altered envelope

one of my new favorite things to do is to make altered envelopes.  i made this envelope a couple of weeks ago for a monthly challenge i host,  but after completing it i decided to keep it for myself.  i really rarely keep anything - remember that bookmark? - well i didn't keep that. i ended up trading it.  isn't it funny how our hearts and souls pour out on paper when we create?  sometimes it is hard to part with all that emotion that is in front of you.  i do find that usually within a week or two i can let go of the artwork i create that i am very fond of.  but every once in awhile there is a piece of work that still sings to me and then i just have to keep it for myself. 

just because

it's been a pretty good week for me because every day i've had the opportunity to spend some time making art just because.  i made this postcard to trade.  my friend paula sent me that little girl collage image. i sewed a little pocket on her dress and used a gel pen to add a little more color.  i love that bunny ear punch i found at a local arts and craft store a few months ago.  i painted the background and added a tape image transfer from a vintage dictionary and then machine stitched around the borders.

creating bookmarks

i have a friend who hosts a monthly bookmark swap and i've been making them since she started.  this month the theme was a house. the bookmark has to be roughly 2 x 6.  i made this house yesterday and then when i finished it i wasn't sure i could put it up for trade in her swap,  so it's resting on my art desk until i can make up mind. maybe i just need to make another one so i can keep one for myself. 

calendar journal

i've been wanting to start a personal journal for a very long time. for one reason or another it just never happened.  i think one reason may have been i felt intimidated about where to start.  but recently i was intrigued by a friend's calendar journal.  kate ( aka the kathrynwheel) was doing a calendar challenge.  the more i thought about it, the more i felt this would be a great place to start.  the blocks of the calendar were small and you only needed to add a picture or a word or two if that's all you wanted.  i felt i could do that in a very manageable way.  another friend of mine, deborah (aka thelandofnodstudio) had sent me some old books to alter. i thought one of those would make a great cover for my journal. i gutted the book and used the spine to sew in my signatures that i had painted with watercolors and then added some rubberstamping.  i will doodle on them and alter them with collage images as time goes on.  i didn't want to alter the cover of the book too much because i just wanted to honor the old book.  i put a label over the title area of the book on the front cover and added book binding tape to cover the stitching to secure my calendar pages. i use scrapbook paper to cover the inside of the front and back covers.  i hope you are inspired to try this too!