Chef Silvana & Barrio Cafe

Barrio Cafe has closed their doors.  Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza held a closing celebration.  There was music, food and other artist booths.  Lots of people having a great time.

I became familiar  with her when I was looking into Latino artist and found out she exhibited local Latino artist in Barrio Cafe and also a small gallery next door.  I loved her activism and her generosity to her community.  I finally met her during Covid, I made and delivered masks to her for the employees.

 

I purchased her book and while I was there she was happy to sign my copy and also gifted me a copy of Sunset magazine she was featured in.  

Happily got a photo with her!

A couple of side stories.  I thanked her for helping me find my way to Pablo Luna.  I wrote about him in previous blog posts of August 11, 2021 and October 9, 2022.  Once I said that I knew she was grieving his loss so I gently moved on to another subject.  Asking her to sign my copy of her book.  Once we moved to the table where she was preparing to sign the book, she told me Pablo Luna's sister was standing behind her.  I was introduced to her and told her how I knew Pablo and gave my condolences.  His sister, (which I have forgotten her name) told me she recalls Pablo telling her about me and how he painted a mural on my office wall when he was in his early 20's.  I could tell her loss was still fresh.  She mention there is plans with a foundation in his name will be planning functions.  I'll make sure to follow up.

The second thing, I met an artist who had a booth with her laser cut items.  Very unique and pretty.  I was so overheated by the hot tempatures and needed water, which as a result I wasn't at my best and needed head to my car and AC.  I got her business card and I will write more about her an upcoming post.  Overall, a great day and felt such amazing energy all around.  Great day for my soul.

Hawaii trip!

I'm heading to Hawaii next month to dog/house sit for my friends, Kate & Jennifer!  I'm going with my young friend Christine!  We're going to Honolulu and anywhere else from there!  I thought I better do my research so we can maximize our time.

Got two books at the used book store and they're full of lots of ideas of fun shit to do.  I can't wait!!

I've been making some little books for some of my trips.  The book asks "where I'm going", "what to pack", "what food i ate", "who i met", etc.....  I get an vintage postcard image off the Internet and then I use my vintage typewriter to type on notebook paper.  Cut it all down a quarter page size and put it all together with a ring.  So fun.

Starting on my Hawaii book and making an extra one for Christine.

Ledger Art Journal

 I take on-line classes with Jeanne Oliver jeanneoliver.ning.com/ (check out her website and you'll be hooked)  and one of the things she talks about in her Living Class is making a portable studio, showing her vintage ledger art journal.  Here's examples of her use of her ledger....so cool.  

Courtesy of Jeanne Oliver Designs,  

Courtesy of Jeanne Oliver Designs

I've been searching for vintage ledgers for the longest time!  I found one at the coolest shop in
Coleridge, Nebraska called 106 Vintage Co.  I'll be telling you about the shop in a post soon!
For now let me show you the ledger I found there!!!!   So excited....

My VINTAGE LEDGER ART JOURNAL entries date back to 1914.  Can you believe that? It's completely filled up to the last page.  I think it's a ledger documenting fee/dues paid to an organization.  I've figure out the organization but I'll leave that a mystery.  I love this ledger! I can't wait to use it but first I must repair it.  The binding is torn and the front cover is not attached.  

After thinking about art journals .... they can be anything....so on my trip to Italy I found two old books in Italian.  I have no idea what the books are about but I loved the texture and the pages have the neatest patina.  

I love this new art journal.  I'm taking it everywhere with me in my portable studio

Do you have an art journal (s) and portable studio?

Handmade leather journals!

I have this love affair with journals.  I have many journals, handmade and purchased ones. I use one for house ideas, one for jewelry designs, one for painting, one for sketching, one for landscape & plants, one for daily doodles, one for inspirational sayings & thoughts, one for things to do, one for business to do things, one for nothing in particular, one for things that have moved me, things & places I've been, one for photos, one for ideas, on & on & on.

I came across the Midori leather journals and had to have one.  They're not overly expensive, $35 or so.  But all the inserts can add up $$$. I came across this blog, www.mylifeallinoneplace.com/ It belongs to Ray Blake.  He has all kinds of tutorials to help you make your own Midori Travel Notebook style journals and inserts.  

I remembered I had a leather garment bag I found in the garbage at my office years ago.  I got it out,  cut it up to salvage as much of the leather I could.  I was able to get a number good size pieces and all the hardware off of it.  I used leather cleaner to clean it all up.  

I had enough leather to make three full size and two passport sizes.  I also have enough left over for some leather bracelet cuffs!

On Ray Blake's blog he has a good tutorial how to make the journal, so if you want detailed instructions go to his blog site.  I'm just going to give some idea of how I made mine using his tutorials.  

I measured out and marked five holes along the center of my leather piece.  I used a punch to make holes.   I used elastic cord to weave through the holes to make the elastic holder for the notebook inserts.  Got the cord at craft store and had the hole punch.

A neat trick used to thread the cord is to use a piece of thread and make a loop and pull the cord through the hole.  Very clever!

This is what the inside looks like.

The notebook inserts are threaded through the elastic band and you add the notebooks using elastic rubber band things and there's instructions how to combine all the inserts.

You make a loop and thread it though the center hold and it's you elastic band to wrap around the journal.

I rounded the corners of the leather with a scissors to give it a soften look

I really like the way they turned out.  My next post will be how I made the paper inserts!

Again, this is a rough view of how to make these type of journals, so check Ray Blake's blog to get the detailed instructions/tutorials.

The story of this photo album

Last summer I attended the Buckley family reunion in Marshfield, Massachuetts.  I know the Buckley family through my long time friend Paula and I'm an honorary Buckley through Papa George.  I've visited the Buckleys & the Marshfield/Boston area a number of times.  On all trips to Marshfield it's full of beach days, family, food, drinks, laughter, sightseeing, and tons of fun.  The day of the reunion we had a huge rain storm, with thunder, lightning & so much rain.  But we handled it and the reunion went on!  Two of the Buckley cousins, Erin & Taylor were sitting around not really interacting with anyone.  I talked to Erin about how many of her relatives we didn't know or meet. I thought how fun would it be to meet everyone in attendance by taking a photo with every single person.  We talked Taylor into doing the photo blast.  I announced to everyone we would be going around to take their photo.  There were lots of photos being taken this day of course but we put a spin on our project.  I took a photo of Erin & Taylor with every person.  We ended up with about 120 photos total.  We were successful getting most of the people there with exception of maybe a handful!  Everyone was awesome.

Erin, me & Taylor

Group photo and we met all of them individually!

As we went around the group we told our story as to how we are Buckleys and asked how they were related.  It was the coolest thing to exchange our stories of how everyone was related.  The Buckley family consisted of nine brothers and sisters, Mimi, Kay, Rita, Joe, Kenny, Claire, Dickie, Bobby and George. 

I had to figure out how to put this set of 120 photos together.  This is what I did....

I used two of my beach photos as the cover and back cover of the photo album.

I've never used a laminater before but thought with all the humidity and handling of the photos, laminating them would be best.

I sent out the photos to be printed.  Cut them to fit four per 8 1/2 x 11 size laminate sheets.  Cut them, trimmed them, punched holes and set them with rings.  On the back of each photo I added their name & their Buckley family tree information.

1

Ta da....finished.  I love the way it turned out.

Final packaging and sent off to the Marshfield Buckleys!

I need to put together two more photo sets, one for Erin & Taylor.  It was a fun project and one of the most memorable things I did on that trip.

Rearranging, cleaning and purging!

I needed to clean up some space in my studio for my sewing machine, needed to clean out some space in the office for treadmill, needed to find space in the bedroom for some rearranging of the bed to make room for a cool stack of books that I removed from my studio book cabinet to make room for my jewelry making stuff and supplies to make room for my sewing machine, full purging circle!  I went through my collect of books & magazines.  Soap making, wood projects, paper crafts, cement, scrap booking, lots of quilting, gardening, paper making, home decorating, potpourri, and lots of good reading.  Most of the magazines are scrap booking and paper craft.  I don't need any of them, so I'm purging magazines!  

 I moved all the good reading books into the bedroom and made a really cool stack along the wall.  All I need is a comfy chair (and time) to read them.  Actually I think I've read most of them.  One thing led to another and I found myself cleaning, reorganizing, and purging more stuff than I intended when I began.  I found a collection of photos with no common theme and realized I need to spend time on photos and photo albums.  I have too many envelopes!  I have too much paper ephemera.  But I do have tons of cool stuff!

 

It's the end of the weekend and I got it all done.  Bed was moved under a window and not sure how that's gonna work out.  I like it but not good for TV viewing for Tom.  Overall, I love the changes in our bedroom.  I love the changes in my studio, sewing machine on one table and jewelry on the main table with lots of room for supplies.  Treadmill in office, a little crowded, but who cares for now.  I may move it to the patio now that the weather is cooler and by cooler I mean under 100 degrees, haha.  I have a pile of books & magazines to give away!

Another use for them old hard cover books

I saw this on Pinterest a few weeks ago and thought I have tons of old books laying around.  So while watching football over the weekend I folded up these two books.  I love the concept and the design.

 

I love the idea of using it for my business card collection.  I think I will use them for my Christmas card display this year.  Maybe paint the book covers red, hummm....

Travel Photo Album gift

I had a series of photos for my young friend Erin from my trip to the Boston area.  I wanted to put them together in an album for her.  I went to my local craft stores and really couldn't find anything I liked.  I decided to make her an accordion style book.

 

 

 

I used 8 1/2 x 11 white card stock and cut it in half length wise.  I needed three sheets for the number of photos I wanted to use.

 

 

I scored them to make 5 1/2 x 6 size pages

 

 

Folded them in half.

 

 

I used 1/2"  blue masking tape to put the pages together to make one long series of accordion pages.

 

 

 



 

I added photos and grouped them in order of the events we did together.  Visiting Salem, touring the Constitution and hanging out in Marshfield and the beach.

 

 

 

On the back page I added a ribbon under the back page so it can be tied together.  I'm very happy the way it turned out.