Salvaging a Book + GIVEAWAY- Guest Post from Mou Saha Hi everyone, Mou Saha here from Creating Keepsakes magazine. In spirit of green crafting, I had been salvaging an old book into my current art journal. Here’s a spread from that book. Here are my steps in visuals and captions. Hope you enjoyed my little process tutorial and would give it a try. If you like upcycling the stuff of life, you might enjoy the 4-week workshop I’m teaching at Big Picture Classes called Lift Me Up! Please leave a comment to this post about your favorite thing to upcycle and ONE person can win a spot in the workshop. Good luck J
Over 100 envelope templates and tutorials Tonniece said... Good gawd Mel, you have been very busy. Thanx soooo much for all these links, and all the time you spent in getting them to us.You are THEE BEST July 15, 2008 at 4:00 AM Linda Stamps said... Thanks so much for these links. July 15, 2008 at 4:19 AM Sue at StampnDaly said... Mel, once again you are amazing. July 15, 2008 at 5:44 AM Annapurna said... Now I have all the envelopes that I can dream of. July 15, 2008 at 6:04 AM Anonymous said... good morning mel i'm on your blog with my coffee you sure do work alot the reason i commented was to apologize to your better half for phoning so late..all my love lady July 15, 2008 at 6:53 AM Lisa M. said... Thank you for your sweet words on my card! July 15, 2008 at 7:17 AM Primitive Seasons said... Good grief Mel! July 15, 2008 at 7:20 AM Deb Neerman said... Do you, ummm, ever sleep?!? July 15, 2008 at 7:44 AM Lologrl said... WOW Mel, look at you GO!! July 15, 2008 at 8:40 AM Rachele Funk said... Wow Mel! July 15, 2008 at 9:07 AM marciad said... Darn!
An Art Journal Page: from start to finish Hi, hi, hi. Well, it turned out that some of you were indeed interested in me posting a tutorial on the kind of pages I've been making in my Learn Something New Every Day journal. Which was nice, because really, you could have just shrugged saying "Meh. So, for those of you who'd like to see how this page came into being: Then this is for you: I should just maybe say:It's not an in-depth look at art-journaling or scrapping or even LSNED in general;It's just a look at the process behind constructing a page for this particular journal [although seeing as how I'm a bit in love with the style it's going to appear in other journals without a doubt];It's a bit of a photo-heavy post - just so you know. Glue approx. 3 roughly cut or torn sections of paper in a fairly random manner on the page of a notebook. I used:an old book page;the inside of a security envelope;a scrap of patterned paper;Glued down with Daler Rowney 'Matt Glaze Medium'. Step 8: Flick ink at the page! Julie :-D
How to Write Better: 7 Instant Fixes Does your writing stand out? Do you worry whether your writing is good enough? I can see you nodding your head. You are not alone. Every writer has doubts about his or her writing. The good thing is that writing is a journey. On this journey, you can either travel the long road – or use shortcuts. Using shortcuts means learning to spot and fix mistakes in order to write better. Here are seven instant fixes that will improve your writing. But … what is good writing? Inexperienced writers think that ‘good’ writing is elaborate. No, good writing is simple. 1: The art of natural Check out an example of elaborate writing below (I’ve sourced examples of writing from free Kindle books chosen at random). This is from a story about a young girl who is at home with her young brother when a thunderstorm strikes. An ebony abyss claimed the den. I take this to mean, “The room went dark.” Maybe the author consulted a Thesaurus to create a sentence with special words. Your words should sound natural. Careful!
Supplies for Journaling There's oodles of creative fun to be had painting an art journal, which is art-making, diary-keeping, and journaling all in one. The starting point is having a stash of supplies organized and easily available so you never have to interrupt your creative flow because of a lack of something. Then some appealing paper or journal to work in, and a nice pen. 1. Image: © 2008 Marion Boddy-Evans. All your existing art supplies -- paints and brushes, crayons, pencils, paper, canvas, etc. -- can be used for art journaling or creating altered pages. 2. Photo © Marion Boddy-Evans. If you're concerned about the longevity of what you're creating, use archival glue and tape, which will last and not "eat" the paper over time. If you're using with acrylic paint, this also works as a glue, as does many acrylic mediums (especially those that dry clear rather than white). 3. Marker pens make it easy to add lettering. 4. 5. 6. Image ©Marion Boddy-Evans. An art journal can take any shape or form you wish.
It's Freebie Time | Creature ComfortsCreature Comforts Hello everyone! I’m always trying to think of new and interesting things to share with you all. Did you know that? Actually I spend a huge amount of my daily existence thinking about you and musing upon how lucky I am to have each one of you as readers. The support and inspiration you give me every day truly touches my heart… it really does! So thank you. Anyhowwwww… I thought it was about time for a new freebie, so I’ve created these fun printables for you all to enjoy. Library Card Pocket TemplatePrintable Standard Library CardsPrintable Mini Note Cards (they fit inside the library card pockets) and are perfect for stashing in lunch boxes or using to top a gift) I especially love the idea of using these as seating cards at a wedding or event. To read directions for use and to download… {DIRECTIONS FOR USE} – Library Card Pocket Download library card pocket template Download free standard library cards Download free mini gift cards Perfect for:
Aliventures — Writing, blogging, and self-publishing Write or Die 2 Woven Paper Journal Cover Hello, June! :) Yay for longer daylight and warmer (ok, hotter, here in NC) temperatures :) So when you were a kid, did you ever make those woven paper mats where you sewed two together with newspaper in between and then it was a nice little mat so you could sit on the floor? I think I made one at summer camp once :) That memory was the inspiration for this project -- I made a journal cover out of woven paper several months ago for some dear friends, and decided to make another one as a tutorial :) This project is great for using up scraps of paper that are long, but too skinny to really do anything with. I made my journal cover 5"x7", so all measurements are for making that size. I started out with 5"x7" sheets and cut them down in 1/2" increments. For a 5"x7" cover, you will need about 10 -- 7"x½" paper strips, and you will need about 14 -- 5"x½" strips. I had a bunch of strips after I cut the sheets down, enough to make more than one journal cover. Keep weaving.
25 Insights on Becoming a Better Writer When George Plimpton asked Ernest Hemingway what the best training for an aspiring writer would be in a 1954 interview, Hem replied, “Let’s say that he should go out and hang himself because he finds that writing well is impossibly difficult. Then he should be cut down without mercy and forced by his own self to write as well as he can for the rest of his life. At least he will have the story of the hanging to commence with.” Today, writing well is more important than ever. So what can we do to improve our writing short of hanging ourselves? 1. Don’t just plan to write—write. 2. [The] Resistance knows that the longer we noodle around “getting ready,” the more time and opportunity we’ll have to sabotage ourselves. 3. Find your best time of the day for writing and write. 4. Work on a computer that is disconnected from the internet. 5. Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. 6. 7. Hone your outline and then cling to it as a lifeline. 8. 9.