River Bend Ranch - Patty Van Dorin

specimen box bottle topper

one of my summer goals was to learn the delicate art of starting roses from cuttings

there was much cussing and frustration with early failures suggesting that this was something I was just not going to be able to figure out.
   
then suddenly it all came together and soon I was transplanting rose babies
the first rose bud off the first rose baby was saved and dried
To celebrate this victory, I wanted to do something special with the tiny rose bud.
So I made this specimen box from an old frame and crafted a bottle stopper to fit a bottle that was found at a yard sale this summer
the two seemed to be a perfect match.

I love the fact that I can remove the stopper specimen box and maybe next summer I can fill it with dried rose buds.

Thanks for all the requests wanting more of the vintage wallpaper packs
 
I have just added a few to my etsy site, you can click on this link for more details. 
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just realized, I forgot to show the back of the specimen box
so here it is
 

big old tub of stuff

 
  
some journal pages from last week
  
    pages worked on yesterday. 
Along with basic journal supplies, I brought along one of those plastic tubs with a lid. Papers, scraps, pieces of fabric were mindlessly tossed in. It has been fun working with just the limited items I have brought with me to use in the journal.  Having too much stuff to work with can be worse than too little.

low tide

just a short blog break

  
ralph the dog and I are heading out to our favorite get away spot
 
will still be around via email
back to business as usual after the holiday 

and a couple more

 

following the horned toad path

 
there had been plans to write witty notations on these pages but I am coming up with nothing
  
sometimes the empty nothing just happens
but regardless, here are more pages from the sewn Christmas Journal

when I first thought about the workings of this journal, I knew I wanted pages of varying sizes.
the goal was to have an overlap and layering of papers, patterns and photos

still time to purchase the paper kit to jump start your own Holiday scrapbook or journal
available on my etsy site by clicking on this link 
  
it has been one of those days, the kind that nothing seems to take.  It started off by drawing a blank with the sewn journal, so I headed outside to tackle some yard work.  The mower wouldn't start, scrap that. Maybe work on the fence gate, battery dead in the drill. 

Frustrated, I started work on the garden path through the fig trees. This is as far a I could get since I just had only a few paver's. I still have plenty of the honeycomb rock that I have been gathering all summer.   So far I am happy with this path and it's off to a good start.
  
the horny toad isn't real but is a fun bobble head for a rocky garden path  

tis the season

more from the Christmas sewn Journal.
I used vintage photos in this journal but you could easily substitute photos of your family and friends to make your own unique Christmas journal or scrapbook pages.
be sure to scroll down to the bottom for information on the "tis the season" paper kit featuring many of the items used to make this journal
           today's tip - keep a small box at the work table to hold all those tiny blank paper trimmings and edges cut off old photos. They are perfect for writing on and adding to your scrapbook and journal pages.
  
"Tis the Season" paper kit is now available on my etsy site
only limited number of these kits will be available. 
jump start your journal or scrapbook with this paper kit
many of the paper, ledger pages, rub-on transfers and labels I used in the sewn journal are featured in the kit.  Click on this etsy site link for more details and to purchase

some individual items are available on the Tuscan Rose web site

all this week, I will be showcasing more pages from the Christmas Sewn Journal

chaos ensues

this is what I woke to this morning
 
no not the messy desk but 24°
I know for many parts of the country that's not all that cold but for West Texas - that's cold
  
phase one of the deck construction has been completed. Additional phases will include
1. summer kitchen addition
2. pergola type roof addition
3. landscaping
4. rock siding on entire house
this construction is slow in happening since most of the work I am doing myself. 
   
and since I had a few more hours of daylight and a couple bags of cement, I decided to take on the side gate project. The old side gate was falling in on itself and would no longer open.  All I accomplished was setting the posts and tacking on a temporary bambi proof chain link over the opening. I am making the gate frame larger since the deer were able to jump the 6 foot gate. It will also be a flush to ground to help the continuing battle with javelians and armadillos that are persistent in raiding my garden.
 
the garden archeology continues as the rose beds are enlarged
yesterday I was working along one edge when I hit something "big" buried in the yard. I became suspicious when I noticed the rings along the top suggesting a shower curtain.
I tried calling Geraldo, but his phone was busy so I staked out the area like a good little CSI agent would do.  Further digging revealed that it was indeed a shower curtain and wrapped inside was a large bunch of old metal junk.  Hmmm....more questions but it certainly has been an adventure in gardening.
 
back to indoor activities
work has begun in another of the Chaos Journals, this one is a Christmas holiday theme
 
just a sneak peek at the beginnings of this journal
   
and I think Max the cat has a good idea going on here. 
Stay in bed curled up on a quilt until the day warms up a bit more. 

The Chaos Theory Journal

work began early this morning
 
the plan was to make a journal from beginning to end in one day
  
with no thought to the process
  
the plan was to use as much scrap as possible
 
an experiment to disprove the Chaos Theory
  
working fast by stitching papers
there was no time to be wasted with glue drying
  
avalanches of paper
  
  
  
  
  
in the end, chaos won and the studio is in a worse mess than when I started
  
and that is all I have to say for today
will post more pictures later 

Wassail Holiday Paper Collection

Just arrived and available on the Tuscan Rose web site
 
The Wassail 6"x6" Basic Grey Holiday Paper Collection 
 
and this terrific Rub-On transfer collection also from the Wassail Collection
it was impossible to pick a few favorites from this collection because I love them all 
here is a sampling from the Wassail papers
click here to go to the Tuscan Rose web site, only limited quantities will be available   

the flying circus visual journal

 
it has been quite some time since work was done in the visual journal
  
the big chunky altered library book turned visual journal is at it's end
One of my favorite things is to re-purpose books found at sales but by the time I reach the end there is much cussing in the studio. Half way through this journal the binding split and needed repair. Then when I was working on the last pages this book flew off the table and hit the wall. My journals take a lot of abuse by the time the last pages are completed. It is like the journals are some part of a misguided flying circus act.

Or maybe it's that my work table is piled high with stacks of stuff leaving only a tiny hole to work in.
not sure of what I have posted of this journal but here ends the last page

the photo above and ones below are from the new journal

after the binding mishaps of the last visual journal, the new journal is one I handmade with binding made of steel. Well, maybe not steel but certainly strong enough for bouncing off walls.
  
this journal is made from pages out of a discontinued wallpaper sample book
the type of paper that the journal is made of makes little difference to me. It's only requirement is that is sturdy to hold all the added paper, paint and junk that gets added to the pages.
samples were folded in half and made into signatures which were then bound with a stitch. The covers were made from the sample book cover that was cut in half.
   
several pages are worked on at one time and often at least a couple of journals too
that way there is always something to work on while glue and paint is drying
Did you notice that the spray paint and stencils have been brought back out for some of the pages?
 
it is certain that by the end of this handmade journal, I will be eying a used book to work in again and so the cycle continues
 
**these pages are the prep part only, I am still having a hard time posting the actual finished journal pages that have the writing**