Button, Belgian, Ribbon...Oh My!

I am on my way to my goal of 12 new books for my Etsy shop and I aim to have them done by months end. I did all 3 in different binding techniques: The earthy batik is buttonhole bound, the blue/purple is ribbon bound and the type writer fabric is Belgian bound:

I have a bunch of new fabrics that I am itching to get onto book covers:

  

The themes are all over the board but I suppose that matches what goes on inside my head at any given moment anyway!

I've had quite the start of the new year, New Years day we had a bit of an accident here - I'll just say it involved my husband, a head split open in two places, an ambulance and 2 EMT's, I've just gotten over the horror of that whole scene. 

Last weekend we were in upstate New York for a few days - WAY upstate (60 miles south of Montreal, Canada) what beautiful country it is up there to be sure. I added up the time I've been in the passenger seat of the SUV since Thanksgiving and it totals 78 hours. I sure hope that's it for awhile!  

From the passenger seat as you are driving me home....to the Shores

Joy of New Things

I am crazy for new stuff...not clothes or shoes but art supplies, new funky fabrics for my books, or organizational/storage for my studio,  - these are the things that make me smile BIG. I've been rather bad at taking care of my toys like leaving my paintbrushes in the water, or completely wrecking my beloved cutting mat which is one of the top 3 of my most used things ever (the other two are a heavy duty clear gridded ruler and my Xacto knife). My sweet niece bought me a new cutting mat for Christmas, oh the Joy!   

My kids got me a neat thing to sit my various spray cans, adhesives etc. Now if I can only become disciplined enough to put things away once I've finished using them instead of letting the mess grow and grow then find myself working on a 1 square foot corner of the only empty space left on my table! Ach...baby steps. Rome wasn't built in a day.  

I think today I'll make a new lined journal for the shop, the fabric is courtesy of my friend, Susan...she knows well my weakness for batiks - love the earth tones and pattern on this one!  

Two more banned books bracelets are finished and being packed up for my "bookie" friend, Lisa in Utah. I made the boxes from some hand painted and collaged papers I had stashed that I just thought "some day I might have a use for these" - See, this is that "some day"! (I'll never be accused of being proficient in box making but they'll be protected during shipping at least)  


Now if I can get my counter there on the left to change from the "Happy Holidays" theme....it doesn't seem to want to change : (

My favorite Crosby, Stills & Nash song, today it is anyway! 

Helplessly hoping for organization..............at the Shores

New Doodle

I hope everyone had a nice, safe New Year's Eve! Ours was pretty uneventful really, we hate getting out there on the road when many have been enjoying their adult beverages to excess and lose their intelligence when it comes to getting behind the wheel. It also was our 8th wedding anniversary...feels like much longer when I think about all the things we've done and the places we've been!  

We also had Tom's kids and grandkids over for a holiday dinner last week, everything was pretty yummy. Here is the centerpiece I had on the table, the one good thing about having it after Christmas was I bought all this stuff on clearance!! It was so sparkly and festive : )  


I also made a trip to Hobby Lobby on the 1st, no better way to start the new year now is there? Plus I had a gift card from the grandkids burning a hole in my pocket and also needed supplies to make 2 more banned books bracelets (see previous post for a picture) for a friend. I broke down and bought some watercolor supplies since my kids got me a book on painting doors and windows in watercolor. I've always been chicken to try it but just LOVE the look so I'll give it my best shot!


  

Here is the zentangle I've been working on over the past week - I really needed to work on something I didn't have to do. It was another like the last one I blogged about where I drew the string (or doodle), cut it into 9 pieces and filled card by card and put them back together. I just love the surprise I get when they are re-joined!  I call it "Joriki" which is a Sino-Japanese term meaning ‘power of concentration’. This refers to a meditator's ability to enter into and maintain a deep trance state for long periods of time which pretty is pretty much where I am when I do these!  


That's it for now....I have a ton of things I am working on, time to knock them out one by one, too bad my lack of focus keeps me in the middle of 10 things at once : / I guess this is just how my brain is wired (I like to think this is the case anyway)

No relevance for this video, just think BNL are just plain fun! 

Garfunkle?? Giggling.............at the Shores

Happy New Year!

Here's wishing you all a very healthy, happy, loved filled 2011! 

I am not big on resolutions, probably because I normally fall off the resolution wagon pretty early in the year, so what's the point?? BUT, I will work on posting more often again...things just got so crazy toward the end of the year. I sold about 30 books, both locally and on Etsy which I am super grateful for and hopefully I can keep the momentum going in that department.
  
My Christmas was just fabulous, we first drove 6 hours to Indiana, served Christmas dinner to families in need, hung out with the grandkids for a day and hit the 12 hour trail to Georgia *whew*. It's always a zoo at moms there are soooo many people, thankfully mom and I had a couple of peaceful days to just lounge about! To top off the festivities I got to hang out with my sweet friend, Susan:

This was a Christmas gift I made for her, my first real attempt at jewelry making:

I also got to meet up with an old friend I hadn't seen in 18+ years - so hard to catch up just over lunch, but we did our very best!

Oh the times we had, it's truly a wonder we survived. Wild, wild days and nights...

I've been doodling a piece that I'll post tomorrow.  

That's it for now - I hope everyone had an amazing holiday. Happy New Year, friends :) 

But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit, sin auld lang syne.......at the Shores

Greetings From The Whirlwind's Vortex

I've felt like I've been in a whirlwind since October. Just when I feel like I've caught up with my journal orders I get more. I'm am certainly not complaining mind you, it's just put the kibosh on decorating the house for Christmas. Tom, my husband dug out a little lit miniature tree ....looks like that may be it this year, especially since I'll be on the road from the 18th until after Christmas. Sad, really, I normally have at least 2 full sized trees but that's the way it goes!

I have 5 books to finish ASAP, 4 of which have hand painted front covers, what's worse is they are all the same. Most people that know me knows I hate to do anything more than once...4  is torture (worse yet I did one of these for my husband so that makes 5!) They wanted many more but I just couldn't bear it so we ultimately agreed on 4.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving. I sure did! We drove down to Georgia to spend it with my family. I did however, get about 50 cards written on the drive so at least I got something Christmassy done!The bonus was I got to meet up with my friend Susan, how convenient it is that both our parents live in the same town! Love you Susan!!

I was sittting on the steps that go upstairs in the house talking to my sister on the phone when I saw a bird with an enormous wingspan land in the trees outside my dining room window. After staring at it for a few seconds I realized what it was, jumped up, yelled for Tom, rolled down the steps in a mad dash for the camera. Isn't he just BEAUTIFUL!? 

God bless our troops who are away from their families this season and always.

Eagles fly........................at the Shores