2.7.12 ... favorite cookbook filled with favorite recipes

i recently reconnected with one of my best friends.  she gave me this cookbook binder  many years ago and it quickly became indispensable.  all of our found recipes are gathered here in this one giant, overstuffed hunk of happiness.  after years of mayhem between the covers, as it were, i organized my recipes by categories and replaced the worn out manila paper dividers with these fabulous and colorful plastic pockets.

i've taped little tidbits all over the inside covers but always left this salvaged piece in its prominent place...

as many of you know we recently moved out of our hotel home and into our lovely apartment.  the long wait and search were worth it.  we're slowly but surely settling in and evan built a cook book shelf for us yesterday.  so here is the story of what happened next ...

see the book.  see scout.

see the new shelf in the closet without any books.

see the first cook book placed tidily on the shelf.  and we're in business.

hi susan!  look!  do you remember this now?  

happy today and sweet dreams, everyone.  thanks for stopping by. until next time. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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8.14.11 ... a lovely birthday all day long

we had fun today despite the one hundred and a billion degree temperatures. i received phone calls and texts and facebook wishes from so many beautiful friends and families. i loved it. ev and scout pampered me all day and night. on top of everything else, tonight we had birthday cupcakes, thanks to ev...

chocolate with buttercream frosting.

i'm still happy i married a younger man. :) we'll be celebrating for a while yet. that's how we do things here. it works for us. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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6.27.11 ... we love love love love our doctor

...scout had her check up today. our beyond fantastic doctor uses the word absolutely and we love the way she says it. so i made this treasury tonight. it was inspired by her. you can see it here.  she is absolutely one of the best reasons to live in austin. we are so very lucky. i hope you all have a doctor you love, too. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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6.3.11 ... a little note to a friend

i tried to email an old friend and got the dreaded 'delivery thwarted' or whatever it's called message. so i was going to send a postcard and then i decided what the hecks, so i wrote a small note.   and, while i was looking for something else, as usual, i spied my old happiness is book and thumbed through.   and when i saw this i felt it was fate so i wrote the text on it because, in the book, the text is on the opposite page.   and i wanted to save the adorable picture of linus that is behind that page.

i like this better, as it turns out. gee, what a surprise.

and then i added the hearts. pretty dang cute, eh?

for those of you who enjoyed my tortilla post last night, never fear, i will post the recipe soon. i was thinking of doing that but a tutorial would be better so that's why i postponed it. thanks for asking. i wondered if anyone would be interested. now i know.  talk about happiness... 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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5.25.11 ... making hearts

i don't waste much. i love making hearts out of my tiniest scraps of paper. i use these in so many projects.

here are the scraps i used today.

and here is the little pile of hearts i made from those few bits.

i am sure i'll be sharing a project incorporating these one day soon. so stay tuned. 

guess what happened today? i replied to one of dule hill's tweets about today being national tap dance day and he replied to my tweet. how delightful is that? what a lovely surprise. life is good. enjoy your evening and the upcoming weekend.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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5.24.11 ... calling cards and packet

Today i finished up the loose ends of the packet heading to australia.  i made a variety of calling cards. here are my alligator bookmark calling cards.

here are a few of my heart tree and thank you for caring bookmark calling cards.  scout was sweet enough to come in and help me with the bookmark ties.  she is so creative.  i love the ones she made.  and...

... some with my house stamp.

i hope these donations help make a difference. i am honored to have been asked and to be taking part. it's a small world. and environment is, indeed, everything.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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4.27.11 ... house stamp and framed ephemera

i worked on my house stamp this afternoon and ev made the block and attached it. tomorrow i will try it and refine it. so stay tuned. all i can say is i sure wish i could see as well as this camera can!

this was a project i've had in mind for quite a while but i have been hunting for the right frame. it took some time, but boy did i luck into a perfect fit. this vintage frame is one of a pair which had expensive lithographs inside. from my research on the artist, they are most likely from the 1970s or very early 1980s. anyway, i took them out and will offer them in my joonE etsy shop frameless. i cleaned them up and used this one for my project. the paper is an antique from a Boston candy and ice cream purveyor, bailey's. i've had the doily for about 10 years, wondering why i save it and carefully traipse it from house to house. it is so delicate. but now it is perfect as a gift for a good friend of mine.

i can't believe the mat works so beautifully, too.

i love how this photo came out with the tree reflection so i'm sharing it as a photographic creation. it was a gorgeous day here today. the air was dry and there was a lovely breeze and the temperature was outstanding. the mosquitoes were on vacation. now that is a miracle, folks. i enjoyed being outside. i didn't get to play piano. i will be sure to make time tomorrow. hope your day was just right for you.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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4.10.11 ... good bye cricket

scout with besos (tabby) and cricket (tuxedo) ... three happy girls.

scout is a loving sister to her kitties. you can see why they want to snuggle with her.

i love that cricket had a happy, comfy life. she was dropped on the side of the road as a teeny tiny kitten. i found her when i went to a ladies aid rummage sale. outside was a cardboard sign propped up in the grass. free kittens. i forgot about it as i was shopping - it's not like i was looking for another cat. we had besos and chip, our beagle, already. as i was wandering around looking one last time before i checked out, i suddenly recalled the kitten sign and asked about them. the two males were taken and one kitty was left. when the gal opened her jacket and showed me the minute kitten she pulled out, i had to hold her for a while. well, i guess i never let go. i decided to bring her home and suffer any consequences later. on the short ride there, she climbed up onto the back of my neck and flopped down upside down on her back and fell dead asleep. when i arrived home and ev came out to ask how i did at the sale. i said 'look what i found.' he couldn't even see her even after i pointed her out. when he did he fell in love with her instantly, too, so all was well. that was 10 1/2 years ago.

we named her cricket because she was so tiny and shy and quiet. she lived up to her name in one way. she never did meow and eventually chirped a little now and then. in another way, she was completely different from a cricket. she really grew. and grew. and grew. she was always nervous and afraid of strangers. she loved to run behind the washer or into a closet or behind a tub. but she was never startled a whit by chip. we got a kick out of that because he was a puppy when she came into the picture. and a beagle puppy is no calming element. a year later we got ginny weasley. so all these years we've had the three girls and mr. chippy. life is a journey and ours takes a different path now.

we miss her already. and are so glad she came into our lives. sweet dreams, cricket. oxoxoxoxoxo

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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3.9.11 ... a new banner . a package . and scout's art

i've had the same banner in my joonbeam shop since the day i opened it in november 2007. lately, i've been cautiously thinking of changing it and i braved a switch today. it fits in better with the theme of my shop. it is not what i was aiming for but it's a start and fine for now.

here's a mini skinny bookmark i made as the tuck in for this package today. both the tag and it are from one slice of a vintage postcard.

and here it is wrapped up and stamped with my favorite Abraham Lincoln quote stamp. and now for scout's creation...

this became a laminated bookmark. it is a gift for someone special. :)

this is the front.

and, with that, i bid you good night. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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2.14.11 ... valentine's day ♥♥♥

happy hearts day dear readers. i do hope it was a lovely one for each and every one of you. we made old-school cookie gun heart shape cookies with sprinkles but i was not able to get a photo so i will do that in the morning. meanwhile, i took these photos last month in preparation for today's post.

this arrived a number of years ago in my mailbox from a sweetheart of a friend. anyone who knows me knows of my aversion to all things barbie, but those feelings melt away in a heartbeat where this is concerned. i just love it. it's one of my favorite things. i miss my friend very much and seeing this i am sure you can easily understand why.

i really love the dodge truck bit. the whole concept is perfect. hope you enjoy seeing this and that it inspires you as much as it does me. {for those of you who do not know, before i was joon, i was laura. so there's that.}

and here is what scout came up with for our email wishes. ...

isn't this wonderful? enjoy your chocolate high. sleep tight. extra oxoxoxoxo for you all this evening.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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1.27.11 ... pencil valentine & pastel flower magnets

i was cleaning up my art room a bit and sorting through papers and came across a rescued paper pencil bit that i had clipped out of a discarded children's book and punched a row of mini hearts across. that gave me the idea for this illustration with the single heart punch and the traditional puny sentiment. i used my regular colored pencils for this drawing and my beloved le pens for the sentiment.

then i dug out my pastel pencils and made these simple flower magnets based on a little sketched flower i had done one day and saved. i love how they turned out. i don't have many opportunities to use my pastels because they smudge easily but the mylar on buttons and magnets preserves them. so they're good for these projects. i also made the background paper using the three flower color schemes. all in all, highly satisfying creative spurt. ciao for now.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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1.13.11 ... happy days line

i designed and have been working on these on and off over the past few weeks. these are my first original prints pins and magnets (or thumbtacks). i've always used vintage and recycled papers , fabrics or original art. i wanted to create a line of my little happy drawings that i could print out. so here they are. the republican and democrat best friend pins idea came to me over the holidays when a loved one of mine and i were brainstorming for a perfectly unique gift and this situation of being best friends with someone from the opposite political party popped into my head because it fit. we got a kick out of it.. so here are a few photos which, once again, were taken outside on a very dreary day. i did what i could.

 

See and download the full gallery on posterous

the bacon dude was my first happy days character. at our house, it's all about the bacon. this one is a magnet.

blueberry gal magnet

miss watermelon magnet

polly pear magnet

the happy houses are a pair - one pin and one magnet. i have more sayings and happy days characters in the works. what do you think of them? i'd love some feedback. i will be listing this line in my joonwalk shop.

i had a busy day of creating quite a few things. hope you enjoy this sample.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

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1.1.11 ... and the kindness of strangers

a new beginning ...



i want to create and post every day this year. without any more structure than that one goal. so here we are starting together on day one.one.one one
i recently created these two recycled corner bookmarks for a kind stranger who bought a cookbook of mine. i had consigned it at a local church run thrift shop and this woman found photographs inside that looked important. she called the shop. the shop called me. i gave permission for the woman to call me. she did. she described the photos, which were vintage family snapshots. i did not believe they were mine but agreed she should send them along to me. when they arrived i was shocked to find they were, indeed, family photos including one {original} of my father at age 18 in his army uniform during world war ii. i have no idea how they wound up in that cookbook or how i missed that they were in there. but i am very glad a thoughtful stranger purchased my book. i hope she will enjoy the little thank you note, my recommendation for a favorite recipe in that volume and these kitchen-y bookmarks. i enjoy creating these and had a brainstorm yesterday... more on that another day. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart.  ox joon

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More Packaging FUN

Here's a recent package 

I sent to my favorite Floridian.

:)

As always, I recycled papers

and oddments.

The bird piece is from a coffee bag.

It is sewn onto a safety envelope bit.

You can see the reverse in last

photo below.

This is the inside of a Daisy sour cream

seal.  I stitched a safety envelope circle

onto it just for the heck of it.

The popsicle stick is from 

our delicious Texas Blue Bell ice cream.

The message continues on side B.

:)

The floral piece is a card section.

The message is on the back.  

I had a good time gathering up

these pieces and creating these

silly bookmarks for my cuz.

Do you have a favorite 

recycled packaging story?

Please share it and a link

if you have one, in my comments.

I'd love to see your art.

Until next time...

ox

joon