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Creating a Book Binding Kit

August 4, 2021 Leave a Comment

Creating a Book Binding Kit

Today I am sharing a completed project from one of my What I’m Working on Wednesday posts. This idea came to me when I ordered a few supplies for my journal making. I have always used a pokey tool for making holes in my journals and since I have plans to make a lot more of them I decided to purchase an awl and a few other materials.

Of course then I thought how nice it would be to have a little wooden box to house them all in and the project you see before you what born!

I will put a list of the materials I used in the resource section below but I started off with a plain wooden craft box and gave it 2 coats of purple paint and then I decided I wanted to try out my paper mosaic kit. I received this for Christmas last year and haven’t tried it out. I thought putting a tile look on the top of the box would be really unique so I gave it a shot. The only thing I didn’t like was there is a yellow tinge to the tile. I’m not sure if I did something wrong, if it’s a result of the products I used underneath or maybe it’s just old. I am going to give it a try on another project and I will let you know how it goes.

I then added the grout which is the first step for the paper mosaic tile kit and when that was dry I added ripped pieces of a gelli print I made. I loved the look of these and the brightness of the colors. Once they were all glued down I decided to use my mini paper punches and cut out hearts and stars to glue to the top. I then added the silver foil to the top. It has a really nice effect but the foil is hard to give a full cover to so you may want to try it on some scrap paper before using it on your project.

Lastly I sealed the whole project with the last step of the paper mosaic kit. Overall the box looks good but I think I would have been happier if I left it painted and just wrote on the top but I do like how unique this makes the piece which is fun too.

If you would like to watch a little process video I have that down below for you. You can also view the resource section below that to see all the products that I used. If you have any questions please do comment below I would love to hear from you! I hope you are having a beautiful day!

Resource section

Apple Barrel Acrylic Paint in the Color Grape Jam

Tim Holtz Distress® Paper Mosaic Kit

Mini Heart & Star Paper Punches came from Stampin’ Up!

Video Music by Joystock – https://www.joystock.org

This post shared as part of Friendship Friday Blog Hop

Weekly Creative Challenge #2

August 2, 2021 Leave a Comment

I hope this post is finding you well and looking forward to some creative time this week.

Last week, as you may remember, I started this little challenge project and to be honest I am really proud of myself for sticking with it and sharing what I created. I admit that while I love challenges I hardly ever remember to stick with them but I have a feeling this one might be a little different. This week I took part not only in this challenge here but one in Jennibellie’s Ning group. I’ll share with you what I created for that challenge in my weekly round up of projects.

If you saw last week’s post you know our challenge word was “Summer.” I wasn’t sure what I would create when I chose that word but I was pretty sure my kit from the Lollipop Box Club was going to be a part of it. If you are unfamiliar with these kits check out my Resource Section a little further down this page and you can visit the shop.

To be fair everything that could go wrong with this project did! I was doing it at night and none of my tools seemed to work properly and I seemed to be all thumbs. Still I persevered and I am really happy with the result! I ended up making a little hanging piece that I am going to put add a summer photo to. I haven’t decided what photo I am going to use but I want it to be something that sums up what I have loved the most about this summer.

I started off cutting up the box that my kit comes in (I love these boxes and use them for so many crafts!). I used one of the rectangles from the box as my base and painted the perimeter to coordinate with the papers I had chosen. Once that was done I added the heart doily at the bottom and decided I would use the “summer” sticker on top. The white was a little stark and I decided to use the peach colored tissue paper as a backdrop to the black sticker and add a little pastel orange to the heart itself. I was really happy with how they all looked once together.

The last step once everything was glued down was to punch holes in the top and add some white twine to make the hanger.

I am really happy with how this turned out and think it will be a project I do quite often to showcase some of my favorite photos. It adds a really nice handmade and cozy look and is a fun way to display photos. You could even glue photo corners down so you could change your pictures in and out if you wanted.

I did film a quick little process video as well if you want to check that out at the end of the post. Before I go though I wanted to tell you this week’s challenge:

Ice Cream

Be sure to join the InLinkz below to share what you have created and so we can stop by your blog and say hello! Please do comment below if you have any questions or to just say hello!

Until Next Time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Music by Joystock – https://www.joystock.org

What I’m Working on Wednesday: Felt Dolls, Paper Tiles, Cardboard Buttons & Journals

July 28, 2021 Leave a Comment

It’s been a little bit since I shared a What I’m Working On. I often wonder why I start writing blog series as I very often forget about them. I have been having lots of wonderful time in my little creative corner and getting so many projects done and completed so it reminded me how much fun it is to share them with you. I also will do my best to provide updates for these projects and share once they are completed and for some I will have some process videos where you can watch me make them start to finish. Once those posts are up they will be linked within this post for you.

So what have I been working on? Well, lots of things. I am really enjoying having several projects in various stages going at once. While one coat of paint is drying I work on something else and while that coat of Triple Thick dries I paint this piece. It’s a lot of fun and keeps me from getting board or getting too precious with any one project because they all just feel like play time.

I had a wonderful afternoon this past Sunday with the house to myself, a cup of tea, a little chocolate and my paints. I started painting this box I bought online. It has a special purpose that I will share in my process video to come out next week where you can see the ins and outs of how I made it and what it will be holding. It was a fun and easy project. I painted it, added some tourn paper scraps from a gelli print I did and added some Tim Holtz grout and paper tile. I have never used the paper tile before and the glaze seems to have a bit of a yellow tint to it. Not sure if it’s because it’s a little older (I got it back at Christmas) or if it still isn’t totally dry. Either way it was so much fun to make! Of course I realized after that I could remove the hardware so as not to get paint on it. Something I remedied when painting the second box.

These boxes came in a 3 pack of varying sizes and I am going to use the smallest one to house my crystals. I started painting it blue then decided I would rather pink and as I tried out the pink and saw the two colors together I fell in love. It looks like cotton candy and is so happy and fun. I also am going to sew a little cushion to go in the bottom of the box that all the crystals can sit on.

I have also been addicted, uh, having fun making cardboard buttons. This idea didn’t originate with me. I first saw this on Jennibellie’s YouTube channel (link in the reference section below) and thought I had to try it! I make mine differently than she did in the video but no matter how you make them they are really fun and simple. The best part is it’s a great way to use the off-cuts of cardboard when you have left behind when making a journal as well as small paper scraps. You can also use those 6×6 paper pads we tend to end up with stacks of. I am working on a little process video to share with you but they really are super simple and fun to make. I love using recycled/repurposed materials in my art. The photo here is of the buttons just about done-I only need to punch out the 2 holes in the center and seal the edges.

Another item I have been working on is my clay doll. This is a project from a class I am taking at Willowing. It’s a really fun class and I have been letting my little angel doll emerge slowly. Right now she is sitting on my table waiting to be painted. I am still trying to decide if I am going to use yarn for her hair or paint it on. I think I might start with painting and if I’m not happy with how it turns out cover it up with yarn 🙂 I don’t have a process video for her since she was part of a paid class but I will share a blog update once she’s all completed so you can see her.

I am also making a photo album that’s going to be a gift. We have some ideas here in our family about what we may or may not do with it as it’s an anniversary gift for my kids grandparents. My oldest 2 have been having a lot of fun with The Wreck this Journals I bought them and my husband had the idea to make this album a “wreck this photo album” and to put all sorts of prompts for the grandparents to complete. Like “take a photo in front of the world’s largest ball of yarn” and things like that. I haven’t included a photo-namely because I forgot to include it when I was taking photos and also it doesn’t look like much yet since it’s just a cover but once we decide on how we are going to make it and I have it all done I will be sure to share it with you all.

And lastly I am working on another felt doll. I really love making these! They are so nice because you can sit in a chair and hand sew them together-something I love to do. I might do a whole post on just my felt doll set up because I have really made it all very easy and contained-let me know if you would be interested in a post on that. For this doll I am making Harry Potter. My oldest daughter was invited to a birthday party and the theme is Harry Potter. My kids hadn’t shown much interest in the books or movies before and this past weekend we had a family movie night and watched the first movie-they really seemed to like it! Now we are reading the book together and of course, making felt Harry Potter dolls. Well, I’m making the dolls. I am going to try and make a complete set of Harry, Ron & Hermione for my daughter’s friend as a present and I am also thinking I need one to add to my felt doll collection.

If you would like to see the pattern I am using I have linked it in the resource section below. I would love to hear what’s your working on. Please comment below and if you have a blog share a link so we can all stop by and see what you are working on this Wednesday.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Resource Section

Jennibellie YouTube Channel: She has a wonderful channel with TONS of tutorials and amazing inspiration for your art journals. She also is great at using recycled materials and making do with what you have on hand. She’s where I learned to make the cardboard buttons I mentioned. You can also join her free community site here.

Willowing: Tam’s site has some AMAZING classes! This is where I am taking the self-placed Sacred Self Care Art Doll Class.

Baul de la Malinka: This is the Etsy shop where I purchased my Harry Potter felt doll patterns. There is a 3 pack that includes Harry, Ron & Hermione that I opted for.

*Note: All of the items listed above are being shared for your convenience. I purchased any and all materials with my own money and have not be paid or sponsored in any way for sharing these items. I share them because I like them and I love supporting small business. I hope you find them useful!

Weekly Creative Challenge #1

July 26, 2021 Leave a Comment

Photo by Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante of my Color-Filled Creative Space

I hope you are having a wonderful start to your week. I had an idea today of a weekly prompt to spur on the creative juices and to have fun playing in either my art journal, writing or even clay (my new found love). It also seemed like a fun thing for us to enjoy together where we can share our work for the prompt and not only be inspired by each other’s work but to also find more blogs to follow and support.

So today I am going to share this week’s prompt and then I will be back at the end of the week to show you what I created. Depending on what it is there might be a video tutorial or a craft with me that you can check out as well. I will come back to this post and update it with the links to what I created this week so if you are finding this after the fact you can jump in and see all the fun.

This week’s prompt is: Summer

Perhaps not the most original but it came to me along with the idea for the weekly prompts so I wanted to give it a voice. I was surprised to find that I am sad there is only a little over a month left to summer. I admit my heart lies with spring and fall and that the immense heat of summer is absolutely something I shy away from. However this year I am loving my garden and my little outdoor patio so much that I wish I could extend the growing season just a bit more. So the prompt for summer might be a fun way for me to connect with what I am loving so much about this season.

Would you like to take part in this week’s challenge? It’s really fun and simple. Just click on the InLinkz below and share the URL to your blog post for this week’s challenge. Be sure to stop by other blogs and comment on each other’s work. It’s a wonderful way to build a community of friends who love making art just like you!

I also had a little fun and created a badge for those of you who would like to join in and display it on your blog. Want to add the badge to your site? Just copy the code below and paste it on your blog!

Until Next Time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Claiming Your Creativity

July 14, 2021 Leave a Comment

I am currently running on a wave of creative energy. Today I am working on a fairly in-depth project here at Dreaming Dilettante and as a part of that project I wanted to write a bit about how I started to not only make time for my creativity but to claim the time and how that made such a difference for me.

Before I go into claiming my creativity I wanted to share a realization I had. I have never in my life used the word “career” referring to myself and/or my own work. I spoke of jobs and work but never career. The realization was a bit of an eye-opener for me because I realized that I never felt any work I did before (for which I received a paycheck) was a career. They were always place holders for that thing I was eventually going to do. More recently though I didn’t feel I could use the word career because it can’t be that big of thing if you aren’t being paid for it right? If you aren’t receiving a paycheck regularly then it’s not a career or a job right?

So what is it?

When I decided to claim the weekend mornings for my creativity I shared the idea with my husband who thought it was a great idea (he’s kinda awesome). As I was talking about this idea of claiming the weekends I was able to see where my own personal blocks had been in really owning my creative time.

You see, I didn’t think I could make time for my creativity because I wasn’t being paid for it. How could I justify taking time each day just for my art? Now there is probably 3 books worth of delving into why I felt like that but suffice to say I just decided that was all kinda crap and I’m not going to think like that anymore. To help me along the way I was gifted with the realization that before any amazing creative was getting paid anything for their amazing creativity they, well, weren’t getting paid, but they still were being creative.

You have to write a book before you can get an agent and/or a publishing contract. So before any great writer was a published, getting paid great writer they were telling friends and family “sorry I’m writing, can’t.” At least I imagine they did. Or perhaps they squirreled away in the wee hours of the night writing secretly by candlelight.

Either way they made time to do the thing they loved to do simply because they loved to do it.

I realized that even if I never make a penny from all my creative endeavors I still love them. I still want to do them. Elizabeth Gilbert in her book “Big Magic” said she never asked anything from her writing she just showed up. I think that’s beautiful and it made me think of all the things I asked of my writing before I even gave it my full attention. How I begged it to give me a publishing contract so I could get out of that job before I even dedicated daily attention to the act of writing.

I was thinking of selling my art long before I connected with the essence of my art. Long before I really fell in love with making my art.

It was a bit like going on 2 dates with someone and asking for their undying loyalty and devotion when all you had done was have 2 meals with them and decide you kinda liked them.

My creativity deserves so much more than that. It deserves more than my taking time for it, more than me squeezing in a few stolen moments here and there.

It deserves my full devotion. In fact, when you find that thing you love to do. The one you would do whether or not you earned money from it. It’s more than a career or a job even if it pays you boatloads of money. That thing that’s not a career and not a job? It’s purpose. It’s the whole reason your soul hopped aboard this human ride. It deserves claiming.

So I claimed the weekend mornings. On the weekends for 3-4 hours I do my creative thing. I am in my tiny studio space, I light some incense (which really helps set the tone and creative energy) and I sit down and I play. I start with playing never with the intention of finishing anything or making anything. I just play with things that look like fun to play with. My first weekend I made cardboard buttons, air dry clay stars, a wooden 8×8 painting of a girl my son thinks is me, a new journal cover, set up a new journal and began the cover for one of my energy journals. I also slapped down a lot of paint in my sketchbooks and journals and overall just really had a great time.

For me, “taking time” feels like something I am stealing away with. I am taking time out or taking time with-it almost feels like I am pulling from one place and putting it somewhere else. “Claiming” the time feels powerful and strong and like I am declaring this space as my own. It just feels better.

I will be honest, I do hope to one day receive money for the work I do. I would love nothing more than to retire my husband and spend my days making art, sharing art, inspiring others to make and share art and making some money while I’m at it.

For now however I am going to spend some time getting to know my creativity. Take her out on some mini-adventures, maybe some dinners and really get to know who she is without making any demands of her-or myself. Right now we just want to play, get to know each other and have fun.

Here’s to courting our creativity.

Until next time…

-Michele aka The Dreaming Dilettante

What I’m Working on Wednesday

April 21, 2021 Leave a Comment

It was a challenging weekend my creative friends. I am not sure what energy was flowing in and around but I struggled a lot with finding ground. Fortunately I was able to rest, reconnect and read which seems to be my magical potion when I feel overwhelmed, exhausted and just not myself. I didn’t have it in me to create anything until Sunday yet Sunday proved to be a really great day and I worked on lots of fun projects.

The best part was that I reconnected with truth and I’m very grateful for that.

So what did I work on? I am in the process of creating a Collage Journal. This journal is so much fun already I can’t wait until it has pages in it. It’s also something I have been filming and I am hoping to start sharing some of my process videos with you all really soon.

In addition to the Collage Journal I am making a tutorial on how I make my journals-or as I call them “Dilettante Diaries.” Sometimes we get caught up in the name of something. “Is this an junk journal or an art journal? Is this a glue book or scrapbook?” I just like to make things and I don’t really care much for falling into a recognizable camp. That’s never been my think. Calling it a Dilettante Diary says it’s just like me-whatever it wants to be and whatever I choose to use it for in any given moment. Freedom right?

I also am filming this process and I am going to be offering it as a tutorial here on the site. I’m hoping to have both journals finished this week and then with any luck I can share them with you next week which is really exciting.

One of the reasons I am making these journals is because I am teaching an online Patreon class for the lovely Lisa at The Lollipop Box Club. I have been a subscriber of Lisa’s boxes for years-they are the only creative subscription boxes I get and I absolutely love them! When Lisa launched her Patreon page this year I signed up right away as a supporter and it’s been so much fun. I love the community that’s there so when Lisa asked if I would teach out to make a journal I said yes! In preparation for the class I wanted to make a few journals to show as demos but also to fine tune my process to make it easier for everyone joining in. I really excited (and a little nervous) but I think it’s going to be great. The class is this Thursday and if you are interested in joining. The best part is even if you join after the classes has happened you receive access to all past posts-isn’t that awesome?

I also made a storage box to hold my memory keeping goodies. All the die cuts, stickers etc. that I use when I document photos. Amazon had been using these super cute boxes for a few of my orders and I knew I had to reuse them for storage and it’s come out really sweet-plus it works! If you would like me to share a video on how I made it just comment below and I would be happy to make one.

I finished 2 small embroidery patterns and they came out so cute. I just love buying full kits where it comes with everything you need to make an embroidery. All I have to do is sit down and start.

I also have been working on my air dry clay creations. I made a paint palette (inspired by Pink and Inko on YouTube) along with a pinch vase, a little well to hold water for water coloring, a paint brush rest and finally a pin. I am still painting them up and then I will have to coat them so they can hold water but I’ll be sure to let you know how they come out. And of course if you would like me to make a video on it just comment below!

The last project in the works is a puppet for my son. He loves puppets and with his birthday coming up next month I want to make him this puppet we found online a while back. He loved it and wanted me to make it the same as the sample so I ordered the fleece, the eyes and now I am waiting for one item for the armature but otherwise I can get started. I’m hoping to maybe cut the pattern pieces out this weekend and start stitching it up soon.

So that’s what’s going on with me. It seems like a lot but I assure you I work in bits and pieces as and when the mood arises. I do try to make time daily for creativity as it’s really important to me. I love the act of creating and I often find myself at the craft table.

Wishing you a creative week.

Until Next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Resources:

Embroidery Kits (great for beginners!): I get mine from Penguin & Fish

Pin and Ink YouTube

Puppet Pattern: I purchased this puppet pattern from While She Naps. I made her felt doll pattern a few years ago (A Liam for my son and 2 Emmas for my daughters for Xmas) and they are so cute and a definite favorite!

A note about my resource section: If you have questions about any of my blog posts and you post them in the comments I will do my best to answer your comment as well update the Resource section for everyone.

Creating a Book Binding Kit

Resource section

Ice Cream

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