Project Journals

Project Books

Have you ever been somewhere and thought of a Wonderful Idea? One that you wanted to attempt...but of course you were in the middle of a grocery store, at work, dinner with friends, on a nature hike, half asleep, waiting in the dentist office...or any number of other places that would prevent you from immediately starting on said Idea? If not then I congratulate you...for myself however, that is usually when I come up with my best ideas...that and when I am washing dishes! As a result I have a thousand scraps of paper Everywhere! I put them in my stash (usually with the type of craft it was for...though one time I found a bunch of beading ideas tucked into my book-making supplies!), in my purse, on my desk, trapped under a magnet on my fridge...I tend to put them somewhere "safe" after writing them down and then not move them to my crafting area a lot of the time. Sometimes the Idea is SO Wonderful that I remember it long after I scribbled it down...but a lot of times I write it down and then forget it...so this lack of organization becomes very counterproductive. And for me that is highly annoying.

How does a habitually disorganized woman become more organized? Well, not overnight that is for sure! And honestly...most of the time I am just not any where near a pen and paper...or a sketch book...when I need it...napkins, crayons, corners of newspapers, my phones calendar, Starbucks wrappers, markers...all these things are still needed to capture a rough sketch of my Idea. I just learned in fact how to use the "Voice Memo" function on my phone! Amazing...how did I live without this technology before?! Although, in all honesty...the voice memo isn't so great with things that need to be "visual" but for some things it is fantastic! So, I now have notes on that as well!

I know what all of those who are more organized are thinking...why don't I just bring a notebook and pen with me wherever I go? Such an elegant solution! And I can make my own journals so I could make it the exact size that I preferred out of paper that I adored. And yet...it is not one that has been successful for me. Of course, part of this is that when I pull a journal out a lot of times someone is like...oooh! I love that...can I have it...and I feel guilty saying "no" especially since I know it only took me about an hour to do the coptic stitch and I could easily create another one for myself at a later date. I also tend to forget that I have it or lose it. Or the pen breaks, or I will switch to a pencil to save my clothes/purse from ink stains, and the lead will bust and I will realize I should have brought a pencil sharpener as well. Once, in desperation, I used my nail file to sharpen a pencil...it was a rough day.

However, before you throw your hands up in despair over my uselessness. I agree...a single notebook is ideal--preferably one that has either graph paper or sketch paper inside rather than lined. And I also prefer the paper not to be white...I actually find it helps me think if the paper is a pale yellow shade...or a darker creamy shade of off-white. Bright white is too expectant~it waits with baited breath for you to mar it which just distracts me. I always feel like I can only put my BEST work on bright white paper...but with yellowy paper I can put my raw ideas and not worry about them being judged. Weird I know. But you have to do what feels best for you. So, how do I solve the other issues I mentioned about carrying said journal about. Simple...I don't carry it with me. It sits next to my bed on my nightstand, with both a pencil and a pen near it (in case my cat steals one of the writing utensils) that way I can write in it in the middle of the night if I wake up with an idea...and at the end of the day I can empty my pockets and purse, clean off my desk and dresser and transfer the ideas all to the notebook! I know it seems like extra work, but it is actually helpful to me. And this way I have a nice neat copy of my Wonderful Idea! And I can find it whenever I want! (Another plus!) And once I have transferred the idea I can toss the scrap in the trash! Thereby making things less cluttered overall. :]

Here is a picture of what one of my project journals looks like:

As you can see...the paper is yellowish...in this case it is very yellow-brown. And I have done this section with pencil. I like to date mine with when I start and when I finish...this particular project journal was just started in May 2013--and my first Wonderful Idea for it didn't happen until the 9th! Luckily that doesn't bother me at all. One of these journals will last me several months if I am having lots of ideas...and I have one journal that lasted me two years once! But since I mainly use it for ideas that come to me when I am not actively crafting that doesn't seem like such a big deal to me :]. Besides my goal isn't to have lots of ideas but rather to write down the ideas I do have! Not everyone can have billions of Wonderful Ideas...I can't imagine how hard that would be! When would you rest?!

You organize the idea any way that makes sense to you~after all...it is your idea...only you can organize it the best way for you! I like to have an image sketch (mice in this case) and then a list of information about my idea...in this case what materials I wish to use, some design ideas (I do think I will have to make one with a bow...too cute!), concerns (safety concerns me with these mice because I can't have my kitty getting hurt on a toy I made for him) and any alternate versions of the Idea that I might have at the time I am writing it down. For me one idea usually sparks another...and sometimes they have very little in common.

The best thing about this project journal is that when I feel antsy and I need a small project...or a project that is completely different than the one that is currently making me feel stuck...I can go to one of these books and look through them to chose a project. If I had a really great time creating a project from the book I put a "star" in a corner of the page and sometimes I will go back to the same project multiple times (like when I was obsessed with creating biscornu's). You don't need to do this of course, there are many other ways to keep your ideas organized. And I have seen some artists who don't even need things like this...it is all in their heads! (so jealous) And for years I lived with my piles of scraps without really having an issue. So, do whatever you feel most comfortable with!

Happy Creating
Seckmea

The Stash

The Stash:

Many artists/craftspeople who do embroidery (cross-stitch, needlepoint, crewel, blackwork, goldwork, Hardanger, cut work, white work, et al) have a "Stash"...which is a collection of materials such as threads, needles, fabric, ribbons, metallic thread, any specialized tools (laying tool, tacks, stretcher bars, hoops, needle threader) that have been bought either for a specific project or for the sheer love of the item in question (this is shockingly common...i have this gorgeous silk/merino blended thread which I still don't know what I will use it for...but I will enjoy using it when I find the project I need it for!)

For those who do not embroider you may ask "why would you buy something you don't need?" There are several reasons: you like it and can't live without it for an inexplicable reason, you adore that color and always buy it when you see it, you have never worked with it and it is on sale, one can never have too many options, you have never seen it before, you are a sucker for different textures (this is always my excuse), and my favorite reason...you lust after it and you have absolutely NOTHING currently in the works that you could possibly use it for and therefore it must go into your "stash" as a seed...a nucleolus of creativity if you will...to spark new and wonderfully inspiring projects in the future when you have more time! Because if you have in your glorious "stash" possession of even one item that inspires you to find a use for it then you have endless hours of enjoyment as you plot your next project!

Of course, as I am interested in many forms of artistic expression I have developed over the years several "stashes." I call it (to myself) The Mega-Stash...or "Stash-o-Closet"

I have a stash for bookmaking: decorative or plain, different weights and textures, different source material (paper made from banana leaves, Japanese papers, paper with high rag content, recycled paper, slick paper, metallic papers, and the list can go on!), thread (all linen as it doesn't stretch over time as cotton and silk do) decorative ribbons, glue (pvc is my favorite! although i could do without my cat Simon always trying to eat it), glue brushes, exacto knives/blades, straightedge, scissors, needles(curved and straight), hole punch (I got a crop-o-dail...best 20$ I ever spent on book stuff! and it's pink!!), pencils, colored pencils, erasers (multiple types), book board, book cloth, and the ever-useful-bone folder!

I have a stash for embroidery: Thread (obviously) of a variety of shades and materials (bamboo, cotton, silk, wool, synthetic, blends, linen and metallic), ribbons (primarily silk), fabric (counted thread fabric in cotton, linen, wool), solid fabric (for things like crewel work or for "finishing" a project), wool felt, wool batting (for stuffing pincushions/biscornu's), scissors, needles (gold, silver, nickle free...tapestry, beading, crewel, sharps, doll needles, curved, glove), pins (glass headed) emery cushion, needlebooks, pincushions, patterns, projects, thread organizers, project organizers, laying tool, Magnets!, stretcher bars, tacks, hoop, frame (so useful for holding your work steady thereby leaving you two hands to work with), beads, metal scissors, frame weight shaped like a rabbit (filled with ball bearings), good lights, full spectrum bulbs (so you can tell what the colors truly are!), erasable pens, and lotion...one doesn't want to snag their silk thread with rough skin!

*Biscornu: basically this is an Italian pincushion...it roughly translates (or so I have been told...I don't speak Italian so take this with a grain of salt as I can't verify it) to: oddly shaped. it is created when two squares of fabric are offset, sewn through the middle, and then have their edges sewn together (before it is completely closed you stuff it with wool or some other fluffy filling)...weirdly this makes it look like a doughnut with a funny "ww" design around it.

I was rather addicted to making them for a year or so...I still adore them...and plan to make about 50 more in the next few years...never can have too many places to put a pin or a needle when you embroider and that is a fact!

I have a stash for knitting: needles (I prefer wooden but I have a few round ones in metal), crochet hook (for binding off), yarn (i prefer wool), bag to carry knitting in when on the go and knitting :], scissors, patterns (or in my case a scrap of paper with the pattern written in short hand), and tip covers for needles currently in use. {strangely enough i never feel i need more stash than this for knitting...}

I have a stash for beading: BEADS! (I usually stick with glass, rock, or shell...but i have been known to use metal, bone, clay, seeds, wood, and plastic), wire, string, tendon, leather, silk to string pearls (I don't do that a lot...but there was this one year...spent a fortune, but I do look amazing going out on the town!), findings (clasps and spacers are quite useful), wire cutters, scissors, pliers, needle-nosed pliers, needles, jump rings, ribbons, bells, a shallow plate so I can organize my beads/ideas.

I have a stash for quilting: Fabric (primarily cotton), thread (again cotton), needles (quilting and inbetweens), pins, thimbles (personally I have always hated thimbles and usually refuse to use them...however they are needed in this case...I found this great ones by clover...they have metal tops but silicone sides...so they stick to your fingers but, for those of you that are like me and are allergic to things like latex and plastic, best of all No Allergies!), Scissors (fabric and embroidery for snipping thread), red basting thread, and those office clips that are usually used to grab gobs of paper...those work great at holding fabric together! (better and less painful than pins in my opinion).

I have a stash for dream catchers: certain beads (ones I think will look particularly good in light), hemp, tree branches curved into a circle (or as close as you can get it), feathers, scissors, copper wire (i just love using it and have found that it nearly always looks good on a dream catcher!) and anything else you would like to put on it...I made one with bells once that was delightful!

I have a stash of random stuff that i like and think one day I might find a use for it: This box contains tiny bows, pieces of pretty rocks or shells, bits of wire, tiny plastic fish, and other strange items

Of course I have found over the years that I am a sucker for a tool (I have an entire box devoted to just tools and any tool that is useful to more than one type of art/craft goes in the box)...and scissors are my personal weakness...I must have 17 pairs of scissors...I have them for all occasions! I currently do not need anymore scissors...and yet, just today I was thinking to myself that it would be nice to get a new set of lion-tailed-embroidery scissors...as it seemed to me that I had lent them to a friend and not gotten them back... Do I need a new pair...absolutely NOT...but, if one showed up I would not complain! (and no this is not a hint that someone should buy me one...I prefer to buy my own tools as I am obnoxiously picky) However, I am going to be a good girl. As it is I don't use all of my scissors in a month...and really...what is the point of owning something you never use? It seems wasteful to me! (Do not mistake me...I am NOT going to get RID of any of my current scissors...but, I shall try to avoid buying any new ones) But that is the glorious thing about stashes...They are there to absorb the "useless" items you buy in the hopes that one day they will be able to inspire you to more moments of creativity and joy! And before you question whether a scissor can inspire someone to create art let me just show you how this can happen:

     Sajou, a french company, made a pair of scissors with a rabbit for handles...I fell in love! And snapped   them up! But...once in their sheath they looked much like all my other scissors...and this would never do as these were the BESTEST, CUTEST, most AMAZING scissors on the planet! (I still feel this way about these scissors...I can't help but smile when I pull them out!) So, I just had to make them a special sheath to differentiate them and...protect them. But what could I possibly do that was as wonderful as the scissors themselves...whatever it was it had to be "worthy' of my beautiful scissors. And so i thought about it obsessively for nearly two weeks. And tthen it came to me...I had just finished my "needlegarden" and that made me think Garden, Rabbit, Carrot...sheath... and Poof! My plan was formulated!

And so, the carrot sheath was created...and it was darling! varigated silk pearl in a size 12 (for those who care) done in a simple needlepoint stitch (basketweave...should probably have called it the basic stitch) with a ruched ribbon for the "top" (also varigated). I LOVE how it turned out!

But...I could not be finished with that...Because I was ALSO currently obsessing over Biscornu's! And I had this amazing spring green wool felt fabric in my stash I was just aching to use! I am not very skilled at crewel work however (I dislike the total lack of structure for whatever reason) and so I discarded nearly immediately the idea of putting a rabbit on the biscornu (which is also a pretty small one) and besides...the rabbit on the scissors was too cute to share the spotlight! But I loved how the carrot turned out...and so...super cute biscornu was created with tiny carrots in the corners...so when it was sewed together it looked thus! (You will notice that the tops look pretty wild...it was a "happy accident" and I have decided that the carrots know they are very close to a ravenous rabbit and are terrified so their tops are standing on end! I love it!)

It is a joy for me to use these tools...And to think...all because I bought a "stash" item that inspired me...Nearly everyone who sees these smiles and says how cute they are (and they are!) So, Stash can inspire some of your favorite projects of all time! (and, since I was taught how to embroider when I was very young and have continued to improve over the years I find myself hardly buying set projects anymore and instead just heading to the Mega-Stash when I need my embroidery fix--though sometimes it is soothing to just do something from a nice neat pattern)

As wonderful as all this "stash" sounds...it does come with hazards...like the fact that my cat is constantly trying to steal bits of it (shockingly he could care less about the thread and fabric...he wants the shiny stuff...and the book glue). There is also the fact that if you slip up or slack off even a little bit on your organization it tends to become instantly unwieldy! I swear...there are times when I look at my closet and just dread dealing with it as the "mega-stash" has started taking over and is bursting out of the closet in a bid to take over the whole room! And of course, if that wasn't an issue there is the frustration of knowing exactly the right thing to make a project "perfect" and knowing that you own that right thing...but not being able to figure out where you put it...this happens to me frequently despite my adherence to a strict organization policy. (okay, i don't adhere to it and that is the problem...however...sometimes an item can be equally good for embroidery, book making, and beading...and then you have to decide where it will be most useful...and then if you put it in say beading...but then decide it would be perfect for this embroidery piece you are doing...well, you have to find it don't you...and if you forgot that you put it in beading...well, let us just say it can take a while).

Of course, despite the risks associated with a "healthy" (I refuse to think of it as anything else) Stash the rewards are substantial. It provides a mass of items to go to when stuck on a project or when you feel the need to be inspired. And it works your brain (all that remembering). Besides...it is just plain fun. Sometimes I just pull stuff out knowing that I am not going to work on anything, that I do not need inspiration in the least, and all my projects are chugging along nicely...and i just happily go through it like a squirrel counting the nuts she stored for winter. I smile like a cat in the cream and weave dazzling pictures of future projects in my mind. I revisit old plans and approve of them (or disapprove as the case may be). i touch everything and glory in the shiny, bright, happiness tucked away just waiting for me to get back to them. I am far worse than any pirate! It is my treasure--not so much due to the monetary value (though it is true sometimes that stuff can get expensive!) but, rather, due to the rich diversity of creative potential my stash holds for me locked inside each item.

Happy Creating
Seckmea