Lazy Hazy Days of Summer

Grids are easy in this hot weather!

My office/studio/rubber room is only habitable until noon in this heat, so everything gets cut a bit short.  I guess that's why they're called the lazy, hazy days of summer!

Visual Chronicles

I've been reading Visual Chronicles:  The No-Fear guide to Creating Art Journals, Creating Manifestos, and Altered Books, by Linda Woods And Karen Dinino.  It is a delightfully light look at art journaling, and addresses the fears many people have who are tempted to start an art journal (I can't draw, I can't write, I don't have time, etc.).  In just 15 minutes a day, you can create a visual chronicle of your life.  One of the tips is to use 10 words or less on a page. 

I've been cleaning out my studio, and have found a few things I don't know what to do with but can't bear to throw away.  Here is one of them:

And the card flips open:

That "thing" is a feather duster, by the way.  I can't draw either!

Working in My Journal

There are always lots of creative opportunities in my journal, and at the moment, that includes finishing off the grid backgrounds that I did for the GPP Street Team June challenge.

If you want to play along with the July challenge you can find it here.  Get out those papers and start tearing them into strips, and most of all, have fun!

Origami Fold Book

I've been cleaning up my studio, including going through the "work in progress" box.  Don't kid me, crafters, I know you have one.  My goal is to do away with the box.  Either finish it, put it in a scrap baggy if it doesn't appeal to me, or chuck it away.  That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

I finished 2 projects so far.  The first is an origami fold book I started many years ago after a trip to Ruby Dog's Art House.  I saw a similar book there and tried to memorize the folds so I could recreate it.

I'm not sure if I was exactly successful, but I kind of like it anyway!  If you look carefully, you can see the tags and other fun things attached to the book with the fibres through the top and bottom corners of the spine.

Finishing the Grids

I was having trouble figuring out what to do with all those grids; all that paper was just too lovely to deface. (Yes, I can still hoard, even if it is cut up and glued somewhere.) Then it dawned on me that this was kind of like a sampler, or a card made with inchies. So, I decorated each rectangle on the grid separately.

Happy Independence Day to my American readers!

Happy Birthday, Mimi!

There were a few birthdays to celebrate in June, and here is a card I made for one of the sweetest people I know.

Sun and Sand

I was busy in June making various books, so the ATC's I made for my swaps in June served double duty.

I made 20 of these and swapped them in the Vintage Collage swap and at the Vancouver Artist Trading Card Group, where the theme was Sun, Sand & String. The "sand" in the foreground is embossing powder. The string I left for somebody else to tackle.

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends!