Project Art Journal: Page 6

Sometimes inspiration comes from the strangest places . . . like credit card junk mail.  For a while, I was getting a steady stream of American Express card offers in the mail and frankly I was pretty annoyed with the daily barrage of thick, paper wasting envelopes.  One day, I opened up one of those envelopes on a whim and spotted a brilliant piece of printed paper.  Part of the campaign was how American Express was my passport to whatever and they included a paper passport full of stamps.  I was instantly inspired to use it in my art journal!

A motto for those brave enough to wander.

Supplies: 

• Brown card stock
• various printed papers (maybe from junk mail!)
• tag or tag template
• word stamp
• black ink pad
• brown ink pad
• ribbon
• silver thread
• glass beads
• paper piercer
• sewing needle
• hole puncher
• eyelet
• decorative fibers
• metal tag
• double-stick tape
• small glue dots
• standard tape
• scissors or paper slicer
• hammer
• marker

Layer 1: Foundation

• Measure and cut a brown card stock square slightly smaller than the paper bag journal page.

Layer 2: Word Background

• Using printed paper, measure and cut a square slightly smaller than Layer 1.
• Ink up a word stamp of your choice and fill the square from top to bottom.  Tip:  Test your stamp on a test paper of the same pattern to see how the ink and stamp look before putting it on your final piece.  Also, remember sometimes less is more when it comes to word stamps!
• Attach Layer 2 to Layer 1 using double-stick tape.

Layer 3: Passport Frame

• This where my junk mail makes its artistic debut!  Any printed paper, however, will work.  Measure and cut a rectangle slightly smaller than the height of Layer 2.  Leave about a 1½” clearance along the left-hand side.
• Crumple the paper over and over again, until it starts to feel “soft.”  Then, lightly drag a brown ink pad over the whole thing.  This gives the paper a worn, antiqued look that really adds some character to the page as a whole. Tip: Memories makes a translucent series of ink pads that work really well for this technique.  My favorite for antiquing is a color called, “Sand.”
• Attach Layer 3 to Layer 2 along the right hand side, using double-stick tape.

Layer 4: Quote Tag

• This layer can be achieved by using a pre-cut tag or simply creating one yourself.   To make a tag, its as easy as cutting out a rectangle that is smaller than Layer 3 and nipping the top two corners at an angle.  Punch a hole in the top and you’ve got a tag!
• Cut a square from printed paper that fits the middle of the tag from edge to edge, but leaves considerable space on the top and bottom.
• Cut a smaller square that fits from edge to edge on the tag and previous square, but leaves clearance on the top and bottom to allow for a framing effect.  On this square, pencil in the quote and then go over it with marker.  Attach this square to the larger square with double-stick tape.
• Attach quote block to the tag using double stick tape.
• Grab some silver thread and wrap it around the top and bottom of the smaller quote square multiple times.  Secure the ends with standard tap on the back of the tag.
• Add metal “wisdom” tag, using glue dots.
• Insert eyelet through the tag’s hole and hammer into place.
• Thread several strands of decorative fiber through the eyelet and secure into place with a simple slip knot.
• Attach tag to Layer 3 using plenty of double-stick tape. Don’t be shy about loading it on pretty thick!

Layer 5: Ribbon and Beads

• Any ribbon will work for this part, but I used a thin silk ribbon because it bends and lays flat with more easily than standard ribbon.  Trying to plan this layer is like trying to pour water in a straight line, so you’re better off  just going with the flow.  Let the ribbon decide where it wants to go and where it wants to bend.
• At each bend or curl the ribbon takes, tack it into place by stitching a glass bead into place.  To make this easier, keep a needle pre-threaded (with left-over silver thread, maybe?) nearby and use a paper-piercer to make a hole through all layers so your stitch has an instant place to go. Come up through the hole with your needle, catch the bead, and then go back down through the same hole.  Tip: Instead of making a knot at the end of your thread, hold onto the ends and tape them down with standard tape.  Knots can tear through paper!
• Continue your ribbon path until you’re happy with how it frames your page.  Secure the ends of the ribbon on the back of Layer 1 with standard tape.
• Attach the completed page to the paper bag journal with plenty of double stick tape.

Junk mail has never been more beautiful!  Stay inspired!

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c.b. 2012

The Last 11

Who knew you could be tagged back on 11 Questions??  One of my favorite blogs, random acts of writing (+art) threw a curve ball and sent me these questions.  Seeing as I’ve already tagged 22 bloggers for this game, I’ll leave this set of questions open for anyone who wants to answer them.  Pick and choose what you’d like to do and leave answers or links in comments!  Have fun!

1. What was your favorite pastime when you were young?

Reading.  I always had my nose stuck in a book and I still do.

2. What do you do for play now?

I’m not one for sitting still.  I have a number of hobbies that range from arts/crafts, running, movies, baking, and reading.  However, most of my days are filled with writing when I’m done with my day job.

3. What is your favorite book of all time?

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.

4. What’s the best movie you’ve watched lately and why?

The last movie I went and saw was Beauty & The Beast in 3D.  I loved it because it’s one of my all time favorites and it was nice to see cell animation back on the big screen.

5. If you could make one change to your life, right now, and have it stick, what would it be?

While I’m getting better, I wish I had a little more faith in my writing.  That inner critic is able to speak much more often than I’d like.

6. What is your most memorable meal?

When I was in Aberfoyle, Scotland, I stopped at a little deli and had the best sandwich ever!  It was stuffed with various lunchmeats, cucumbers, and some kind of “magic” sauce.  For dessert I had a peanut butter, chocolate, graham cracker square – I have yet to come up with a good enough adjective to describe how good it tasted!

7. What do you miss most about being a kid?

Nothing – everything I loved about my childhood is still part of my life today.  It’s important to me to stay young at heart!

8. If you could go back in time and tell yourself one thing, what would it be?

This too shall pass.  This would have been especially useful during my teenage years.

9. You find a $50 bill but you have to spend it right now—what do you buy?

A gift card to a bookstore.  That way I can decide what books to buy later!

10. What are you doing today?

Morning: Running the track with my students.

Mid-afternoon: Teaching classes

Evening: Writing up a storm.

11. What are you most grateful for, right now?

This morning the sun was out and it was absolutely beautiful outside.  The best part is I got to enjoy it.

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c.b. 2012

Stoke the “Embers”

Embers by Sándor Márai is one of those rare books that can fashion a slice of life story into something powerful and intriguing. It explores a deep friendship between two men that began when they were young boys, but fractures when they reach adulthood. They come from two very different backgrounds as one is very wealthy while the other struggles.  Despite the disparity they share a bond that does not break even when deceit comes between them. After an estrangement lasting forty one years, the main character laments that regardless of everything his friend has done, they are still connected.

Márai has an amazing gift of building a story bit by bit until it explodes with one twist after another. The story is told primarily through the eyes of the General (the wealthy one of the two). When he recieves word that his old friend is coming for a visit, the General begins to reminisce about past events. He thinks about how they met and vaguely alludes to what drove them apart. By the time his friend arrives, he is ready to confront the root of his long-held anger.

The two men share an evening of memories and accusations. Events of their history remain close to the surface, but tempers remain surprisingly in check. For both men, this meeting isn’t about proving who is right, but rather about closure and usurping the ultimate meaning of life. In particular, the General is looking to reconcile the human desire for passion, love, and friendship with the tendencies towards deceit, hate, and jealousy. They are inextricably part of the human experience, yet they are capable of both enhancing and destroying the very fabric and joy of life.  It is a paradox that has no answers and offers no consolation.

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I interrupt this book review for shameless, shameless self-promotion.  If you are a campaigner and enjoyed my entry, (The Call) for the first challenge, feel free to give me a thumbs up!  I am #93 and you can find my “like” button here.

So far I’ve read so many wonderful stories and I can’t wait to read more as they are posted! Good luck to everyone in the challenge!

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c.b. 2012

Campaign Challenge #1: The Call

The first challenge for the Fourth Writers’ Platform Building Campaign is up and running!  The games begin with a round of flash fiction that follows these guidelines:

Click the image to see other entries to this challenge!

My muse and I came up with “The Call” for my entry.  Hope you enjoy the read!

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The Call

Shadows crept across the wall as the months passed without a word.  Leaves of summer cast gray silhouettes against faded paint.  Barren branches of winter cut through moonlight and slice through the windowpane. Then, delicate petals arrive in spring and leave gentle imprints on the back of an empty chair.  It’s been more than a year since someone sat in that seat.

Every morning, she wondered if the answer she needed would finally come.  They kept telling her there was nothing she could do, but wait.  So, wait she did with her cup of tea.  She poured another and placed it in the space beside her.  The steam swirled and curled into the air until it eventually disappeared.  Worry lines etched new pathways around her eyes and forehead as the minutes of another day slipped away.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

She stared at the wall and begged for today to be the day.  Any news is better than none after so much time of maddening silence. Her tea grew cold as an early spring sun warmed the afternoon.  Amid the fragrance of orange blossoms in the air, the phone rang and everything faded.

(192 words)

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Be sure to check out all the other wonderful entries and vote for your favorites, here.  I am #93.

c.b. 2012

Bookapalooza

Every year, during the second weekend of February, something magical happens at the state fairgrounds.  Inside of the exhibition hall, thousands upon thousands of used books are unpacked and displayed on endless rows of tables.  As if the idea of thousands of books under one roof isn’t enough to make any bibliophile drool, they go ahead and price these books at unbelievably low prices.  A hardcover bestseller goes for about $4, while a paperback dons a $1 sticker.  Better still, on Sunday, everything (except rare books) is half off.  I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

For the last eight years, it’s been a family tradition to attend the VNSA Book Sale and replenish our stock of books.  This is the place to go for a truly amazing selection as they’ve got everything from fiction, literature, history, reference, poetry, art, suspense, YA, cookbooks, crafts, and about a million other genres!   Sunday morning we wake up bright and early, pack our large canvas bags, and practice using “Black Friday” elbows.  It gets pretty crowded with eager book shoppers all looking for a great deal.  If you don’t grab a book when you see it, someone else will swipe right out from under your nose!  Another thing to watch out for are the infamous “cart blockers,” who will use a shopping cart to block a section of a table to keep other shoppers from grabbing books.  Little do they know I have no problem moving their cart out of the way.  Only a newbie falls for that trick!

The entrance to Book Heaven

When the doors open at 8 a.m. the line streams into the exhibition building, with everyone running to their favorite section.  I always head straight for fiction first and spend at least an hour combing through every row and every box looking for favorite and new authors alike.  My Book Vibe goes into serious overdrive at this point, but it still steers me right every single year.  After fiction, I jet over to the craft section to check out needlework and sewing pattern books.  Then, its off cookbooks to see if I can find the ever elusive British recipe book.

In the Fiction Trenches

The family always regroups after an hour to check in and drop off books in the holding area before heading out for another hour (or more) of book hunting.  During the second phase, I head to classics to track down books that fall under the heading of, “books I should read, but haven’t gotten around to yet.”  After that, I hit the history section to expand my collection of Ancient Egyptian studies and the art section to see if there’s anything that includes my favorite artists.

This year’s haul was particularly good, as I brought home a wide range of books that should keep me busy for at least a few months.

The grand total: $57

My favorite finds for this year include:

The Impressionists and Their Legacy – This book has a price of $150 on the inside cover and I it got for $7.50.  It’s packed with brilliant color plates from of my favorite artists, (i.e. Monet, Cezanne, Pissaro, and Degas), as well as historical information about Impressionism.

Van Gogh by M.E. Thalbaut – I paid $4 for this book and I’m still shocked at what I got for the money.  The dust jacket may be torn, but the interior is pristine.  Color plates fill almost every page, along with reproductions of letters and sketches by Van Gogh.  His life is traced from start to finish with amazing insight.

British Grub by Brian Murphy – Hiding amid the far more popular Italian cookbooks, this British gem was just waiting for me to find it.  Recipes for traditional pub sandwiches, soups, and stews make this little book a huge find! And it was only 25¢!

Dusk by James Salter – I have a previous work by Salter, (Last Night), and always loved his writing, but finding his books in my area can be difficult.  I was delighted to find him hiding in one of the boxes beneath the tables.

Selected Tales of Guy de Maupassant – I already have a complete collection of Maupassant’s works, but this book was so beautiful with gold leafing and illustrations I had to have it!  At only $1, it was easy to justify buying a double.

The Britons Ed. by M.I. Ebbutt – This book was sitting on an end cap in a section where it didn’t belong and I’m so glad I noticed it. Rather than a dry history book, it’s a volume that covers early British history via traditional myths and lore.  I can’t wait to read it.

By the end of the morning, my arms burn from carrying my load of books, but its totally worth the work.  I go home and peel off all the stickers and clean all the covers, (these books sit in a warehouse all year and can get pretty dirty!), and then spend the next week trying to figure out how to fit them on my bookshelves.  For a book lover, this is a day well-spent!

The best part of the whole experience is knowing every dollar spent at the VNSA Book Sale goes to local charities.  This year, they raised $378,000!  The event is already set for next year and you can bet I’ll be there.

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c.b. 2012