7.3.11 ... italian dictionary ephemera upcycling

this was one of my many projects for today. scout salvaged these from the dictionary whose cover you see beneath them. added my own italia colors accents and will turn them into buttons and magnets for my joonbeam shop.

so darn cute, eh?

i had fun with them. i also made a strawberry shortcake cake - sponge style. and we went to see the film buck this afternoon. loved it. before we left i got this suitcase prepared for my very first local pick up! i made these bookmarks from vintage clue game cards. these are my first from those cards.

after we got home i did some mending and worked on rearranging my art room shelves a bit in a valiant attempt to make some more space. we shall see how that turns out. i made a pot of pinto beans and ham to slow cook overnight. all in all, it was quite a productive day. oh! i almost forgot. my watch repair (yesterday's post) turned out fabulously. i forgot to get a photo. will try to remember tomorrow.

ev will be back with the whipping cream soon so hasta la vista, baby. enjoy your holiday. 

God bless America.

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

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3.14.11 ... display tower and einey's birthday

on wednesday i will be in a spring fair and i have been thinking and thinking of an easy and space saving way to display my items. it is quite a challenge because my table will be quite small. i came up with this wooden tower idea and when i was preparing to try it out i ran into the glitch that the one panel - which is actually the box top but becomes a side - needed to be fastened to the other piece. so i got out some trusty rubber brands and they worked great.

i never dreamed of using them for yet another purpose and look how great this will be. i originally thought of using little rolled up pieces of tape on the backs of the cards. but this is so much better. tomorrow i will make more cards and put my jewelry and pins on them. and voila' - i'll have a display tower. and recycled - just the way i like everything.

and i can utilize all four sides for my pins, jewelry and recycled corner bookmarks.

this view includes one of my favorite einstein quotes: imagination is more important than knowledge. and it's his birthday today. did you all celebrate by using your brains? do tell.

i'm still under the weather so this tower made me happy. now we'll see what else i come up with tomorrow. i wish i felt better but it will just have to be what it will be. i'm sure we'll enjoy the day regardless of my organizational status. time for one last cup of tea tonight.

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

Posted via email from just joon

1.10.11 ... newsletter & packaging

today was my last day to visit with the boys and val. we brought them to the airport this afternoon. my creating for today was here on my computer, designing my new newsletter template and sign up form. so because i don't have photos from today, i am including some recent packaging pictures from joonbeam sales.

hope you enjoy them. i should be getting back into some larger projects now that our little family holiday is over. i have a long list of ideas i am anxious to see unfold. it seems that it is much easier to brainstorm and add to the list than it is to put aside daily housework and errands and get started on one of the countless dream arts. do you find that to be true? if not, please share your tips. i need them!

this set of buttons is shown on its packaging, which is, like the collage papers the buttons themselves are composed of, a vintage children's book illustration. this one is a page folded over and stitched across both ends. the ORIGINAL envelope corner bookmark was a little added surprise extra. the ORIGINAL stamp is a vintage office stamp i found just this past year. i love it.

this set of buttons was made using paper ends from vintage thread spools. their packaging is a recycled card stock piece with a bit of old fabric and vintage ric arc attached for pizzazz.

this blue envelope corner bookmark has a mixed media design. the marbled paper was made by my sister years ago. i only have a few bits and pieces left. i had fun incorporating this one onto this corner design.

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

Posted via email from just joon

Sharing Beauty on a Sunday Morning

Hello Friends. Just found THIS in the NYTimes online and it is a wonderful, inspiring respite to those who appreciate true art. If you love photography, you'll love the feature.

And, how does Robert Downey Jr. fit into all this? Well, not that he needs a reason to fit in anywhere, but he is featured in the presentation. And, complete coincidence: I am listing this set in my joonbeam shop this morning. Just the pinbacks, ladies. The photo stays with me.

How's your Sunday? Well, I believe it may have just improved significantly. :)
ox joon

i love you like etsy

etsy has a new trademark agreement policy & my design was approved! Next to sign and return the contract, but, naturally, I wanted to include one of my pinbacks. And, then, naturally, I needed to send it in style ~ my style ~ and then, naturally, once I started browsing for something to catch my eye...and, well, it just kept going from there. This is Manhattan for the love of kismet. I mean, honestly. It was a sign.




Note: Click on the photo above to enlarge and read text with ease.

The toughest part was finding the picture of the earth in the right size. I wanted it to be a balloon. And I wanted an earth taken from space. People, I have only 14 days to return this contract!!! I have standards which does make my life challenging. No, I do not want an earth printed off of the internet. It has to be found in a discarded magazine, book, calendar or ??? Do I have a vault full of these? No Ma'am. No Sir. I do not. I gave myself a deadline. If I couldn't find one by last night, I would have to illustrate (GULP) my own. eek! Desperate times call for desperate measures, folks. I had an earth balloon in my head and come hell or high water, there was going to be one on this collage. No matter that all I sought was a simple attractive square in the first place. Let's be serious here.



There was only one way to solve this. I started working on my new horse linocut. (My first! This is another story. You can see a couple of photos on my flickr or my post on CAD. ) As I was searching for magazine pages for my little pony :), there she was!!!! My little blue planet. She was a little too large, but the thought of resorting to plan B ... Next ... how was I ever going to cut a perfect circle around her? Hey ... this looks like the size of my pinbacks. Hey... wait a minute... and the earth balloon magnet, she is born! Now, the true dilemma... how do I part with this baby? I am sorry, but this is one sweet collage. I am going to send it. And pray that whoever receives it at the other end of the rainbow has a brighter day because of it. Life is a mystery. I'm adding another to the mix.



What would your reaction be if, in the course of your workday ~ this includes you, house people. Remember, I am one of you and yes, we work! ~ you opened an ordinary envelope (OK, we all know, that is not possible here and I will be making a super joonie envie, but... I am overcome with the power of the written word) and this fell out onto your surface? I would love to know. The truth. Thank you for making it this far into my tale.


PS. Be sure and let me know if you'd like to hear how it all turns out, too. Or if your answer to this is: God forbid. ox to you all & happy, happy birthday little blue planet

Yesterday was Mister Mister's Birthday! Hooray for Chippy. He's 8 years old. Scout took this a few weeks ago and I cropped it and used it as my etsy avatar for his birthday. Everyone seems to be enjoying him so much that he has a reprieve and will stay for a few more days.

I just designed and made my very first Mister Rogers Pinbacks with a little phrase I coined myself. You can see the first three on my flickr page by clicking HERE. I am very excited about them. I have had the idea in my mind for months ~ even before I started my etsy shop.

I have been neglecting this blog for a while and the treasury, but here I am and, so too, my new etsy treasury called April Showers. You can find it there until 3:39AM on Thursday. I also have a photo of it on my flickr page, which is why you might be seeing it on your right in the slideshow!

I awoke to the honor of learning I am featured in another artisan's blog today! Jana, who I recently met through my BBEST etsy group, has a beautiful blog, Serendipity Collections. I know you will enjoy visiting her blog and her etsy shop, PaperFields, where she sells gorgeous handcrafted cards that are truly works of art.

I have so much catching up to do but I must leave some good news and excitement for another day so I will see you then. Happy April everyone. Here's to Spring!