In March of 2011, I attended an event hosted by the amazingly talented Kim Caldwell. The event was a Moulin Rouge-themed art retreat and it was amazing! I blogged about it here and here. For this event, I hosted a Journal Page Swap. I had hosted a similar swap at Silver Bella and it just turned out too gorgeous not to try again! Twelve artists each created thirteen pages. They sent their pages to me and I bound them in covers I made. Each artist got a book of her own plus an extra book was made to give to our fabulous host, Kim.

I am SO excited to share with you that this beautiful journal is featured in the latest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Pages magazine! I submitted this journal to CPS for their consideration right when I got home from Moulin Rouge in April of 2011. The journal wasn't accepted in the first round but they were still interested and asked if they could hold on to it. So it took awhile but I am very happy with how it turned out. The photography is lovely. The only bummer is that not everyone's pages were published. I'm sure the staff at CPS struggled because EVERYONE's pages were spectacular!!! There was definitely something magic about this theme and inspired every artist that participated to create something magic.

So for your viewing pleasure, here is the full book in all its amazing, majestic glory. Thank you again to all the artists who participated and made this such a special swap!

Click on any image to enlarge.

The front cover of the journal.
The spine.The view of the book opened up with the edges of all those gorgeous pages.

Here are the pages with the name of the person who made them. You'll see some pages with my name that look very plain. I added extra pages (airmail envelope, piece of white embossed wallpaper, paper doiley and ledger paper) to give the girls plenty of surface to journal on or add pictures.Inside of Front Cover (Table of Contents) & Michelle GellerMichelle Geller & Sherry Bamsey Sherry Bamsey & Terry FriasTerry Frias & Michelle GellerMichelle GellerMichelle Geller & Terry Frias
Terry Frias & Sherry BamseySherry Bamsey & Michelle GellerMichelle Geller & Cynthia FloresCynthia Flores & Rachel McGoughRachel McGough & Michelle GellerMichelle Geller & Denise HahnDenise Hahn

The Eiffel Tower is a pop-up!

Denise Hahn & Michelle GellerMichelle Geller & Rachel McGoughRachel McGough & Cynthia FloresCynthia Flores & Andrea VillarrealAndrea Villarreal & Michelle GellerMichelle Geller & Valita BaxleyValita Baxley  & Julie WellerJulie WellerJulie Weller & Valita BaxleyValita Baxley & Michelle GellerMichelle Geller & Andrea VillarrealAndrea Villarreal & Cheryl StonehamCheryl Stoneham & Michelle GellerMichelle Geller & Michelle DukeMichelle DukeMichelle Duke & Michelle GellerMichelle Geller & Cheryl StonehamCheryl Stoneham & Inside of Back Cover

I hope you enjoyed this! It was an honor to host this swap and I still can't believe I have one of these books that I get to look at over and over again. But I do!!! :-)

A little sad note...you may have noticed that Pamela Keravuori's name is in the table of contents. I am still so bummed that her pages never made it to me. She mailed them but they never arrived. :-(

So back to happy stuff...would anyone be interest in doing a Journal Page Swap? I was thinking how much I LOVE this journal and was thinking of hosting an online swap. Maybe with a vintage flower theme? Each person would make two-sided pages and I would add the covers and bind with binder rings. The number of pages each person has to make will depend on the number of people that are interested but no more than 15. The deadline would be an end of July, beginning of August time frame. Let me know what you think! 

ETA: The swap is starting to take shape and definitely will be happening! The theme will be

Vintage Back to School!!!

It's been a long time since I've shared pics of treasures I find. I am an avid scrounger, hunter and digger. I LOVE going to the Goodwills (there are several really good ones in my area), estate sales, antique stores and thrift stores.

Here is something I recently found at Goodwill for $1.99.

So cute! It's a cassette tape holder. I love the retro flowers in the kitchy color palette! My first thought was to pull out the plastic insert and use it as a marker case but alas, I found a different use for it...

Groovy! :-)

I don't know if blogging about Handmade U Spring Semester unblocked something, but I am definitely feeling up for some more! I am motivated to get "caught up!" :-)

First up...did you see the moon on Saturday, May 5? The media was referring to it as a "super moon" and around 8:30 pm, it was super! I started snapping pictures and got some great pictures using the zoom. I set up the tripod and got lots of shots just like this...

Very cool, right?

Okay...so on to a bit of catch up. It has been a very busy, crazy year so far. In January, I attended the Play Retreat in Port Townsend, Washington. While I was there, I made the decision to attend Artfest in April. I knew it would be tricky to juggle Artfest because it was two weeks before Handmade U in Omaha, Nebraska. I thought it would be more than I could handle but after months of back and forth deliberation, I signed up. This was to be the last Artfest ever so I figured I had to go for it!

Artfest 2012 was my fifth Artfest and while I don't regret going, I felt out of sync most of the time. I think it mostly had to do with the fact that I stayed off campus and so I missed out on the shared meals in the commons and all of the trading. The brightside of the whole affair was renting a room from my lovely friend, Marilyn, who lives in a beautiful cottage in Port Townsend.

Along the way to Marilyn's house, I did get a little lost but it was worth it because otherwise I wouldn't have stumbled upon these lovely words written on a community art center...

A very perfect sentiment for Artfest.

It's actually never a bad thing getting lost in Port Townsend. There is always something gorgeous to see.

As for the classes at Artfest, I mentioned I signed up late but I was still able to pretty much get all the classes/instructors I wanted! My first class on Thursday was Dave Steele's Metal Adventure Journal. I LOVED this class! I was very comfortable with the bookmaking component but had never worked with metal before. Dave is a very patient and knowledgeable teacher and I finished my journal in the class. That made me WAY happy!

The book is about 4 1/2" x 5 1/2".

Friday's class was Misfit Dollmaking with Lana Guerra. I thoroughly enjoyed the techniques that Lana shared. She is a very fun teacher. I didn't get very far with my doll unfortunately. This was a new medium for me so I think I got way too ambitious. The possibilities are endless! One of these days I will finish it...or not. But I will make dolls. :-) Oh and I did sit next to a very charming and gracious woman named Ellen. We're friends on Facebook now. Love that!

Saturday's class was with the ever delightful and super talented Mindy Lacefield. I was looking forward to this class most of all...mainly because Dawn was going to be in this class too. My super friend, Sarah, was to be in this class but she had to leave Artfest unexpectedly. :-(

I am in love in love love LOVE with the techniques I learned in Mindy's class. Here are three paintings I painted during class...

Right when I got home, I went out and bought lots of flourescent paints! I can't wait to play with them! Here's a pic of Dawn and I taken during class. Dawn is SO talented and hanging out with her absolutely enhanced my whole Artfest experience! Goodnight, Dawn Sokol! :-)

Before heading to Artfest, I started putting together a souvenir journal (of course!)


I just finished it and am thinking of making a little video as a way to share all of the insides with you. I just need to carve out a bit of time to do that. Until then, here's the first page in the journal...

Lastly, here's a pic of the commons at Fort Worden! I hope it's not the last picture I ever take of the fort. The era of Artfest has passed; however, there's talk of something else on the horizon involving Fort Worden and Port Townsend. Hopefully we'll all get a chance visit the fort again...for the next big thing, :-)

I have lots to share with you since I haven't blogged in along time; however, I am going to take care of first things first...Handmade U Spring 2012!

I am SO lucky to know Rachel McGough! I first met her at Silver Bella in November of 2010 and little did I know that our friendship would turn into something very special! Rachel hosted an art retreat, Handmade U , in Omaha, Nebraska, in September, 2011. She invited me to come teach and I had such an incredible time! The venue, the artists...the shopping! :-) You can imagine how thrilled I was when Rachel began talking about a second Handmade U and she invited me to come teach again. 

Here are some pictures...this first picture is me and Rachel! I arrived Wednesday evening before Handmade U was to begin and Rachel and her fabulous husband, Jim, treated me to a great meal at Roja's in Omaha's Old Town. We sat outside and it was utterly perfect!

Bright and early Thursday, we headed to Minglewood Lodge in Gretna, Nebraska...

After a busy morning, the lodge was set up Handmade U style...

Rachel and Mollie taking care of some final details......and then we only had to wait for the students to arrive! I LOVE this vintage chalkboard Rachel set up to welcome the students!

Tables were set up for some fun and unique shopping at Handmade U too! Here is Rachel's table full of with her journals and trimmings from France!
Pam's table full of cards and labels made from her original doodles and artwork.
And oh yeah, the Hold Dear table full of things you know I love and adore...

The attention to details at Rachel's events are fantastic! That girl is gifted!

On Friday morning...a very special thing happened...Handmade U's first swap! This was a paperdoll swap hosted by the very awesome Shelley!

Sooooo cute!

I don't recall if it happended before the swap or after, but there was a Sonic run!

Thank you, Stephanie and Shelley :-)

Friday was my class, Stitched and Stashed Journal...

The class working...

It was a full day's work and I was so overjoyed with everyone's journals! They were amazing! I was also in awe of what each artist brought to her journal making...things that would have never crossed my mind. I love how that happens.

Look at these spectacular lovelies...

This view makes me extremely happy!!!

See how happy I am? :-)

To help us get through the afternoon on Friday, the fabulous Hope whipped up a batch of her incredible Minglewood Mochas. This is officially now a Handmade U tradition! Sooooo yummy!

Thank you so much, Hope!!!

On Saturday, Rachel and Pam each taught a class. Rachel's class was in the morning...Prize Ribbons! This project was so fun! I could have done this all day!

My ribbon...

All of the ribbons turned out so incrediblely cute...I adored each and every one of them! It definitely was a testiment to how talented these women were!

Pam's class, Doodle Ink, was in the afternoon. This was another fun class! I have long admired Pam's impeccible penmanship and I am also now in awe of her talent and mastery of so many other mediums! Also, seeing as how several of us there are huge Copic marker fans, Pam spoke about these pens and did some demos. She is also a certified Copic instructor so that was such a great bonus!

Here is my doodle, naked...

...and then filled in with watercolor...

As a very fun treat on Saturday night, Rachel arranged to have Bomb Digs, a food truck, come to the lodge to bring us dinner. Her husband, Jim, and her parents, Gerry and Sarah, came to the lodge to join us too! The food was SO.GOOD!
From left to right...Rachel, Shelley, Jodie, me, Paige, Hope, Pam, Michelle, Leslie, Mollie, Laurel and Stephanie.

For dessert, Rachel brought in Handmade U cupcakes!

And since I took so many pictures of this little girl, I have to mention that we almost every night we had an unannounced visitor at the lodge...the unofficial Handmade U mascot!

Rachel and I are both huge cat lovers so having this sweet kitty girl visit helped us not miss our kit kats so much. :-)

Just a few last pics...some views from the lodge...utterly gorgeous and utterly Nebraska! 

Thank you again to Rachel and Jim for hosting me and to everyone for your kindness, sweetness, generosity, laughter, and friendship...this was another fabulous and memorable Handmade U!!

 

It's been a long time since I've joined a collaborative project. I used to join lots of round robins, circle journals, fat books, swaps, etc. For several years it seemed like I always had some kind of deadline looming. I totally got burnt out on all that, as you can imagine. I needed to take some time and not book all my time so I could focus on making things that I could give as gifts or just keep for myself. :-)

I guess I was satisfied with the amount of time I've taken "off" from collaborative projects because when my sweety friend Gina invited me to fill in a spot for a brand new round robin that Julie was hosting, I didn't hesitate for a moment. I'm so glad I'm jumped in!

This round robin, as in the case with most of them, you get to choose your own theme. For this project, I chose the theme "Vintage Ephemera." It's something I've been living and breathing lately with my personal journaling so it just seemed to fit. In my journals, I create page backgrounds by using any kind of reclaimed paper, preferable vintage. Ledger paper, sheet music, text books, tickets, labels, receipts, etc. I love the neutralness (is that a word?) of these papers and then having the lettering and a few other select embellishments be the color. To me, that's happy on a page.

For this journal, I used the covers from an old vintage ledger. This ledger was on the small size measuring approximately 10" x 6". I bound in the pages using a Coptic stitch. The paper is some lovely bond paper cut on the grain I had on hand from when I used to make journals for an art gallery. That was actually years ago before I started blogging. :-)

Here are a few pics ...

The inside...title page...

The sign in pages...my obsession with Dennison labels is coming through loud and strong on this lay out!

Journal introduction pages...And then my lay out for the theme...
I really wanted to do more pages but I decided I'd better leave room for the others! I hope they have fun playing in this! As always, I can't wait to get it back all stuffed and chunked up!

So I'm not supposed to share too much of any lay out from the other journals I get to work in but....I had so much fun in one that I recently worked in ...

I don't think I'm giving too much away but this is just seriously blissing me out right now and I needed to share!

I made an enlarged photocopy of a blank Paint by Number painting. I then colored it in using Copic markers, changing up the color scheme to fit the journal. I am so in love with this and will be making about a million more of these. I even took a picture of it with my phone so I could make it my wallpaper!

It's been a whirlwind since I got home from Play. Trying to get back to the rhythm of day to day life is always rough after a retreat. I often need DAYS to settle down and let it all marinate before I am fully "recovered" and can think about blogging the experience. I'm motivated to get this adventure documented because there's are a lot of super fun, amazing things happening in the next few months...and that has motivated me to share a little bit about Play before I forget!

First, Play is all about the play. This is a long weekend geared towards doing just that. Three days of working on your own projects and doing your own thing in a shared space with 44 other people, all doing their own thing. Lots of laughing, talking and general comraderie. Each day started at 8:00 am and went to whenever you stopped. For some people, that was 2:00 am! Teesha and Tracy are always so caring in making sure we're comfortable and happy. The were also extremely generous in bringing things for us to experiment with such as a button maker, air brush and stencils, cameras, just to name a few. Teesha recently announced that she will no longer be hosting Play, Journalfest or Artfest. It's an end to an era, for sure, but not to worry. I hear there will be more for us down the road, thank goodness!

From start to finish, my trip was nothing but charmed. It began Wednesday night when right after work, I headed towards Port Townsend via Seattle to spend the night at my friend Liesel's house. Up until this point, I've only had the chance to visit with Liesel in short bursts at art retreats, as fellow attendees or when I took a class with her at Journalfest this past October. It was a treat to have Liesel all to myself for a good block of time. She is an incredibley talented and generous artist, teacher and soul. It was absolutely magical to get to see where she lives...she is living a very artful life!

The week before Play, Portland had a little snow and Seattle had a TON of snow. When I woke up Thursday morning, the sun was shining and the day was clear and crisp! How perfect because ahead of me was a ferry ride! A few pictures from that...

I got off the ferry in a cute little town called Port Gamble. As I was making my way towards the fort, I passed through Chimacum and just had to stop and take a picture of the Egg and I road sign for my momma. :-)

Once I got to Port Townsend, I decided to slow down and not be in such a big rush to get to the fort, like I always do. I stopped at a few of favorite shops along the way as well as pulled over to take pictures. This is such a lovely little town.

One of the reasons I enjoy Port Townsend so much is because it is a coastal town. I LOVE the coast! During the weekend, I went for several walks and gathered a few new treasures...

Over the course of the weekend, one of our activities was "light painting." Tracy and one of the other attendees, Steve, are amazing and gifted photographers and they totally hooked us up. It was definitely a treat and I love how the pictures turned out! I could have done this ALL DAY!

I have to show you a little something I bought for myself while at Play. Tiphoni, Teesha and Tracy's daughter, is ridiculously talented. She was selling little tiles (about 1 1/2" x 1 1/2") with the sweetest faces on them. I was looking at them and she said she could do custom tiles. "Can you make a little girl with glasses?" I asked.

"Yes!" she said. Eeek too cute!!!

While in Port Townsend, I never fail to go to Insatiables (no website), the most fantastic book store on the planet. The entire store is stuffed full of vintage books!

As for the projects I worked on while at Play, I worked on a Play Souvenir Journal to capture memories, mementos and pictures from the event. I used a little passport size book that Steve gave to everyone. This was actually one of the two books he made for every attendee. 

This little souvenir is still a work in progress with lots this and that to add to to it.

I also worked on a book for a Round Robin I just joined. I'll share more on that later!

And lastly, I worked on The Best Year of My Life project that I mentioned in a previous post. Here's a view of the page edges...love this! I'll share more later.

All in all, the weekend went way too fast (don't they always?) and I had a spectacular time. In retrospect, I was actually quite productive. It didn't feel like it at the time, but that was probably because I did a lot of socializing and made several trips in to town. I am so happy I got to spend some very treasured time with beautiful friends I already knew as well as making several new friends. And an added bonus, I also met Cynthia and we decided that she was my little sister! I don't what it was but we bonded instantly. We also discovered we have very similar, if not exactly the same, taste in ephemera and can probably never go shopping together. :-)

Monday morning, I made my way home, feeling content, inspired and very happy, as this self-portrait of me on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge will attest...

So for now, it's back to the normal routine. I have a couple of exciting adventures just around the corner though...I'm attending Artfest at the end of March (I made the decision to attend while I was at Play!) and then I'll be teaching at Handmade U in April!

Yep, 2012 is awesome!

I am home after attending the Play Retreat in Port Townsend. It was a wonderful and charmed adventure from beginning to end. I got to spend precious time with old friends and new friends. I will share more...lots more...but for now, here is a picture Tracy took of me. Fun with light.

See you soon!

A N N O U N C I N G...

 

Whoo-hoo! Registration for Rachel McGough's Handmade U - Second Semester event is open!

This is an intimate retreat with a focus on journaling. It is held at the beautiful Minglewood Lodge (home of the infamous Minglewood Mochas!) just outside of Omaha, NE in the small town of Gretna. 

Just a heads up, this is a small retreat and there are a limited number of spots with sleeping accomodations in the lodge. These spots filled up within two weeks at last year's Handmade U - First Semester retreat!

I taught a class at last year's event and Rachel invitied me back to teach again this year! I'm so thrilled and humbled! My class is called Stitched and Stashed!

You'll spend the morning making a journal using a one-needle Coptic binding technique and then we'll have the full afternoon to decorate the pages using papers and ephemera from my stash and favorite scraps of this and that from your stash!

The following day, Pam Keravuouri will be teaching a class called Doodle Ink!

And then our fabulous hostess, Rachel, will be teaching a class called Best in Class where she'll teach us how to make a prize ribbon using some of her favorite vintage French ribbon (that she bought in France!)

I'm so excited about both Rachel and Pam's classes!

Please check out the details here....I hope you'll join us!!!!

I have been a subscriber to Daily OM for several years and almost always find the daily lessons to be very encouraging and enlightening. Since I subscribe, I also receive notices of new products and online services. Most of the time, I just delete and continue on my merry way.

Well, I must have been ready for something big because when I got the email announcing an online class titled The Best Year of Year Life, I didn't hesitate to sign up! The class consists of 52 prompts (a new prompt every week) and all for only $21. .40 cents a week? What a deal!

For a project of this magnitude (Eeek! A whole year?), I decided to commit to journaling about each lesson. I started with a thin Moleskin that I found at Goodwill for .99 cents. (I sure get lucky, I tell ya!) It was virtually unused with all of the pages in tact. The cover is still a clean slate. I'm not even sure I want to do anything to it since I do love the kraft paper. Maybe just a little Dennison label. :-)  I did cut some slots for a ribbon tie though.

 Some intro pages...

The first prompt is all about cleaning house (figuratively and literally) and how draining it is to have clutter and leftover, unfinished projects hanging around.

I've been happily creating pages by covering them with ephemera, labels, tags, etc. etc. from my stash(es).

Here's a shot of the pages I've finished, ready for journaling, up on edge...I love this view!

I'm excited about this project so I'll be sharing my pages as I journal about each week's prompt.

And speaking of being excited! The wonderful and newly married Rachel (Velder) McGough has been busy planning for Handmade U's second semester to be held April 19 - 22! Last year's Handmade U was SO amazing! It took me months to come down from that high! It was all a dream come true and I am thrilled to share with you that has Rachel invited me to come back and teach again!

Here is a sneak peek at the journal project I'll be teaching...

Rachel will be announcing all the details soon so stay tuned! I can't wait!!!

So here we are at the threshold of another new year! This is such an exciting time of year! Lots of chances to start over with a clean slate and so many things to look forward to.

Our holidays were wonderful this year. The weeks leading up to Christmas were very busy with shopping and parties but when it came down the eve and day, it was very quiet and low-key. The only real excitement for us was that Miranda and I made tamales Christmas day. They turned out fantastic and we already have plans to make more!

Our New Year's eve was a little more lively...we joined some friends for the weekend at their home in Eugene, Oregon.

Our dear, Sarah and Cedar, prepared a fantastic meal for us all which included a chocolate-peppermint cake! So tasty! And you can bet I brought along a bottle of my favorite almond sparkling wine!

Despite having stayed up until 2:00 am, everyone in the house was up and fed by 9:30 am and so we headed out for a walk through the neighborhood. We were led through a filbert orchard which was spectacular! It was a chilly, overcast morning and the orchard took on a very magical Narnia type of feeling!

If you've ever wondered what a filbert looks like before it is made into Nutella, here ya go!

The orchard was full of life!

In other news, I am SO excited to share with you that I am now a published journaler! Eeeek! One of my journals along with an article I wrote are in the Winter 2012 issue of Art Journaling magazine! I'm SOOO tickled and excited! Here's a sneak peek...

That's a pretty spectacular way to start the new year, don't you think??!