besottment by paper relics

Hello + Journaling From Florida

I am away in Florida, visiting my parents and have been meaning to do a blog post before I even left... but here I am enjoying the beach and good weather, and having some time to journal - so I thought I would share with you some photos (instagramed from my phone, but not all have been posted on my instagram feed). 

The two photos, above, was from this morning - just a little while ago, while sitting and sipping my morning tea overlooking the ocean. I love the beach/ocean so much, and I feel closer to whole while in it's presence then any place else.

Yesterday I walked the beach, with the braver, bigger waves crashing against my legs, looking for tiny treasures. 

Later that night I decided to try writing on them (I have seen it done in several places, by several others, and have loved the results)

This one is for a speical young friend, who needs to remember how wonderful she is and to stay true to herself.  

I also got in a bit of journaling last night before dinner, while thinking about the good things in my life.

I have to go jump in the shower to wash the sand from my toes now, and get a bit dressed up since my mom (shown above) and her friend are taking me to a Victorian Tea Room for lunch!

Happy Spring!

Handmade U: Parlour Journal of Thoughts & Musings Recap

Last month I taught my very first in-person class at Handmade U. My class was all day, and we were able to create a journal, have some fun lettering lessons, and work in our journals on some prompts I supplied. It was great fun. Here is a recap (thanks to Kari for taking these great photos).

I brought some of my journals for students to look through in person:

My class was called The Parlour Journal of Thoughts & Musings ... here are a few shots of me teaching:

The kits were fun to make, and I had help from my friend Cassondra who has an amazing supply of old papers and made envelopes out of vintage wallpaper. I made a handout to go with my class that included instructions, lettering tips and prompts. I will be selling left over kits soon.

Below is a close up of the 1800's lady that was in Kari's kit that she worked with for her journal. Each kit had a copies of the ladies I used on my class samples as well as 1 original lady over 100 years old!

Here are some students working away... Michelle E, Hope #1, Shelley, Lisa, Gina, and Michelle G.!

Here are some journals made in my class - it was so, so fun seeing what people created!

Lastly, here are some instagram photos by people who were there (search the tag #handmadeu to see photos larger)

Thanks for everything Rachel!

My class was in the middle of my yearly trip to visit Kari - and as always, I kept a fun souvenir journal from the trip... so stay tuned for that in my next post!

Souvenir Magazine

As you may have seen on facebook, I have taken a position as Art Director for Heather Bullard's magazine, Souvenir.

The Spring 2012 issue is currently being put together and it is going to be amazing - be sure to sign up for the Souvenir mailing list to know when issues are available, and follow the Souvenir facebook page as Heather reveals the talented list of contributors.

I am so, so excited to be working on this amazing magazine, but no worries, I am still freelancing (wait until you see my new design site I am putting together... it is almost complete and ready to launch), and I will still be offering journaling e-courses and inspiration!

More soon!

Oh, How I Love the Seaside

I am off to visit my parents in sunny florida for the week - I cannot wait to dip my feet into the ocean... so I wanted to share my love of the beach with you while I was there.

I love, love, love the seaside. I have a vintage beach board on pinterest that I just love to look at. The old swimsuits were great (well, to look at, I would hate to be weighted down with them in the sun or water nowadays!)

I also love swimming - I was swimming before I could walk, so when I stumbled upon this vintage medal on etsy, I had to get it. I plan to use it for a necklace that I hope to convince my sweet friend to help me create.

I feel in love with this vintage 'Atlantic City Couple' made by The Vintage Sister Studio the moment I first saw them, and commissioned her to create a similar couple that now resides on a shelf in my house next to an old swimming trophy cup.

You can also see my love for the ocean in my journals and photography ... (you can click on each image to be taken to the more detailed blog post about it). This first spread is reflecting on my childhood, and combing the beach for shells with my mom:

This one was from a wonderful girls trip to Santa Monica in 2010, we had the most amazing day at the beach:

A journal spread from 2010:

Here I was playing on my iPad with a photo I snapped of my and my mom's toes while visiting with her in florida:

And here is a recent trip to Long Island, where Danielle always takes me to the water. I honestly feel a loss when I am far from it for too long.

Look at this collection of fun vintage beach photos, print and tintype- I plan on framing them and hanging them in the house, but in the meantime I am always on the look out for more.

I especially love the lady second from the right's expression in this photograph:

I also own two fun art prints made from vintage beach photos by Velvet Morning

What do you love and collect pieces of for your home?

Decking the Doxie

My friend shared this cute photo with me (trust me, it is so cute it is worth the click), of a dachshund wrapped in twinkle lights... well, how could I not try to recreate that?

Millie did not take this experience very well, she kept trying to run away... not sure she was thinking clearly, since the lights were wrapped around her and stayed that way no matter where she ran. I used a Digital SLR and my iPhone 4s, and the iPhone got the better shots - I think that by the time I got around to using it Millie had resolved herself to the situation and was staying still longer.

Anyway - here is my favourite shot - followed by a couple outtakes (Her snout is so long it is hard to get it all in focus!):