River Bend Ranch - Patty Van Dorin

New line of Basic Grey Paper

Just Arrived
a large selection of

6x6 Basic Grey paper pads
Each pad contains Includes 36 6”x 6” sheets. Two each of the18 designs.

available on the Tuscan Rose web site
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one of my favorite commercial papers that I love using in my journals
the hardest part is choosing the one to use as they are all gorgeous!!!

The 6x6 pads are a great deal as you get a complete selection of papers and since they cost so little, it makes using the papers less painful.

Next Art Journal

With just a couple sets of pages left in my current visual journal to finish, I am already planing and dreaming of my next one. A couple of days ago, I purchased this vintage ledger book.

Not only is a hard to find smaller size, measuring 11" by 8" but it has the coolest clamping method for the pages.

On the bottom a key fits in and turns an internal mechanism that clamps the binding bars down on the pages. Is that not the NEATEST THING!!!!!!  I love everything about it from the decorative end pages to the tan corduroy with red leather on the cover.

The beauty of this system is that I can work on pages individually and then add them as they are finished. It also frees me to use a large variety of materials and papers. As excited as I am about this new journal, I must be patient as I finish my current one.

here in south Texas we have been having cooler temps than normal with tons of rain.

the plants are growing into a dense jungle.

what a pleasure not to have to pull out the hose even once this summer

Visual Daily Journal

some days are just the cut and paste kind of journal days.
(journal prompt on second paage from artella)

just playing with scraps left on the studio table

with not much to stay but numbers felt right today

so maybe take some inspiration from the cats and call it time for a nap

Parade Class

So what does one do with a large box full of ribbons from horse shows??? 
 
every so often I pull out this box of memories. Some are getting faded with the years, both the memories and the ribbons. I have used a few in personal projects

I should frame some of them. A grouping of all the white ones would be fun. But mostly I just pull them out every so often and then put the box back up on shelf. This one didn't make it back in the box and has been floating around my room. Today I tucked it in this rusty grate. The pair look pretty good together so I guess it will stay clipped to the grate on the wall until I pull the box back down.

now what to do with the others.

Magical Concert Ticket

Last night I was talking to a best friend from the college years who has always only been a phone call away. Though in some ways we are very different, we have always shared common interests such as music. My friend had a part time job that yielded free concert tickets and being best buddies I was fortunate to see many great performances. Fun memories, like the time we saw just a bit too much Ted in a Ted Nugent concert. A time when maybe front row isn't so great.

So Peggy asked if we could be granted the "magical concert ticket" who would I like to see perform one more time.  So I came up with a list of three, in no particular order
*Freddy Fender
*Stevie Ray Vaughan
*Marvin Gaye

Both of us had the same three as they were probably the three most memorable concerts ever. But to pick just one.  Oh to see Marvin Gaye one more time but the talent of Stevie Ray Vaughan.

If we could only get the one performance, it would have to be this - Mary had a little lamb at it's finest.

when good stencils go bad

The plans were for a day outdoors spray painting with stencils. But one gust of wind lead to frustration when the journal I was working on closed upon itself. So I found myself prying pages apart with  wet paint and stencils making for one big sticky mess. I was able to separate the pages but I sure didn't get the intended results. I gave it some more paint and set the mess aside to dry. When I came back to the journal, I decided I could still work with it. So I started gluing in some paper. Be sure to check the paper on the right page, the gorgeous one with blue flowers on the magenta and yellow background that is from Debra.

Here are the same pages with a bit more paint, more stencils and a vintage photo. I am not sure if it is finished yet and I may add some writing but for now I am saying "done for today.

I love to examine old photos. Sometimes a seemingly ordinary picture upon closer examination will tell an interesting story. Check the photo used on today's journal page. If you look closely there is a little boy looking out the bus window. Since the story behind this photo is lost, I may invent a story for the text on this journal page. What story do you think this photo is telling?  Are they going on vacation, visiting relatives or heading out for a new life in another city...hummm.

Here in south Texas we have been having some odd weather. My roses are still blooming

and even the Gardenia surprised me with a few August flowers.


 

Me Hearties

Today my husband emailed me asking what my evacuation plans were for my studio in case Hurricane Dean bumps a bit north.  Seriously has he not been in my studio lately....

and that is just the vintage fabric, there are two more closets filled with more contemporary fabrics and there is the paper which I won't even go into that. Did you notice that nice neat stack of bins beside the fabric!!!!!  They hold my vintage photo and post card collection...well some of it.

and there is the walk in closet lined with shelves that house beads and tons of other stuff.  But check out that organization, did you notice how all (most) of the bins have labels!!!!!!

this is the flooding that came with tropical storm Erin last week, so if Dean does swing north it ain't goin' be pretty. 

No lectures, yes I do have a hurricane evacuation plan in order but my husband who is from a land locked state has never been through any type of these storms. So in an attempt to try and inject some humor this is what I emailed back. I told him this is my evacuation plan.

the plan is everyone gets eye patches and we hoist the Jolly Roger

Okay so he didn't think it was funny but I am cracking myself up. 

I always knew that Max the cat was going to be the buccaneer that would give me the most grief. Even as a young un, he was always up for trouble.

Which reminds me, I have been getting lots of emails asking for the recipe of my favorite martini. I know that is not pirate drink but Aye, we bein' a bit more modern sea dogs here.

Wedding Cake Martini
1/2 ou. vodka
3 ou. Amaretto
1/2 ou. orange juice
1/2 ou. pineapple juice
1 Tablespoon heavy cream
Pour all but the heavy cream in a shaker filled with ice and shake. Allow the shaker to stand for one minute. Pour into two (at my house this is poured into one) freezing martini glasses. Top with heavy cream.

To make this even handier, I inject a bit of "Martha" I use the frozen pineapple orange juice concentrate. I add water to the concentrate according to the label and then freeze in ice trays. After the juice is frozen, I store the juice cubes in a baggie in the freezer. Now that's convenient, just allow the juice cubes to melt and it's ready to add.

If you plan to indulge in ale, grog or other piratical spirits, do NOT attempt to steer your ship home, matey!!!!

****no animals were hurt in the making of the photos****

Wishing everyone "Fair Winds"

A Linear Journal

Every year I purchase a couple of extra of the wire bound desk calendar books. I use these through the year as a linear journal. One that I jot down books, songs that I am interested in and other bits of daily info. This altered calendar also travels along on trips and is often tossed in my bag. I like these calender books because the pages are heavy and the plastic covers helps keep it intact since by the time I fill the pages these books have taken quite a bit of abuse.

These are not a pretty journals. They would not be confused for an art journal, more like a junk diary. I usually don't remove any pages and by the time one of these calendar books are filed, they no longer close and fan out 180 degress like a butterfly.

Since I am scrapbooking handicapped and unable to create pretty pages, these journal serve as my record of events. These journals collect ticket stubs, junk mail, ads and bits of debris found on my daily walks. Nothing is sacred, at a store a lady ahead of me in line left behind her "to do" list so I brought it home and added it to that day's page as her list was far more interesting than mine.

I have kept a diary since the age of five and my diaries have progressed to a more visual diary. It's a great place to play and try out ideas.

Some pages I write very little and are nothing more than a quick jot of impressions. They hold snippets of photos and envelopes of flowers (thanks to Mary Ann's advice, I did not pick any flowers while in Houston)

in the back of these desk calendars, I paste in large envelopes to hold tiny envelopes, bags and scraps of paper that I can add to the pages. I also have a small box of pens, glue sticks and tape in both my car and my bag....and I wonder why my purse is so heavy.

More Vintage Wallpaper

Still trying to get back in the groove after last weeks trip. I started the morning by working on cleaning the studio and ended sorting through vintage wallpaper.  I have made three more collections of some of my favorite vintage wallpapers. They are available on my etsy shop by clicking here.
here are some samples of the papers available.

Another picture from my trip. This cute fluffy birdie was the "greeter" at Moody Gardens.

new prints available on Etsy

Thanks to everyone who sent emails asking about purchasing prints of my recent photos. I have a few on my Etsy shop and will add more later in the week.

Hopefully I will be back into my routine now that we are back from our trip and I will be able to share some journal pages this coming week.