TUESDAY TUTE: SCRAP PADS

There’s paper all around us these days. Junk mail, last year’s date books, old ledgers, snippets of scrapbook paper, school notebook paper, and you don’t want to just throw it away, but what’s it good for?


Scratch pads! I don’t know a single person who doesn’t need something to scribble a quick note on from time to time. Have you ever made your own? It’s remarkably easy.

You’ll need just three things: paper, card stock, and rubber cement.

First decide what paper you’re going to use. I chose to use an assortment, just for the interest of having different patterns and colors to write on, and took sheets from all the sources I mentioned above. The card stock is for the last sheet, to give your scratch pad stiffness, and it’s good to use it for the front, too, to protect the lighter-weight papers. What I used for mine was the back of a Bessie Pease Gutman calendar.

Cut all your sheets to exactly the same size. Or you could go random with them, which was my first thought, but I quickly discovered I liked a smooth, book-like edge better.



Shuffle the pages for maximum variety. If you want, make your cover pieces just a smidge bigger than the writing sheets, and choose them for their decorative effect.


Now stack them so that the top edges are perfectly aligned, put a sheet of paper under the stack to protect your work surface, and one on top to protect your weights, and then weigh the stack of paper down with something good and heavy. I used my cast iron bench press, but a concrete block, several heavy books, or pieces of wood clamped together with C-clamps are also good choices.

Paint the top, exposed, edges of the scratch pad with rubber cement. Let the cement dry, and repeat. Do that until you feel like you’ve got a good heavy coating of rubber cement. This is what holds the pad together.



When the glue is completely dry, take the weights off, and peel off the protective sheets of paper. Trim any excess glue sticking out. If some of your writing sheets have skewed in the process, you can trim their edges, too, if you like.


My front cover looked a little lopsided to me, so I added another image to it. You might want to decorate it with a bit of ribbon, lace, or other pretty item.



You can also make these more production-style, by stacking multiple scratch pad assemblies, and painting as for one. When the glue is dry, just tear them apart.

Another option is to glue one side, rather than the top edges. Your scratch pad would then open like a book.

SUNDAY RERUN: Violet, Coffee Pot Person

It's time for a Sunday Favorite! (Want to join the party? Click on the button/link to Chari's blog in the sidebar to the left. You'll find all the particulars there!)

This is Violet, from a blog (different website) way back in 2005.

Violet
Oh my! This has got to be a first for Violet. I mean, she does love Mother Nature, and the Great Outdoors, and all the Flora and Fauna, but this is so very, well, Tactile and all. And also more than a little Surprising. Why, it really even tops the butterfly exhibit at the zoo, where dozens of the lovelies fluttered by, but never once Landed on anybody Violet knew, in spite of there being so many of them, and notwithstanding the little dusters they batted you with when you left.

Well. Violet just doesn’t quite know what to do at this point, but she rather thinks the butterfly is Nice.

PS: Dear Vie, this is a bit of a shout-out for you, with condolences on the loss of your dear Tom Cat. I do believe your own Miss Violet is the daughter of Ms Violet above!

SHOW SOMETHING SATURDAY

Think I'll start a new thing here: Show Sumpin' Saturday. The idea is to just show something, and do it on Saturday. Doesn't matter what--a pretty flower in the yard, a how-to for a craft, a young relative's bright-eyed smile, a funny video, your latest project, someone else's cool creation--just show something!

I'm working on a button for my sidebar, something I've never done and so am looking forward to, and I hope you'll join me! Once I get the button done, I'll post instructions for anyone who wants to participate, and put the list here on my page.

I hope you'll join me! What will you find to show the world, I wonder?

Here's my first Show Sumpin':


I had something else in mind when I thought of this new theme, a video of a dog climbing a tree. (True story! I took the video myself!) But it will have to wait, because this evening I got the postcard up there in my email, and I HAVE to show it off!

Cracked Pots at Edgefield is one of the larger shows in the Portand, Oregon area, and I'm honored to be one of the artists chosen to participate. But this year, I'm especially, exceptionally honored, because look! Not one, but two of my Coffee Pot People are on the front of the card!

Oh. Wow. I am hyperventilating. And smiling. I can't wait to show Mom and my kids and my husband! (But you saw it first!)

~*~Update~*~

Okay, the button is on my sidebar, and clicking on it brings you to this entry!

Now then, if you'd like to join the party, and I really hope you will, grab my button for your own sidebar and leave a comment here with your blog URL. I'll post it in the body of this entry so we can all come see what you show us!

Next up: Figuring out Mr Linky, so you can add your own URL. (But I notice it doesn't necessarily work every time, so...hmmm. Will give that some thought.)

FRIDAY FENCE POST #49

It's Friday--Time for a fence!


I spotted that cutie at the Vancouver Recycled Arts Festival this past weekend, and thought it was great. And convenient, too! I mean, when's the last time you saw a fence you could just pick up and carry home?

I loved all the different woods and textures, so naturally I played with them, applying filters until I got a look I liked:


Now, I have to tell you, this week's fence has something of a special meaning to me. It was created by Mike and Barbara Meyer, of Earth Tones. I first met Mike at my first Cracked Pots at Edgefield Show, seven or eight years ago, when Mike bought this little guy:

Achilles

Achilles was one of my first Coffee Pot People, and at that point I really didn't know if anyone would want to buy them. I was just having a great time putting them together, naming them, and writing their bio's. Micheal really loved him, though, and I was thrilled to sell one of my peeps.

That wasn't all, though. A short while later, Tess, one of the organizers of the show, came by. She told me Michael was one of the other artists, and that he'd stopped by the information booth on the way back to his area to show off Achilles. And what Micheal said, Tess told me, was, "I've just bought the best piece of art in this whole show!"

Now, you may look at Achilles and think he's weird, or not exactly your cup of tea, and be 100% justified in your opinion, but what Michael said has stayed with me all these years. It was a seminal moment for me, and moment that validated my work in one single, simple sentence.

I've never told Mike that, even though I get regular updates on Achilles' well-being. (He's in Mike and Barbara's back yard, feeding little birds from the cup on his knee, which makes me mile.) It's just a small, untold, golden moment in my heart that I very much treasure and appreciate.

Oooh! A Give-away, but HURRY!

Just came across a lovely pendant being given away over on Pretty Things, but the cut-off for signing up is tomorrow, so hurry and head on over there!

POOR SICK PUPPY!

Okay, so my head is full of my little dog Ceili today. (Say that, KAY-lee; it's gaelic for a musical gathering or party.) Ceili had surgery on Tuesday, to remove bladder stones. Poor little baby! I couldn't believe how big some of the stones were--one was bigger than a robin's egg!

She's been very quiet since I brought her home yesterday, but her appetite is picking up, and I finally figured out she'd get her antibiotic down if I pulverized it and mixed it with a little of her food. Here she is, in her own little parking spot:


And I figured as long as I was doggie-brained today, I'd see what I could find in the way of Scotties on Etsy. Aren't these great?

Pin The Tail

Beth's Bagz

Dogs In Pastel

Sharkman 123

Gibscot

Karen Laneart

Last, and not least! My two Sweeties

ROBERTA'S LEAVES

I want to take a few minutes here to show off Roberta Palmer's leaves.

Roberta creates leaves from concrete, casting them over the real thing. She makes a bed of sand to cushion a large leaf--gunnera, hosta, etc.--and then pours concrete over it. When it has set up completely, she paints the leaf, and it's ready to go out into the garden. That's where her artistic talent shines. I've seen a number of people who do this, but I've never seen anyone who does such an amazing job of painting the leaves. The look incredibly real.


Here's Roberta, horsing around at the Seeding Our Future show, held this year in Fowler Junior High, in Tigard. I admire Roberta for her perennial smile and cheerful attitude, in spite of life circumstances that could lead to a much drearier outlook.


If you live in the Portland area, look for Roberta at the Beaverton Farmer's Market, and other art/craft shows around town. I know she'll be doing Camp Cactus and Art in the 'Burbs. Camp Cactus hasn't yet published show info, but you can visit the Facebook fan page here: Camp Cactus.

Now, being able to purchase Roberta's leaves is wonderful, but that's not all you can do: Roberta gives classes. If this looks like something you'd like to try yourself, I don't think you could ask for a better teacher!