I was going to post some journal pages today, but I left the camera cord at school. Phooey. I've had a yucky cold all week, but I have five pages done since I posted last. I guess slapping paint and gluing stuff on journal pages makes me feel better. I've also been having fun with a white gluebook. I'm just looking through magazines for white pictures and glueing them into an old 1937 copy of White Banners. I really like the thickness of the old paper in this book. I have about 10 pages of that done and will probably post them next week too. I just wanted to let anyone who's checking for new stuff know that I'm here and journaling. I'm just having some tecnical difficulties.

I'm not done with this page yet, but I like the way this part of it turned out. This silouette was left on my worktable after I cut the photo out to use in my ABC recipe book. It's the second one I've used this way in my journal. I love the way it looks and the fact that it shows family members. I guess from seeing the photo so often I can really "see" the people in it. 

I had to send a copy of my birth certificate to someone this week. I was a bit dismayed at its condition. 

This magazine page has been floating around the house for weeks. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with my bedroom and the pressed leaves are really appealing to me. I thought I would give the page a home in my journal. 

Yeah! I finally got back to sketching last night. This is only my third drawing since the beginning of March. And I was drawing something every day in Dec and Jan. I've got to get my grids going again.

I did laundry most of the day yesterday and this was only one of the piles of laundry laying around waiting to be put away. The basket really is that tall and skinny. The folded clothes were hard for me. For some reason I seem to have trouble with fabric folds whenever I try drawing them. The watercolors really helped this to look like something. I was pretty surprised at how well the white watercolor covered the yellow acrylic background.

I'm not sure which week this is for since I'm so far behind, but piles was one of the weekly challenges on the Every Day Matters list. Now I need to make a list in my journal of all the other weekly challenges that I've missed so I can draw them too.

I wound up just writing on the right page of this spread, but I like how the collage on the back of the tapioca recipe turned out using bits and pieces of things laying on my worktable.

Oops, I missed a page.  

These are some things I had laying on my work table left over from working on the ABC recipe book. I haven't finished the right side yet. I've been kind of slow journaling lately. I suspect that I put so much effort into the ABC book that I've just been sort of arted out. 

After looking at some journals online, I wanted to see if I could do a minimalist spread. It was hard for me to leave it alone and not add more. 

Some pages don't seem to work no matter what you do to them. I like the colors and the ideas here, but somehow the balance is way off. I kept adding to it trying to fix it, but I had already written on the top left and that's where the problem was I think. 

I picked up the circus pass because the colors appealed to me knowing I wouldn't be going to the circus. This day I felt like I had participated in a circus! The photo is of my great-grandfather and his son-in-law who was one of my favorite uncles.  

My transition back to work after spring break wasn't the smoothest. I did feel better after an hour or so of journaling though. 

I wanted to journal the trip I made to Wisconsin. I even collected ephmera to put on the pages. Somehow the time never appeared to get it done. Finally, I just went on journaling instead of waiting to go back and journal. I decided that if I did get around to it, I would just have to include it where ever I am in the journal then. Not a perfect solution, but better than just stopping completely. 

Handmade Books Photo Gallery by amy at pbase.com

I am just starting to look through Amy's Handmade Books Photo Gallery . There's a lot to see here.

The redbuds are spectacular along the creek bank this time of year. I love looking out at this view when I wash dishes. 

Well, this is the last photo at least for now of the altered ABC recipe book that I made for my son and future daughter-in-law. To read a bit more about it go to the "Z" page. I'm still not sure how I managed to finish it in just two days and an hour on the morning I was going to give it to her. It was a success as far as I'm concerned. I loved making it. My mom, grandma and sister enjoyed sharing their recipes, and the recipient liked it too. 

I decided not to alter the cover of the book. For one thing, I just simply didn't have the time. I did do a title page which I'll post when I get a photo. 

Mom was so nervous when I asked her to write directly on this page. She would only attempt it when I assured her that if she messed up I could just repaint it. I'd like to stamp some apples along the bottom. 

The background is a letter stamp that I carved from an eraser when I first started doing paper arts. I haven't used it much as it's a bit crude, but I really like the effect of using it as a background. I may have to get the other ones out. 

This was the first page I did. It occurred to me later that I could have put the Italian Cucumber Salad recipe on the "I" page. I had a ton of recipes that would have worked on this page. We really enjoyed these cookies when the boys were growing up.  

I really do know how to spell helpful, but evidently not late at night after a long day of altering books. The rooster was one of the books original illustrations that was on a page that I removed. 

I found a marker that will write white over an acrylic painted background. For this page, I first wrote in the white marker and then in yellow on top of that. The marker is hiding in the mess that is my worktable in the aftermath of making this book. When I finally get brave enough to attempt to reclaim the worktable, I'll post what kind of marker it is. 

I love going through things and finding my grandma's handwriting. I treasure every scrap I come across and wonder why I didn't save more when I had the opportunity. 

This is one of the pages that I finished in the hotel. I hope to have photos later. I think though that I messed up and put "M" recipes on it and it's supposed to be the "G" page. Oh well, it looks ok and maybe nobody will notice and wonder why Bread Machine Mix goes on the G page. 

Another recipe in my grandma's handwriting and the Hello Dollies recipe that I cut from a magazine years ago. 

Somehow I skipped the "K" page and it's one of my favorites. I love the photo of my son "K"neeling by the big "K" also him dressed as "K"ing. 

I guess there were two pages that didn't get finished. This one will have Butter Cream Icing and Cream Cheese Icing. I wanted to put this book up all at once, but I have to get to bed or I will be sleepy in church tomorrow. For an explanation of the book, see the "Z" page below.