vintage paper/collage art – Page 10

My classes for Birdsong 5

By Karla Nathan / March 8, 2015

For quite a while, I've known what my 2 Birdsong classes will be, but I have had to wait till I pulled together all my materials before I could finish the examples for the class.

When I take a class, I like to see a full photo of what I'll be doing, not just a snippet of a corner. It's good to plan for variations and extras that I'll want to pack to personalize the project.

And when I teach a class, I have to know that the examples are accurate. That I'll be able to find enough of each item needed to make sure every kit is equal and of the same quality as every other kit.

But while I do want the kits equal, I do like them to have some flexibility and choice. So, I've got options for the students. These books can be made with the canvas as the outside cover, or as the lining. I've got a few selections of vintage fabric to use along with the canvas.

And I have been hand dying velvet ribbons to coordinate with the vintage curtain fabric and barkcloth that I've purchased to create the covers.

As well as hand painting little charms to dangle from the ribbons of each book.

(back of the book)

There was no problem with finding plenty of old lace, I have it by the bucket load out in the studio. I'll be measuring and cutting it to stuff the kits with, and since it is vintage and the velvet is hand dyed, no two books will turn out exactly the same.

That is my favorite part of a class! I adore looking around the room and seeing all the individual takes on the project.

(backs again)

This class will show step by step how to create a journal from a provided pattern based on an old cabinet card photo folder.

And will include some old photos to add to the books.

After we have assembled the books made of old, floral fabrics and canvas (no sew), the foofing will begin, with lace, velvet, millinery, ribbons, charms, and a vintage picture.

This book has the floral fabric used on the inside cover, instead of on the exterior of the book. All the books will tie shut with soft ribbons topped with sparkly bits of rhinestones.

On day two, for my second class, we will fill the pages up. I have pages of tips on doodles, lots of vintagey goods, and plenty of images and wallpaper to provide to make each book a work of art.

But that isn't all! Beth and Hope will each pitch in for part of the class with their favorite tips on art journalling. It's a three for one class!

Each student should be able to leave the weekend classes with a completed book, some finished pages, and lots of ideas on how to complete the journal at home, as well as a fun bag of supplies to work on the rest of the pages with.

Classes are at my Lawrence, KS studio, here at my cottage on Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6. More about the event can be found here and here.

The other two classes will be taught by Lori Oles and Lesa Dailey. How lucky am I to snag this magnitude of talent to come to teach here???

Craft day doodles with Beth and another Birdsong teacher announcement!

bird song art event, Books, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 26, 2015

Last week, I grabbed my journal along with a handful of pens and markers and headed to Beth's house for craft day.

Her space is jammed beyond imagining with the BEST stuff. Oh my goodness, I love peeking in the cabinets there.

I knew I didn't have to bring much with me, she has anything I'd need. ( I always check out the trash can too. Including when she comes to craft day at my house. The stuff she tosses can be really nice)

And I scored in the trash can. She'd thrown away a very nice, old book. I tore a page out of it to glue into my journal, and started doodling on it.

She also had been telling me about this book that she'd received for Christmas, and after hearing her talk about it and then seeing my friend, Laurie mention it on her blog, I was intrigued.

Here is what Beth had been working on from the book.

Well, I'm all about doodles and could use a dab of Zen in my life so I started drawing. I think we were laughing and having too much fun for me to reach a Zen state, and I didn't exactly pay mich attention to the book, but it was a nice little push for me to create a page.

It was a little different than what I usually do, I normally doodle around words. But with words or without, you can't go wrong with an afternoon of drawing when you are visiting with a friend.

Here is one I did previously, with words. It was a coloring sheet for the Nature's Blessing Journal swap. You can see the style isn't much different than my zentangle attempt. I like to get inspiration from the lessons of others, but still make a project my own. And when I teach a class, I always hope the students will do the same, so I provide options for them to try. This page was copied before I added the color and included in every book, so that the artists could each color their own page however they liked.

Hmmm, I think I'll make a page for the journal I'm teaching at Birdsong….

I love an excuse to do more doodling!

And guess what???? I already told you that my BFF Beth is going to be a co-teacher for my journaling class at Birdsong 5, right? Now, I've got more news.

Hope is going to co-teach too!

Yep, I've got art journaling royalty coming to show us some tricks. And boy, is she tricky. That girl has some smooth moves. I can't wait to see what both of them have to offer.

Yippee! I'm beyond thrilled with the line up of talented friends coming to share their knoweledge at Birdsong.

Using the GOOD STUFF to make an Art Journal, and my Birdsong project

antiques/junking, bird song art event, Books, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / January 23, 2015

Beth and I finally had a chance last week to have a play date and exchange Christmas gifts. Here is what I made for her.

She is as much of a journal junkie as I am, so I figured I could indulge my own love of making books by creating this one for her.

I bought this little framed photo of best friends when I was at a flea market with Beth, so I thought it was fitting to add to the cover.

These laces are both cut from the curtains in my house. I have very old lace curtains at the window and they got a bit shredded on the ends from blowing around when the window was open, so I had to chop them a little shorter.

The interior of the book is lined with canvas drop cloth, and the pages are card stock.

The "latch" is cut from an old necklace.

The exterior is remnants from the slip cover I made for my couch.

This is my idea of "Using the Good Stuff". Although, to some people, the ingredients might sound like trash. Trimmed pieces of torn curtains? A broken necklace? Scraps from a slipcover?

What makes supplies "GOOD STUFF" isn't what you pay for them. It's an item with a lush feel, something special, or sentimental. Maybe something old that you found at a flea market. They can be one of a kind, or just your very favorite kind of thing.

Now, some GOOD STUFF, can certainly be brand new and from a hobby store, of course. It can be any supply that you just plain old adore.

My idea of using the GOOD STUFF, is delving into supplies that I really love and feel like they need a special project for.

And then NOT saving them for something special. Anything you use them on becomes special by using the best supplies. I feel like any project worth my time is worth my best goodies.

But when I am making something for someone extra special, I'll use a double dose of goodies for her. This book is loaded, layered, and piled up with pretties. I hope she enjoys using it, half as much as I enjoyed making it.

I have not yet got my prototype put together for Birdsong. But I do know what I am making. And I promise, the kit will be over flowing with GOOD STUFF!

Last year, I couldn't stop making books. And I am still loving the process and making more and more. So, I simply have to do a book for Birdsong 5. How could I not? I'm more than a little bit obsessed with art journals lately.

So, my 1st class will be creating a journal, and embellishing it with lace, rhinestones, and millinery flowers. We will make it from the ground up, step by step.

My 2nd class will be about filling the book up. I'll provide a big, ole, scrap pack of fun and inspiration,, along with guidance from myself, and tips from Beth about designing pages. You'll get two for one teachers for the second day, Beth and I will teach together!

It's wonderful to have such talented friends. Class project pictures from Lori and Andrea will be coming soon. I can't wait to see what they have designed for us to do.

If you'd like to come to our classes, we'd love to see you here. And I know that you will just love these talented friends of mine, too!!

How to make miniature book Christmas ornaments

holiday decor, how to's, how-to projects, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / December 20, 2014

As promised, here is the mini lesson on making mini book ornies.

I used paper cut from vintage Christmas cards glued over chipboard for my covers, and card stock for the pages. If your old holiday cards are sturdy enough, you could probably cut the covers directly from them and skip the whole gluing process.

First step- cut out the cover material, fold in half. Cut out three pieces of card stock slightly smaller than the cover, fold in half. (Any size you want to use works fine, most of mine are under 2", this one made from a card is larger)

Glue decorative paper to the cover. The backside of mine was white, but if yours isn't, cover both sides. This is a good time of year to save up chipboard,some pieces that I used were folded up inside a new shirt. Stores often use it chipboard to hold the shape of folded garments. So, as you are opening gifts, don't forget to salvage the packaging materials! (you could also cut up a cereal box)

Add glitter, ink, etc, to your taste. Don't add any 3D elements yet, though, embellish to your heart's content after the book is assembled.

To make the folded and decorated chipboard look like a real book, a piece of decorative tape, as faux binding can be pretty.

Put your three card stock pieces inside your cover, line them up, and punch two holes along the fold.

Tie the pages into the cover with whatever you think looks nice. Here, I've used vintage ribbon.

For a festive look, I like to use metallic pipe cleaners too. But first, I vintage them up a bit.

Give them a haircut and rub the newly styled piece onto a brown ink pad for a tarnished finish.

Next, add a hook (to whatever you tied the book together with) and hang it up.

I used these as favors and to decorate with for my book club holiday party. I think it would be fun to start a tradition of passing around a tiny book at Christmas dinner to have each person write a small message, or just sign their names. Date it, and hang it on the tree each year.

If you'd like to make some bigger books in different styles, I have a tutorial available here.

I'll leave you with some photos of what is new in the Etsy shop, it has been a busy Christmas tree season for me. I just now got around to adding some decorated ones.

Normally, I do get them out earlier…. But it has been quite a holiday season for me. Very fun, very busy!

I have some extra bright trees this year, thanks to Sugarwings. She and I had a dying party the other day.

And we got creative with our colors.

Romantic Cottage Christmas,extra Kits, and Using the Good Stuff!

cottage, fairies, holiday decor, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party, Workshops

By Karla Nathan / December 7, 2014

As you can see from this winter wonderland of fairies, when I plan a class, I make a TON of the pieces before I teach them. These fairies are from Birdsong 4. And not only was I trying to work out the kinks in the project before sharing the steps, I got hooked. I loved making them.

There were also plenty of sprites to add to the silver tree on the kitchen buffet. (on the right)

I tend to go over board with kit making too.

I whipped up dozens of holiday ornament kits for our small gathering, knowing that they would be great for gift giving and for adding to my online shops.

Our day in the studio was so much fun! I enjoyed having a reason to get the room into its full on holiday glory and then to spend time out there with nice people, listening to Christmas music, and making sparkly creations for our trees.

Here is one of the projects we made that day. If you'd like to make any of these ornies or fairies, the kits are available here and here.

We also made these stuffed, felted stocking with vintage lace.

These are from Shan and Rebecca.

Laurie's was Tiffany Blue. She was my inspiration for making up kits in that color too. (I also had red, white, and pink)

Beth added glittered ballerinas to hers and made one for each of her little nieces.

The kits contain everything you need to make the pretties, but I also had a big table full of extras.

With lots of little embellishments, wallpaper, ribbons, and lace.

Once we had finished the three kits, and had some lunch, we spent the afternoon "freestylin"

Everyone had plenty of supplies and inspiratins to make all sorts of pieces.

From tags, to garlands, to embellished little trees.

(once the glue dries on this one, it will be a glittery masterpiece)

I like the way Rebecca made this paper mache ornie into a mosaic of sparkling papers.

The third project for the day was, "On Gilded Wings" this angel on the left. ( Her skirt is netting I tore from a 1940s bride gown, included in all of the kits.)

One thing we talked about while we glued and glittered, was one of my favorite topics. No, not the grand fairies, although I probably blathered on too much about them, too.

No, we talked about Using the Good Stuff.

I can't emphathize enough, that a project worth your time is worth your best materials. Why save them for something better? Just by using the vintage bridal gown lace, or the soft, old flowers, you have made THIS project better.

I am a big believer in using the good stuff in every day life too. And that doesn't mean it is top of the line expensive stuff either. My china is from an auction for $10. My vintage napkins are from a toss away bag of stuff Beth didn't want. The vases are from garage sales.

And the layered tablecloths (which don't really show here) were hand made by my Great Aunt Caroline and my Great Grandma Nellie. Why keep those things in a drawer, never to be seen? I like to get them out and use them. I added sheet music and a vintage, new stock doily under each plate to protect the cloths, but I figured if they get spilled on, I can always soak out a stain. Or set a vase over the spot next time if can't get the spot out.

But stuck away in a drawer, never being enjoyed and used? That would be too sad.

I feel the same way about my stash of vintage supplies. Why would I buy them to use as supplies if I just decide to hoard them away and not enjoy them???

That is why the tiny crystals on the Santa hats I made for my guests are vintage old stock from the 30s. And the felted wool is hand dyed. The trim is wool roving, not just dacron, and all of those ingredients make the piece just a little more special, even though it is a simple little, silly thing.

Another way to look at it, is that Using the Good Stuff is a gift to ourselves. Women tend to think of everyone else during the holidays. Maybe you need to stop and think of yourself, take the time to open your stash of special items, and make something wonderful for yourself or as a gift. The act of just using the Good Stuff is such a happy feeling, and making presents with your beloved goodies is even better.

This is the season to thing about sharing the bounty.

Don't be a Scrooge, hoarding it all away! Take that special button out of the glass jar, or cut away a hunk from the back of an old gown, or slice into that butter soft velvet and USE IT!

Making a package as special as the gift inside

holiday decor, how-to projects, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / December 1, 2014

It's that time of year, when gifting is on our minds. Sometimes, the wrapping just about does me in. One year, I did the smartest thing, I used ONE GIFT BAG for the whole family!!

It really was a lifesaver that hectic year. I made a pile of pressies for each person, in the room right next to the tree. Then, I took a large gift bag back there, put one present in it, and brought it out to be opened. Then I went back and refilled it, with something for the next person. It was funny, and we had a great time, with me playing Santa one bag at a time.

But if you are not rushed, and would like some special presentations, here is an idea.

I love these plain, wooden or paper mache boxes from Michael's and Hobby Lobby. They are great to decorate and fill.

One issue I have with them, though, is if you try to decoupage them, the lids don't always fit right. I've learned that it best to paint the area under where the lip of the lid will fit on. You can goober up the sides as much as you want, but stop your ornamentation right up to where the edge of the lid will be.

And don't forget to decorate the interior too. I usually paint the inside of the bottom part, and then do something unexpected inside the lid. (Do be careful not to have your embellishments get in the way of the lid closing, though)

This whole thing was pretty quick and simple. And nice to take the time on for wrapping notable gifts. The majority of my giving will be done in paper bags, but I do like to whip up a few extra nice packages here and there. The small boxes are only about a dollar each, and the decorations can be done with scraps, a little bit of paint, and glitter, plus an embellishment or two.

Here are the steps I followed:

Paint the inside, and outside of the box metallic silver.
Paint the outside rim of the lid also. And the bottom of the box.
Brush glue onto the top of the lid, adhere and burnish decorative paper (I used vintage wallpaper)
Buff the edges of the paper with a sanding block to make it smooth. I then ran a metallic silver ink pad along the edge.
Brush Elmer's glue along the bottom of the box, about half way up, and over the entire top of the lid, then sprinkle with crystal clear, fine glitter. I like Martha Stewart's glitter for this, it is very sheer.
When the lid dried, I drizzled glue on the inside of it, and laid two layers of ruffled wallpaper into the glue and added a flat millinery bloom to the center. (You could use lace, or other ruffles, and a sparkling, old gem for the same effect)
For the top of the lid, I simply added a millinery bloom from my garden of floral hats. You can decorate the top as ornate or simple as you like.
Run a bead of glue around the bottom of the box and press a ribbon or trim into it, cut to fit. I added a second layer too.

Inside a big, fat travel journal- Part One (with LOTS of How to details) and a story of bravery

Books, family, Travel, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / November 14, 2014

In the last few years, travel journals have become a big part of my vacations. I like to take an empty book and a box of supplies (I used those clear plastic bins with snap on lids, that are about shoebox size), and gather tidbits of goodies along the trip to add to the pages.

Now that I have a retro style instant camera (from Michaels) I can add some pictures as I go. But I limit myself and don't put too many in, I save plenty of space in the book for other photos once I get home.

On these pages, I used a tourist map of the area, torn out of a free guidebook. I glued down shells from a shopping trip in Venice Beach, and a sunshine yellow flower from a hat my sister, Bobbie Sue brought to me.

(Can you see more blooms from this hat peeking out of other pages? What I've done, is to kind of stair step style, layer the flowers over the pages,so that they make a row of petal ruffles that show when the book is closed)

These two pages are covered in crumpled tissue paper that was in a shopping bag. I've covered a large tag with scrapbook paper, and added some lace, a flower, and birds that I brought with me.

The name of the restaurant we were eating at in these pictures is hand written because I didn't save anything from the restaurant guide that had the name on it.

It is fun to add little surprises that remind me of the events, like the tiny alligator I glued on here. The restaurant was on the bay, and my sisters were certain that a gator might climb up the dock at any time.

When I put down a background, I don't know what photos I will be using on it. Usually, I gather up papers from the trip, and pack some scrapbook paper and wallpaper, and while I'm relaxing and watching the water, I make backgrounds. Some pages get details while I'm on the vacation, others get finished when I get home and add pictures.

But I do try to keep in mind where we are going and what we are doing, and semi-plan some pages around the photos I took that day.

On this pocket, I've glued a beach scene from a vintage photo album I found at a junk shop we stopped in. It is lined in ruffled ribbon.

Trim on the bottom of the right hand page is crumpled tissue paper, lace that I brought with me, some shells I picked up, and millinery forget-me-nots.

I like the shells combined with the flowers, so I used that on a few different pages.

For one thing, I like the way it looks. For another, I think the flowers help keep the shells in place. Since the shells aren't flat, not a lot of their surface area makes contact with the paper. Gluing flowers to the shells and to the paper seems to make them have a more secure hold.

This shark tooth from Venice Beach, also is not flat, so to make it fit more securely, I stuck it into a blob of glue on a piece of brown paper bag. Then packed sand tightly into the glue to cover the brown paper and to hide the glue.

It was then added to a border of gross-grain ribbon that I tore off the yellow flowered hat my sis gave to me.

The background here is a place mat from the restaurant we ate at after shark tooth hunting. So, I decorated the page with that fossilized tooth, and photos of us from that day.

On the right page, I took polaroids of my sisses as we worked on our scrap books, and wrote down funny quotes from them. I won't show you the whole page, because those aren't the best pics. But I liked them and wanted to use them in the book. They are just private, not to share, since they aren't all that flattering.

The white paper is that pretty, sparkly stuff. It reminded me of the Sarasota sand and seemed to fit the picture of Sissy walking there.

The green netting border is the lining from that same yellow flowered hat. And I found a vintage bird book at the junk shop with the photo album. It was nice to have the old pics of beachy birds to add here and there.

More crumpled tissue paper from a shopping bag was used for the pages about the three of us sprinkling our Daddy's ashes. And I cut out the picture of the bottle Sissy carried the ashes in, instead of posting the whole photo of her holding the bottle.

Some of the photos are matted with sparkling teal paper, others are outlined with blue marker. I like to vary the size and shape of the pictures I add to the paper.

Bobbie gave me the seahorse sticker, as well as some transparent, sparkly, sticker pages. I cut a strip of that sheer glitter sheet to stick over the words I'd written onto text from an old fairy tale book about a sea maiden.

It says, "good bye," for our Daddy.

Pockets to hold brochures or receipts are handy to have.

And the mermaid scrap book paper was too pretty to cover up, so I just glued a picture in a corner of the page. And I cut out the silhouette of me on the rocks instead of adding the whole photo with ocean and sky.

I brought vintage swizzle sticks with mermaids for all three of us to use in our books. And the "beach mist" paper was a soap wrapper from our hotel.

Wrappers, labels, brochures, tickets, postcards are all good things to snag while on a trip to add a sense of location to a travel journal.

This page of old fairy tale text about mermaids was just ideal for my trip! I loved the three sisters in the corner, so left it as is, except for a hint of glitter (which doesn't really show in the photo)

At the top, I glued a napkin with three more mermaid sisters and embellished them with glitter ink, and rhinestones. At the bottom of the page, is a strip of more rhinestones, and another bundle of flowers and shells.

Handwritten messages are always special and will keep memories of a trip alive.

This one is extra special. I was so proud of my sisters. They love being by the ocean, but HATE getting in the water. They have always refused to even wade in the water. I tease them about ankle sharks, and then swim away and have fun on my own.

But on this trip, they over came their fears. Off the beach, there was a sandbar, that ran for hundreds of feet. I waded out to it, and walked around out there, feeling like I was on the edge of the world. Being so far out, away from the beach, but being in water only a few inches deep was just magical. It was such a beautiful experience, I wanted to share it with my sisters.

Now, I don't think I bullied them…. but I really wanted them to have the same joy I did. And our father loved walking on the sandbar years ago, and had asked that we take his ashes there.

I thought I'd be taking the ashes out on my own.

But they surprised me.

Our mom had raised us to fear everything, but I have forced myself to ignore that voice in my head. I don't know if they had realized just how fearful she had made us. Maybe hearing me talk about our fears helped? Maybe wanting to honor Daddy's wishes gave them courage?

At some points, the sandbar was 30 feet or more away from the shore, but we found a spot where the shallows were only about a 10 foot walk through waist deep water to reach. We stood on the beach, and Sissy led us in some Tai Chi deep breathing exercises, she said a blessing, and we all marched off into the waves.

I hope they felt the same magic I did out there. They seemed to have fun. And while I promised to keep an eye on them and help, they were so engrossed in shell hunting that they kept wandering off in different directions. I told them they were as bad as Sugarwings and Dewdrop and were lucky I didn't give them a time out for heading out in two different directions at once and making me follow them back and forth.

But then, I realized, they didn't need me.

They were exploring the gulf. Free from their life long fears. I don't know if I've ever been so proud of anyone before.

And look at this. The next day, Sissy was wading out and hunting for shark teeth at Venice Beach.

Yep, I was very proud. And happy to have been able to share the experience with them.

****************************************************************

ps- Want to come to my cottage studio for a Christmas class? I have two available, how to see you here!

And I wanted to let you know that I have some flocked, pink, tiny trees in the Etsy shop now. They are a bit different than the typical bottle brush trees that I carry.

And I have them in two colors of pink.

A Fall Wedding in New Hampshire

celebrations, family, flowers, Food and Drink, guncles, holiday decor, Travel, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / November 8, 2014

What a perfect place for a wedding! The guncles have been together for a long time and had a commitment ceremony 17 years ago, but now that they can be legally married, we gathered in NH to celebrate with them.

We had a rehearsal dinner the night before the event at Ipswich Country Club. And oh my! It was something!

Great appetisers.

Exceptional food.

Wonderful company. (this is just some of us, I don't have a group shot)

And a serenade from Carol Swarbrick Dries (Aunt Carol). She sang a song that had tears in all of our eyes. We begged for an encore the next day at the wedding.

The air was crisp, the leaves were colorful, and the site for the wedding luncheon and ceremony was ideal for the occasion.

And did I mention that there was carrot cake? My fave! And so pretty with the fall colors. There wasn't a cake stand, but I slipped a couple of box lids from our centerpieces under it and that made a quick but cute, make shift stand.

I was so pleased that the boxes we worked on together to make centerpieces looked so festive in the room.

We also glittered and sponge painted some packages of tissue paper leaves from the dollar bin at Target to sprinkle around the table. And Randy framed a picture of each guest to create name cards for the seating.

17 years ago, we had to take apart two bride and groom cake toppers to get two grooms. Now, the guncles had plenty of toppers to choose from with two grooms. All this one needed was some highlights in one groom's hair and it was ready to adorn the carrot cake.

I was honored to be in the ceremony. The whole time I was up there, I watched Kevin's face and was moved by the emotions he showed.

That man is a treasure and we are lucky to have him in our family, and seeing the love and happiness in his eyes that day, moved me to my core.

I spent the entire day with red, weepy eyes, but a huge grin on my face at the same time.

A Fabulous Craft Day Bachelor Party

family, guncles, parties, Travel, vintage paper/collage art, We're having a party

By Karla Nathan / November 5, 2014

Our Sister Trip to sprinkle Daddy's ashes also included a bachelor party for the guncles. They live in Jacksonville, but were getting married the next week in New Hampshire. Our fab friend, Karen, has a home in Mt. Dora, which in my mind was about halfway from where we were staying in Sarasota.

In real life, it was a THREE HOUR DRIVE. And when gettting stuck in traffic on the way home, it was a FOUR HOUR DRIVE.

Still, the day in Mt. Dora was well worth the time in the car, (although I think I would have preferred a sleep over instead of doing it all in one day.)

We got to meet Queen Satine, one of the most delicate and delightful ladies I've ever known.

And experience the loveliness that is Karen's Kozy Kottage.

Not to mention a sneak peek at her new studio in downtown Mt. Dora.

Where prettiness abounds.

I was touched to see her little pink fairy from Birdsong sitting on a shelf there.

And a fabulously embellished angel on the wall that she made from a mini how-to that I did when I was visiting her another time.

Of course, everything about Karen is Fabulous. Just like Guncle Randy. When they get together, fabulousness starts emitting from them like shining bits of fire from a 4th of July sparkler.

The bachelor party wasn't a typical one. Instead of a wild party with cocktails and exotic dancers, we had a craft day.

We were working on wedding decor for the big event coming up.

These large wooden letters are for Randy and Kevin, we painted them metallic and covered them with moss.

Here is one as it was on the mantel at the wedding. We also found the perfect, old hat filled with fall colored velvet leaves and blooms, and took it apart to add a few pieces from it to the letters.

Guncle Randy found the hat on our jaunt downtown to do a little shopping at one of Mt. Dora's cute boutiques. What luck, it was just what those letters needed. And we had plenty of millinery blooms from it to use in our journals too.

My gift for the guncles was an album/journal for Randy to fill with wedding mementos. And I came across the perfect sheet music to use as backgrounds too. Here are a couple of them.

After the wedding, we had another craft day, and I used one to make this for their album.

The craft day bachelor party also included making a garland for the mantel at the wedding, and centerpieces, that I showed you before, here.

Plus home made goodies from Karen's pal and our new friend, Julie. She even made us jams and apple butter to take home.

Thanks, Karen, for the lovely day! And thanks, Julie for the lovely treats!

Customized Nature’s Blessing Journals

Books, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / October 26, 2014

When packing for my trip to Florida with my sisters and the wedding in New Hampshire, I decided that my sisses and I needed travel journals to work on during down time.

So, I customized a couple of the Nature's Blessing journals for them in colors and styles I knew they would like.

(By the way, there are still a couple left if you'd like one too. $30, US postage included. Or if you'd like a customized one too, please add $15 to pay for the bumped up supplies)

Bobbie's last name is Valentine, so all things "hearts" was a sure thing for her book.

I also packed markers, papers, glues, etc for working on pages beach side.

If you'd like a custom book, let me know what colors you like and I'll add some extras to your cover- old jewelry, more flowers, extra charms, and those sort of special touches.

I made a very special one for the guncles as a wedding gift too. This is a one of a kind book, since I used the original painting on it. The cover is an old book, covered in vintage papers, and painted with metallic gold, then dry brushed with taupe, and inked in forrest green. Over that, I layered the other elements, and coated it all with a water based, clear varnish.

The wedding took place during leaf peeping season in NH, so, I used that theme on the book too. These velvet leaves were green, and I inked them up to make them more colorful.

Here is the back of the book.

In my online class, Creating Art Journals, I have a segment about making a journal from an old book, if you are interested in making one yourself.

Here is the inside cover. And the pages are all cold pressed watercolor paper. I can't wait to see the happy pictures that Randy fills this album with!