How to Make a Junk Journal From a Vintage Book

Several months ago, my dear friend from Colorado joined me at the beach house for a week of creative fun and beach combing. One of our creative projects was to create junk journals using covers from some old Reader's Digests.

I introduced my friend to the Zutter Bind-It-All, and we watched some YouTube videos for binding inspiration. Then we raided the 'studi-attic' for supplies.

My Favorite Junk Journal Binding Tools

When I was in college, we created altered books in one of my art classes. As the instructor described the project, I felt as if a chorus of heavenly angels was singing in my brain. The project was a mix of repurposed vintage stuff, and art, and good old handcrafts. Can anything be more perfect than that?

That particular project was created similarly to this  Dollar Tree project, that I shared earlier. 

Workshop With Venice Artist Flewnt

Over the course of the past year, my husband and I have been splitting our time between Seattle and Los Angeles. We have a little apartment on Venice Beach where we've gotten to know several of the local artists. One of our favorite LA artists is Flewnt, who creates assemblage works, including signs and flags.

The Best of LA Artist has a mobile studio where he offers workshops and stages pop-up galleries.  When the weather is fine, he leaves his bricks and mortar studio and takes his mobile studio up the Pacific Coast Highway, where he can park by the beach and create art between dips in the sea.

How to Create a Beautiful and Functional Kitchen

If you are thinking about renovating your kitchen, you will want to read this post. It could save you a lot of money and frustration in the long run. As an interior designer, I've seen a lot of badly designed kitchens.



Kitchen design takes careful planning. Did you know there are recommended linear feet of shelving that depend on the size of your home and household?

How to Make a Quilted Greeting Card

Nothing says comfort like a handmade quilt. Snuggling in with a beautiful quilt is like getting a comforting hug. Now, you can send a hug to loved ones far away or right next door with this easy quilted card.

To make this card, you will need an embossing machine and an embossing folder. Embossing machines can be found fairly affordably at big craft stores (use your 40% off coupon). Lately, I've been seeing them at Tuesday Morning, as well.

Why Should I Swatch My Art Media?

Do you swatch out your inks, pencils, crayons, and paints? For years, I didn't bother. It wasn't a big deal, because I only used two brands of marker and one brand of colored pencil. I used them so often, I didn't need to swatch them.

Over time, however, I started using other types and brands of media, and things started to get confusing.

Creating With Premade Card Bases

I'm lazy and I love card making, so I love, love using premade card bases (and embellishments) when it comes time to create.

I know  that a lot of card makers turn their noses up at premade printed bases, but I'm here to try to convince you to give them a chance.

How to Make Easy Mixed Media Flowers

These mixed media flowers were inspired by projects by Barb Owen and Stitches by Julia. You will want to check out both of their YouTube channels -- they are full of amazing creative ideas.

I do a lot of projects using old book pages and covers, and often end up with a surplus of book paper. This project will help bust your stash of book pages,while building your stash of embellishments.

Inspiration From India's Colorful Trucks

We recently traveled to India for part of my son and daughter-in-law's wedding celebration. This was the trip of a lifetime, and we will treasure the memories always. After the celebration, both families road tripped around South India together. Our families bonded as we visited palaces and temples and beaches.

One of the things we began to notice, on our road trip, is that Indian trucks are often decorated.

How to Create Card Kits From Your Stash

We've spent a lot of time traveling during the past year, and I wanted to be able to bring crafting projects along with me on our journeys. At the same time, I had lots of partially or mostly empty 12 by 12 paper pads, that needed to be used up.

I decided to create some "card kits" with the paper. Now, whenever I want to be creative in my travels, I can simply grab some card kits and go.

How to Customize a Mixed Ethnicity Eighteen Inch Doll

My beautiful blonde daughter is married to a very handsome mixed-Korean man. Together, they've created a lovely little girl with Asian features and dark blonde hair.

Our granddaughter loves American Girl and other brands of eighteen inch dolls. She has Gracie, the American Girl doll, which is Caucasian, and Leah, a Today's Girl doll, which is Asian. But, try as we might, we could not find a doll that looked like her.