Kansas City

Today Heather and I got to KC and met our editor for our next book, Kent. We had a great time shopping for props for the Photo Shoot tomorrow. It was Heathers and mine first trip to Hen House, an adorable grocery store. We also had a Valomilk for the first time today. Is a melted marshmallow covered in chocolate. It is very yummy!

Teaching/Photo Shoot

Last week Heather and I were in Red Deer teaching at their Teachers Convention.

Right now we are on our way to the photo shoot for our next book! We are very excited to see how the pictures will turn out as we are counting on lots of photos for this book!

The Publishing Diet

Heather and I are in the final stages of writing the first draft of our next book. This means lots of time in front of the computer, our sewing machines, and many decisions to be made! During these weeks eating is not exactly a priority. Here are my "must haves" for going through any busy time.

Coffee: This is the most important! Start your day off right with at least one cup of coffee, however you like to take yours!

Grinch Mug: To let everyone know you are in no mood to mess around!

Doritos: Any salty snack will do, this one is my fav. They're great for when you are on a roll and can't stop to eat a real meal.

M&M's: mmmm yes the chocolate! A good treat to be eating when sewing and you need to keep your hands clean. The peanut ones are the best ;)

Mentos: For the moments when you can't remember the last time you brushed your teeth.

Coke: A great caffeine alternative to coffee, and lots of sugar to keep you alert and working!

Custom Name Stamps

After making my first stamp and being pretty pleased with it I decided to try something a little more detailed. I'm thinking these will make great gifts for any creative friend, carving out the persons name and including a personal image or design specific to that person. This one I made for my friend Mark Porcina who makes pottery mugs. 

Carving My Own Stamps

For Christmas this year I received a stamp making kit. This kit included Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's book Carve Stamp Play, and a block printing kit by Speedball. 

Following the basic instructions in the chapter "How to Carve a Rubber Stamp" I attempted to make my own little creation. For my first stamp I made sure to pick a very simple design with only strait lines, no curves. This is mostly because, knowing my ambitious self, I have often picked first projects in a new art form that are too difficult. I have found it is important to have success at the start, this insures that I will not get frustrated and throw that project into a bag in the closet never to be seen again!

 

After carving out my "arrow" stamp I obviously needed to try it out! I found i needed to stamp it a few times to find "imperfections" that I need to go back and tidy up. You can best see this on the red paper.

Junk Journal: Finishing Touches

To put your junk journal together hole punch your pages while lining them up along your cover that has already been hole punched. Pick an order for your pages and put them together using binder rings. Add some doodles to your pages and your ready to start writing in your junk journal!

Junk Journal: Covers

Often when I am making books I like to use tissue paper, paint and Matte Medium on heavy weight paper to make my covers. I find that the layers of paint and tissue paper make it sturdy and give it texture.

To determine the size of cover you need measure your widest and tallest pages that will go inside your book. Mine happened to be 8" x 9 1/2" I added 1/4" to the top and bottom and ONE side. This way my cover is for sure going to be larger then any page. I only add 1/4" to one side because when I hole punch my pages they will be lined up right against the back edge of the cover. I cut two pieces of light weight cardboard        8 1/4" x 10" for my front and back cover.

After I have my cover cut out I continue to add paint, bits of tissue paper, and Matte Medium until I get a look I like. Yes it really is that simple and you really can't screw it up!

After you are happy with your covers you can spray them with paints and dyes, add stamps and all sorts of other things to create the look you want for your journal. Trim off extra tissue paper from edges. 

I hole punched my covers at this point and added a quote to my front cover. If your not sure what to do on your cover at this stage you can always come back and embellish it later.