One book's journey to me

I was at Half Price Books this morning, which lately has become a weekly routine for me.  It's always been one of my favorite places; I even worked there for a few months back in the day.  Today, while I was waiting for my trade-in offer to be assessed, I was browsing in the "Nostalgia" section, as I often do.  I came across this sewing book, Modern Tailoring For Women, from 1947:

We've all heard the old saying, "don't judge a book by it's cover."  Well, I do just that, all the time, obviously!  I liked the cover of this one, so I took a look inside:

Most of the old books I deconstruct to make into journals have the name of one or more previous owners inside, and many have stamps from schools and libraries.  I have taken apart books from all over the country and a couple from England.  But the name and library stamp inside this book are pretty close to home: Mrs. Fife was my 8th-grade Language Arts teacher!  I know it must be her old book, because I'm pretty sure there was only one Pat Fife from my hometown of Carlisle.  I've wondered before if I would ever come across a book that had been owned by someone I know, and it's finally happened.  Small world.  It's little stuff like this that delights me. 

Remembering Grandpa

Louis Price, 1947

December 3 is a holiday to me: it was, and still is, my Grandpa's birthday.  He would be 101 today.  He's been gone for thirteen years now.  And I still miss him every day.

When I take stock of all the goodness in my life, having wonderful grandparents is always tops on the list.  I was so lucky to have four awesome grandparents.  But my Grandpa Price and I were close.  He was my favorite.  When I was little, I called him "Pa" and "Favorite."  I remembering wishing so much that I could live with him.  Until I was older than I care to admit (okay, about eleven) I threw world-class fits every time we left their house, tearfully begging my mom to just take me back to their house. 

It's hard to write about him, because words are inadequate.  I simply can't do him justice.  He was kind, loving, generous, hard-working, smart, and so much more.  One of my favorite stories about him isn't even a memory of my own, but a story my grandma told me about him once.  It's short and sweet:  when my mother was a little girl, she went into town with her mother and lost one of her new red mittens.  She was quite sad about this.  So the next day, my grandpa went into town, located the lost mitten, and chiseled it out of the puddle where my mom had dropped it, and brought it home to her.  A man who often worked from four a.m. until ten at night--he was a farmer--took the time out of his day to do that for his little girl.  Because he knew it was important to her. 

There will never be anyone quite like him.  And while I wish more than anything he was still here, I know how lucky I am to have had him for my grandpa. 

This is me with my grandparents, in 1975, somewhere in Nebraska, en route from Colorado to Iowa.  I can't remember this, of course, but I know I was happy at this moment. 

Love you, Grandpa. 

December Daily: cover & first page

This is the book I'm using for this year's December Daily.  It's one I made; it measures about 5 in. wide and 6 in. long.  This is the first time using a spiral book; last year I didn't bind the book until I had all the pages mostly finished, so this will be a little different.  And yes, it's red and pink, not red and green.  Because I like to be a little different.  I'm not sure yet what I will do to embellish the cover, maybe some bling, or maybe nothing at all...haven't decided yet.  Plenty of time for that.

This is what the inside cover and title page looks like.  The inside covers of this book are done in this awesome faux crocodile paper that doesn't even feel like paper.  I like incorporating different textures into my books.

I put the title page together in less than ten minutes using whatever happened to be within arm's reach of my work table and tool box (yes, I have a big tool box in my art room.  Which, I'm proud to say, I loaded into my vehicle all by myself this past spring at Menard's because I became impatient waiting on the guys at the store to help me).  The "celebrate life" sticker is by Cosmo Cricket and is 2 or 3 years old.  I stuck the sticker on a scrap from a file folder, and used a smaller scrap for the "December 2011" tag, and on both pieces I rounded the corners then edged the pieces with some StazOn ink in Blazing Red.  Then I stuck some ribbon in the middle.  I used a scrap of the book's cover paper for the background to make it coordinate with the cover, yet not too matchy-matchy.  I don't usually go for matchy-matchy.  Another thing that is consistent about these little books of mine from year to year is that I always use my own handwriting to tell the stories I document.  It is quicker and easier and my handwriting is pretty legible.  Plus I think it adds a pesonal touch to the book that I wouldn't get with typed journaling. 

Today's goal is to upload and print photos from yesterday and get them in the book.  I always start new projects like this one with lots of enthusiasm which eventually wanes over the course of the month, and there are always days where I scramble to put something in because I forgot to take photos.  But right now I'm filled with that new-project enthusiasm so I'll get a good start on this book.  

December Daily!

If you're a scrapbooker, you've probably heard of Ali Edwards' December Daily project.  It's a great way to capture your holiday season.  This is the third year I will be doing one.  I really enjoy this project.  I try not to make it too complicated.  What I enjoy most about it is the fact that Jacob enjoys looking at these books and seeing how much he has grown since the previous year.  Here's a look at the two December Daily books I've done:

For 2009 I used a small binder (I think it's by BoBunny) and adhered velvet-flocked paper.  I used a variety of different papers, including the chipboard ones that came with the album, for the inside pages.

2010's book was made from an old book entitled Happy Holidays that was a book sale find.  I used some of the book's pages including the library card pocket that says "Warren County Schools", since we're from Warren County.  The inside pages are a total hodge-podge of different papers that I just grabbed, sometimes because they were whatever was lying on my work table.  I don't get too worried about everything on the inside pages matching--way too much work for me!  For me, the point of these little books isn't creating something that's perfect, but something that shows our life during the month of December. 

This year's book will be different, of course.  I'm going to use a spiral book that I made and see how I like working with that format.  I'll post pictures at the end of the month. 

When the holidays are over, I pack these books away with our Christmas decorations, and don't look at them for nearly a year.  I find it's more fun to look at them again when I haven't seen them for a while.  Then it really strikes me how much Jacob has grown in the last year. 

Happy Holidays!

Gratitude

Thanksgiving is over, but I think it's good to think about all that I have to be thankful for no matter the date.  Here's a by-no-means-all-inclusive list, in no particular order, of some of those things for which I am most thankful:

My beautiful, wonderful little boy:  I am thankful he is healthy and happy and that I get to spend most of my time with him.  I am consciously thankful for him every day.

Health, my own and that of my loved ones.  So important.

Pandora internet radio.  Love it. 

Quick shipping when I order supplies online.  And good customer service, especially when I email places like Paper Source with questions!  They actually email me back, and quickly.

Thankful and very happy about another awesome Market Day Black Friday sale today.  Love meeting new customers and talking about what I love to do with people who are interested.  And loved seeing so many folks shopping local, as well as folks in town for the holiday weekend who had never been to Market Day before discovering and appreciating it. 

Being surprised today with a visit from my friend Katie, who came to visit me at Market Day.  Totally wasn't expecting to see her, which made it even better.  Thanks, Katie!

Not-freezing, not-snowing weather in late November in Iowa.

Really good books (recommendations always welcome); I just finished Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, which I loved.  Sometimes I wish I didn't read so fast, because it's so much fun to be engrossed in a good book.  I'm also loving Fannie Flagg novels these days as well, and recently re-read my three favorite Jane Austen titles: Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, and Emma.  

And....there's so much more, but for now, I'll stop here.  Every day I make an effort to think about something in my life that I'm thankful for and I find this helps me remind myself how good I've got it. 

A bit of word art to inspire

This has been my favorite project/new product the last two months.  Yes, it's the same John Lennon quote I quoted in my last post.  I think about this every day.  Career update:  I'm happy! 

This project is simple, if a bit time-consuming.  The good part is it is easily broken down into steps.  If you decide to make one yourself, be forewarned: stamping such a long quote will leave your fingers stiff and black with ink. 

I use a 16 x 20 size canvas.  Have fun with some acrylic paint and make a background.  I like to make some different layers/patterns with bubble wrap and whatever else I happen to have lying around.  You'd be surprised what you can find in your junk drawer that could come in very handy in your art projects!  While your paint is drying, you can work on stamping your quote.  I used these stamps:

I picked these up a while back at Half-Price Books for five bucks and I love them, absolutely love them.  I love vintage typewriter font.  Because yes, I'm old school, and remember using a typewriter. 
So you stamp, and stamp, and stamp some more until your hand almost hurts, and then you're finished.  Then comes the fun part, which is cutting up your words and arranging them on the canvas.  Then it's time to glue:

Lots of options for glue.  I happen to love Claudine Hellmuth Studio matte medium.  But I can also use matte Mod Podge if I have to.  But I don't love it.  But it works just fine.  Sorry, Mod Podge.  Just a personal preference.  I pretty much use Studio matte medium for all my collaging and recommend it highly.  And no, I'm not paid to do that (unfortunately!). 

After your glue has dried, the final step, which might not be absolutely necessary, but is something I like to do, is adding a coat of glazing medium.  It will protect your piece, and yes, make it shiny.  You could use another layer of matte medium or a spray matte finish if you don't like shiny. 

I like word art because I like having visual reminders of what's important to me. 

If it makes you happy: Deep Thoughts on Self-Esteem

I enjoyed seeing my father a few days ago; he was here in Des Moines a visit from his home in beautiful, warm Arizona.  We talked about a variety of things, but one in particular has had me thinking a lot about it ever since.  We were discussing my "employment status" which appears to be  a disappointment to both of my parents--which is ironic, because my mother and my father are very different people. We were discussing the reasons for wanting a "real job": you know the kind, the one where you show up for eight hours a day, five days a week, demonstrate the behaviors appropriate for the culture of the workplace, and in return, you receive a steady paycheck.  My dad said that a "job" or "career" such as this is a source of self-esteem. 

I disagree. 

My self-esteem is not dependent on proving my abilities to a handful of people in positions of authority.  I have had quite a few jobs in the last twenty years; some of them I've enjoyed, and some of them I have fervently detested.  In the majority of jobs I've had, I've found that the skills and abilities that are most valued are regular attendance and the ability to never disagree with those in upper management, or just plain keeping one's mouth shut.  Now, I'm pretty good at showing up for work.  No problem there.  But the other skill, keeping my mouth shut and not saying what I think or feel, is definitely not something I'm good at.  Being able to voice my opinion is important to me.  What's more, I enjoy it.  And sometimes, disagreeing with the higher-ups makes them uncomfortable.  And people don't like to feel uncomfortable. 

Earning the approval, respect, and esteem of others is great.  But compromising my own value system and my own personality in order to do that isn't so great for me.  The good opinion of others isn't the most important thing in the world to me.  There are a handful of people in the world whose good opinion matters to me.  But as we all know, you can't please all the people all the time, so you might as well please yourself. 

Since losing my "real job" this spring, I've had time to focus on what is most important to me--my son and my craft business--and as a result of doing what I love, my self-esteem has soared through the roof.  I feel good about myself when I spend time with my son, doing activities that improve his quality of life, whether that's reading a book together or going for a hike or playing outside.  I've been able to spend time making new products that people pay money for, which is, of course, very gratifying!  I've had opportunities offered to me that demonstrate that I am earning the respect of other people in the world simply by doing what I love most, to the best of my ability. 

That makes me happy and I think that happiness means one is successful, no matter what you do for a living.  John Lennon said it better than I can:  "When I was five years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life.  When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I wrote down "happy."  They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life."