Best Laid Plans

Last week my plan was to have a busy week but that's not how things turned out...
I got a bad cold and was grounded all week. Lots of hot tea and books.
Not the worst way to spend a week.

Normally I am a coffee/cappuccino drinker but when you are coughing and your throat hurts....
I had picked up this book The Painted Journal at the library and enjoyed
paging through. I liked it but I'm not sure I'd buy it. But worth checking out from the library for sure.

More tea....and a look at an old autograph book I bought a while back. Why are they just so charming? I seriously think we need to bring them back.

Two Recommendations
I love The Collage Ideas Book. It is quite small and easy to toss into your bag and have with you to read on the streetcar or at a cafe....or waiting for the streetcar...lots of interesting pages.
And, I am a big fan of the collage magazine kolaj. (Just google it) You can order a sample issue to check out. It is kinda pricy but I think it's worth it. I enjoy every issue.

Can you resist this?

(This is a good idea for a couple of pages in a glue book.)

I know I couldn't....a friend showed me her copy and I had to have one. I don't really like the book design -- it is an oversize book and I don't like the layout with the image in the center and the binding down the middle BUT....it is still really fun to look at and pretty cheap used on (the dreaded) Amazon.

Just in case you need the info.....

THIS ONE!
I am pretty sure most of you know about the already (especially if you are on  Instagram) but just in case......
A fat and fabulous book of beautiful paper ephemera from Uppercase. And that's my pal, Michelle's beautiful Dennison ephemera up top.
I am savoring each page.

I finally managed to make it into my studio and had fun playing some wax seals. I know a lot of folks have been using wax seals for ages but I have only recently started and I love it.

I want to put them on envelopes in the mail but I don't think they will make it through the postal system...

Made up a small batch of mini collages on ATCs....

Don't you love his hair?

So, I am on the mend and hope to get out there and get busy this week. I also planned a trip to Chinatown to photograph but that got canceled due to pouring rain. I will try to get there soon to check out The Year of the Boar (sounds better than Pig).
SF Scrap may have been lonely without me visiting so I plan to go there. The Film Noir Festival is also happening and I need to go and get scared.
And I need to start working on my travel journal and plan my trip....

And what are you all doing this January 2019?
I know if any of you are in Chicago you are freezing. I can't believe what I'm reading about your crazy weather. Stay warm and healthy everyone and see you soon.

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Mail Art Meet-Up!

We had our first 2019 mail art meeting and it was sure a fun one. We had a little theme -- can you guess?

I enjoy seeing what people bring to the meetings....

I love all the art supply boxes , bags and tins..of course I want them all....

We had TOYS!!!!

You don't get your hands on an electric typewriter like this baby every day. And, we learned the SFPL has one you can use for free.

Dymo typer! Always fun to play with too.

We had an origami demo......

Being an origami klutz I didn't "get" it so don't ask.....lol....sorry....

We had a large group and a big table to make things on...
and brownies.

There is always some Show & Tell
These beautiful books are by Gregg and I am inspired to make some more of my own after seeing his.

I sat next to Margarete and you know that was fun. Look at this collage she made -- don't you love it?

There is always a swap table....the good stuff is snapped up super fast.

I am sick of Xmas but just wanted to show you the little Xmas book I made this year.
Every year I save pretty scraps of Xmas wrapping paper and they sit around till June and end up getting thrown away....
(Isn't this UK Holiday card from my pal Dori the BEST?)

So, this year I put wrapping paper scraps, holiday cards...all my little bits and pieces of Holiday ephemera into this little book so I can enjoy looking at it all whenever I want.
Good idea, yes?

This is a nice memory of Christmas 2018. Too bad I didn't do it sooner....

Public Service Announcement
Someone at the mail art meeting told us about this Rubber Stamp online shop in case you want to take a look....
I am just passing it along because I had never heard of this rubber stamp company and maybe you haven't either.

We are getting buckets of rain here in San Francisco this week. My plan to go photograph in Chinatown for Lunar New Year was thwarted and I am hiding at home staying dry.
But next week the sun will be shining and I will be on the hunt for Year of the Boar lucky envelopes and papers in Chinatown and photos will be coming your way.

Keep those ideas coming....I really appreciated all the comments I've gotten about what you are interested in seeing on the blog.

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2019 Planner -- and Planners of the Past

I've got to have an old school planner. Yes, I have a smart phone and everything else but you know I like paper. But these ugly ones will never do.......I buy them every year at the Dollar Tree and then I dress them up!

I don't keep journals any more....too busy making collages and books and mail art....but these planners are the next best thing. They are fun to hold on to and look back at what you did -- or didn't do -- year after year. I try to do a lot.

The 2018 Planner is going to bed...

I make two... the smaller is for personal life planning and the larger is for art project planning...

For some reason, I like to wrap them up in a ribbon when the year is done...

I used to make a few of these for various friends but everyone told me that they don't use paper planners....really?
How can that be? We are paper lovers here. So, now I just make them for myself.
Maybe you will want to make one too.

This year I went with a Kraft paper and collage theme -- and I added tabs!

Those plain tabs were just a little...well, too plain... so I added some postage stamps on them. That looks better, doesn't it?

The inside cover of the art planner....

The back cover

These are the two I just finished up. 
A vintage rose on my personal planner..

Inside cover
I just finished them in time because I've got lots of things to write inside already...
(thanks to CJ for the Asian collage)

Like lunch dates!!!!
(This is pork belly ramen at Coco's in SF.)

And I have to write all the Vintage Paper Fair dates...of course! And friends are coming to visit SF and I am going to travel and there are those mail art meetings every month....
Lots of places to go and people to see!
So, what do you think? Are you a paper planner person?
You could do the same thing by covering a notebook and making lists! Did I mention I love lists?
Hummmmm....maybe I need another one for making lists?

So, what's in your plan?
Hope you have some fun things to look forward to and maybe some trips in planning stages.
I'll keep you posted!

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Pocket Folder Tutorial

OK,  you asked and I'm answering. Here's a little tutorial for these pocket folders.
Warning: They are addictive to make
I just keep coming up with different ideas for them. They are such fun to make and so easy.

And , I think it's such fun to fill them up. I always love themes so I like to make the folders with different themes in mind...For that French folder in the first photo I filled it with teeny tiny vintage French envelopes I bought in Paris...Can you see them?

Here we go with a horse theme.......

This one might be nice for a little girl, don't you think?

What about for a birthday? You could put dollar bills inside the pockets and little notes to the birthday girl. I bet even a BIG birthday girl would like that.

What papers can you use?
My personal favorites are book pages. I used an old postal stamp stock book here . I like when both sides of the pages are interesting. But you can use any paper you want....I have used origami paper and old airmail envelopes and some of those paper pads from Tim Holtz.

And why five?
I like odd numbers and I like five. You could easily do this with three pockets. Seven would probably work ok too but these are just paper and not really strong so I think that would be pushing it...

Step 1
Start with FIVE pieces of paper and fold each piece in half as shown.

Step 2
You need to decide what piece will be your cover and which will be the last  page. These are really the only two that count since most of what's on the other pages will be hidden. 

Step 3
Trim off the rough edges.
Also, if there is a lot of while space this is the time to trim the pages down if you want to.

Step 4
Now you put double stick tape on two sides of each page and close it up. Each page will be a pocket -- open at the top.

Step 6
Now you put a piece of double stick tape right down the center of the pocket you want on the bottom of the folder with the opening at the top and press the next pocket down on top, lining up the tops.
Continue doing this with the rest of the pockets till you get to your front cover.

Viola!
You now have five really cool pockets and you are almost done.

At the very bottom, put a piece of decorative tape to reinforce the bottom. I used masking tape here which wasn't a great example because you can't really see it. I love masking tape and couldn't help myself.....

Now you can decorate the cover as little or as much as you'd like. I was thinking vintage math flash cards would have been great in here but I couldn't find my stash. 

Fill 'em  up!!!!

Here are four pocket folders I whipped up in just a few minutes.  You can see the tape at the bottom of these better. You can use wide washi tape, masking tape, decorative duck tape.....
I was thinking it would be great to put recipe cards in that Green Salad folder...
You could put zines in these folders....or ATC's or decorated rolodex cards....or a letter.... Really, the possibilities are endless.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU
to all of you who answered my questions in the last post. It is very much appreciated. And, for ALL of you (and you know who you are) who haven't yet weighed in, I would still love to hear from you.
Let's keep this blog going -- and fill it with things you are interested in. But, I can't do it alone. You've got to tell me what you like seeing.

I'm off to the Vintage Paper Fair on Saturday and you KNOW I will have something to post about that. If you're local, it is this coming Saturday & Sunday (Jan 6 & 7) in Golden Gate Park.
Look for me there!

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&
Happy New Year!!!!