Beautiful?

I’m sure beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. Color. Shape. Pattern. And beauty goes far beyond the sense of sight. To our other senses. Scent. Texture. Sound. Our Emotions can be triggered by any of these. Many things make something beautiful to us. Today, I found beauty in paper. Now, you know I LOVE color. And I LOVE pattern. Like in the paper I made this Folio from about three weeks ago. But today’s beauty is found in an even more simple pleasure. It’s still paper. But very little color or design. I spent a little time… Continue reading

Psalm 7:11 & Experimenting

What do you do when you’ve got a painted background, created long ago, that’s a hot mess? And a verse you also highlighted long ago that you still want to journal? You spend time in God’s Word. You enter into God’s peace and presence. You experiment. And you enjoy the process without worrying about the finished product. Once upon a time, when I was splattering paint here and there, I threw this hot pink paint, sloppily, in the margin (and all over) here. Now was the time to go back and see if I could salvage it. Not to see… Continue reading

Unique Embossed Pocket & Tag

Want a quick project with a variety of techniques, that aren’t too involved or time consuming, but will satisfy your creativity and provide some calming soul care time? The bonus is you’ll have a unique birthday or other greeting card, or journal insert, when you’re finished! This Embossed Pocket with Tag is like the one in the last post, that was in the Envelope Folio, but this one has a different look to it. And even though the color palette is still neutral, this time I went with greys and black rather than browns. There are slight differences in technique… Continue reading

Distress Envelope Folio with Inserts

This folio is a totally different aesthetic and construct than the one in my last creativity post, but I love it just as much. This one was inspired by the new Tim Holtz Chapter 3 release video. I’ve made many envelope folios before, but the look of this one just begged me to make it—my way. Many repetitive techniques go into this, so it isn’t a quick and easy project. But it is fun, and turns out so amazing. The components are 2 small envelopes, a pocket and a tag. The techniques include stamping, embossing, ink spraying and smooshing, ink… Continue reading

Tri-fold Pocket Folio

Are you in need of a little soul care today? Join me on this creative journey! This beautiful, yet quick, project will be easy and enjoyable to make, and will provide you a useful little folio, for adding notes, memories or other information to. Today’s project, a Tri-fold Pocket Folio, was inspired by Linda Israel. In addition to the 2 front slant pockets and pocket insert that Linda did, I included more pockets and tags, as well as a notepad, inside. This folio can be used inside your artisan/eclectic/ junk journal, or as a stand alone folio. Supplies needed: 2-3… Continue reading

Colorful Pinwheel Card

I saw a card made from a flat pinwheel die the other day and remembered how I used to make real paper pinwheels with my kids. I decided to try making some “real”, 3 dimensional mini ones for a card front. I ❤️ love how it turned out! Join me on the creative journey, and make this simple, fun and colorful card for someone in your life. Supplies needed for this project: 2.5” strip of colorful patterned paper White cardstock — I recommend #110 or higher for card bases Small strip of light brown cardstock Distress Spray Inks (Squeezed Lemonade,… Continue reading

6 Pocket Wrap-Around Envelope

You know I’m always up for making different types of tucks and pockets and such for my handcrafted Journals. It’s one of my happy places for keeping creative juices flowing, and great soul care. Always learning and trying something new. And always adding my own twist to what I’m inspired by others to try. A couple of weeks ago, I watched a YouTube video for making a 6 Pocket Wrap-Around Envelope, as a Journal insert. The make used standard #6 office envelopes with a triangle flap. (That’s the shorter, check sized envelopes, not the long business #10 ones.) But, the… Continue reading

Mixed Media Bible Journaling – John 15

Cling to Jesus. He will never let you go! He is the Vine, we are the branches. When we abide in Him and Him in us, we will bear the fruit of His Spirit. Without Him we can do nothing. This entry includes Stenciling, Die Cutting, and images from my Free Printable! The supplies are all listed below. And below that is a complete video tutorial for creating this page. Supplies I used: Journal the Word Bible – NKJV Free Images Download (and 65# white cardstock, printer, Scan n Cut or scissors) Stencil – Fonds of Foliage by Dylusions Acrylic… Continue reading

Gel Printing with Embossing Folders

After I had some non-thinking Fun Play yesterday, my mind turned back on and I moved forward to the next step, and the key to getting prints I really like, that would be usable for pockets and other “pretty page” items. (Of course the others will still be used, for collaging and such.) The obvious answer needed is adding Gesso to the page, to knock the words back a bit, before Gel Printing. This truly proved to be the secret sauce. An added step, requiring dry time, but it produced not just play time but also pretty and highly usable… Continue reading

Fun Play—Gel Print Book Pages

It’s Fun Play Friday! But any day can be a Fun Play Day! On Fun Play Days, I have no project in mind. No thinking through. I just want to create and don’t know what. My mind is most likely going a million miles an hour in several directions, and I just need some Happy Place time for Soul Care. So I grab some supplies, sit down, and see what happens. Like a child sitting down to play “art”, with an assortment of supplies before them, I just grab and do. I think I’ll try this! What would this look… Continue reading