August Doings

I finished pre-cutting all the 12 X 12 inch paper for the bookcards.

Quite a stack! In the back pile are the bookcard covers and the front pile is the leftover 3 X 6 inch pieces.
Quite a variety of papers--all purchased on sale from local stores and online. :)

The "scraps" go into the proper satchel.

And the bookcard covers go in the box where I also keep the pre-cut paper for the inside pages. Done--tada!

And it turns out that is a good thing. Leah and I decided to open up an Etsy shop. It's Leah's shop, but I am her partner and assistant. :):) I put up a link in the left hand corner of the blog.

We made it over to Office Max to have cards printed again from my two paintings. See how the top white poinsettia ones are curled?

We thought we could book press them--tried--but it was a no go. Just had them reprinted and they are fine now.

I also bought up some more business paper for the inside pages of the bookcards (linen--I really like it!) and that is cut and in the box, too.

So--now I can make up some new bookcards with all the pretty paper for covers. We have posted some cards--sold a few. Are going to add some beaded bookmarks, jewelry, bookmarks, and clothespin magnets pretty soon--just takes a while to take the pictures and write things up, etc. Little by little. Leah is the one doing that and she's still busy job applying, too.

Leah researched online on how to make a light box. She came up with her own version and it works beautifully!

We've had people asking about the light box so Leah made up a step by step with all the information:

http://picasaweb.google.com/leahmcgregor/LightBox#

She did a great job! Thanks, Leah! :)

We moved all the papermaking supplies over to Leah's and have a new set-up. Much more efficient!

We wanted to do a table set-up like Arnold Grummer had in his videos. Much more room to move and set things. We have never made that many sheets in one day--28!! I made videos of the new set up on my youtube (also a link up in left hand corner) and showed Leah making a sheet of paper from start to finish.

We have been quite busy with Etsy. But as soon as we get enough things posted we can get back to the red Christmas paper. And now we might just make some extra Christmas cards to put up on Etsy--hehe! I think it is going to be a busy September. :) :)

July Stuff

Wow! I had more pictures than I thought for July. That's good, tho. :)

I've been doing prep-work for my bookcards. Not done yet. I make the covers from 12 X 12 scrapbook paper.

First I cut off all the company information. (I changed my mind and used all these paper strips to make handmade paper, actually.)
This is how I work my way through the stack. First I cut them in half...

...then cut off three inches on one end of each half. Fold the pieces in half and I end up with two covers for bookcards out of each sheet. And the two three inch pieces I can use to make cards.

I take business paper I get at Office Max...

...and cut that in half for the inside paper in the bookcards.

The pre-cut covers and inside papers fit nicely into this box I have from Current Inc. I can just pick out a cover and some inside sheets and put together a bookcard. Well, I rarely make just one--hehe! I write a lot of letters. :)

This is as far as I got with the cutting off of the three inch strips. I'm maybe half way done.

I finally ordered the mixing set of paints from Daniel Smith.

http://www.danielsmith.com/Item--i-285-250-309

I was surprised they didn't come in a proper boxed set.

But was actually shocked that six out of ten of them had been opened!

I sent pictures to Daniel Smith's customer service. Said I was keeping the paints, but was really disappointed to get used tubes. The man insisted they didn't sell used tubes of paint and it had to have happened in transportation--that they had to have been "pressed" in shipment. No way. They were packed in that heavy duty box with peanuts and were inside of another undamaged box. Long story short--I did give him both my phone numbers as he asked. But I have never heard one word from Daniel Smith.

I have always heard such good things about their paints. Well, I haven't tried them yet. They'd have to be unbelievably better than anything else I have ever used for me to ever order from them again.

I made up a tin palette. Had to print the diagram from a catalog. Nothing came with the set.

Meanwhile--Arnold Grummer had his three VHS tapes on papermaking on sale and I got them. Leah and I watched and wished we had purchased them back when we first got the papermill! Lots of new information--techniques, etc.

We actually do need more room than I have here. So we decided to move all the papermaking supplies over to Dagan & Leah's place.

Before we did--I made up some paper.

Here's some closeups. I made three of them with packing paper and Karma's fur! Silly!

I had to remake a few sheets because the used couch sheets bled colored spots on them. So I went thru all the couch sheets and threw away the ones that had the most color dyed on them. This particular sheet was made from those 12 X 12 company info strips I cut off.

This one has dried aquarium plants in it.

This one has red rose petals for Mother's Day from a couple years ago.

Some small blue flowers--filler from a bouquet.

This one has rose petals from this last Mother's Day bouquet. They look golden!

I tried an inclusion tehnique--but the petals hadn't been dried flat. You have to try to push them into the wet pulp as you are lifting the papermill out of the water--kind of tricky. Well, that's a first attempt.

This is what happened to the red rose petals! Obviously the roses had been dyed! They ran and bled. This was Leah's favorite paper so I saved it for her to use.

This is how we always used to dry them--just flat on the table (covered by heavy clear plastic so it doesn't ruin the wood).

Leah decided to see if we could iron them after they were completely dry. And it worked!! She even ironed the fold! Awesome!

We finally came up with our own way to mass produce flatter paper! tada! Ironing the wet paper dry takes quite a while. But ironing them after they are dry--doesn't take long at all. :) Nice!

I made bookcards with the handmade papers.

And the green paper I had already folded--made bookcards from those, too.

Moving all our papermaking supplies was quite a project.

We had boxes and boxes! Dried plants, paper moulds, paper scraps...

...dried flower petals, canvas paint drop cloths, felt...

...sponges, more paper scraps, additives, cotton linter...

...tub, trays, blender, papermills...

...new larger tub for the new larger papermill, more trays...

...couch papers, our red computer paper for making our Christmas card paper...

...there was a lot to move! And we now have some empty space in my hall closet!

I'm sure we'll find things to fill it up. :)

I'll have pictures of the new set-up we will use at Leah's for making paper. Starting next week I will be going over on Wednesdays for papermaking at Leah's ever week we can until we have all the Christmas card paper made--plus all the playing and experimenting that we want to do. So--could be a while--hehe! We have lots of fun things to try that we learned about on the Arnold Grummer videos!

I guess we got more done this month than I thought. :) :)

What did I get done in June?

Leah and I started making our Christmas cards for 2009. We're making red handmade paper first. Need around 100 sheets! I was trying something new. Normally we let the paper totally dry on the tabletop and then just press them under some heavy books. I decided to attempt to press them dry since Leah wasn't going to be around for a few weeks (helping her mother move and then helping her sister and husband move). I futzed and futzed with them for a couple of weeks. Used newspapers to soak up the moisture--just kept changing the newspapers and pressing them. Finally--don't they look nice and flat? I assumed they were dry and set them up on a shelf in the bookcase.

As you can see on the left--they all buckled together! ROFL!!! Big waves! The other small stack on the right is the paper we did the regular way--which is much easier, too. I still chuckle every time I see them! Now I have to try to flatten them again--hehe!
I finally got the Chinese watercolors out again and am continuing to work on the traced & ink outlined paintings I got off the web. Real ones are on the left. This one with the red bird--I was still using western watercolor brushes. They're all on 140 lb. watercolor paper, too. So this is not the way to do real Chinese brush painting--hehe!

But I keep practicing--and I do learn something with each one. I switched over to using Chinese brushes on this one--and Wow! They hold water very differently and kind of kept getting away from me--hehe! Had color going everywhere--chuckle!

Neither of those ended up being keepers. Funny--I was doing better when I first started on these. But that was probably because I was using all western supplies that I was at least a little used to. I am having a lot of fun learning and making my mistakes, tho. And I can see if there's a decent part I can cut out and use for the front of a card, too, on the ones that aren't keepers--before they end up in the recycling box for making handmade paper. :):)

I finally bought some Winsor Newton watercolors! On sale! They were on my goal list. (I also want to buy some Daniel Smith watercolors, too. Maybe in July here--they're running a sale, too.)

But I wanted to put them in a little palette, of course--add to my tiny palette collection--hehe! I got this tin from my friend, Ruby, in Wisconsin--Fisherman's Friend cough drops--same size as Altoids.

And here they are in half pans! Tada!

I made an order of wild and crazy 12 X 12 inch paper to use for bookcards and cards. Also all on sale!

Threw together five bookcards because I was out. The one on the far right--I attached a piece of printed, embossed vellum on the front. Something different. Worked pretty well. I liked it.

And I have still been working on the Soul Coaching book in spurts. I think I am about 2/3rds of the way through it now. Been very interesting and I've been doing a lot of journaling along with it.

A lot of the last couple of months have been soooo beautiful--cool at night and in the 60-70's during the day--that I have spent a LOT of time reading out on the porch. That's one of my favorite things to do in the nice weather in the spring and fall. I love that weather!!

So that is what I have managed to do on my goal list for 2009. The year is half over and I have not gotten half of my list done--hehe! But I feel like I am doing okay. And having to check in once a month is keeping me motivated. :):)

Update for May

Came up with an idea of how to use the leftovers from when I make bookcard covers from 12 X 12 inch paper. Made a lot of cards in May! :):)

Here's the first batch.

And I made a few more here and there during the month, as needed.

I made this one for Merrie with her own lace ribbon from that batch of ribbon and lace that she sent to me! :)

Leah and I started on our Christmas cards. We're making handmade red paper.

After pressed under heavy books.

Here's our set up.

And we lay them out to dry on my table (that's covered with heavy clear plastic from JoAnn's).

The larger papermill went on sale and I bought one! And a few extras. That larger papermill really was on my list of goals for the year--honest--hehe!

Here's everything that came with the papermill. This one will make 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper.

We haven't been able to use it yet because we didn't have a tub wide enough for the larger papermill. Hopefully we'll find one in June. :)

I also finally got out my flower & bird (traced and outlined in ink) pictures to color. The original that I found online is up on the left.

I haven't been painting for soooo long that I needed something simple to get me used to holding a brush again. Not that I ever have become really comfortable with brushes--hehe! I just wanted to finish these before I go on to something else. They are just on regular western watercolor paper because I did them before I ever found the Chinese Brush Painting group online. I didn't have any genuine CBP supplies at the time or know anything about it. Just liked the flower & bird paintings and decided it might be a good way to learn--by copying. :)

Leah's been coming over for crafts every week again now that it is spring. :) But the past weeks she has been helping her mother pack and move. She might be able to be back next week again.

Keeping myself honest with an accounting once a month has kept me motivated. Hope I have as much done next month. :):)

What did I get done in April?

Considering I spent most of the month recovering from oral surgery I had the end of March (just on the last antibiotic pill tomorrow--hopefully)--I didn't get much done.

I did get a gift package of ribbons and lace from Merrie in my Chinese Brush Painting Group! What a sweet thing for her to do!! :):)

I finally finished the 40 birthday cards for 2010 that I had started before the jaw surgery.
I found a great use for the scraps I have after I make the bookcards from the 12 X 12 inch paper--tada!

Not the best photos--sorry. Those are three brown crystals on the lower right under the ribbon--and they did sparkle--hehe!

Leah sanded another board we picked up--so that we could have one really skinny shelf for paper stuffs.

Leah also came up with a great idea for our craft sheets--3M metal removable hooks and punched holes. These are actually oven liners--work great--can even peel off wax, etc!! But very hard to store them--large and floppy--and we don't like them curling up like they do if you store them rolled. Perfect solution!

Handy and yet out of the way--cool! Leave it to Leah to come up with the great ideas! :):)

I am feeling more back to my normal these days and getting back in the swing of things again. Hopefully I'll have a lot more projects to post about from May. :):)

March goal list 2009 update

Was a crazy month! First I was terribly sick with a bad cough/chest cold. Leah and I slowly worked on the reorganizing project. Finally finished! Got everything cleaned labeled and attached with poster tack. TaDa!!

We are so thrilled!!

We then bought a piece of wood shelving at Lowes and had them cut it to size for us. Leah sanded the pieces of wood and we added three shelves in the craft bookcases!

When it warms up we will stain them cherry so that they blend in a little better. Awesome!!

While I was recovering from the lingering cough--I discovered that I had an abscess in the back of my mouth. (Finally got bad enough that I noticed it thru the fibro pain.) Turned out I had a wisdom tooth impacted and abscessed--and a cyst that was deteriorating my jawbone, etc. I had to wait until the 26th for the oral surgery. Still not feeling very well.

But--before surgery--I did mange to finish up a stack of bookcards made with handmade paper--made last summer, I think--that I found while we were cleaning. TaDa!!

I also started on a set of birthday cards--and I got the fish tank cleaned. :):)

Worked some on the Soul Coaching book, but not much. Been kind of out of commission physically for most of the month. But whatever I did do--I did make YouTube videos and post them. So, on the whole--considering--I did actually get a lot done under the circumstances, I think. :):)

Now we'll see how April goes. We've been dealing with flooding, dike watch, national guard, and snow storms up here in Fargo--so we don't want spring to come too quickly this year. We are expecting the Red River to crest again in April--but not as high. think positive, right? :):)

February goal list update

What did I get done on the 2009 Goal List in February? First of all, I forgot that I had two green colors of American Journey with an order from Donn--so I kind of added them into the tiny palette with half pans. :)

I have been working on the Soul Coaching book--slowly but surely. I'm on lesson five right now. (Funny! A couple chapters have had to do with de-cluttering!! hehehe!)

Leah and I have been working on the huge cleaning and reorganizing project. We're almost done!! Here are the ink pad shelves--all cleaned and reorganized!

We've gone through and cleaned the cherry cabinet on the right. The two bookcases are also done--with all our new satchels!! And lots of the labeling is done. We still have to label the cherry cabinets and tack down the satchel labels with poster tack.

Got the hall closet shelves all cleaned and organized, too!

My storage area/locker is also done. Many boxes were moved to the garage, too.

In progress currently--figuring out how to use resist method on a set of birthday cards. The ink pads were too old and dry. Now have new ones and can continue...
...after I finish up the bookcards. I found a stack of our handmade paper when I was cleaning--tada! Using them for bookcard covers. :)
And--yes--I have been making YouTube videos of whatever I am working on. :)

Was not a productive month in some ways. I had a terrible chest cold and cough for a couple of weeks--got over that and now have been dealing with an impacted wisdom tooth and will be going to an oral surgeon here pretty soon, I hope. Despite all of that--got quite a bit done this month and it feels really good! I hope March is even better!! :):)