Thursday, June 28, 2012

recycled/reusable journal wrap ~ nellie wortman's workshop


i stumbled upon nellie wortman's etsy and saw a kit she marked to purchase only if we're joining the online workshop.



a few clicks after, she brought me to the artful gathering.  the things i find when i'm not looking; it's exactly what i'm looking for.

without further ado, i registered.  i wasn't quite up to soldering yet, so i signed up both of nellie's classes. since my armory of vintage fabrics is inadequate and i'm not all set to cut up tattered clothes, so i checked out the kits as well.




i was in the middle of  assembling a christmas album when i received the kit.  guess what...goodbye papers and hello fabrics; and new tool to draw with...sewing machine.  of course i will eventually buy one of those savvy jenome, once i decided which one i need.  for this project, i managed to use a beat up portable machine.




not a bad free motion sewing upon layers of layered fabric and some hand stitching for someone who's clueless about sewing. 




the train on the spine was what first caught my eyes on this project.




added a pen pocket on the sleeve and a few finishing touch to the inside.




although it's not quite visible but the stitching went through the back, so a focal point is added just enough for the curious to peek.details like this made a piece remarkable.  after all, it's a handmade work.




i embellished the pocket using ali edwards stamps and embellish your art wendy vecchi.




another wendy vecchi's—the bird, and tim holtz's stamp on the back sleeve.  originally it had a strap of denim behind the saying, but it didn't look quite done and worked.




the full look on this book jacket is just adorable, isn't it?




having never sat on a sewing machine for more than 5 minutes, i was quite surprised at how fast i did this project.  other than a couple of pin pricks and a few  minutes to read the machine's visual manual, i managed to finish everything in one sitting. i was too excited, i didn't think of practicing on another scrap of fabric first.

suddenly, i lost interest in my new cakewalk stash.  a collection i've been waiting for and was ready craft into a tier cake album.

looks like a busy crafty weeks ahead.  a two days tropical travelogue workshop this weekend and a possible two days catch up for a couple sisters who couldn't make it due to the loss of their grandmother.  since i'm going to singapore next week, i signed for sharon's antique store class.  by the time i'm back, nellie's not your ordinary photo album is starting.  on top of that i have a couple of projects from michael's workshop that i have yet to build once my supplies shipment arrived.  it's going to be my first year since i got my beagle max that i could make an ied holiday trip.  i have michael's alchemist construction starting right in the middle of that trip.  now that i think of it, i might skip that trip for a super crafty and trafficless week.

Sunday, June 03, 2012

silent generation ~ sharon's class


call it a wild guess; it was a hunch during 7 gypsies preview that i "knew" then and there, whatever it is, sharon would come up with a dashing antiquaries postale class.  she did of course, and as if it's meant to be, i was making my way to singapore during the debut.  we even got some gifts for christening the new classroom at papermarket plaza singapura.




sharon's work has a witty signature touch that i completely adore. look at the dog from a vintage ads.  who would have thought to put it there and saw it worked like none other.




her detailing has substance...systematically delectable.




so much so that i didn't see the need nor the desire to add any more touch to the project except for just adding a few finishes.




i didn't know prior to the class that the inside is even worked out and it's a "wow" for me.

without ado i decided that this gorgeous metal case would house the story of my mother and her siblings growing up.  considered the silent generation, despite the current definition;  i would say that those days, things were so good at home that all the other problems in the world seemed so far away and they didn't care.  by jove, they lived life to the fullest in a jolly time on the good earth.

for my mother's birthday a couple of years ago, her best friend recorded more than 50 years of their friendship.  it has a huge section of their growing up highlights from the day they met  complete with interviews from friends and family on the street; photos, music, words.  a treasure!  i'm trying to emulate that here, so i will take my time with the journaling.  the story started when my grandparents moved to indonesia during the great depression until the days when some moved back west.




the left panel inside panel housed 2 accordion envelope albums.  hither and thither i added more insertions so i can add writings spaces and photos.  one i particularly love was the older siblings posing on an antique car hood with their friends; and some family members watching my aunt and uncle swaggered the boogie woogie. 

i wish i was born in 1940's so i would experience life in the fabulous 50's, grooving the 60's and 70's, the awesome 80's (even that i—like most of my kind—looked like a dork then), even the 90's—don't care much after that.  in that case, i would just missed the renaissance and the roaring 20's as my favorite eras.  i will save my endless conviction aside and let some of you indulge in your own memories and stories; or we could talk about it over lunch some time.




pam...param...pam pam param pam pam...look who's snooping the fabulous 50's too.




actually the hollow top compartment was just perfect to house stack of vintage pictures which of course i wouldn't cut or paste anywhere.  not just yet.

coming from such a huge family paternally and maternally, i'm not yet and perhaps would never reach the stage where i would feel comfortable crafting original vintage photos; i redeveloped old photos instead of using the original.   years ago i scrapped my childhood album and abandoned it halfway.  recently i looked into continuing but found it lacking cohesion.  i would have to do some thinking and research of how i would save these old pictures because they were all stuck on non acid free surroundings and many has serious foxing and time damaged.

anyways....




with no particular reason besides the extra papers from the class, i added a mini album.




this project will sit on my study table at home for a long time so i can take my time writing in it wholeheartedly.  in my words; it will be subjectively written based on my faint memories and the stories i heard my whole life.




this mini mini album covers more room for everyone, that would be my aunt,uncles and mother mostly.  oh they were quite a scene in town back then that not only my father but his uncle also wooed the eldest sister, then the second and finally married the third—a few years after his aunt was taken in hand my by mother's uncle.  complicated?  imagine the life after...when one has 16 paternal grands, the youngest being the father's junior and 10 maternal siblings.  enough!




love...love...love...everything about this project.  i'm glad i made it to the class.




an even minier pull out accordion at the back...just because.

i've spent many hours scanning, cutting, pasting photos, still need more quality time on the writings and coup de grĂ¢ce.