UnPlanner Update

June 7, 2016 ~ Patty Radish ~ Leave a comment

Because this is literally the only thing I have been working on over the last week or so, it’s all I have to share! I have finally finished the first binder of three, January through April. It seems the more I work on them, the more I find to add, and the cleaner my room looks! Win!

I’ve kept each binder to 4 months each because I know I will find more stuff to fit in them. That being said, I may have to go to 4 binders. I thought I would show some favorites from each month in categories, starting with dividers…

I happened to be playing with spray dyes and stencils when I started this project and thought the pages would make great dividers. As you can see, I didn’t get very far with decorating from there, just stickers and doilies.

My weekly inserts. I love having an artsy place to document my daily creating. On the days I don’t do much, I’ll put a photo from the week. As you can see, I have been trying my hand at doodling, boy is it addictive!

These are some of my words of the month. I made a shaker pocket for April’s word of the month. I just punched the word “Patience” out of some scrapbook paper and threw it all in with some sequins. This was really about trying something new and using up materials, so fun!

A few of my PACs. I would love to be so caught up on these that I could make some extras to swap!

These have been a great way for me to step outside my comfort zone and learn some new techniques. An artistic shot in the arm that is very much needed.

Getting back into my sewing room and using up some supplies has been such a great angel to this project. This challenge was to make a pocket and fill it. I couldn’t find my grommets, so I used some overall fasteners to hold it into my binder, It works great!

It’s hard to say what my favorite part of this project is, but this part is on the top of the list. This is where I keep all the fun stuff I’ve collected over the month. Cute business cards, tags, a note from a dear friend, tops from washi, and an altered room key folder. I keep a plastic sleeve in the back of each month, then pick from it at the end of the month. May’s is ridiculous, I can’t wait to get it done!

I’m hoping to write an update post for this project at the end of each month so that I can go into a little more detail. I’m almost finished with May, then it’s time to get started on June!

Once again, thank you for stopping by,

Have a great week,

~Patty

Gratitude Journal Catch Up

May 31, 2016 ~ Patty Radish ~ 2 Comments

I have fallen so far behind on many of my projects lately. So, I decided to stay focused and take them on one at a time. This weekend it was my Gratitude Midori journal.

I absolutely LOVE my fabric doris, but I have to admit, I love the idea of having one real Midori with genuine inserts. No bling, paperclips, or tabs, super simple.

Just so you know how much work I had ahead of me on this, I had been entering my gratitude lists in, but that is it! No dates, no photos, and no decor since the 4th week in February! Yikes!

But, I was determined to see it through before I called it quits, I really felt this project deserved a chance. And, I’m really glad I did!

The first thing I did was stencil in all the dates. I was dreading this, but it went pretty fast.

Then, I went through 3 months worth of photos and matched them up to the appropriate weeks. It was a bit daunting, but well worth it!

Next, I added the washi and journaling. As you can imagine, the steps just became more and more fun as I progressed.

I learned many things by falling so far behind on this project:

1. I have a lot to be grateful for

2. This project is definitely worth the time

3. Including more photos of family and friends is a must

4. This has become my favorite journal!

Thank you once again for stopping by,

Have a wonderful week,

~Patty

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

May 27, 2016May 27, 2016 ~ Patty Radish ~ Leave a comment

Hello! I just thought I would pop in and let you all know that I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth

I am happy to say that these last two months have been filled with lots of visits with family. But, I made a promise to myself that I would put creating aside to spend quality time with them…and I did! The aftermath is that the projects continued to pile up, and now I am scrambling around trying to catch up with them along with my household responsibilities.

I need a vacation from my vacation!

Anyway, I have managed to get a couple of things done, so I thought I would share. If you have seen these photos on IG or FB, I apologize, this is all I’ve got!

I joined Art to the 5th‘s “Documented Life” project, “The Unplanner”. I had been tracking my creative doings in a planner, but it was getting really time consuming to decorate up the planner pages every month. So, when this creative version of documenting my creativity came up, it was a perfect fit. The problem is catching up on five months of projects! I’m getting a pretty good handle on it now, but not much else is getting done.

These are January’s PAC’s (pocket art cards). They have monthly and weekly challenges. The art tag at the right was a challenge to include writing or doodles from somebody else. I chose to use a page from my mom’s address book, what a wonderful way to create a keepsake, I love it!

The rest are my versions of January’s PAC challenges.

This is what I came up with for the first part of May.

Even though I have managed, once again, to bite of more than I can chew, I am really enjoying learning new techniques. My art making desperately needed a shot in the arm. Not only that, but I am using up a lot of random stuff I have been holding on to for years! Win!

I’ll have a few more things to share soon, it’s just a matter of getting organized.

Thanks again for stopping by,

Talk to you soon

~Patty

A New Art Journal For Moi!

May 6, 2016 ~ Patty Radish ~ 3 Comments

While preparing journals for my shoppe last week, one book just didn’t make the cut, only because I couldn’t bear to part with it. It has all the colorful 70’s kitschiness that makes my heart sing.

And sing it did…

I just put it together this morning, and I have already finished 4 pages in it!

That has to be some kind of record, especially since I have the whole tribe coming over this weekend, including my son from S. Korea!

The house is supposed to be ready for company…ooops!

I almost skipped the pocket page, but I kept finding cuteness to stuff in it!

That library pocket on the right is from a journal I had repurposed. Thank goodness it finally found a home, it kept sticking to things!

What do you think of that flair pin on the rag clip?! Cute or what! I will definitely be annoying with those!

Part of the reason I wanted to get going on this journal is because I have changed up how I make them. I wanted a prototype to work on before popping them into my shoppe.

Two Budgies heckling the neighbor boys while the bear and duck crack up! If you read “Delightful” and “Charming” with a hint of sarcasm, and a parrot voice, you’ll get what I mean.

I try to work with the illustrations as much as I can without covering them up. Also, I want to start working with my back log of storybook images, sometimes they can be a bit daunting, but this one worked out pretty well.

I finally got the old sewing machine out! A doubtful photo, but what I did was sew the sides of a mini file folder up, and adhered it to the page.

Hmmm…it seemed cuter in person. I’ll have to work on that! Maybe I should go around the edges with a black sharpie for contrast.

Oh well, a large journaling card or memorabilia can go in there.

Ah, my favorite! Love in bloom! Mice make my heart sing, so cute!

I didn’t realize, until the page was put together, that it looked like the mouse was falling in love with that cute blonde, so sweet!

So, there you have it. I absolutely love working in this journal, and I hope other people feel the same way when I put them in my shoppe!

Once again, thanks for popping in,

Have a Happy Mother’s Day if it applies,

See you next week,

~Patty

Spring 2016 iHanna DIY Post Card Swap

May 4, 2016May 12, 2016 ~ Patty Radish ~ 5 Comments

Well, it’s that time of year again! Time to “art up” some post cards for the iHanna Post Card Swap!

This year I was at a complete loss as to how I was going to create them. Time was growing short, and I was getting a little nervous. Then it occurred to me that had been wanting to do some experimenting with ink spray, instant backgrounds!

I realize a lot of people have been using these for quite a while, but I’m a chicken when it comes to trying newness, I love my comfort zone! There is a minimum of clean up with these, so I’m sold!

I was kind feeling the neon calling, so a few swipes with a card and layers started happening.

In an attempt to give the riot of color some stability, I added black pigment circles…hmmm…yeah, thats not working for me!

Stenciled daisies, that’s the ticket! In my world, daisies solve a multitude of sins!

Onward…

One of my latest obsessions, ephemera stacking. I made about 20 of these in front of the T.V. one evening. Super handy to have around, especially for Happy Mail emergencies like this one.