WOYWW #487: A New Project

New projects take time, especially when one is starting from scratch. This one offered a series of challenges, and so it took months for me to design and make everything. I really enjoyed this process. Please forgive me if I am unable to leave many comments. The eyesight issue has its challenges as well, but I'll try and visit as may of you as possible this week regardless.

For anyone new to this fun and perennial Wednesday Blog Hop, please visit Ms Julia Dunnit's blog for more information by following the link HERE. 

The story of this gift I made for a friend may be seen in the pictures in this post. For more on how I made the faux sewing buttons, please follow the link HERE.

Happy WOYWW!

~Rose

WOYWW #442: One Eyed Challenges (#PASC1117)

It's Wednesday, and time for another adventure with my fellow deskers.

For more WOYWW fun, you can head for the hub of the fun over at the blog of our fearless leader, Julia Dunnit HERE.

Some of my fellow deskers already have some idea as to the challenges I've continued to face since the optic nerve to my left eye malfunctioned at the end of summer of this year. Many of you have continued to boost my morale with kind comments. That's really been lovely, and I want to say a fond Thank You now for your recent kindness towards me. As I haven't been able to comment to your posts as much as I used to, such generosity has genuinely touched me.

One thing I keep discovering: my eyesight's strength has had either worse or better days. A better day was when I tried doing a man's face. That was 2 posts ago. I risked the strength of both my eyesight and my morale that time by trying something that I'd never done before: a full color painted sketch of an old portrait. 

Most days have not been as easy for my eyesight as that day was. All of it is tough to get used to in that I need to be constantly vigilant of how my eyes happen to be doing. I'm forgivably clumsy at times when there's delicacy required. Such challenges have often put a damper on my mood. I'm learning how not to lose patience with the whole situation as well as how to content myself with what CAN be done each time that I attempt something. 

Junk Journals offer unique challenges, too, especially in the area of materials used in the building of any junk journal. This one has a tendency to buckle at times, so I've had to use a curly paper clip whilst taking this week's photo. 

This time, I'm trying the November Pick a Stick Challenge, the prompts for which may be found by following the link HERE.  

The challenge calls for making a pocket. I've opted to make a folded paper bag pocket out of a sheet of deli paper to which I added one of the pretty embellished papers which Win Dinn sent me recently for our paper trade. The diagonal phrase I cut from a newspaper, while the other two collaged word bits are both from a magazine, as per the prompts. 

The words mean something on a very deep level to me today. I believe that art can help me keep adjusting even if it is my biggest challenge. As for the advice to not "stress about it," well, that would be another of life's challenges.

WOYWW #430: Junk Journal Flip-Through

Happy WOYWW #430 and Welcome to the Flip-Through of my August Challenge Junk Journal.

If you'd like to find out more about Julia Dunnit's fun weekly Wednesday blog hop, please visit her excellent blog HERE. I may get behind in responding to comments as well as visiting the whole list early enough. Please forgive any lateness. I should be able to manage it eventually, even if I get behind. I am an irregular, sporadic desker, so you may not see me for a few weeks.

So what is on my particular workdesk this time around? A finished Junk Journal. I'm offering a "tour" of its many pages here. My guests are welcome to view as few or as many as they wish. I actually did not think that there would be enough time to finish it, but once I'd rediscovered the ease and quickness of wrap style bookbinding, I knew that I'd soon have the whole thing done and ready to be played with. This is a long post, so I will leave the rest to the photo "slide show" below. For more on the earliest stages of this project, guests may wish to follow the link HERE.

I can hardly wait to see what my fellow deskers are up to this week!

WOYWW #429: 2 Experiments

For me, this is a special treat, to be allowed by something unexpected to join in again this week.

If you'd like to find out more about Julia Dunnit's fun weekly Wednesday blog hop, please visit her celebratory blog HERE.

So what is on my particular workdesk this time around? Two experiments, one that worked out and one that needs redoing. Let's start with the one that needs some redoing, and end with the one that really turned out better than I'd expected.

At last, it's time to outline my small but helpful success. Ink jet printer ink is notorious for smearing if ever dampened. I wanted to use some of my own Plush Possum Studio ephemera in my new Junk Journal (please see last post). After all, why not use what a lot of others keep using? Ink jet ink was my stumbling block - till today, that is! Now I know that an evenly applied layer of Liquitex Heavy Matte Gel Medium on a gel plate is my answer! 

I learned in my first experiment (also luckily successful) how to gauge when the paper would have to be removed from the gel plate before serious wrinkling could occur. Next, I want to seal the back of my Ephemera page and allow it to dry completely before cutting out what I am using.

Note: Always do a cleanup pull using scrap paper such as deli paper following sealing using this new method. I've found that sometimes even day old pages can leave traces of printer ink in the gel medium residue left on the gel plate's surface. I also highly recommend a cool water bath with some mild detergent for the gel plate. This is the best way I know to remove all of the gel medium residue.

And now you can see my results! Not one bit of smearing.

Happy WOYWW everyone! I can hardly wait to see what my fellow deskers have to share today.