Art Journaling

A Redecorated Journal

~ Patty Radish ~ 4 Comments

I have had an off/on relationship with this journal for quite a few years now. There are parts that I loved, but it lacked a cohesiveness that I just couldn’t put my finger on. Probably due to the fact that I thought I could just dump a bunch of unwanted ephemera into it, and believe everything would be just fine. But, it wasn’t! When this journal started to go off track, onto the shelf it went.

IMG_0571

This may look familiar to some of you that have been following my blog(s) for a while. And the differences may not be immediately noticeable, but they’re there.

After watching Florence Antonette‘s Traveler’s Notebook series on continuous loop, I found the cohesiveness that I was looking for!  My first thought was to buy some Midoris and try her style, but on closer inspection, I realized that I had a lot of the same elements she was using, in this journal. So, the restructuring began, and couldn’t be happier with it!

IMG_0572

First, I striped away all the old journaling, this poor journal had become the complaint department, mostly because I didn’t know what else to do with it. I also removed anything that just didn’t fit the aesthetic, luckily that was at a minimum.

IMG_0573I replaced the journal pieces, then began filling it with washi tape, more postage stamps, and ink stamping. Now, I wish I had taken some before and afters, there really is a difference!

IMG_0575I love how the stamping subtly blends the journal piece into the background, exactly what I have been wanting to accomplish for a long time, but was to critical about my stamping abilities to try. I guess it took a “lost cause” project to give me the courage to throw caution to the wind!

I am happy to say that this journal is still a work in progress, so I have lots more excuses to buy more postal goodies! Win! I’ll be sure to share it’s progress again soon!

As always, thank you for the visit,

Have a wonderful day,

~Patty

Thanksgiving In My “Holiday” Planner

~ Patty Radish ~ 2 Comments

I thought I should share the Thanksgiving decor in my Holiday planner before Christmas is upon us!

Sheesh, time flies when your a busy lil’ beaver!

As soon as this post is finished, I’m diving into this baby and getting some things written down before they fly out of my head!

IMG_0521

I have to admit, when I open up one of my planners, planning completely disappears from my brain! All I want to do is play around in them…”Oooo, maybe this would be cute!”

But, I guess that’s what sticky notes are for.

IMG_0523

Of course one of my favorite bits, flowers and yarny-ness!…and stickies of course!

Since the children have flown the coop, I don’t decorate the house much for the Holidays…probably because I’m too busy doing this!

IMG_0525

I love a mini dashboard! I made this from a vintage floral arranging image. I added some flower rub-ons and an inspirational sticker.

Is it cheesy?!…you betcha!

IMG_0526

This is super special! I have had this image from a Thanksgiving card for almost 30 years…seriously! The inside said something funny like, “Thanksgiving dressing has always been one of Sheila’s favorite Holiday traditions!”

I love finally having a place of honor for it after all these years!

So, I’m off to get planned up for the week!

Hope you have a good one,

Thanks for stopping by,

~Patty

A Happy Mail Surprise!

~ Patty Radish ~ 5 Comments

I received this lovely Happy Mail last month, but it has been a crazy couple of months, so I’m just getting around to sharing it! I love getting things in the mail, especially when they are so wonderfully thought out, as to fit my style!

Vintage beauty and colorful kitsch, need I say more? Of course I do!

IMG_0099

These are from the wonderful Jenny. They were all lovingly wrapped in kraft paper with their sources written on them and accompanied by several thoughtful notes and letters! Treasures indeed! Thank you Jenny, I can’t wait to use them! That whole “Why didn’t somebody tell me 2 years ago, Pyrex ovenware is 30% to 50% off!” rocks my world! I totally feel her pain!

I may leave the children’s cookbook as is and use it as an art journal!

Those stickers already have a special place in a particular journal I plan to share very soon!

IMG_0101

IMG_0102

These two groups are from my sweet friend Iryna in Belarus. She always sends me a beautifully eclectic collection of ephemera from her country along with a thoughtful handwritten letter! As I look through all of this loveliness, I think of where I might use each piece.

And because I have decided that I must stop hoarding my mail goodies, and start using them…

IMG_0398

…I made a sort of commemorative page in my “Big” journal! This was so much fun! I will definitely have to do this more often!

As you can see, I stayed with a red food theme, with the exception of the ladybug and the rose of course! See the radishes? Iryna usually tries to include them in her mailings, Love!

I love the little girl peeking from behind the strawberries!

Do you have a special way that you store your letters? I’m not sure how to go about it. If you have any ideas on the subject, I sure would like to know about it!

Once again, thanks so much for stopping by,

Have a great day, it’s Friday!

~Patty

And Then There Was One…

~ Patty Radish ~ 4 Comments

This post was supposed to be written yesterday, announcing the new Mini Journals in my shoppe, but I just didn’t have time…

…I was too busy wrapping and sending them off!!!

I made 10, and within 12 hours, sold 9 of them!

So, what should I write about?

Well, after the giveaway and shoppe makings, I managed to keep one for myself…

IMG_0389

 I wasn’t quite happy with the messy layering I had done, so I covered most of it up with this vintage book image.

IMG_0385

I thought this might be an awesome opportunity to work in it along with the people that have purchased them from me. So, once in a while I’ll be sharing some of my page spreads.

Some of the pages may seem too pretty to cover up…

IMG_0386

…but others are perfect! I love those vintage illustrations, but the rest of the page is text. I’ve been using this mini journal to document the surprise visit from my daughter and grandson. He ate banana for the first time today and I thought that monkey eating a banana was a nice touch.

It’s time to back to my visit, I just wanted to check in and let you know that as soon as my loved ones head back home I will be starting on a new batch of mini journals for the shoppe. In the meantime, there are still a few list journals and “regular” sized journals left in my shoppe, some marked down even!

Thank you so much for supporting my shoppe!

Have a great day,

~Patty

The Decorated Mini Tin

~ Patty Radish ~ 2 Comments

I have had a couple of people ask me about my decorated mini tins, so I though I would do a quick run through on how I make them. Quick, because they are super easy!

Supplies: an Altoids “Smalls” tin, embroidery thread, embroidery needle, scissors, a 2″x3″ piece of quilt batting, 2- 3″x4″ fabric scraps, multi-surface glue, assorted buttons or flare button, sand paper, and pinking shears (optional).

IMG_0121

 Make a quilt “sandwich” (batting between two pieces of fabric) and stitch around the edges, going in a 1/4 inch or so, with the embroidery thread.

IMG_0127

Sew the buttons on then cut around the edges to fit the size of the tin top. Give the top of the tin a bit of a sanding to give it “tooth” for the glue to hold on to. Apply the glue and adhere the quilted bit to the top of the tin.

It’s that easy!

IMG_0128

Sometimes, I will sand the entire tin and paint it, but I was going with red, white and blue, so I just kept the tin it’s original red. These small mints come in other flavors and colors of tins, I may have to explore this option. Painting them can be a pain!

I like to keep stamps in these, or I’ll use them to hold buttons and small bits for my stitched journals.

Well, I hope those were clear enough instructions, let me know if I missed something.

Once again…

Thank you for the visit,

Have a great weekend,

~Patty