My Marjie Kemper accordion book

This weekend is kicking off the new initiative!  I can't call it a New Year's resolution because were almost to April.  What I will say is that my goal now is to complete the works that I've begun. Sometimes when you're working in collage it's hard to tell when a piece of art is done. In my case, determining when a project is done has more to do with noting whether there are any blank pages left. That's the criteria I'm going to work with now. To quote one of my favorite teachers (Dina) perfect is the enemy of done and I would much rather have all these wonderful projects completed so I can leave them around the house and savor them. 

A couple years ago my friends and I took a class with an artist Marjie Kemper and we started an accordion book each page was an ATC sized artwork. This means essentially the size of a playing card. I completed half of my pages in the book.  There is something so utterly appealing about small works of art collected in this book. I find myself bringing the book out and paging through it and wanting to touch every page. I'm not sure why that is, but I do believe it's good to be forced to work in on a small scale sometimes.  I guess because you have to get to the heart of it. It also helps that you're able to complete it much faster. 

So I set out to finish the book and in one evening I did just that. Importantly I had a really fun time pulling out different pieces of work that I had started trying to find the perfect embellishment it just inspired me and that's the whole point. 

So here are the pages. To see the first part of the book, travel back to May of 2014. 

Okay, this is a playing card. It's a Pokemon card that my nephew gave me and I love that it's a bee character.  So I worked with him and decked it out a bit.  I love the little description of the character, I had to highlight that.

This was a fun card to make.  I had a piece of paper that I had stenciled and decided to cover it in resin.  One day I had extra resin from a project so I painted it all over the paper.  It changes the paper and makes it translucent and shiny.  It's trans-formative. I felt that it was a special card so I created a few relics and put them in glassine envelopes. I sewed them to the page with waxed linen and labeled it of course.  Maybe I have to make the remaining 36 relics - someday.

I am a real fan of Frida Kahlo.  I had this great background stamps (anyone remember Judikins?) and there were all these people, so democratic. I though of her.  So I stamped her image and had to darken it to really highlight her. Then I wanted to see her face so I painted white over the background in her face.  It appears like I drew it, but it's one of my large cube stamps. I found these jewel like embellishments.  I'm not sure what they are called, but they have spiked points on the back.  Had to use a mouse pad and carefully push them through the paper and flatten them on the back. Makes me think I should do a whole journal just on Frida.

This background was made in the Marjie class and I decided to embellish with some clear buttons I decorated recently.  I stamped on the buttons and in some cases I used tissue, stamped on the tissue and then glued the button to the tissue.  

Finally, the last page.  I had used a combo stencil and mask on this one.  We used the mask first, leaving the white and coloring the yellow around the mask.  Then used the counterpart stencil and stamped/stenciled the lettering inside the area where the mask had been.  I edged the figure of a woman with Dina's Penny paint using her amazing fine point tip. I used this paper from Italy that has tiny postcard images and attached them with a brad.  I have to make everything interactive. It's just what I love to do.

Night, night everyone!  Enjoy!

Philadelphia Flower Show

I don't always make it for the annual show but this year the theme was 100th Anniversary of National Parks so I did not want to miss it!!  Can't think of a better theme for the show. Here are some of my favorites!  

This map was created by an artist Lisa Fedon and there's more about her at LisaFedon.com.  It's ephemera from all over made into a collage map. 

The Liberty Bell in flowers!

Me in front of the most famous We!! Thanks to School House Rock I still know the whole preamble!!

Robertson's flowers was inspired by Arches National Park!  We were just there in October and it is MAGNIFICENT!

Here, I'll show you!!  

These succulents built into this wall were stunning!  

Below is a buffalo made with wool over a wooden frame. So creative - I so wanted to pet him!  

This is one of my favorites, a giant bear made of wood and metal. But the best part, if you look closely is that he's a mini tree house for little creatures. I want to shrink myself down and explore the stairs and ladders!  

I love the magic and creativity. 

Really enjoyed our outing!  

Finally! My fabric journal is complete!

Years ago I took an awesome class from Keely Barham and purchased one of her muslin fabric journal kits. We learned to do photo transfers and I used them in my journal. It's taken me a long time to complete because after finishing the pages and all the details and embellishments  I needed help in figuring out the best way to sew the pages.  I ended up using a blanket stitch. Thanks YouTube!!

So here are my paternal grandparents. 

The cover was created in class. I have to say the colors are not, in retrospect, what I would've chosen but I did have fun making the cover. We learned to use special threads and the zigzag stitch with clear thread to attach them to the cover along with using pieces of fabric with sentiments. I use some fun embellishments from Tim Holtz that spell out "family." Fun fact, these buttons seem to have attracted the attention of TSA on my last flight back from Florida. 

I wish this photo wasn't so faded but I do love it. 

I love the picture below which is of my paternal grandmother, she looks so great in this outfit. 

This is my maternal grandmother. 

My grandparents on their wedding day. I had fun with the beads on this page and the little pink bows. 

One of the best pictures is this picture of my paternal grandfather on the ship he came over from Germany. To have the name of the ship, which we confirmed through searches of Ellis Island, makes this such a valuable picture. 

Below my paternal grandparents and my father and his brothers. He was the baby. 

Speaking of which here's an adorable picture of him. I love that his clothes had a little westie dog. 

The picture below is so sweet of my mother I just love this picture. 

I had to include this wedding picture. 

I was the first niece and grandchild on my mother's side. I have always adored this picture of me with my aunties, mother and grandmother. How cute is that little Santa??

So here's my wedding picture. My hubby got me these amazing beads from the Venetian Hotel in Vegas. 

Here's my brother and my sister in law!!

Leave it to me to make something that's interactive!!! I made these overlapping panels trimmed with beads and charms

This is a tag on the back page. 

It's so funny that I just happened to finish this journal and at the same time came across two additional blank journals that I purchased when I took the class.  Guess I have to get busy working on a couple new ones!!