I have been having a heck of a time keeping up with all the things that I want to do, so sharing here has been a bit of a struggle. I almost blew off posting the rest of this project because it’s already February. But, I’ve decided that this challenge was way too much fun to shelve…

…So let’s press on shall we.

Day 13: “Hobbies”

I have had so many hobbies over the years, I was amazed when I took the time to write most of them down. I ran out of room in that little “Tally” piece. They are as follows: Macramé, Doodle Art posters (the original coloring for “big people”. I hesitate to use the phrase “Adult Coloring”, it makes it sound a bit sordid), Wreaths, Quilting, Crochet, Art Journaling, Gardening, Stitchery, Planner Decorating, Memory Keeping, Vintage Pottery Collecting, Thrifting, and a few things I can’t remember right now.

Day 14: “From the Day”

Since at this time all I was doing was working in this journal, and drinking tea, there wasn’t much to glue to the page. We all had our interpretation of the prompts. With this one I kept thinking “Remains of the Day”, a project I participated in many years ago where you art journal with the paper pieces you accumulate throughout the day, with journaling.

Day 15: “Barcode”

I went into a different direction with this one “Anti-Barcode”. I love finding things in the thrift stores that still have the original price tags on them. I peel them off and use them on my pages, so I had a lot of fun with this one. I was inspired by other participants to use alternative “barcodes” by adding some striped tissue paper.

Day 16: “Folded”

Another page spread inspired by Joie De Fi. It’s awesome how you can create a larger surface to work on in your journals with this technique. This is where I started my second journal for this project, so I decided to change the look little bit (less Kitsch).

Day 17: “Top Five”

Decided to list “Top Five Art Supplies”: Florals, Butterflies, Stenciling, Tissue Paper, and Coffee/Tea Dyed Papers

In this second journal, I included a smaller “half page” between most of the larger pages. This made working in this journal fun, but a little daunting because each page spread had a smaller page to work on. So almost every page spread has two photos to go with. This is part of the reason I almost decided not to share anymore of this project…

These posts are super photo heavy!

Day 18: “Maps”

This page spread was so much fun! I tore/cut the map pieces to fit across the “half page”. Again, I’m using up so many supplies that I have had but really didn’t have the inspiration to use. This particular page got an honorable mention by one of the challenge’s hosts in an Instagram post 🙂

So, that’s six page spreads (and 10 photos) quite enough of one post. It’s funny, I never thought I would complain about having too much content to share!

Until next time,

Thank you for stopping in,

Talk to you soon,

~Patty

I have a lot of catching up to do on this here blog! Although I’ve been able to keep up with the J.J.J. challenge and posting to Instagram, my blog has been a quite a bit behind. I just don’t have the “go-get-’em” mentality anymore. If I can fit it into my life, it happens. Every time I watch some of my favorite YouTubers I am amazed they have the time and energy for it all!

That being said, let’s get to it…

Day 10: “Intricate”

I received some lovely Happy Mail last year when I was still a part of “Fussy Cuttin’ Cuties”. I have never worked with these types of beautiful die cuts before, so I was at a loss as to how I would use them. But, because this project has made me really think outside the box I was able to come up with a few ideas for them.

Pretty sure that bear doesn’t appreciate his lunch jumping over him, but that’s life sometimes!

Day 11: “Folded”

This was one of my favorite page spreads! Inspired by Joie De Fi on YouTube. I am officially obsessed with her channel! She does so many wonderful projects with paper. Consider yourself warned about her channel, you will more than likely become obsessed!

I hope you can see all the pockets included on this fold out. I’m actually making some pretty good progress on using up stash.

Day 12: Throwback

All of these prompts are an opportunity to stretch your creativity. It seems like everyone had a different interpretation of “Throwback”. Mine was at first a throwback to my younger self and different things I’ve owned and used in my art journaling almost from the beginning…including that old photo of my Grandmother’s friend “throwing back” a beer. Lol!

I made a process video of this page spread if you would like to see how it came together, just go here or hit the link in my sidebar.

As of this posting, I am up to Day 27, some of my page spreads take a bit of time. This has been like a creative boot camp for me, something I definitely needed though.

Until our next catch-up,

Thank you for visiting,

~Patty

I decided (once again) to change my names on Social Media.

Yes AGAIN, for goodness sake!

My new shoppe banner.

This a name I used several years ago and I’m going to be blunt here, someone opened up a shop on Instagram selling vintage ephemera and used a very close version of this name, and it pissed me off!

Now, I know that I should have been above such shenanigans, but clearly I was not, so I changed my name. But you know what, I liked that name! So, I’m claiming it back again!

My sidebar button that will take you to my IG account, which is getting pretty full right now. Many of the things I post on there goes here too, but not the other way round.

New shoppe button in case you need some new ephemera. No journals right now, I’m still pondering how I want to do that going forward.

Lastly, the link to my Pinterest boards. I went back and forth about this one, but in the end I decided it needed a change too. I know it may sound strange, but I feel a little more engaged with these accounts now, I really missed my old name.

I’m not changing the name of my blog though, this is the hub to all my other accounts. Kinda the home planet so to speak.

I’m still leaving Facebook in the dust, I don’t miss that one at all.

What are your thoughts about all this? I’d love to get your input or questions!

Let me know what you think,

Thank you for the visit,

Much Love,

~Patty

The reason I’m posting only one page spread today is because I wanted to go into a little more detail with it.

I wish I could say that these prompts are easy, but I’m struggling a bit. And that’s a big reason why I’m still so far behind, as of today the 20th!

Of course my first thought was a tag, those are easy to hide…ok, now what? I looked through my bits and pieces and found this little hibernating chipmunk. The tag is a leftover piece from a shoppe journal painted page. I added a plant frond, a piece of dyed cheese cloth, and he’s done.

I made this little envelope from some coffee dyed bakers parchment paper, (that’s a mouthful!). Please comment below if you would like a process post for the envelope, that might be fun. It was a bit fiddly to put together, but I love how it turned out. I decorated it with the words from the chipmunk’s book page, added a botanic image and some lace I inherited from my mom’s stash.

(Does anybody else feel like that chipmunk right now? We’re finally getting some sunshine today!)

This page was a little more difficult to figure out, but it finally came together. A piece of dictionary page with the definition of “hidden” tucked into some torn scrapbook paper with a floral image spanning into the little inclusion piece. As you may know, I usually have a collection of fussy cut florals on hand, so that saved a bit of time.

Full disclosure: I usually lift, tear, and shift pieces after glueing them down to get them positioned the way I want, that poor bug almost lost a limb or two in the process.

Hidden behind the envelope is a journaling spot and an owl…looks like a good reason for the chipmunk to hide!

That owl piece is a leftover from a previous art journaling project I abandoned. As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, I do that quite often. Many people paint over journal pages they don’t like or want to hide their journaling, so it’s not unheard of (she keeps telling herself (3rd person self talk, eh)). I do mostly collage, so I tear things out and reuse them as embellishments, it’s actually quite convenient, I should make some more up on purpose.

Well, that’s it for today. I’m probably going to be back tomorrow, I’m actually up to Day 15 in real time…not page 20! Yikes I better get a move on!

As Always,

Thanks for stopping in,

Talk to you soon,

~Patty

…some winners, and some…Well, I’d prefer to give them “Participation Awards”.

Day 4 Prompt: “Decorated Tag”

This is definitely a favorite. I ticks all the boxes: tags, color, botanicals, a bee, a bird, and a pocket. I just looked through my stash and found some tags and started decorating.

Pretty sure I could have done this for hours…wait, I did!

Day 5 Prompt: “Routine”

This one was a struggle. I thought I was working on a different prompt and realized I was working on the wrong page, I had a whole thing in my mind. But, I regrouped and made it work for the correct prompt.

Very vintage…and very beige!

Day 6 Prompt: “Stitched”

I had zero plans when I started this, so it took quite a bit of time to plan and create. First I looked for paper that looked like fabric, I was pretty lucky there. I noticed a couple of papers that had lace printed on them and came up with the idea for layers of lace, both paper and fabric. You can’t really tell, but all those pieces are stitched down by hand, guess I should have let the stitching show…ooops!

On the righthand side, I poked around in my sewing ephemera box and found those little fabric tags that I received in some happy mail so long ago I can’t remember who sent them to me, I’m so glad they finally have a home. The floral image is a vintage embroidery transfer. I just did a running stitch onto a tag and glued it on.

Using up stash for the win!

Day 7 Prompt: “Shimmer”

This is way out of my usual style, and when I saw this prompt I almost skipped it. But, I watched a few videos for this day’s prompt and started getting some ideas and to think of some of my supplies in different ways. I got out some shimmery gelatos, looked through my sewing ephemera box again (I had remembered seeing those little mirrors, I’ve had them for yeeeeears…!), then pulled out these awesome little die cuts I received in some happy mail last year.

The shimmery paper pieces were made by coloring onto packing material with the gelatos, then spreading each color around with a wet paintbrush. When the paper dried, I tore the colored bits out and they came out shaped like leaves, so I layered them to look like a plant. Perfect for the shimmery little insects!

I’m learning so much right now, my head feels a little fuzzy…information overload. But it’s all so much fun!

I will continue to post my J.J.J. page spreads throughout January (and beyond if I don’t catch up!) and I hope this has been as much fun or you as it has been for me!

See you in a couple of days with the next batch of pages.

As always,

Thank you for visiting,

Take Care,

~Patty