Halloween Smash Journals

Fall in the desert!

 This morning I awoke to this beautiful sight! The temperatures have dropped into the 70's so we have the windows wide open, soaking up all this abundant sunshine and cool air. 

Such a beautiful day inspired me to sit down and work on a little series of Halloween journals.  

Just something fun to store all those great pictures in...  

Images from Graphics Fairy

  If you are ever in need of some great graphics check out the Graphics Fairy! She puts up new images all the time. These are just some fun ones for Halloween. I edited them a little and printed them on Vellum. 

I have discovered black and white images  print the best when you put it on fast draft or normal. 

K&Co Paper Pad

 I am making three different styles over the next couple of days using a great paper pad from K&Co... 

Before and After

 I love how the cover turned out. Now I just need to add in the pages and some of the spooky graphics.

Upcycled Smash Book Journals for my Instagram Photos

As a young girl, I always had to have a purse on my shoulder, a baby doll in my arms, and a notepad and pencil with me. Who knows what I was scribbling down at the age of 5 but twenty plus years later I am still that little girl; only I traded the baby doll for two large dogs. My passions never change they only evolve with time. Old musty books, creamy paper, and a smooth fountain pen are just a few of the things that make me this girl giddy.

These journals are great for Instagram Pics

Over the years I have tried many different kinds of journals and have never really fallen in love with any of them. I have used Moleskine, Leuchiturm1917, Ciak, and many other types of fancy leather, hand bound journals but none of them were right for me. That perfect combination of durability, character, and paper, kept eluding me.

 I wanted something that was inspiring and could hold all of my thoughts, scribbles, and bits of life.

I finally decided to sit down and make my own and the results are whimsical books filled with pages of ephemera, watercolor paper, envelopes, and pockets that can stand up to the abuse a loved journal is sure to experience. I also really love the binder rings so the journal can grow and the owner can move, stuff, or rearrange how they like.

All the materials I use are rediscovered  from long forgotten boxes, stuffed away in garages or attics. I hold on to my love of old books and reuse the hard covers for my journals. Believe me, it's very hard to tear apart an old book but I keep telling myself it's getting a new life.

Between those to old book covers is a whimsical collection of ephemera. All bits of life I have collected from various places, years, and people. I sprinkle in my own custom graphics and mixed media art to make them one of a kind journals.

I fill my personal journal with my Instagram pictures, scribblings, and drawings, They are also handy to press flowers and leaves which can be later added into your journal. 



 During a late night peruse of Pinterest I found a link to an online Journal Class. It's called Remains of the Day or ROD and from all the reviews it looks like a fun class. I plan to do this with a couple girlfriends and have fun with it. You can check out ROD  at: http://saraberry.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/12/remain-of-the-day-class-on-sale.html

Printed out the Steps....

 I just purchased the class this weekend so I am excited to get started on it and learn some new techniques for my journals.  I'll keep you posted on the progress and if any of you have taken the class I would love to hear about it.

   Happy Fall from the desert!                                                         

                                                               

Sorry things have been stagnant on our site lately. The days pass by so quickly I can't remember what happened sometimes. From sun up to sun down we are running errands and I never seem to have the free time to sit down and write on the blog.   If I don't start making the time to work on the blog when that special moment we want to share with the world happens, it will be lost. So starting this week I am making time to work on my goals... Don't let me slack off again!  

The last month or so faded away faster than one of our glorious Fall sunsets. 

 

Mother-in-Law and puppy party

The highlights of our past month include but are not limited to:

•  My mother-in-law packed up her life in Florida and drove across country with a German Shepherd, wolf/husky, and a rather destructive African Grey Bird.The first week she spent here in our little house. We had more animals than humans in it! Nearly a month later we only have 2 out of 3 PODS unloaded and boxes everywhere...
• I got new wheels! That is, if you call a 1985 Mitsubishi Montero, new.  For the last 4 years we have only had one vehicle. It's been challenging but we have managed to make it work. Finally, I have my own car to scoot around town and scoot I do. She is no speed demon. I am pretty sure I will be putting a decal on the back window of a turtle with the following phrase: "Slow Mover." Not to mention it's a stick shift so learning how to drive a manual transmission here in Las Vegas has been loads of fun. I named her Bouncer since the driver's seat is a  hydraulic bouncy chair.  How cool is that?  Watch out Vegas here I come. Beep.Beep...



Jenn and Bouncer

• We celebrated the first day of October by visiting a local orchard right here in Vegas. Gilcrease Orchard offers a surprisingly large variety of fruits and veggies all waiting to be picked fresh off the plant. We spent most of an afternoon hunting out the perfect pumpkins, pears, apples, and veggies. Nothing says Fall like wading into a huge pumpkin patch and picking your prize right off the vine.

Yes, that is an Orchard in the middle of Las Vegas

• For those of you that don't know, on Dec. 21,2012 the world is rumored to end; zombies might attack, or some other unforeseen catastrophe might take place. Matt is surprisingly excited about these possibilities and dare I say looking forward to the potential collapse of society. Today we scored a smoking deal on camo netting (rumored to be a magical cloaking devise from zombies of course from what we were told) and  we are looking forward to getting our military trailer back from the shop so we can make a trip down to the gold claim. We also hope to be far, far, away from any TV during the elections this year. Last round of elections we spent hiking the A.T. Trail in Georgia/North Carolina.

  

  Gravenstein Apples ready to bake

• Fall baking has commenced and the aromas are mouth watering. Cinnamon, pumpkin, vanilla, and apples waft through the house begging to be eaten. I think tomorrow pumpkin muffins are in order. 
  After sampling many different recipes I have stumbled across a real keeper. Found this on Pinterest and gave it a try. Everything you love about Fall in one bite:)
  http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/pumpkin-cake-doughnuts-recipe
  
  

  

  Yummy in my Tummy

   Oh and just a little tip, if you have a cast iron cornbread pan then definitely fill it with this batter. I tried making them in a muffin pan and my cast iron pan and they came out even more delicious in the cast iron. Everything tastes better when cooked in a good, old fashioned cast iron skillet. 
  

   We spend any spare time trying to enjoy a hike here and there and working on our crafting projects. Matt has been swamped with orders for his cabinets and I am usually covered in modge podge and paint creating something special for my Etsy shop.  

Turning old boxes into functional cabinetry

Custom travel journal for a special lady

 Now you are caught up with all the latest from the Connors. One last note, I decided to delete my Facebook account after their latest upgrade. Matt is considering making the cut as well. With all the changes we decided it was too much of an invasion of privacy and it's riddled with viruses. So if you wanna see whats happening you will have to stay tuned to the blog.

Off to unpack our flannel shirts and boots for the cold front that is suppose to blow through the valley this weekend. Yippee, bring on the cold!