besottment by paper relics

Bird Song Event Souvenir Journal

I mentioned earlier that I attend Karla Nathan's Birdsong Event this past June (HERE and HERE) but haven't shared the entry for it in my 2014 souvenir journal until now!

Above is a spread I made using instagram photos and ephemera from shops we went to the day before classes started.

These spreads I documented the classes... taught by Karla, Lori Oles and Andrea Singarella (who all happen to be good friends - so it was a perfect event for me to attend!)

You can see the projects I made on THIS POST, when I finished each class, I was able to quickly work on the spread in my journal while the memories were fresh! I love to use bits from the packaging of the class kits or class instructions.

Close up of how I used some of Karla's class instructions in my journal (bottom left):

This photo really doesn't do the growing fatness of this journal justice - but you can see all the fun bits sticking out:

I have at least two more trips planned for the year, so it will get even bigger! I have one more post to share about this trip - the treasures I found antiquing - stay tuned!

Sewn Journaling Pages: Binding

Here is another peek into my sewn journal (see other posts HERE and HERE)

I had this wonderful old german book with a leather spine - I made 3 signatures the size of the book:

I then sewed them together onto book binding tape.

Using glue, I adhered the signatures to the inside of the spine.

And I added some pretty tape over the edge on the first page to cover up any unevenness.

And the leather spine stayed intact and my pages are securely binded in.

 

Art Journaling, Beholdfilo & Speaking

A couple things I have been up to lately...

I was in the bookstore paging through the summer 2014 issue of art journaling and was surprised to see some of my work in their lettering section - I snapped a photo and posted to instagram.

If you are new to my blog - welcome! You can see the journaling e-courses I offer HERE - and if you like my lettering, there is one geared towards that (to the letter).

I also have finally found a vintage filofax for the swap michelle and I are doing (see my last post about it HERE) - and I had fun transferring all the pages and goodies into it - another instagram share

You can always keep an eye on our swap on instagram with the hashtag #beholdfilo (where you can see what Michelle is working on for me as well)

In other news, couple weekends ago I gave a talk in Greencastle, PA about being an artist and having my own company. It was great - my husband drove me and sat through my talk and snapped the below photo of me. If you are local and close to Greencastle, PA, stay tuned for other fun things to come!

I am wearing a necklace by my sweet friend Andrea Singarella for luck, and it worked, the talk went well!

So that is what I am up to lately... Oh, and I have these journals on my desk to photograph for more upcoming posts - my sewn journal with lots of spreads in it, my 2014 souvenir journal with my recent Kansas trip added, and more beholdfilo!

Sewn Journaling Pages Part II

Awhile back I showed you a few spreads in my sewn pages journal (see post here) and I wanted to share a few more - I have been working in it and it is becoming one of my most favourite journals I have ever made. I wanted to share the stages as I am working in this journal a bit differently, adding to the pages randomly rather than working through it in order.

These photos are before I did much journaling in it... (except the first spread)

I always love using envelopes to stuff private thoughts in.

I mixed new and old pages - above an 1800's fashion catalog and early 1800's book bag mixed with a modern stripped glassine envelope (above).

More old mixed with new above and below.

Below I used an ad in a local magazine that had frames, I cut the center of the frames out and will fill them (I already used the sewing machine to add one vintage photo).

Here are my signatures all put together ready to be bound into the cover (more on that in a bit!).

I wont bore you by showing you every.single.spread, but this should give you an idea of what I am working with!

I will share with you some of the same spreads with things added to it, and some journaling started soon!

Pink Inner Spark Journal

Remember that fun shop, Inner Spark Studio, that I gave you a little tour of a while back?

Well, for my birthday one of the things she sent me was this beautiful journal she made me.

These first three photos are how it came to me. Below is the journaling I have done in it...

If you are interested in one, she will be selling them in her etsy shop soon.

The Making of A Postcard

Since I was teaching and vending at Kim's last event, I wanted to have a postcard to give out promoting my blog and online journaling e-courses. I could have assembled a card digitally, but I thought it would be fun to create an actual journal spread (as shown above) and scan it to use.

Here is how I did it:

Please note that I had the idea to document the process while working on it at night, so the photos are from my phone and are not the best.

I started by pulling together a bunch of things I thought I might want to use. Some of my signature favourites, a fashion lady from the 1800's, old text pages, pinks and creams...

I used an actual postcard to work on for sizing purposes. I put together a base using these items, not gluing them down yet so I could play with placement.

I looked through all my word harvest and quotes in the nostalgic musings app for something to write. I came up with the simple phrase, "collect moments, not things"

I played with adding a second lady to the piece, but didn't like it...

So went back to adding more hand-lettering:

and I decided upon adding some old anagrams, and a gold dennison label:

And it was complete! It probably took me a little over an hour.

I then formatted it for the printer and made a back, and they came and looked great. All physical orders will have one included in their shipment, and for events I go to or sponsor.

My Common Place Journal

While I was in LA I splurged on a a new journal - it is made by Le Labo Fragrances in conjunction with La Compagnie du Kraft. They are made in France and have Le Labo's most popular scent infused on the pages.

I have long admired these notebooks (the leather ones are amazing) and fell in love with it when I saw it in the Venice Beach Le Labo, but the price tag had me hesitating. Then, the shop girl brought out her notebook she has been using for awhile to show me how well it ages... I snapped a photo with my phone (you may have seen it on instagram):

I was sold.

Since it was such a special purchase, I decided to use the journal for something that will be with me for ages.

I decided to use it as a commonplace book, or at least my version of one. This is what I found as a description of a commonplace book:

 "Since the Renaissance, devoted readers have been copying their favorite poems and quotations into notebooks to form their own personal anthologies called commonplace books."

Usually used for poems, snippets of text, etc - I use mine for words I find and love, quotes, and snippets - but also visual snippets. Logos I love, packaging, magazine snips, labels, etc

All things I love, that I add as I find them... Below is a start of a new page.

Do you keep a commonplace book? If you are interested in learning more about them, THIS post and THIS post are quite helpful. But don't let anyone else's rules confine you, it is your book to love and add to. I love flipping back through the few pages I already have and can't wait for it to get full!

Filofax Art Journal Swap

I have been a fan of paper planners since I was a teenager. I have several on hand even now - and I go through phases when I use them and then stop, then start, then stop again for awhile, etc. I love filling them, using them, and just looking at them!

I was on instagram and saw THIS PHOTO that gave me an idea. A filofax swap - where we fill the planner with goodies in all the pockets, but also create all the inserts as well. My first thought was to ask my friend Michelle if she was interested in doing the swap with me. She shares the same love for old office supplies as I do. Above is the cover page I made for her.

Charming in appearance, useful in character - that is my goal for the swap!

Here is an Address tab I made from an old file, I just cut it down to size, and used this wonderful hole punch to punch the holes.

Here are some other pages and tabs I made:

This is one of my favourite tabs, layered with a glassine bag, vintage holder and red, white and blue paper ribbon:

The only thing I still need is a better planner to use, this one was a $2 cheap no-name brand one I found at goodwill (with great inserts in it). So all the fun stuff on the left will be tucked into pockets and slots once I find a permanent one to use. I did find a great vintage pencil for the pen loop.

I haven't finished the swap yet, and cannot not share it all (she needs to be surprised!) but I have sent her peeks of some pages so I thought the photos in this post are safe to share (and I promise to photograph it all before I send it to her to share with you). Michelle loves red and airmail/postage so that is my focus (her swap planner for me will be in my style).

Feel free to follow along on our swap as we create the planners for one another via our instagram hashtag #beholdfilo