It's not much but it is better than nothing

So here is an interesting situation--

just spent 45 minutes, close to an hour--WASTING MY TIME

clicking around on old links in my bookmarks

checking to see if anyone had posted any new & interesting blog posts

looking at stuff other people have made or are selling

thinking about CRAP I ought to do

ONE DAY

like clean up my bookmark links

when what I really wanted to do was play with stuff (or maybe go to bed)

If I wanted to play, why didn't I?  Partly because I hate to get interrupted

partly because doing stuff in the evening

(CREATIVE STUFF)

gets me energized and then it's too

hard--even harder than usual--

to go to sleep

partly, I am sure, because it's a habit

So I am calling BULLSHIT on that

don't care what time it is

even if I do nothing but write this

at least I am breaking a pattern, for one night, and doing something

Ink added post-writing with Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay India inks.  And hey--it turns out that the Stabilo pens are not waterproof.  Must remember that for the future!  And I do indeed feel better and more at rest for having done something.

Sorry the pic is so small (was taken with iPhone and uploaded using the iPhone Blogger app, and that doesn't appear to include a larger version other than the thumbnail)--the writing on the journal page is what is transcribed above the image in this blog post.

From Crate and Barrel tissue paper, an enamelled cover paper

Another experiment inspired by Ms. Hall's Embroidered Books. 

I started with one piece of tissue paper from Crate and Barrel, covered it with Adirondack Red Pepper paint from the Ranger dabber (hoping it was heat-fixable paint since I had no Stewart Gill Byzantia nor anywhere close to acquire some from), sprinkled with Pine Needles Distress Embossing Powder, and heated.

I tried to then cover with UTEE but it wouldn't stick, so I had to brush it off, use a Boss Gloss dabber to put a layer of embossing ink over the papper, then I added UTEE again and heated. It wasn't a full covering but turns out I like the look.

It still needed something, so I added some Antique Gold Rub 'n Buff with my finger. That provided some much needed light and set off the red paint and melted EP nicely.

I plan to just use PVA to turn this into a book cover. Seems pretty sturdy at this point.

Handmade paper, Golden airbrush paint, and Prismacolor pencils

The Billericay library had a fantastic item I was able to check out while there earlier this month--Embroidered Books, by Isobel Hall. I made a bunch of notes from it and did this fun little thing while my son is playing Axis and Allies with his friend this afternoon.

To strengthen and reduce the porousness of the handmade paper I made many months ago, I painted it with Golden Airbrush paint (Phthalo Green Blue Shade)--Ms. Hall had suggested Procion silk dye, but I don't have any of that. After drying, I used Jet Black Archival Ink to stamp a Magenta image. Then I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils (canary yellow, Spanish orange, orange, yellowed orange, yellow ochre, carmine red, and grass green), finishing up with a burnishing pencil. I added Glossy Accents over the center flower--it's not dry yet in the picture.

This medallion would look nice on the cover of a small notebook, methinks. I like the look of the stamped ink and the colored pencils on the hamdmade paper.