Patty Van Dorin

found loose in the mail

It's been so long since I have shared any journal pages, that I don't have a clue where I left off from "The Supreme Journal".

On the journal pages below, I will write on them, cut, paste, and add more. 

why I like to journal

The best part of keeping a journal is that it can be anything, there are no rules, it can be whatever you want it to be at any time. It can be serious or silly or just a record of daily life or any combination. There is no limitation on materials or paint or paper. A journal is open to every possibility. A journal will wait patiently for you to return.


so long, and thanks for all the fish 

journal page from "The Supreme Journal"

looking for a bigger fish bowl

journal page - looking for a bigger fish bowl
metaphorically speaking that is, not looking for an actual fish bowl

spring flowers are brightening my day, even the tiny little daffodils
teeny tiny ones

this year, I am in love with the pale pink aubrieta and I must plant more of them this fall

the contrast between the flowers and the rock is probably what I like best

 

where I sit and drink large mugs of tea in the afternoon

Do journal pages look more interesting if they are photographed on table where they were made?

Don't you love trying to look at everything in the background that forms the studio that people work in? 
I know that I love seeing messy caotic studios where there are layers and piles of stuff all over just waiting in turn to become something.

These pages are from "The Supreme Journal", see the category side bar link for more from this journal. A cut and paste kind of journal that was made from a mix of paper with enlarged photos sewn here and there.

Pockets were made with all kinds of stuff thrown in, then everything was bound together with no regard to order.
It's a big messy journal just like the studio I work in with only a small space carved out to work in.

All kinds of paper gathered from daily life.
A place to put stuff like bizarre letters from family members that may become humorous over time.  Unlikely, but they are gathered among the pages just in case.

Speeding tickets from foreign countries, menus, reciepts and junk mail, everything finds a place in this journal.
Flotsam and jetsam is my favorite type of journal, everything that washes up in daily life.
A wreck of a journal.

Bits and pieces are clipped to pages, some make it onto the pages, some become lost in the mess only to resurface to become part of some other journal.

Anything and everything is fodder when I make a journal, like half a record. I have no idea where the other half is or why I happened to have half a record but it seemed to belong in this journal.

and I bought a new chair

seriously....white leather
Any guesses how long it will stay white. BUT, it was on sale and comfortable. I have convinced myself that it is okay if I get paint or markers on it.  When the white leather gets to a point of no return I will glue paper and paint on it making into a working chair journal. 

A chair journal, now that is fun. 
I predict it isn't long until some paint intentionally gets spilled to speed this process along.

At some point, there will be spray paint and stencils involved.

and something added to my etsy shop because I love making things other than journals even though my blog readers want to see journal pages.

As a self supporting artist, crafter, journal maker I have to make stuff to sell, so bear with me.


Sewing Motor Controller bracelet
(clever how I came up with the name for this one, some things just name themselves)
click here for more pictures and details

do you still journal

Yes< I still journal even though I have not been posting many of my journal pages on this blog.

Mostly it's just old boring stuff, it seems like I am stuck in a formula, doing the same pages over and over again with the only changes being in the images.

So here's a journal page spread for those of you who have emailed me asking, "what's up with not journaling ?" See, I am still journaling, mostly in "the supreme" journal. Click on the "the supreme journal" over in the categories to see a bit more.

These pages are a study in "a" and record of some things I have recently made.

Speaking of things that I have made, I am adding stuff to my etsy shop when I can find a bit of time to write up the listings.

Winter Whites
more details by clicking above to go to etsy

Currently blooming - mixed pot of bougainvillea
This past summer, a local garden center had a tray of bougainvillea on discount. One of those good sales that can't be passed up, so cheap they almost paid to have someone take the plants away. Anyway, I picked up five in an assortment of colors and tossed them all in one pot training them into a tower.

Normally, I don't care for mixed color plantings in flower pots but this grouping of bougainvillea is putting on a explosion of color that is just what I needed on the patio.

Did you notice the scallop edges on the leaves?  I have some kind of critter, probably a looper catepillar eatin' at the leaves. It appears that bugs come free of charge with discount plants.

The Supreme Journal

 
A journal I made a couple of years ago that I am just starting to work in.

 
A scrappy layered journal with a record album used for the cover and lots of pictures and mixed lot of papers.

 
A long forgotten friend this journal is, full of scrappy goodness, funky 60's wallpaper and just plain old good stuff. A journal that just makes me smile every time I pick it up. Full of old memories and adding new ones.
 
more updates as I continue in this Supreme Journal

***Today I am sad for the people who purchased my house last year and are now battling the Texas wild fires that are burning and have forced them to evacuate. I know they loved that house as much as I did when I lived there and it is sad to see so much lost in the fires. And I am sad for all my little lizards, I can only hope they are safe in their little burrows.***

a supreme new journal

Wire bound journals are my favorite type for a daily junk journal.
 
The Secrets Journal last page has been worked. This journal was made from a vintage 70's lesson book and has some pages included from the original.

Sometimes I wire bind the journals with all kinds of crazy paper and stuff but the Secrets Journal didn't have many inclusions.

When I knew I was going to be living in the gypsy wagon and it would be several months until I moved into my next house, I made several journals in advance since my wire binding machine is in storage.
 
The Supreme Journal has been patiently waiting and this journal was made from a vintage record album and has lots of fun stuff inside.
 
In this journal there are vintage records, early 60's and 70's wallpaper, personal photos and a fun mix of vintage paper. This will certainly be a fun journal to work in.