Category Archives: Paper Crafts

Mostly me, Paper Crafts

Now comes the hard part…

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…setting prices for the items I have for sale. The zines and most of the other books are easy to price, the junk journals not so much. Each one is differently sized. They have differing numbers of signatures. Some have cloth covered boards; some have paper covered boards. I’ll figure it out. I have some idea for general pricing.

I’ll do the prep for set-up on Monday. I’ll set the displays just as I want them the days of the sale and take pictures. That way, things will be optimized for my customers. I just hope that the organizer will actually follow the floor plan I drew up for the space. I do have experience setting up vending space inside a room. I don’t have high expectation though. The last I heard there were 21 people signed up for a space that can only hold 14 tables with enough space for potential buyers to move through easily.

In other news, I just found out that the road trip I’m supposed to go on with two of my sisters is supposed to last 6 weeks. No way. I can’t sit in a car for days. I’m prone to blood clots in my legs. They already look like a road map of hell. I can’t imagine them after 6 weeks of car rides. I don’t want to go with my sisters anyway.

Even though they’re younger, they feel free to comment on my life, my eating habits, my (as far as they know) lack of a love life, and my weight. I tried to get out of the trip by using my sick cat, but she died. I’m trying to use the fact that I would have to board the cat I now have. She was temporarily re-homed because she kept attacking the sick one. My friend will keep her while I’m gone. Since I’m providing food, the litter box, toys, and bedding, she says I don’t have to pay her, but I feel I need to give something. She pays me market rates to watch her dog twice a week.

I’m sure my sisters will have opinions on everything else. They learned it from my mother who was oh so nice to me growing up. I’m the oldest, but unwanted. Or at least that’s how I felt my entire childhood. Especially after all the times I was reminded that I wasn’t supposed to have lived past two. After I moved away for college, my bedroom was given away, my stuff was tossed, and yet I was always asked when I was coming back home. I did once when I was getting divorced. It was the worst 11 months of my life.

All seven of my siblings are really close. So close in fact, that they have a group chat that I’m not part of. I know this because occasionally, I’ll get included in a reply to a message I never received. I don’t comment. Don’t care enough, but it does hurt a bit sometimes. I realized a long time ago that I’m responsible for my own success and not to wait for anyone in the family to say “good job.” I never know how to react to that anyway.

Now that you’re all depressed for me, here’s a picture of my cat.

Gingersnap, also called Bitey Thing, Ginny, and Gin-gin

She used to be a feral cat and was adopted by my son. He left her with me when he moved into a no-pets apartment. I’ve told him he can’t have her back even though he can now have a pet.

Y’all have a good day, now.

Bookbinding, Paper Crafts

Finally, the faux leather journal is done.

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I finally completed the book. The first one didn’t turn out as I planned but the second is rather nice. The inside cover has scrapbook paper linings and flyleaves. The pages are folded from good quality laser printer paper. It’s not quite perfect, but usable. My next one will be better, but this isn’t too bad for a prototype.

I did learn quite a bit from this project. I’ll probably teach the technique at one of my paper craft sessions if others are interested.

The finished product.
Paper Crafts, Stuff

I’m a bit behind on the faux leather

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I didn’t count on being invited to brunch on Mothers’ Day. My youngest granddaughter who is the only grandchild that lives near me, was most insistent that I join her, her sister, and their mom at the Bistro where my son works. He had invited me as well, so I decided to go. Normally, it’s just another day. He lives about an hour away.

We were to meet at 1 pm so I planned to leave around noon to arrive close to 1. It didn’t matter because traffic was crazy. I don’t usually encounter that many cars. The granddaughter lives 15 miles closer than I do, so I expected them to arrive before I did. Nope! They were a half hour late.

After our meal, the girls went home and I waited for my son to finish cleaning up so he could ride home with me so he could borrow my other car to move his stuff out of my garage and have transportation to his upcoming appointments. So I spent all day not working on my faux leather.

Today, I applied the final coat of glaze and I’m waiting for it to dry overnight. So there’s no picture today. But I will have one tomorrow.

Paper Crafts

Today, I’m making faux leather

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Or maybe it should be called pleather instead of the plastic stuff by that name that’s used for shoes, purses, and jackets. Of course, what I’m making isn’t as durable, but since it will be a book cover and not vegan outerwear, it doesn’t matter. No, I’m not disparaging any vegans’ lifestyle, but what else would be a good name for a faux leather made from paper? Leather paper, paper leather? Oxymorons, both.

The faux leather starts out as a brown paper grocery sack or a length of brown wrapping paper which is crumpled, and wet and inked, and colored, crumpled more, and sprayed with more water, and crumpled again, and rubbed with hair conditioner or glycerine, and maybe covered with Mod Podge or gel medium, and then it’s flexible. Supposedly it feels leathery. I don’t know yet because it’s still drying.

Once it’s dry, I’ll make a cover for a travelers type notebook. I know most people these days use their phones or electronic gizmos to keep notes, but I like to write things down. The act of writing helps me remember better. I have many notebooks filked with lists and notes. Whenever I started a new job, the duties and procedures that would eventually become thick procedure manuals, were stored in my notebooks.

There are doodles and phone numbers, directions to places, and instructions on operating equipment, and row and stitch counts for things I knit or crochet. When I sewed a lot, I would make a copy of the pattern package back and pin it into my notebook so I would have the yardage requirements when I went for fabric, notions, and thread. I would tape a fabric swatch in so I could find a matching zipper, thread, or seam binding.

I still write out lists of things I need or should do, even though I have apps for places I shop and a notes app on my phone. There are lists in the apps, but I’m mostly old school. Half the time, my phone will be at home while I’m out. But at least one notebook will be in my purse.

Tomorrow, I’ll post a photo of the faux leather and the cover I’ll make with it.

Bookbinding, Paper Crafts

Very disappointing class Tuesday evening.

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I mentioned I belong to a maker space where I am what we call an Area Captain. I am responsible for our Craft Area. This area deals with various crafts such as sewing, knitting, paper-crafts and others. I am responsible for orienting members to the area, training or checking them off in the operation of our sewing machines and other equipment, plus doing the basic maintenance of said machines.

I also teach classes in the use of the heat press and its attachments, book binding, origami, and printmaking. Other members teach things like fabric flower making, sewing, how to use the embroidery machine or the vinyl cutter, as well as some book binding and origami. We often do one-on-one teaching and problem solving of knitting, crochet and weaving projects. We have painters, costume makers, costume designers

Tuesday evening was Paper Crafting night and I was teaching how to make zines. For those of you unfamiliar with them, zines are tiny publications made from one sheet of folded paper. The zines I was teaching people to make were to be decorated with rubber stamps, markers, and pictures and text from Readers Digest Condensed Books, magazines, and other papers.

Only one person showed up. I showed her several samples that I had made and one that I had bought at Zine Fest. She made a very nice start, but decided to leave early, so I don’t have a picture to share. Next month, I’ll won’t be able to hold a class, but I’m hoping that one of our origami enthusiasts will take over that night.

Bookbinding, Craft Fairs, Paper Crafts

I’ve been so busy, I forgot I have to maintain a blog.

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This is what happens when I take on too many projects at one time. I need to schedule my time and try not to do so many projects at once. Prepping for a craft show, taking two classes, dog-sitting a dog with anxiety, knitting, weaving, and just generally losing control on my time is getting almost nothing accomplished.

There are other things that are scheduled like hosting a weekly event, teaching a monthly class, attending a couple of weekly meetups – not Meetups – that go on. And I have all sorts of paper planners and scheduling software that could make things easier, but I still can’t keep organized. Yes, recurring events are on the calendar, but apparently, I need a daily schedule, even for things like “do the dishes” and “clean the bathroom” and “take the pills that are saving your life” since I still manage to occasionally skip a dose.

I used to make lists and that’s what I need to start doing again. Make a list of everything I want to accomplish one day at a time. Thanks for reading. I’ll let you know how it goes.

These are some of the items for the craft show. Junk journals, a folio, and an explosion book.

And May the 4th be with you,

Bookbinding, Paper Crafts

Hello Again

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I’m back. Busier than ever. Since last we met, I’ve joined a makerspace here in Madison, called the Bodgery. I’m the Craft Area Captain. What that means is I’m in charge of a large room filled with almost everything a crafter needs – sewing machines, knitting machines, a heat press, bookbinding supplies, yarn, fabric and even more stuff. I teach members how to use the equipment in the Craft Area, as well as bookbinding, knitting , sewing and papercrafts. I’ll be posting the projects I’m working on as well as a few pictures of classes with the participants’ permission.

Right now, I’m working on some junk journals. Here are two made from return envelopes covered in tissue paper. The inside pages are various papers including magazine pages and scrap papers.