At the first meeting of our soon-to-be blended family, we provided tags with names AND each individual's the relationship to bride and groom. Each guest was asked to write their good wishes to the couple, and the tags were compiled into a keepsake book.
This accordian-folded binding allows the tags to be "arrayed" when the book is opened.
Names were written on the back of assorted tags from 7gypsies.
Heart-shaped brads were used to attach ribbons (removed when the tags were bound into the book) and we provided stickers also!
Just completed my 8th July Sabbatical. No watch, no shoes, no commitments for 30 days. Blissful! Spent a lot of time playing with leather, fabric, paper, and my 40 year old Sears Kenmore sewing machine. Ventured to the garment district and picked up three small hides and began timidly with ATCs, to experiment with stitching and gluing fabric.
Ventured to a larger format, still inspired by Jeannine Stein's book class. I've been creating an inventory of pages - rediscovering paper that I've had in drawers for years, subjecting them to my dual-edge ripper and creating "grab-and-go" signatures.
I chose very lightweight leather, so these will have to be reinforced somehow - perhaps with Tim Holtz's grungeboard (?).
After a few months hiaitus from Mary Ann Moss' "Remains of the Day Journal" I created a few more covers. Mary Ann's easy style is a comfort to me. I had been fretting because I goofed up my first cover by trying to attach a pocket. But after watching her videos again, I decided to "snap out of it" and move forward!
My first attempt at a cover, which I love, is shown below. And I am just ignoring my goof (of course I won't picture it here: too painful!).
For really wild creativity, check out Mary Ann's blog (and those of her disciples!). Here's my first set of pages filled with works of arts from my pals. Another book is in the works already.
I am repurposing my Sears Kenmore sewing machine. It was my first purchase on my first credit card back in 1971! I bought one for my sister and she still has hers too. We both had them refurbished this year. It is a miracle of muscle memory that I was able to thread it after all these years (of course the manual is missing!).
I continue to work on my "Remains of the Day Journal" tutorial, and am sewing fabric and paper with abandon!
New Year. New Inspiration. I have actually put some of these in the mail (in years past, it was all I could do to cut the year stamp and make the card). I have piles of unmailed Chinese New Year greetings. I am now getting very fast and confident about carving into the butter-like speedball rubber stamp material. The tiger is from a set that I bought back in the '70's when I was first discovering stamps. The character that is resist-stamped in the spritz of spray ink is "strong." Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Thanks to my BFF Mikki, I participated in my second private class with Angela Cartwright and under her tutelage and inspiration, created a layered collage using family photos. The transparent overlay is actually Dad's visa (postage stamps, red chop and all!) from 1936. The nest is one of Angela's vellum Stampington products - I am ecstatic at how Dad's family photo fits perfectly under the eggs, and that is Dad in the left-most egg!
An added inspiration to get back on track with this blog: I just signed up for Mary Ann Moss's "Remains of the Day" online shabby journal class via http://dispatchfromla.typepad.com/dispatch_from_la/. This is bliss. Just tell me that I don't really need to work for a living!
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