This Week in the Studio: Frustrations with Starting a New Business

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Happy Monday!

Today I am sharing my weekly studio vlog and it was a bit of a challenge. Most of the week went well as I was able to get some studio clean up done and I also set up my new writing binder for a new story I am working on. I have signed up for a Self-Publishing course and I am really excited for it. To prepare I began with getting my current work in progress. I write all new stories by hand first in a notebook. My first edit comes when I type it into my computer. There is something about writing hand to paper that just connects me to the story in a way the keys don’t. It’s a fun way to get to know my characters and their world.

I set up a binder which is a new system for me, that is going to hold all my story information. Characters, worlds, plot, chapters that sort of thing. In addition to the one I am writing there are several others waiting to be edited so they can be self-published. I would love to have a book ready by the end of the year to publish-even it’s just all the editing is done.

When I first saw the class I was really excited and signed up for the waiting list. I have been following the author for a while and I really love her approach to career and this course feels in alignment with my own career goals. I’ll be sure to keep you posted as to how it’s all going.

The other goal I had this week was to print the sticker sheets I have been creating and add them to my shop. Theoretically this was going to be easy. The hard part of conception and creating the art was over right? I was so wrong.

I have been wanting to turn my art into stickers forever and I have tried over the years and basically ended up really, really unhappy with my cutting machines.

I finally thought I had it all worked out and then the machine (my newest one) was giving me issues. I managed to solve those issues only to have my printer give me problems. In the end, I have re-designed my stickers and I have one sheet available for purchase-woohoo!!! I am very hopeful that I will have the rest of the stickers done and ready for purchase by the end of the week.

To celebrate the sticker sheets are shipping for free so yay! You can purchase a sheet here if, like me, you love your coffee too 🙂

I will also share a secret little item that, for now, only you my faithful blog readers will know about. I have a new journal for sale in my shop too! If you have been following along in my Make a Journal Series this is the journal I make and this Friday the last of the videos will go live. I will also promote this journal for sale so if you would like to pick it up before then you can find it here.

So that was what was going on this week in the studio. I have lots of new projects in the works and I am hoping to have some new dollhouse content up if I could just decide on the upstairs flooring. I still think I want full carpeting but I am really not sure. I will keep you posted.

I hope your summer is going well. My oldest two have been enjoying camp for the past few weeks and I have been playing chauffeur. Looking forward to next week when the schedule quiets down for a few before another week of camp.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

 

 

 

 

 

How to Make a Junk Journal: Part 2 The Pages

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Hi everyone! Today we are going to be making the pages of our junk journal and this is really where you can let your creativity come alive.

I added a photo from a children’s book to the cover. This was a book I bought for my oldest when she was a baby and it has gotten pretty worn over the years. It’s called The Eloise Wilkin Stories by Jane Werner Watson. I used the ripped book for my journal and I purchased a second copy used for our book shelf. If you are looking for a place to buy used books online I usually shop Thrift Books. Their prices are good you can usually choose from different levels of wear and tear and their customer service has always been great. (Affiliate link:  If you make a purchase using this link I may earn a small commission but you do not pay any more)

I want to start off by saying if you don’t have a lot of materials do not worry. You can use plain copy paper (like I do) to get started. In my journal I am using some 11×14″ page that I folded in half both ways and then stitched up the sides to make pockets. It’s not coffee or tea stained, it’s just regular old copy paper. You can use book pages, magazine pages-whatever you have!

I have some vintage stationery paper that I attach together with masking tape along with some vintage envelopes that were sealed shut. This is a great way to use items from your recycling bin or maybe some children’s books that have been ripped up and aren’t wonderful for reading any more.

To attach vertical pages together I line them up next to each other and then put a piece of masking tape down to attach them front and back. You can use washi tape too which will give a nice look to the pages. I chose masking tape to go with the vintage pages of my journal but you can play have fun.

Once I finished gathering my pages I went ahead and started stitching my plain paper. I added decorative stitches that also closed the openings on my folded pages creating the pockets. If you are using smaller paper you can still stitch down the sides just to add some decoration. I also raided my fabric scraps and attached some fabric to make colorful tabs on my pages as well. You could glue paper, ribbon or lace if you don’t have a sewing machine.

I personally like to decorate my pages so they aren’t blank but not so much so that they feel like they are completed or locked into a certain theme. I want whoever is going to be playing in this journal to be able to make it their own.

Once you have all your pages decorated you can decide how many you want in each signature. I put the pages inside my cover to see how much room was left over to help me determine the number of pages and then I divide by the 3 signatures I want to have. I like to sew in 3 signatures because it’s easy for me and I find the spacing works nicely on the spine width I tend to use.

In the next video we are going to start to sew in our signatures. Don’t worry it’s easier than you think!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Studio Vlog: A Relaxing Compilation of Studio Work

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Happy Monday everyone! I have a new studio vlog for you where I piece together a few different days footage that I have been collecting on my phone.

You may remember me mentioning that I am still trying to get the hang of studio vlogging. I will record but then often the footage just sits on my phone because I usually decide it’s not that interesting. However, since I love watching studio vlogs I really wanted to work to share some with you so I went through my recent footage from last week and a little older footage from early spring and compiled it here for you.

This past week was really exciting as I was FINALLY able to get my cutting machine to work for making stickers. I have had the worst time trying to make sticker sheets and have tried over and over for years with various degrees of success. I really want to start offering sticker sheets when I re-launch my shop so I gave it another try and was SO happy that it worked! I was very grateful to my fellow artist and business owners over on Insta that helped me out.

In this video you will see me going for a walk and some shots of the flowers that are currently blooming in my garden as well as in front of my studio space. I do some work in my creative corner at home and then venture over to the studio for some writing time and my first attempt at making clay pins. I hope to share the results of those with you next week.

How about you? How is your summer going?

Until next time,

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

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How to Make a Junk Journal: Part 1 The Cover

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Hi everyone! Welcome to my new series where we are going to learn to make a junk journal from start to finish. If you have have never made a junk journal before this series is going to walk you through step-by-step. I will over lots of examples for different materials you can use as well so you don’t need to run out and buy a lot of materials. I want this to be a fun, easy and expressive way for you to make your own journal without having to break the bank-after all we are just using junk right?

So let’s get started!

Today we are going to begin work on our cover and here are the supplies you will need:

Cereal box or other chipboard packaging. Think the back of a notepad, brownie and cake mix boxes (they are actually my favorite boxes because they are the perfect size! Whatever you have to hand will work.

Brown paper bag, kraft paper or wrapping paper

Glue/Double Sided Tape: PVA glue will work but my favorite is double sided tape but you can also use a permanent glue stick.

Scissors

Paint if you want to paint your cover. Regular old craft paint is perfectly fine but you can decorate your cover is so many ways. Stickers, markers, stamps-use what you have to hand!

That’s it!

Let’s get started:

Step 1.

Cut your cereal box/chipboard.
I cut my to 9″x6″ I like this size because I really like using regular letter size paper and this size cover allows me to use a full sheet of letter paper folded in half. You can cut yours to whatever size you like-the process is the same.

You can also double up your chipboard to make a really sturdy cover if you want.

You also need to cut chipboard for the spine. It will be the same height as your cover and whatever width you want. I cut mine to 2″. I also glued 2 pieces together for the spine.

Next you want to attach the covers to your spine. In the video I am using book binding tape but you can use regular masking tape. I only used this because I have it and I never use it-because I generally use masking tape! It’s much cheaper and works just as well. You may have to use a few more layers of it to get the sturdiness you want for your cover but it’s a great option that’s readily available in most stores.

I lay a piece of the tape down, sticky side up and then place the spine in the middle of the tape and the covers on either side leaving a small space so the covers can open and close. If you want to measure you can leave a space the thickness of your chipboard between the spine and the cover.

Step 2.

Next you will ned your paper shopping bag, kraft paper or wrapping paper.  If you are using double sided tape I like to add it to the 3 edges of the cover. Then you want to lay your book cover on top of your paper. If you are using wrapping paper make sure that the pretty side is facing your work surface. Then you want to fold over the sides of your paper and “wrap” the cover.  You can cut the corner (see below) so you can a nice corner. Just don’t cut too closely.

If you are using a liquid glue the paper may warp and bubble a little just keep that in mind. I would then put glue on the full cover and spine and glue it down to my paper folding and wrapping the edges adhering them down with more glue.

Step 3.

This step is optional but I like my journals to feel like a book and to not have any “wobble” with the cover and spine. To help with this, I take masking tape or in my case book binding tape and I place some on the inside of my cover (the part without paper) and overlap the cover and the spine. I put down a few pieces until I am happy with the sturdiness.

Step 4.

If you are using wrapping paper or want to keep your cover brown like you kraft paper you can skip this step but I love to make colorful journals so I take my favorite color and paint the entire cover including the inside flaps. You can let this dry and then apply additional coats as needed. This is where you can really be creative. You can add fabric, stickers, magazine images-you name it! Have fun!

Once your cover is completely dry you are done!

I hope you found this helpful. If you are more of a visual learner I have a video below where you can watch me follow these steps and make your cover along with me, pausing as you need to.

In next week’s post I am going to share how to make your signatures and decorate them several different ways.

Until next time!

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Studio Vlog: Episode #1 July 1, 2024

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Today I am sharing a glimpse into my studio life. I have been wanting to film regular studio vlog’s for a while now and they always seem to get started and then I just don’t finish. I hope you like this as I plan to share these more regularly with you.

I started off giving the studio and outside in the hallway a little clean which felt so good! Once that was done I sat down to do a bit of a brain dump in my catch all journal as a way to transition into actual work. Then I started making some notes and sketches for the storage I want to add. I have decided that I want the studio to feel a bit lighter. I am a very visual person and need to see what I have available to me but it’s gotten to the point where it’s a bit more cluttered than I would like. So I am going to purchase 2 wall cabinets, a sewing cart and some peg boards.

I am going to work in stages so I am sure I am buying only what I need so I decided to start off with cleaning off some of my book shelves. I also emptied some paper storage drawers I have that I have not been using. It was a quick job but one that looked daunting at the offset.

I finish up this studio day with a bit of art as well. I am going to keep sharing the transformation as I add storage and clean up the studio. Let me know if there is anything you would like to know more about or see in upcoming blog posts and I will do my best.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

 

Summer Reading: Library Edition

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Today I am sharing the books I have checked out from the library and hope to dig through for my summer reading. I am also taking part in Sue Jackson’s Big Book Summer Reading Challenge. which is basically reading a book that is 400 pages or more during the summer months. I have a few contenders for this challenge the first one being “A Discovery of Witches” by Deborah Harkness This book was recommended to me by one of my local librarians and I am excited to finally dig in. It’s a pretty hefty book-over 500 pages and I have run out of renewals so I plan on starting off with this book on June 20th!

Next up is “The Prince of the Skies” by Antonio Iturbe which is also a candidate for Big Book Summer. I love the little prince and this book caught my eye when I was browsing the local libraries one evening. It’s the story of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of “The Little Prince” and his work as a pilot. It sounds like a really fascinating read.

The same night I also found “The Miniaturist” by Jessie Burton As you know I am a beginning miniaturist so this book really called to me and sounds like a unique story.

During the same wander I found “Royal” by Danielle Steel novel which is not a normal pick for me but this one sounded like an interesting read. It takes place during WWII with a princess in hiding and I had to pick it up.

I always have a large stack of books both in my own collection and checked out from the library that I never have a problem DNFing a book if it doesn’t grip me in the first few pages. I love to read books I enjoy and, as you can see, books of varying genres so there is always something new to pique my interest.

Are you taking part in Big Book Summer or do you have any reading plans for the summer? I would love to hear what you are reading. I will be back next with my Summer TBR Kindle edition. Wishing you a lovely week!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante