Crow's Feet

This is a page that I completed in Dina Wakley's new mixed media journal. Some of the difference surfaces are a challenge for me but I enjoying the process immensely. I'll be posting more as I finish pages. This page is burlap and I made a tag for the backside to give the page support.

Bill & Sara

Don't the new hipster stamps from Tim Holtz make you smile?! When I stamped the goat and ostrich, it made me think of my husband and me as a couple. I think the quote is perfect....

A few favorites....

I absolutely love Dyan Reaveley's journal made by Ranger!  Oh my goodness, you have the freedom to use all types of mediums - super nice!

I tend to make background pages using different colors, stencils and stamps.  Then later, I make my journal pages that work with the backgrounds I made. 

I wasn't sure what to do with the pink/red and bits of green but then Christmas called out to me.

This has become one of my favorite pages that originally was a bit of a nightmare.  I turned the too dark purple into a lush deep midnight blue - perfect for angels.

This spread was done using paints instead of inks. It's a challenge to letter on top of paint - so I probably won't make too many pages using paint, however, I did like how this turned out.

Lady's Home Journal

Recently I have been recycling old books making them into journals. I am enjoying the process of creating new pages and altering an already existing cover. My stash of journal books ready to go has now been depleted to three. I made these "ready to go" journals for workshops that I cancelled due to my moving from Oklahoma to Minnesota. There wasn't time to prepare for the workshops and pack! I have been slowly consuming my own ready to go product and that makes me very happy!

I named my journal "Lady's Home Journal" as it reminded me of the large magazine that my mother ordered and centered around a woman's life.  Choosing pink, french text, pearls and shoes inspired the contents of my journal.



It was a great opportunity to use paper and ephemera from other completed projects along with my rubber stamps.

Using quotes that my friends post on fb are a great source.  I wasn't on fb when I was doing a lot of calligraphy.  I have lots of quote books and the quotes are pretty boring. The quotes that I love using now make me laugh.... a lot!

I love the challenge of using the left overs.


I had a few girlfriends that were Danielle Steele book lovers.  I personally never read any of her books and this quote is why I never did!

Knock Knock SOLD!

I am so excited that (MCBA)The Minnesota Center for Book Arts sold my book "Knock Knock". This has to be one of my all time favorite books that I made. The beautiful embossed covers were saved from the landfill and adding a lion knocker to the cover really gave the book a feel of Harry Potter. I used two thread colors for the Greek binding - twenty signatures total. It's my wish that the owner will enjoy this journal for eons!

Journal Covers

I loved taking old books and making them into new journals! The cover is made using the "Fragment" tiles from Tim Holtz and using the techniques that I learned in his class. The large tile is a photo of my dad with his first crop of corn on the new farm taken in 1956. The book has been propped against my cat Monk....who decided at the last minute to be a part of my photographing my artwork. There was no moving him.....so he is now part of the picture.


This view really shows the dimension of the tiles. I love this product!


Here you can see the binding I made. There are so many sewing techniques for the binding....but I always love to use beads.

Journal Pages

I used a bleach pen to write the word "Journal". When you are using the bleach pen, be ready to write as the bleach comes out pretty darn fast!!! This is on Canson paper and I really like how it turned out. The drapery trim was given to me and I attached it to the bottom of the book.

My friend, Pat Lynn, showed me a journal idea when I attended one of her workshops. I took a photo from a magazine and then extended the photo using color pencils. You could make your own drawings small or large. This was my first effort and I was happy with the result.


I like layering images on text or vice versa. I used brush lettering on ticket stubs to write out the quote.


I decided to splice a magazine photo into three parts for this layout. I used the bottom of the ticket stubs as an embellishment for the pictures. The alphabet was using a Pentel brush pen.


After I recorded some information in my journal, I added a photo on the next page so I wanted to punch out circles so you could see bits of the picture from this page.


This is the back of the last page....and I wanted to carry on with that theme.


Now you can see the full photo. I really like "windows" that peer into the next page. It doesn't matter to me the shape that the "windows" take....circles, squares, or torn holes.


I used a "cola" pen to write the word "art" and I bent the pen in two. I pressed too hard as I was trying for lots of "chatter". I will have to make another pen! So to fix where the pen broke, I added paste paper that I made with a stamped image. Problem fixed!


The background I was trying for on this page didn't happen. I need to find really tiny, tiny straws! The one I used was for stirring coffee and it was too large. I placed a drop of FW Acrylics and then used the straw directly over the drop of ink and puffed air to move the ink. If you use the smallest straw, you'll get a star burst pattern. I actually chased the ink all around the page for fun because I didn't get the first result I was looking for. You can see from the right side where I punched out three square holes. You are looking at a piece of paste paper that is behind this page.


This is the paste paper that I made. I really loved the colors that I made and now have officially used all of it!!


I have five different journals that I am working on right now. All are for different themes. My "workhorse" journals are NOT "journals" even though I call them "journals". They are only for taking notes, writing an address or directions to somewhere or ideas. There is nothing cohesive about the workhorse journals. I always have one of those types of books in my bag at all times. But the other 5 journals that I work in are done in my studio and those journals contain my art! My workhorse journals do not contain my art.

No Expectations Journaling

When I first saw individual journal pages being published in magazines such as Somerset Studio, I fell in love with the journals and I knew that I wanted to do some journals of my own. However, the beginning process was not as easy as I thought it would be. At first, I intimidated myself with high expectations of how my journals should look and feel. When I discovered that I have my own style and set of rules (no rules), I freed myself to just being able to write what I wanted to, whether it was meaningful or not. The point for me was, being artful.

I have made journals now of all sizes and paper types. When I am in the mood for rubber stamping and adding text with all the different markers and pens, then I choose the journals that I have made with card stock. I also have journals made with watercolor paper that I use when I want to add my own color background and adding text with a dip pen. I make these journals different sizes as I found if I want to add a lot - then the "too small size" was too difficult for me. Then of course, the flip side - when I have only a few words of text, the "huge" size would be too intimidating to even begin.

So I would encourage everyone to begin a journal and know it is for you. You can either choose to share your pages or not. There is no right or wrong way to do your journal. Give yourself permission to enjoy the process and learn from your own entries.

I have found that I enjoy my own journals but later in time. This particular journal I begin over a year ago.

I used a cover from an old book and inserted my own papers.