Class Over

I finished up Laure Ferlita's Artful Journaling Foundations class this week. This scan is kind of the "first fruits" of my class. I discovered a wren on my screened porch yesterday morning and got such a great picture of captivity and freedom in watching his struggle to get out. Six weeks ago, I would have been frustrated in my attempt to illustrate my insights, but I was able to sit down and quickly make this page.

Here are the last couple of pages I did for the class itself:

I highly recommend this class for anyone who is drawn to a certain type of art journaling. It's far more precise than a lot of things out there right now. It's not the deeply layered, collaged type of journaling where it seems you just let the page take you where it wants to go. She teaches the foundations of drawing, presents super helpful video lessons on the basic principles of watercolor and walks you through borders, backgrounds and planning a layout for your pages.

I wasn't sure how I'd do in the class, but soon discovered that I had more drawing and "seeing" skills than I'd given myself credit for. Again I know this is not great art for publication or anything, but this is exactly what I had hoped to be able to do. I have a long way to go, but Ms. Ferlita has given me a place to start. I definitely plan to take the followup course in the fall.

Thanks, Laure!

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More from Art Journaling Class . . .

The assignment for this lessonwas to create a word in an artful way. I also incorporated a lesson on making creative borders.


The so-called "scary" parts are in the middle, but they're hemmed in by the cool, clear truth on either side. This is a bit more "cartoon-y" than I would normally like, but it gets the point across. I had a blast with this assignment!

Laure turned us loose on this one. In previous lessons, she created the painting for us on video as an example to follow. We were on our own this time! It was definitely challenging but I'm fairly pleased with the results, considering I'm new to watercolors.

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Artful Journaling Class

I've left Ms. Trout for a time to take my very first online class: Laure Ferlita's Artful Journaling Foundations. It's quite challenging for me as not only am I learning more about how to draw, I am dabbling for the first time in the magical art of watercolor. I generally work in acrylics, and watercolor is COMPLETELY backwards from acrylics. I am having to learn how to think and see all over again. It's definitely stretching me!

Anyway, I figured I'd share a couple of my early efforts so far.

I'm not going to win any competitions, but learning something new is ALWAYS good, right? I've got new synapses firing all over the place!

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Little Recycled Remnant Notebooks

You can probably imagine that paper scraps pile up pretty quickly in my studio. I literally have an entire bookshelf that holds just "book innards" leftover from reinvented journals. I can't stand to throw them away. These little stab bound notebooks are an effort to use some of these leftovers in a creative way.

Everything used here, except the thread, has been recycled. The 20-ish blank pages are made from stationery that a local realtor discarded. The remaining 30 or so pages are made from leftover scraps from other projects: pages from old books and encyclopedias, as well as primary, graph, legal and ledger paper.


The front cover is a vintage library card embellished with some old postage stamps left from my sons days of "collecting" and rubber stamped for a little added interest. Of course, you know I can't resist a theme, so I've tried to coordinate the stamps with the title of the book on the library card. I can't help myself! The card is scored at the bound end to make for easier opening. The back cover is either part of a manilla folder (again salvaged from another project) or a remnant of card stock. It's all aged a bit with ink and bound together with red linen thread.


These are available in my Etsy shop for $10 plus a nominal shipping fee. By the way, all return buyers now receive free shipping to US addresses. I hope these go well because they were a lot of fun to make! And, of course, they lighten the scrap load. :)

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Interview on Bookbindingteam.com

Friends of UsefulBooks may be interested in the interview featuring yours truly on the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team blog.
Welcome, to the BEST interview series. We interrupt the showcasing of the contributions to our book swap for an interview with the swap organizer Cindy of Useful Books. She is located in Toccoa, Georgia, USA, in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains 2 hours northeast of Atlanta.

Hi Cindy, thank you for the chance to getting to know you a little better! I am always interested to know: How did you choose your shopname?

I enjoyed reading children’s classics to my sons when they were young, and we particularly enjoyed A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh. (Not the Disney anti-Pooh—the real thing!) In one adventure, Pooh was very proud to find a Useful Pot for Putting Things In. My shop name is taken from that. My little bunny mascot is an original design which I drew and painted. He is meant to be evocative of an illustration from an old children’s book as well.

Read the rest of the interview here.

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BEST Collaborative Book Project Sneak Peak

I'm participating in the first ever collaborative book project hosted by the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team (BEST for short). About twenty book artists are making pages for three different themed books. Each one in my group is producing the same page seven times, one for each participant and a show piece for the team. All of us will receive a full set of pages to bind into our own artist book. It's a very cool idea which I understand is done regularly, but this is my first. I've been a little anxious about my pages but they're done now and leaving for Utah tomorrow!


The poem upon which my book is based is titled Desert Lizard by one of our artists. I don't know if I have the right to print it here, but basically its got a desert-y, rusty feel to it, and trains and oil tankers figure in as well. Lots of cool imagery. My page is actually made from a sheet of sandpaper. The gritty side is painted with acrylic paints in hot desert colors. Since sandpaper cracks when bent, I've covered the fold with linen tape that's been painted with a textured rust paint. The tape wasn't sticking very well, so I used copper stained glass tape to cover all the edges. I like the shiny element the copper tape adds.

To the other side, I affixed a magazine page that had been treated with Citrasolve a la a CPS article from a few months ago. They're all different, but most are dark, suggesting to me a night landscape. I actually had these already and was just waiting for a place to use them. I painted and stamped the page just a little and added a clunky embellishment made from a big rubber washer and a couple of smaller metals ones that I aged, glued and wired together with copper wire. I was thinking "train" when I made these, but it's possible that they would stand in for the sun as well.


Can't wait to see everyone elses' contributions!

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The Amazing Versatile Expandable Travel Journal

I have been pondering the Perfect Travel Journal for several months. Something you can write in, draw and paint in, personalize, store photos, scraps and memorabilia and that would just be fun to use. Something equally useful for artists, scrapbookers and journalers alike. Neither too large not to small but just right. I'm thrilled to finally have completed a form that I think works on every level.

(Update May 2015:  I now offer three unique custom map journal designs to fit the needs of many different kinds of travelers.  Visit my "For Travels" page here to see them compared side by side, complete with prices and links to my Etsy shop, and see which one is right for you!  Visit my new home on the web at FreeRangeBookbinding.com) 

The basic structure is an accordion book made from heavy weight 220 gsm paper. Not only does this provide an excellent substrate for the other elements in the book, it takes paint and collage work very well.


At 4-3/8 x 6-3/8, the journal perfectly accommodates 4 x 6 photos. There's window in the front cover so that you can personalize it with a title, artwork or photo of your own choosing. Whatever you affix to the first page becomes your cover image!

There are separate closures on both sides of the book so that you can open it either way to expose the section you want . . .




















or you can open both sides and spread the whole thing out.

One section on each side consists of a pamphlet book with 20 pages (40 front and back): 12 from 70 lb drawing paper and 8 from graph, ledger, legal and primary paper for variety and a touch of whimsy.

There are also two pockets made from a manila business envelope and four tabs made from sturdy manila folders which you can use to add in MORE photos, brochures, menus, anything that fits, as separate "pages" in the book.

My favorite inclusion is a manila catalog envelope that has been cut and the bottom, folded and stitched into the book so as to form two envelopes, concealing when opened two small coin envelopes inserted between them. I've added a wrapping closure to keep everything secure.


There are also some blank folds of the heavy paper left open for your art or photos. And because it's an accordion, you can keep adding stuff till your heart's content and it will grow with you.

These are available at my Etsy shop here. They can be customized with any map you like and personalized to make it the perfect gift for any traveler, including you!

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