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Posted at 09:19 AM in Artful Life, life is what happens | Permalink | Comments (0)
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Face Off is a competition/elimination series exploring the world of special-effects make-up artists and the unlimited imagination that allows them to create amazing works of living art. Each week the artists are tasked with using their considerable talent to create original movie-worthy characters such as aliens, human-animal hybrids, horror villains, cyborgs and others. Challenges incorporate a wide range of skill sets including design, sculpting, molding and application. It all builds to incredible reveals of the competitors' finished work and the drama of one artist being sent home by the expert panel of judges.
In my version of Face Off, I am madly problem-solving my way through ONE little's
Halloween costume, as the clock ticks down to the last moment. I am the
contestant who will be sent home. The other two costumes are resolved
and finished, but one costume always consumes three times more hours
than expected and requires way more brain power than I'd planned.
Last Year's Costumes:
This was THE ONE last year. Started it two weeks in advance. Looks straightforward. Wasn't. Talking about it makes me twitch.
It is now 9pm.
Posted at 03:46 PM in Artful Life, Family, lovely family, sculpture | Permalink | Comments (1)
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Gryphon prefers to use graph paper (quad paper) in his sketchbooks because it works equally well for drawing and writing. He uses them to work on drawings, RPG character designs, logos, poetry, and fiction. He and his closest friends often develop creative story lines they all work on simultaneously, writing fiction and drawing characters. Sometimes the works are collaborative and meant to fit together into one whole; other times the work is parallel, and exists in the same story arc.
When he filled his latest sketchbook (wire bound, black covers, serviceable but dull), Gryphon asked if we might find something that would have graph paper and be "cooler." I poked around online, not really finding anything. I realized I probably was going to have to create something for him. We took a field trip to Barnes & Noble so he could look at the way various writing journals were constructed. He loved the ones that had the leather flap that wrapped around and tied. He also really liked the embossed leather designs on some of the lined journals. Gryphon had one of them a few years prior as his special "writing notebook" for a language arts class, but lined paper just wasn't going to work.
Barnes & Noble had some refillable versions of both the wrapped and embossed types of leather-bound journals, but there weren't versions with graph paper, even as refills. Rather than drive myself insane trying to find a graph paper refill online and then try to match that refill size to a cover, I decided I could make one at least as nice as what Barnes & Noble had, and, most likely, make one nicer. (yeah, I know- not terribly modest of me!)
I did not want to deal with having to source sheets of graph paper large enough to use for pages to bind a book from scratch, so I purchased one of the very same journals you saw here in my DIY planner hack. (except this one was black.)
Note: Barnes & Noble sells these Miquelrius blank graph paper journals for $9.95 in their stores & online. (You have to search Miquel Rius as two separate words. Also, I'm not a Barnes & Noble affiliate.) Amazon carries the brand, but only seems to have the more expensive version of the same book for $15.99 - $23.99. The only real difference seems to be that the more expensive version has an elastic closure, which doesn't seem to justify the price difference.
I helped Gryphon find his old writing journal, and he agreed to sacrifice the cover for his new sketchbook.(Of course, we saved the book block full of writing.) I also snagged the ribbon bookmark from that journal. I dug through my leather stash, and found a leather upholstery remnant in the perfect color to match the cover piece. If I hadn't had green leather, I would have used black or navy.
I also found a zipper pocket I had cut out a thrifted leather bag that was about the right size for the project. (I had left the fabric interior pocket attached, so I had a fully working lined pocket.) The leather pocket was used to create a built in place for drawing/writing supplies.
TIP #1: Leather Sources
Your local Goodwill, Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store will have leather garments and bags that provide more leather for the same, or lower, price than you can buy the same amount of pieces of leather elsewhere. You'll find variety in color, texture and thickness. Be sure to read the label to be sure you are purchasing leather.
Also, upholstery remnants can be purchased from various decorator fabric places/re-upholstery places that work in leather.
TIP #2: Don't Use Leather?
Thrift stores are also a terrific source for quality faux leather materials. You can find lovely faux leather in the form of garments, and bags.
How to's are fairly straightforward:
I simply cut two pieces from the leather remant- one to create the cover and the other to create the tie.
To cut leather, and have it come out straight and smooth, I prefer to use a rotary cutter. Of course, I use a straight edge for the straight lines, but I used a dinner plate as a guide to create the curved edge for this cover.
TIP #3: Adhesives
I glued the book into place using Beacon 527 glue. Beacon Quick Grip would also work well. I use these glues when having a flexible, clear, waterproof bond is necessary. Both glues can be found at Wal Mart, Michael's, JoAnns, etc.
I glued the front cover of the Miquelrius book first and weighted with several heavy books.
After allowing to dry for 24 hours, I glued the bookmark to the spine, and glued the leather across the spine of the Miquelrius book.
Next, I glued the back of the Miquelrius book to the leather.
Before weighting it down to dry, I smoothed and tugged the leather tightly across the spine and back cover. Before weighting it down from the top, I placed a stack of books next to the spine, and a stack right next to the fore-edge of the newly adhered Miquelrius book; then, I stacked books on top to weight it all down. (the books on the sides prevented the Miquelrius book from sliding off the leather and helped keep the leather on the spine nice and tight. I allowed it to dry for 24 hours.
I glued in the leather tie, making it stronger by feeding it through the leatehr cover in a couple spots. This takes the stress off just one point. I glued all points of contact between the tie and the cover. I weighted it down, also, and allowed it to dry.
Next, I glued the decorative pieces we had cut off of Gryphopn's old writing journal. Besides using the cover, I also used the spine. I placed waxed paper on top of and under the cover, wrapped the leather around, and weighted it down.
To attach the pocket:
I trimmed the scavenged pocket, making sure it fit and the whole thing would wrap nicely. Then, I tucked wax paper inside, and glued the leather front of the pocket to the fabric interior pocket. I weighted it down, and allowed it to dry.
Next, I replaced the wax paper with a clean piece, and glued the back side of the scavenged pocket to the interior of the leather flap. I weighted it down, and allowed it to dry. To create a zipper pull, I cut a bitty strip of the green leather, threaded it through the loop on the zipper, and sewed a few stitches through the green leather strip near the loop to hold the zipper pull in place.
The drying time required between each step might seem daunting as it makes the project take a few days. However, given the sketchbook was going to be carried around in a backpack full of school books, get lost in a teenage boy's messy room, fall off any number of flat surfaces, I really wanted it to hold together. Allowing adhesives to dry completely, and weighting down the surface are important for creating a strong bond.
In fact, the photos you see are what the sketchbook looks like after several months of use! I just shot these images this week. (This morning, I found Gryphon's sketchbook open and tangled in the blankets on his bed looking just fine!)
Posted at 09:18 AM in art journal, Artful Life, Book Binding, DIY, Family, Journals, lovely family | Permalink | Comments (2)
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We receive gifts scattered through out the many days of our lives, gifts of singular moments. Moments which, despite the clichéd nature of the phrase, are "once in a lifetime."
I want to show you a gift I was given. But first, a bit of a background story:
Joe, Gryphon, Sunny, and I were out in the boat exploring the river. Tooling around in our old jon boat is something we do often, of course, since the front yard of the river house literally ends with the Allegheny River in the same way other front yards end at a road. I almost always take my camera bag with me. For this river adventure, Gryphon was using my Canon SX10-IS, and I had my Canon Rebel XS.
Shooting has a way of bringing me more fully into the moment, of narrowing the focus of my awareness into what is right there around me. Shooting grounds me, brings me more fully present. There are no to-do lists running through my head when I have a camera in my hand. I am looking; I am seeing. I am completely here in that exact moment in time, in that exact location in space. Being present is a key part of being whole, being spiritual, of being able to hear the divine that exists in each of us, in the world around us. Photography as a path to being present is one of those gifts I feel a powerful obligation to share.
You might have noticed I collect "found hearts" - images of objects, scenes where I find hearts hidden in plain sight. My "found hearts" are secret messages reminding me I am loved, reminding me to love.
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
This quote, while often attributed to Ghandi is actually a distillation of his words:
"Gandhi said “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. ... We need not wait to see what others do.”
(Brian Morton, The New York Times, Aug. 29, 2011)
My "found hearts" remind me to change my own nature, to risk, to fear, to love and be loved.
Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time. John Lubbock
The real gift, that day, wasn't the astonishing sight of a heart-shaped cloud drifting across the sky. The gift was having Gryphon, Sunny, and Joe with me in the boat. The gift was seeing their bright smiles, hearing the joyful laughter bursting out spontaneously, and sharing that exact moment to remember for ever, creating a memory, a treasure to be pulled out of a pocket and rolled around in our fingers whenever we need.
Posted at 11:32 AM in Artful Life, creativity, Family, lovely family, nature, Photography, quote | Permalink | Comments (3)
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Who says you cannot hold the moon in your hand?
Tonight when the stars come out and the moon rises in the velvet sky, look outside your window, then raise your hand and position your fingers around the disk of light.
There you go . . . that was easy.
Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration
June's Moon- Flower Moon Rose Moon Strawberry Moon Honey Moon can be seen here. (not previously posted.)
* all the images I have shot of the moon were taken with my point-and-shoot, a Canon SX10-IS.
Posted at 01:00 AM in Photography, quote | Permalink | Comments (1)
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I wanted to share a recent project where I converted a graph paper journal into a handy planner, organizer, and catch-all:
I needed a new planner, as my pocket size Moleskine planner had just a couple months left. In recent weeks, I had found that style of planner was not working out well for me; I needed a different set up in my new planner.
In the past, I've been a fan of the binder-style, customizable systems for years. I prefer to mix and match the planner inserts between brands (daytimer, dayrunner, dayplanner) to come up with a system that works for whatever is going on for me at any given time. I referred to my planner systems as my "brain." I talked about this in a blog post HERE and in this interview I did for Lesley Riley a couple years ago:
However, I really cannot afford to purchase any of that stuff these days, so I set about making a planner from a blank book and other materials I had on hand.
I started with a Miquelrius graph paper journal/sketchbook I had in a studio cupboard. I love graph paper books; I'm particularly fond of using them as what I think of as "catch-alls." I fill them up with snips from magazines, quotes, lists, notes, plans, sketches, website addresses, love notes from my littles, and all manner of flotsam, until the book is full, bursting with stuffed-in goodness.
This particular journal sells for a good bit less than it's Moleskine counterparts, has a flexible cover, and 300 graph paper pages. In order to convert it to a planner & organizer, I made several modifications:
Then, I did something of which I am very proud!
I STOPPED! I THOUGHT! I RESEARCHED! Instead of plunging ahead willy-nilly, I took a deep breath and PLANNED!
I looked around trying to determine what I wanted to include and how that might all work. I browsed Pinterest and Moleskine, and googled for "DIY planner", "planner hacks", and "Moleskine hacks."
Moleskine has free planner printables availble for download on the myMoleskine community site. You do have to register to download, but it is free. I haven't been bothered by any spam in the year or longer I've been registered.
Making a list of what I wanted in a planner was key in not creating a big, fat monster.
I knew I needed a monthly calendar to keep track of family appointments, commitments, events, and such.
Since I wanted to commit to blogging regularly again, and have some amazing concepts for my creative business underway (more soon), I wanted a second monthly calendar for organizing that arena.
I have always worked well with a weekly planner. Besides the obvious weekly reminder of any appointments, I use the weekly planner to make brief notes about a given day- what I've done with my time and what I have to remember to do. Knowing where I have spent my time, and being prompted about specific tasks is very useful for me. (I have ADHD.)
I also like to jot down notes from phone coversations, ideas that have popped into my mind, things I need to research, items to add to lists, phone numbers that don't need to go into my contacts list... that sort of thing. I knew I wanted more than one page for notes related to each week.
I still wanted to use the book as a "catch-all" because I wanted to have just one book in my everyday-bag.
I downloaded monthly calendar and weekly planner pages from the myMoleskine site, and scaled them to best fit my pages. The files can't be edited easily, so I simply opted to scale them in the dialogue box that comes up for my printer. Some pages I scaled larger than 100% and others smaller. I printed them on the lightest weight paper I could find in the house.
Before going any further, I removed a ton of pages from random spots through out the journal to accomodate the girth the calendar & planner pages would add. I know that the catch-all portion will cause the book to get nice and fat. I didn't want the book to start out looking like a filled journal!
After calculating how many pages I needed for each section, I counted out the pages in the journal I would need to achieve my desired layout, and divided up the book. Since I carry my book around in my bag, divider tabs would just get trashed. Instead, I glued scrapbooking paper to the front and backside of a page to create a sturdy divider. I added another one of those scavenged accordian pockets to one of the dividers just because.
I carefully peeled back the cover to lay bare the spine of the book. I glued 5 ribbon bookmarks into place on the bare spine, and glued the cover back onto the spine.
For the weekly planner portion, the blank weekly calendar went on the left-hand side of the page spread, leaving the right side, and the next whole page spread blank- four pages for each week. Every week has 2 two-page spreads. I included only a few months worth of weekly planner spreads because I wanted this portion to balance with the catch-all section. I didn't want to run out of space in the catch-all section before I ran out calendar/planner pages.
To recap a bit, the section in my new "brain-in-a-book" are:
I wanted to have place to store some paper extras- forms or bits that I didn't need every day, but I use here and there. These I will just glue onto pages as needed. To create a storage folder, I removed the black thin cardboard cover from a knockoff of the Moleskine Cahier journal, leaving both sides intact- still in one large piece. Using some more scavenged elastic, I created places to store those bits of paper. I glued the storage folder onto one of my divider tabs.
Note about adesives:
While I did invest time in the creating my new "brain-in-a-book", I didn't have to spend any money to create what has turned out to be a terrific planner for my needs!
Posted at 01:53 PM in Artful Life, DIY | Permalink | Comments (3)
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