{ My MiNuTia }

Paintings on vine and ivy

I've been a closet painter this Summer. Started off with a couple, then a few more and...I was hooked. The girls have come to life though and waited until I had enough to introduce a series! That milestone has been met and am happy to show you! Girls...meet the girls on vine and ivy. I guess I should say "in" ivy and vine. This sweet potato vine in our yard has grown like crazy and thought I'd nest the girls around it. I cropped lots of it out though...I'll show that vine another time.

I used to paint quite a bit, then stopped...long story. So, starting again has been really gratifying and healing deep down somewhere. I never thought I'd do it again, truthfully. It's always been there though, waiting. Does that make sense?

There are a variety of sizes of canvases, ranging from 8x8, 8x10, 8x16, and 11x14. You can see the widths here, too...they vary from 1-3". There are art prints, too. Perfect for framing!

I had the best time creating their fashion statements and personalities. That was my most favorite part.

These two would be super for Halloween I think. Or, if you are like me...anytime.

They can all be found in the art parlor  on my website. There is a fresh new look! Hope at Paper Relics did some updating to The Paper Bella Studio site and freshened up a few things...pop over and see!   

So, a little about journaling and an update

This was the "finale" made for the Journal of Interest last week. I love doing Slide shows. Anyhoo, turn up the volume on your computer and watch!

Also, I will have some art work on the my website on Wednesday, July 29. I'll post here when it's all up and ready to see. Probably in the evening because it takes a bit for me to get it all set up on the site. I'm really excited to show you what I've been doing! 

Journals are wrecked

A couple weeks ago I wrote about the Wreck Your Journals I gave to my family...in hopes of seeing them over my birthday. Well, I had a fabulous birthday. These were one of the highlights.

As the big reveal drew closer, I left markers, glue sticks, fruit stickers, cancelled stamps, ink pads, paints, string, pens and pencils all over the house. A subtle way of helping out those who needed it. Everyone worked little by little and here and there, and then at a faster pace as the reveal day grew near. I couldn't wait to see them. Couldn't believe how they got into the whole process. Especially my hubby (a/k/a the sargeant)! What a peach. After a yummy b-day dinner, we came home and went through each page and shared and laughed and joked ... and had the best time. I'm not just saying that b/c I'm the mom either. For that half an hour or so, we all had something in common, our Journals. They were all silly and yet we all had pages we were anxious to share and compare.

Here are some of the photos of pages...

Pretty great, right? Loved seeing their creativity in action.

 

We all still have pages to do, but each journal was probably 80% completed. That was over 100 pages x 5 people=500 wrecked journal pages!

Oh P.S. This messy mess of a journal was my hubby's! Talk about a shocker, huh?

Photo was taken after the first week...it's even worse now. He even admitted that he enjoyed this whole Summer journal wreckin' bizness!

Need to think of something like this for next year's Bday!

Here is Where Women Create

Guess what landed in my mailbox the other day?

The hottest magazine in the art world these days, Where Women Create. This issue features a fabulous line up. I haven't read the whole magazine yet, but almost. Is it even fair to call it a magazine? It's so beautiful and filled with so many stories from artists. I've always enjoyed the work of Ruth Rae,  Lisa Guerin, Debbee Thibault, Nicole Bowen   and Nicol Sayre so seeing their studios and reading their stories was high on my list. So great to peek into their everyday worlds!

How many times have we seen Mary's studio? Many times in Home Companion over the years. I think I've looked at those photos of her creative space with the magazine at the end of my nose. In this issue she shares even more of her studios (work and home). So homey and so "Mary"!

Where Women Create Magazine is found in the photography and arts section of my Barnes and Noble. And that's where it should be...it's a work of art and so are the women inside it.

Back in April, Jo Packham, Chief Editor and her wonderful photographer Paula visited and shot hours worth of photos. We had such a great afternoon together. I am delighted to see their take on my studio and story in this issue.

Here's a peek at one of the pages on my studio:

The Where Women Create, Autumn Issue will be on newstands August 1!

Oh, just stuff

I keep meaning to do a great inspiring blog post, but there's been no time lately! Hang in there with me, they are coming. Actually, there will be lots of them coming soon...promise. Until then, a bit of what's been keeping me from doing a really inspiring blog post:

I've been doing lots and lots of instructing and creating journal pages for the Journal of Interest E-Zine. That's been the BEST! You have no idea! People keep signing up which warms my heart...thank you. I like to pretend they hear about it from someone who's currently subscribed, and so they sign up, too. Hee Hee. I know silly...could happen though, right? 

Some people have emailed and are wanting to sign up but now that it's near the end they wonder if it'll be "cut off" and they won't get a chance to do it all. Not true. It's always available...just not updated after the 24th. So you can pace yourself and do the tutorials as you like. That's what is cool about the E-Zine's I think. You can do them as your time permits.

Anyhoo...we opened up an early present over the weekend. Why did I wait so long to get this?

It's a BLAST! Guitar Hero World Tour, Wii. Love love!! Super love! I want to get better at the drums. So far, I'm the guitar girl or the singer...can you even imagine?! ME? I love that I can "play" this with my guys. We can relate somehow.

In the last post some of you guessed who's journal I showed in the photo...and you were all wrong my friends! The Wreck Your Journal project has been a great experience (for me anyway) and I'll get to see my family's journals Thursday. Gaa!! I picked up some flowers this morning...

I can pretty much guarantee that my hubby won't get me flowers for my BDay, so I beat him to it. Now the pressure is off. They were just cheapos from the grocery store but their bright colors make me smile. Enjoy your day!

I know I wasn't supposed to look, but...

it was sitting right THERE! I haven't looked inside. Nope, nope. Everyday it's a little more "wrecked" on the outside. Who do you think this journal belongs to? Hubby, Son 1, Son 2, Daughter or me?

We still have a few days left before the big reveal. GAAAAAAAA....it's gonna be the best present ever!!!

Enjoy your weekend!

washi tape photo frame from Kitschy Digitals.

Congratulations Jennifer!

How beautiful is he? There is nothing more precious in the whole wide world, than a newborn baby. Meet Jennifer Murphy's sweet new baby boy! Congratulations!! I've been stalking her blog for a couple weeks now, waiting for big announcement!

Can't wait to meet your baby bear in person at Silver Bella this Fall! I'll watch him for you while you teach. No spoiling the baby...promise. Okay well I can't really promise that...

You should have been there

I recently picked up one of these journals and fell in love with the whole concept, and all that the book stood for. Then I had the best idea... 

So I ordered a stack of them and gave them to my family last night. With ice cream...to ensure happy faces. I told them that I'd love for them to work in their journal...and wreck it (like the instructions tell you to) and then present them to me on my upcoming birthday.

At first the books were put to the side (oh no). They were all moaning on the inside and dreading it...I just knew it. But one child picked it up, peeked inside, and started reading the content out loud. "It says to poke holes in this page and to tear up this page!" Curiosity got the best of them...soon they all had their noses in their journals to see what it said. I couldn't believe it!

Didn't take long before they were ALL scribbling, doodling and tearing into their journal.

I was amazed.

Keri Smith has done a wonderful job with Wreck This Journal. I love how her book appeals to young and old and guys and girls....teens even. Especially teens!  And to drill sargeant-ish husbands! Art appeals to everyone. In our sporty family...my interests often take a backseat, so it's going to be great watching this all unfold. Keri has a new book out any minute. I can't wait to see it.

And I can't wait to see my family's journals on my birthday!!! Seriously! I can't stop smiling when I think about it...

The Big Beauty

I finally got the courage to take on a project I've been wanting to do for months! Not sure why it took me so long...it wasn't difficult. I rebound (or hand bound) an old ledger book. A BIG one.

Several years ago, my husband came home with a huge stack of old ledger books from his Dad's business, dating back about 50 plus years. They were gorgeous to me. Little by little I've been using them in some of my artwork. They have been such a personal treasure, because they were his Dad's and because I love old ledger pages and books.

I wanted to create a big huge journal for big huge projects and it struck me...the old journals! So I ordered big huge parent sheets of watercolor paper for the pages. They sat in my studio for a month. Happy to report I finally did it. Teesha Moore gives a good tutorial on this type of long stitch binding.  

Haven't done the cover yet...still contemplating ideas for it. I'll show you when it's done! If you have ideas I'd love to hear them. BTW the big beauty is about 15x18.

A Journal of Interest E-Zine is in full bloom. We are on our 6th project now! Here's a peek at some of the exercises so far.

  

People are still subscribing and jumping right in and enjoying themselves. Summer is the perfect time (for me anyway) to focus on journals. It's also been great seeing everyone's pages in their journals!!

Lastly, people have been emailing me asking questions about Blythe dollies. Mostly asking where to get them. I got mine on Ebay. Just to a search for Blythe on Ebay. Another adorable site for getting dollies and outfits is This is Blythe. You can find some amazing outfits on Etsy! Again, just do a search on there for Blythe. They are hard to find, but those are some great sources.  If anyone else has Blythe sources, please share!

black and white couture

A little dolly update to share. Miss Sara Blythe is loving her black and white ensembles! She's making a fashion statement today and I had to show you!

A Miss Liberace isn't she? Too bad I don't have a little piano for her, hee hee. Her shirt is one of my favorites!

She's holding a vintage repurposed necklace I got from sweet friend a while back. 

She stepped outside for a few photos, but the mosquitos were really annoying so we kept it short and sweet.

This little summer dress is so mod, simple and adorable. Love her green eyes in this one:

FYI: There will be a gathering of Blythe dollies at Silver Bella in November! I'm going put together a festive backdrop for the dollies joining us. Some of the students have them and I can't wait to see! Won't that be fun? Thanks to Maija for gathering the Blythe fans for the big Event!