07 July 2018
16 February 2016
22 June 2012
Summer Fun
Journal Jars
Thanks to the many creative ideas on Pinterest, the kidoodles have customized journal jars to inspire their writing this summer. Our books were rated "Awesome" by the kidoodles and are a combination of journal, artist's palette and scrapbook. I’m hoping it will be a way to encourage the kids to write this summer.
Materials:
• Cheap alternative to Mod Podge – mix 1 part Elmer’s glue and 1 part water in a bottle (I used an empty spaghetti sauce bottle.) Shake well!
• Composition notebook
• Fabric of choice – (smooth fabric works best; seersucker buckled)
• Canning jar with slip top
• Writing idea strips (There are some that you can find online but they were too sophisticated for the kidoodles, so I wrote my own.)
Optional:
• Ribbon for page marker (optional)
• Pinking shears
• Foam craft brush
• Wax paper
• Old magazines or file folders
• Construction paper
Here’s what I did:
1. Open the notebook to the center and lay it on the fabric. Mark the top & bottom of the notebook for width. Mark the sides & add about an inch for the cover edges.
2. Cut fabric to size with pinking shears to minimize fraying edges.
3. Wrap an old magazine or folder with wax paper. Insert this into the first & last page of the notebook. (It will protect the pages from the glue on the cover while drying.)
4. Paint the wrong side of the fabric with the glue mixture and lay it on the cover of the notebook. Wrap the extra 1 ½ - 2” of fabric around the cover edges.
Pull the fabric tight and smooth the fabric to remove any air bubbles. Close the journal to allow enough give in the cover that the final product will close.
a. *IF you are adding the ribbon marker, attach that the outside of the binding with tape or hot glue before adding the cover.
b. If the original cover design shows through the fabric, glue a similar colored construction paper on the cover first to mask the design, then add the fabric.
5. Paint the outside of the cover with an additional layer of glue mixture.
6. Open journal face down (w/ page protectors in place) & allow to dry overnight.
For jar lids, I used the slip canning jar lids. Trace outer lid on fabric. Cut out the circle and glue it to the inner lid. (There will be some overlap.) Put the lid back together & allow to dry overnight before screwing back onto jar.
Our journals are scrapbook/journal hybrids. Stickers are also a huge incentive for my kidoodles' writing. Here's to joyfully journaling this summer! Happy Writing!
Materials:
• Cheap alternative to Mod Podge – mix 1 part Elmer’s glue and 1 part water in a bottle (I used an empty spaghetti sauce bottle.) Shake well!
• Composition notebook
• Fabric of choice – (smooth fabric works best; seersucker buckled)
• Canning jar with slip top
• Writing idea strips (There are some that you can find online but they were too sophisticated for the kidoodles, so I wrote my own.)
Optional:
• Ribbon for page marker (optional)
• Pinking shears
• Foam craft brush
• Wax paper
• Old magazines or file folders
• Construction paper
Here’s what I did:
1. Open the notebook to the center and lay it on the fabric. Mark the top & bottom of the notebook for width. Mark the sides & add about an inch for the cover edges.
2. Cut fabric to size with pinking shears to minimize fraying edges.
3. Wrap an old magazine or folder with wax paper. Insert this into the first & last page of the notebook. (It will protect the pages from the glue on the cover while drying.)
4. Paint the wrong side of the fabric with the glue mixture and lay it on the cover of the notebook. Wrap the extra 1 ½ - 2” of fabric around the cover edges.
Pull the fabric tight and smooth the fabric to remove any air bubbles. Close the journal to allow enough give in the cover that the final product will close.
a. *IF you are adding the ribbon marker, attach that the outside of the binding with tape or hot glue before adding the cover.
b. If the original cover design shows through the fabric, glue a similar colored construction paper on the cover first to mask the design, then add the fabric.
5. Paint the outside of the cover with an additional layer of glue mixture.
6. Open journal face down (w/ page protectors in place) & allow to dry overnight.
For jar lids, I used the slip canning jar lids. Trace outer lid on fabric. Cut out the circle and glue it to the inner lid. (There will be some overlap.) Put the lid back together & allow to dry overnight before screwing back onto jar.
Our journals are scrapbook/journal hybrids. Stickers are also a huge incentive for my kidoodles' writing. Here's to joyfully journaling this summer! Happy Writing!
21 May 2011
Meditations in the Rockgarden
The new challenge for my knitting is how to use knitting as therapy in the most trying of times. The Rockgarden hand-dyed yarn is inspiration - but there are moments when the thought of picking up the needles is overwhelming. In those rare quiet moments - when knitting should bring peace of mind - it is a reminder of all that has been lost.
So now it is time to rededicate my efforts, to cultivate patience and to remember the beauty in every rock garden. Within each stitch, I strive to center my thoughts and cherish the soul that inspires me.
So now it is time to rededicate my efforts, to cultivate patience and to remember the beauty in every rock garden. Within each stitch, I strive to center my thoughts and cherish the soul that inspires me.04 January 2011
30 June 2010
07 June 2010
Moving from A-Z
Well, we're not quite ready to hit the road for our new home, but it is an ongoing adventure. The boys are especially happy that the Big Red Truck is back on the road and getting such a work out! We have packed and moved so much already, how is it possible that there is still stuff in every corner of this house, from top to bottom? Clearly, we have too much stuff.
Last week a FB friend was posting her worries in her status updates. Her hope was that by sharing her concerns, she could release some of her anxiety and get a little moral support. So now it's my turn. Here's my list of some of my moving worries from A-Z:
- Antique trunk
- Beds & Bicycles
- Cat
- Dates: closings, doctor appointments, parties & business trips
- Email & snailmail
- Freezer (see V) & File cabinet
- Grapevine
- Hollybush
- Instructional Materials for NYSAFLT
- Java
- Knit & Kidoodles
- Lilac Bush
- Mower
- New Schools for the kidoodles
- Oodles of odds & ends yet to pack
- Princess stuff
- Quilts made by Nana
- Repairs (ça suffit!)
- Sandbox & Swings
- Toy Tractors
- Underwear (All the clothes are clean, why can't anyone find underwear?!)
- Venison
- Windchime
- Xenophobic neighbor
- Yarn
- Zany moving adventures for the kidoodles
I need to take a lesson from the kidoodles. They are amazingly resilient. As a reminder, my horoscope from May 8th stays on the fridge: Accept your current location and state of being as a good place to be, instead of wishing you were already further along. Every journey begins somewhere.
Hurray! We're ready to take on the day! Now if we could only find underwear and two matching flipflops...
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