article on Craftsy.com, written by my friend, Ema Kilroy! These are my earrings!
Ceramic Leaf Charms (handmade by me!) hang on brass colored wire worked into a swirl and accented with small copper bead.
Do you like the background paper in my photo above? Well, it's one of my painted papers. You can get note cards in the same design in my etsy shop - CLICK here
Some time ago I joined a new Facebook group called Junk Journal Junkies. I decided to join after viewing a few Youtube videos. There were two artists I really enjoyed viewing. The first is Thrifty Lou! Louise is from the U.K. and she is a "hoot"! That is the perfect word to describe her as watching her shenanigans will have you hooting AND hollering with laughter. She has the cutest daughter, named Lottie and together they can make a simple giveaway drawing entertaining as any sitcom on the tellie! LOL. Besides being great fun to watch, Thrifty Lou is a very talented journal maker. Her projects are packed with cool items and she puts a load of love and thought into each one she creates! Here's one of the very first video I viewed of her's...she had me after this!
The second artist, Shannon Green, is the total opposite! LOL! Watching her gave me so many ideas on what to include and where to find goodies, for FREE!
I went right out the next day and began to "gather". I hit up the tourist and info rack at the public library, went to a local hotel for loads of restaurant take-out menus and a few local maps. I also visited the Post Office to grab some free forms and the like. In addition I made a few swaps with other JJJ's and received some REALLY cool items. I have great package Karma (loads of happy mail comes in!!) But I got my most favorite JJ items from two special friends,Lea Avroch (LA Jewelry Designs) - she sent me huge, glossy magazines from NYC and the Hamptons area, AND Solange Collin (Ahowin) - she sent me magazines and newspapers from France! Well, I JUST finished creating my first junk journal (JJ). JJ's mean different things to different people. I wanted to incorporate junk mail and other cast off items in mine. This one I made for the swap called "Use Your Stash Junk Journal" on FB:Junk Journal Junkies. I am swapping internationally so I tried to incorporate items which were local to where I live and/or from the USA. I used loads of my own painted papers too. My partner loves purple and green (my favs too!) so I threw those in wherever I could. I loved the process and wanted to keep this one but I let it go! (after arguing with myself a bit. LOL) Here is a summary of my process: The gatherings...
This is the color palette - she likes the green and purple combo that I love!
And here is the guts - ads, menus, local attractions and news, plus some U.S. goverment issued forms I had laying around.
Here is the front cover - I took a used US Priority flat-rate box and cut it open, lightly sprayed the inside with water, waited for it to soak in and then removed the top layer to reveal the corrugated inner layer. I painted on some white gesso, when it dried I used acrylic paint in aqua to stamp some shapes and applied a little purple Gelato to the edges. To the reverse side I used circle daubers in several shades of purple.
These are a few of the pages -
Leftover W-2 forms from my old job... and a bag we used at the Alzheimer's Assoc. fundraiser we held last week (more on that soon!)
Here's transfer iron-on tissue paper which was included in a old pattern I picked up at a thrift shop.
Leftover paint I applied to a page from an old dictionary..also applied some Heidi Swapp epoxy stickers to jazz it up a bit. On the right is a security envelope I got with one bill or another.
An application for a Passport I picked up from the Post Office but didn't use.
A page from a French magazine and a mail flyer from a ministry.
Here's a glance at the outer back cover.
I tucked in several goodies (they will remain a surprise) but one other item I tucked in was this tag. I keep a couple of these blanks close to my work area at ALL times. I wipe off my excess paint and inks onto it, wet stencils too! Then I embellish it and add some cool seam binder or other fibers and textiles to give it life. I ALWAYS love the results. I REALLY, REALLY had to force myself to part with this particular one. The photos are not doing it justice!
