Referencing all those journals - the lazy way

A page of thumbnail shots from one of my wildflower journals

I recently had reason to refer to something in an old journal, and it took me only 3 minutes to find it.  Knowing you journallers as I do, you, too have many, many volumes to keep track of.  I know there are people who have the discipline to number pages and create indexes but that's not me, and that's not how I recall information.....I recall events by the pictures I drew of them.  So, upon completing each journal, I photograph the cover and all the pages and print a contact sheet with thumbnails of every page.  I label the pages and pop them into a binder, divided by category (regular journal, garden journal, travel, etc.)  I can flip through those pages and find what I want very quickly!

A happy Thanksgiving to you!

Butter box journals have been very trendy among online journalists and I have finally found the most apropos subject for the butter-box journal:  my Thanksgiving prep guide!  After all, I use more butter for this meal than I have used all year.

If only my real to-do lists looked this nice all the time...so much more motivating!

I've incorporated the stickers and labels from the meal and included a critical path timeline for Turkey Day activities.  Once an architect, always an architect.  Like Eisenhower planning D-Day, I have given a lot of thought to this plan.  As a result, the beaches at Longears are safe for Freedom and the American Way.  (Remember, I live in Kansas!)

And for those well-intentioned people who want to help, I am holding a turkey feather drawing...on the back of each feather is a last-minute task just waiting for someone to accomplish.
I hope you and yours will have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

Ready to go: but not packed!

When it comes to packing for a trip, I've never gotten it right:  always too many of one thing and not enough of another (yes, it's fun to shop for a missing piece on holiday, but often that means missing too much other fun!)

 On my last trip, I started to emulate other journal keepers who start a trip journal by illustrating a trip journal with all the packed contents.  I shortly learned why I never went to fashion design school! Determined to find a better way than to draw each and every piece of clothing, I did a black and white cartoon drawing of basic wardrobe shapes.  Then I made copies and cut out pieces and colored them!
I arranged outfits for each day, coloring multiple copies of pieces I planned to use more than once.   Then I copied the finished page and tucked it into my suitcase.  Voila!  The most successful packing I've managed to date!

I dreamed I went to Paris with Carol of Paris Breakfasts.

And if you don't know Paris Breakfast, go over and acquaint yourself right now!

We were immediately drawn to this window.  Is it?  YES!  My first Parisian macaron tower!

The pastry case was filled with strictly ordered rows, as any Parisian case is arranged.

Though the macs were a bit depleted!

They even had Carol's beloved guimauve! (marshmallows)

The boxes were so elegant!  Shades of Laduree?

The boxes are dressed in beautiful silk ribbons.

This chest provided an elegant station for coffee and tea condiments.

The napkins and plastic to-go ware nestled beautifully inside the drawer in pink linens.

Even the plastic ice cream bowls were tres chic!

We decided to sit on this lovely period piece.

The Mariage Freres tea was perfection!

As I paid the bill, I glanced down to the countertop and saw the shop's card.  Natasha's Mullberry and Mott!  Why, that's not in Paris at all!  We were in Kansas!

Confessions of a would-be Travel Journaller

I confess!  When I  travel I always intend to draw and paint in my fabulously illustrated hand-made journal, showing all the places I visit and the meals I eat.  Reality often intervenes:  The tour guide gives me exactly 3 minutes to explore after he finishes talking....I start dinner with a lovely glass of wine, and suddenly, my sketching is a bit wobbly.  Or it's too dark to see what I'm eating, let alone draw it!
Undaunted, I take a photo!  Then, back at home, I can make the journal page at my leisure.
 Sometimes this approach actually results in a new approach.  Take this photo from the Rookery, a Chicago building designed by Burnham and Root in the late 19th century and renovated by a young Frank Lloyd Wright several decades later:

Mr. Wright clad the dark iron columns of the original building's atrium with white marble and added a gold leaf  pattern.  This is not what we tend to think of when we think of Wright's work but it did brighten the space considerably.  The tour guide did not allow us any time to linger after his brief talk, pointing out various features, so I took a photo.  When I got home, I considered drawing this detail, but I wanted a visual cue to remind me of the gold leaf, so I printed the photo at a size that would fit on my page.   Below, you can see part of the photo in the top half and the cut out area in the bottom.

I used an Xacto knife to cut out the pattern.  If I had planned to use this stencil again I would have printed on  card stock or a clear transparency sheet, but I only needed to use this once, and printed it on plain paper, which was much easier to cut than any other paper.  Laying the stencil on my page, I printed through it with a metallic gold stamp pad.  I was out of gold leaf, but if I'd had any on hand, I would have sponged the gold leaf adhesive through the stencil.  Note that I didn't bother cutting out the pattern on the entire photo, just enough to get one full repeat of the pattern.  That left a bit of space on the page for me to draw in the dark iron column inside the marble cladding.

One additional benefit of leaving some journalling to do after returning home:  I get to prolong the pleasure of the trip!

Trader Joe's Macarons - or What are friends for?

If you don't know Paris Breakfast you MUST run over there at once!  Paris Breakfast travels to Paris several times a year in order to keep us on the cusp of everything French, with a particular emphasis on French pastries and macarons.  She selflessly researches, photographs, paints, and shares her findings with us.
When I recently told her that I now have access to Trader Joes, she mentioned that she has never tired TJ's macarons because she has to use public transit to and from TJ's.  I recognized my duty at once:  I went straight to TJ's and bought this box of vanilla and chocolate macarons.

By the time I got home with it - 20 minutes at 94 degrees- they had defrosted, and I carefull removed one of each flavor from the box.    Please note that the macs are NOT a uniform size.  Hmmmm. Uh-oh!  The vanilla shell top crumbled as soon as it touched it!  

I put them both to the taste test.  They were OK, a bit too sweet but I think that is because they're vanilla and chocolate.   I've never had a vanilla mac or a plain chocolate macaron.  Half the fun of macs is the gorgeous colors and exotic flavor combinations.  I think the flavors (like pistachio, passionfruit, chocolate with blackberry filling, etc.) cut the sweetness and add a bit of tang.

But back to that collapsing vanilla shell:  would a second mac crumble, too?  I tried it, and it DID!  Now I was on a mission, and I had to remove all of them from the package.  Egad!  Every last one of the vanillas crumbled.  You can't serve crumbled macs to guests.  I had to choke them all down.  Then I noticed the irregular sizes of the chocolate macs.  Those, too, would have to go.  Can't serve guests irregular macs.  But, hey Paris Breakfasts, what are friends for?

Polymer clay Altoid travel tin - in which I save you from all my mistakes!

My home-made Altoids travel tin is traveling in France!  Sadly, I am NOT traveling in France.  I gave it to a deserving artist, who filled it with these watercolors and is giving it a good workout.  Photos to be posted later.
If you're interested in making one, here's what I did...

First, trace around the outside of the tin 3 times.  You are making a template for 3 layers of polymer clay.  Draw the pans you think you'd like to make.  I drew a couple of designs before choosing one.  If you use a fat marker (like an old Sharpie) it will make a line about 1/8 inch wide and that is the thickness you need to leave around the outside of the template and between each pan.  You can make the pans any shape and size you like.

Condition your clay and roll it out a the thickest setting.  Cut 3 pieces from your template.  I chose a very white clay with a bit of sparkle.  

Typically, using cutters like these cookie cutters will give you the best cuts in polymer clay, but these were not the exact shape and size I wanted and since I had to cut both remaining layers identically, I ended up with some very wonky holes.

I found that using the blade cutter to mark the cutting lines worked best.  First I lightly marked them, then I cut out the openings with a craft knife.  If you wish, you can lay the tracing paper template right on top of the clay to mark it.  Repeat on the other layer and put them both into the tin.  You now have a stack of 3 layers - one is not cut at all and the top two are cut identically to form paint pans.

Use a clay tool to square up the edges and smooth the openings.  Manicure tools would work, too.  Roll out  a very thin  snake of clay and using the tool, press it into the void between the clay and the edge of the tin.  This will keep water from slopping down the sides into the bottom.  Fire per manufacturer's instructions, cool it and fill!