Jennifer @Home

Where does old silk go?

Does it just fade away?

Or does it become the cover of a new journal?

The cover of this journal is made from one of my hand-dyed scarves that was so color-saturated on the first run that it wouldn't take additional colors (part of the the batik process), so it has been sitting in my closet, wondering what it wanted to be when it grew up.

I think it looks pretty happy on the outside of this journal, covered in fancy stamps and pretty paints, a fun bookmark-pocket, and the title "My Heart's Journey" (to fit with our Valentine's theme stocking at Collage.)

Part of the inspiration for this was an old mapmaker's instructional map, which demonstrates how to illustrate continents, countries, towns, islands, oceans, even volcanos!  It got me thinking about how we "map" our lives in a journal, naming the places we exist both physically and mentally/emotionally. 

So I printed the map both on the heart-shaped pocket and on the bookmark that goes inside it.  And decorated the flyleaf with more bits of the silk map, luminescent paints, vintage stamps -- mirroring the stamped pattern on the cover -- and the phrase "I name each ocean, each continent."

(You can double-click the photos to see them a little more clearly)

This was a way-fun project, and a nice weekend departure from the high levels of course-prep I've been doing during most of my spare time.  But all good things come to an end, including Interim term.  I always enjoy the contact with students and our time in the classroom, but baby Eve will be glad to have her mama at home more... back to the normal schedule.

High Levels of Activity

seem to be taking over lately!

Come see the neat stuff at our new hyenacart congo, called Collage!  The ladies there make so many wonderful things, and I am excited and honored to be congo-ing with such talented people.

I've posted a few of my little endeavors for the grand opening tomorrow (Monday!), several of which I also took to my first craft fair ever (the first one ever to "show" in, that is --) at the Bottletree cafe.  Last week was a flurry of last-minute scarf-batiking and I was really happy with some of the results.  Here's my little showing (you can click on any photo for a much closer-up version):

The one on the far left of the first photo, that is supposed to look like clouds, is Isaac's favorite.  He came to the craft show to help me out for a couple of hours.

In addition to scarves, I had some unexpectedly "hot" crochet items.  The bunnies (posted previously) really sold well, as did the cupcake ornaments.  The whole prospect of what sells well and what doesn't, in a given place, is in itself rather fascinating.  I really enjoyed Bottletree and hope to go back next year - with a better idea of what to bring.

Now that Bottletree is over, and Collage is about to go live, I'm going to shift gears toward getting this party together for Marc's 40th, and pulling together the Women in Music course for January Interim term.  Never a dull moment.  Eve's cutting some big multiple-pointy teeth (bicuspids, I guess?) and telling us alot about that, poor thing.