Boy, its a good thing I'm a person with a conscious or I'd be keeping all these amazing pocketfull books!! Besides, everyone has my address and I'd find a whole bunch of upset artists at my doorstep! Here are a couple of books.
Karen 
Christy 
I've seen this critter a couple of times in my backyard. He/she does not look like a squirrel because its tail is short and its more tannish than brown. And it doesn't look like Alvin the Chipmunk because it's not wearing a red sweater. The picture is lousy since I can't get close enough for a shot without it running away. Someone, tell me what it is and do I need to worry about it carrying disease and harming Winston!!
We have been together 20 years which is longer than my marriage but that's another story. You have been loyal to me and served me well. You never gave me any major problems but those routine minor ones sure added up towards the end our relationship. Together, we took care of two dogs and numerous errands. Even though, we never strayed far from home, we managed to get to where we needed to be. As the years went on and you matured, you became a bit grey and faded around the edges. Good-bye my friend! And hello Baby!!!
My Paris journal came home resembling the physical likeness of its MaMa....fat and sassy! My journal is bursting, literally, at the seams aka spine with marvelous artwork and embellishments from my future traveling buddies.
Unfortunately, the journal covers did not like being fat and sassy and MaMa had to perform surgery, without the benefit of Novocaine, in order to give it a new life. First, I tried rebinding it with the bind it tool. Ugh, it made it worse because I had to re-punch the pages and I can't get the spiral in straight and the machine closed the spine into a square.
Off to Beverly's with the 50% coupon in hand and I picked up a scrapbook by KandCompany. I love the size. I did not like the pastel colors. So, I whipped out some ink pads, shoe polish, an image of the Eiffel Tower, and chipboard letters and tada, a new journal.
The hardest part was transferring the pages into the post bound binder without destroying or ruining the artwork. I already had two sets of holes punched and did not want to punch a third set for the posts. Remembering tip-in pages from my old altered book days, I used colorful metallic staples and attached each page to black cardstock which was then punched for the posts.
My journal now has new covers, all artwork in tact, and the pages with sleeves that came with the binder. My journal and I are now, both, happy, fat, and sassy!! Here is the original cover, the pastel cover, and the final result.
I was in Rosemead the other day on business and as I usually do when I'm in Rosemead, is visit Costco for dinner. Hey, per diem doesn't cover a heck of a lot and since I don't want to be out of pocket on a business trip, costco's turkey croissant and salad keeps me on budget. Costco is selling their own shopping bags. You get two totebags and a cooler bag for $4.99. Cheap and the bags are huge. Of course, if you fill the totebag, you probably wouldn't be able to lift it out of the car.
So, I bought a set and kept one tote and gave the other tote and cooler to my parents. The tote has Costco's name in BIG red letters that begged to be altered. The lettering is on both sides. The material is that vinyl stuff. I may have to seal the images some how so they won't peel up. BTW, I am a terrible photographer!
Paris journals are still circulating. Mine came home and I love it. I worked on a couple more.
First up is Kathy Mc's journal. I used a sheet from Maureen Blackman's background pages and glued it to dark grey cardstock that already came with a deckled edge. I typed up the text and merged it with the arch de triomphe so the arch shows through the letters. The same image was added to the corner to reflect what is in the lettering. The back has a fleur de lis and I made a journaling tag. The fleur de lis was made with Golden's light molding paste tinted with black fluid. The paste was then mixed with gold mica flakes and laid down with a stencil. 
Next, I worked on Leighanna's and pocket. The pocket design is again a stencil and the light molding paste and gold mica without the tint. The tag was painted with distress crackle paint on the front and back. The metal number strip is attached with brads and the child is a transparency image. 
My niece has been receiving wonderful pocketfull art. Lucky gal she is. I'm even luckier because the art is being created by great friends. Joanne's work never ceases to amaze me. Look what she made! 
April 15th....a day to remember....my niece's birthday and income tax day. Well, since "things" happen in three's it was also the day I lost a tooth and gained another hole in my head.
I had been stressing the extraction since the consultation appointment with the oral surgeon last Friday. Many years ago, I had all four wisdom teeth removed and it was under general anesthesia. This molar was going to be my first extraction with Novocaine. I had several options: Novocaine only, shot and gas, shot, gas, and valium or shot and IV. OK, I'm a real big chicken in the dentist chair so I took the shot and gas. Even in my manic state, I figured the other three were overkill.
I got to the office early and sat in the parking lot stressing some more. I was one of the first patients in the morning and got right into the chair. Oh Boy! The nurse took my blood pressure and pulse and surprise surprise, it was higher than last Friday. She places the gas over my nose, after taking off my glasses. She was going to take them from me but I said "no, they're my security blanket and I can't see anything anyway". The gas is feeding into me and I don't feel any different. Where's that dreamy state everyone said I would feel. The surgeon swabs on the topical and I close my eyes 'cause I know that needle is coming. I didn't feel the shot. The doctor begins to work and I'm sucking in big breaths of the gas and still waiting for that dreamy state. I have a low tolerance for pain and a high tolerance for anesthesia.
Whoa! I felt that! Doctor gives me more Novocaine. I feel the tugs and pulls and then I hear the doctor say its out and in one piece and I can have the gold crown! The gas is switched to oxygen.
Dr. Lam comes in and said my sister was out front and was she supposed to be here. I said yes and he chuckles. I told them I was a big chicken!
I leave the office armed with post op instructions, a packet of gauze, my tooth and an envelope to mail it it and get paid for the gold. Heck, I'm keeping that tooth for my journal. First thing I did when I got home was pull that tooth out. I've never seen my tooth and it is dang ugly. It surely does not look like the teeth in the toothpaste commercials.
I have to admit, Dr. Lam was good. He kept asking me if I felt anything and if I was ok. From the time I sat in the chair to getting out of it, 45 minutes had past. He even called later that afternoon to check up on me. Pretty good service don't your think! I won't gross anyone out by posting a scan of my tooth!
I wonder how it would look as a pendant or dangling from a charm bracelet! Or maybe work it into a collage somehow! lol
Friday is my regular cleaning and check up. The dentist said I can keep the appointment. We'll see!
It has been a long time since I picked up the soldering iron. I bought some beveled glass houses from Aileen and had to sit down and play with them. I pulled out the solder and iron, flew open a window and here is the result. The background paper on the front is a page from a woman's vocabulary notebook I found in a garage sale. She was an American living in Italy and was learning the language and took lots of notes. Isn't her handwriting beautiful? The background paper on the back is from another garage sale find. The page is from someone's notebook on electricity. The saying, allevare bambini e flore, says, nurture children and flowers.
I really should be back under the covers since I have a cold but I had to play with a bit of glass first!!
