Memoirs: Maternal Grandparents

Posted on | May 19, 2010 | 6 Comments

These are the first few pages of my altered book journal which talks about my maternal grandmother.

On the left is a brief description of my grandmother’s family and on the right is a photo of my grandparents. Love this photo of them. This page spread is quite chunky – I used modeling paste to create the texture. I’ll try to take some photos of how to create texture using modeling paste this weekend when I work on the next few pages.

On this page spread, I did a collage about what I remember most about my grandmother. Whenever I would visit her, she was always in the kitchen cooking. I loved the food that she prepared. I also wrote a few things about her – mostly describing her when my mom was growing up. My aunt supplied the information.

It was interesting to see that while I was doing these pages, Mica and Rinoa were very curious to know who they (my grandparents) were as they saw the photos. They also couldn’t wait to see what else I put in the journal – they very much want to know more about my family history. I love it!

World Meet Dexter

Posted on | May 18, 2010 | 7 Comments

After months and months of endless pleading from the girls, I finally caved in. World say hello to Dexter, our new 3-month old Boston Terrier.

Mica: “Mommy, can we name him Sirius?”
Mommy: “Sounds too much like ‘Serious’.”
Mica: “How about Lupen?”
Mommy: “Ah, no.”
Rinoa: “How about Harry?”
Mommy: “No.”
Daddy: “How about Guinness? He’s the same color as a Guinness.”
Mica: “Nooo.”
Daddy: “How about Stout?”
Mica: “No.”

So why Dexter? You know, Dexter Morgan, the Blood Splatter Specialist from Miami.

Thanks to Grandpa for buying him for the girls.

Rinoa: “Mommy, I’m so happy that we finally have a puppy!”
Mommy: “I’m glad.”

Cucumber Sandwich

Posted on | May 17, 2010 | 4 Comments

A few days after I recovered from the flu, this was all my stomach could handle. Anything heavier than this, my body would reject. I didn’t mind though, I love cucumber sandwiches!

slices of cucumber and avocado with cream cheese and mint leaves on pumpernickel bread

Next time I’ll try it with Mascarpone cheese and alfalfa sprouts. Yum!

Memoirs: An Altered Book Journal

Posted on | May 16, 2010 | 2 Comments

I recently started an altered book project that will serve as a journal of my recollected childhood memories. I’m going to show you how I prep my pages and I invite you to play along with me by altering a book of your own. If you’ve never altered a book before, I promise you, it’s very easy, and more importantly, incredibly fun.

This is the book I’m using. I bought it at the library for 25¢. Check your public library. It’s a great resource for acquiring old, used, hardbound books. In my local library, they’re 25¢ or 5 for $1. I haven’t done anything to the cover yet but I do have some ideas on how I’m going to transform the cover. I’m just pumped to fill up the pages so I’m going to wait a while before I work on the cover.

When choosing a book to alter, there are a few things I consider. I make sure the condition and material of the cover is something I can work with. I check the size and weight of the book, and make sure I like how it feels in my hands. I also check the texture and thickness of the pages, and like the cover, I make sure they are pages I’d be happy to work on. What I particularly love about this book that I chose is how the edges of the pages are roughly cut, giving the book a handmade feel.

I glue every two pages together to make my pages thicker. And for every two pages that I glue, I tear out a page or two in between the two glued pages to compensate for the layers of photos, paints, and textures I’ll be adding to the pages. I hold a ruler by its edge along the spine while I tear out the pages to help keep the spine intact.

After my pages are glued, I’m ready for gesso. Gesso is a primer for painting. It resembles paint but is thinner and dries hard – making the pages stiffer. I use a palette knife to apply gesso to my pages. You can use a brush instead of a palette knife but I find that a palette knife keeps the surface smooth enough to write on while still leaving subtle textures on the pages. I’ll be doing a lot of writing so a smooth surface that won’t make my pen skip is very important.

I’m not worried if my pages do break away from the spine. I just restore the pages with a masking tape. Then I can treat the masking tape as another ‘layer’ on my page.

After the gesso dries, I create a simple background for my pages. First I color the entire page using watercolor crayon – a special type of crayon that is water-soluble. You can see on this page spread that gesso doesn’t completely cover the text of the book, which I like because the exposed text gives another ‘layer’ to the page.

After coloring the entire page with watercolor crayon, I squeeze some acrylic paint on a palette and spritz it with water to thin out the paint a little bit. I use a mini spray bottle (the one I have is called Mini Mister) to control the water I add to the paint because I don’t want to accidentally drown the paint with water.

I use a 3/4″ angle brush to apply the acrylic paint to the pages. While I’m painting, I spritz more water to the pages. This helps blend the crayon and paint and leaves a spattered effect on the pages.

This is the finished background page. It’s very simple because I know I can add more to it as I fill up the pages.

Like I mentioned, this altered book will be a journal of recollected memories and stories about my ancestors. This week, I’m focusing on my maternal grandparents. If you’ve decided to play along with me, here are some prompts for this week’s recollection to help you create your pages:

• Give a brief description of your maternal grandparents’ family history.
• What did you call your grandparents? Create a collage that best describes your grandparents or that reflects how you remember them.

Projects In Progress

Posted on | May 12, 2010 | 1 Comment

These are some of the projects I am currently working on.

A huge stack of photos waiting to be organized. Inspired by Stacy Julian’s Photo Freedom, I finally bought an index card cabinet to store my printed photos while they’re waiting for me to use them.

Some of the pages for my next junk journal, which just to warn you, is very addicting. Once you make one, you’ll never stop. No paper is safe anymore.

An altered book journal I’m working on about my family and ancestry. Troy saw how fun it is and started his own altered book project.

My next sewing project after the Insa Skirt – the Feliz Dress. This one is giving me major pains but it’s on its way to being finished.

I should be busy for a while, don’t you think?

Friday Art: Tale of the Heartbroken Potters

Posted on | May 10, 2010 | 1 Comment

Two weeks ago, Troy took a half day off work to participate in Friday Art Day. We had a tub of air dry clay stowed away, so Troy taught the girls the basics of clay pottery. They wedged and wedged, over and over until the clay was free of bubbles. Then they learned the coiling technique and started working on their bowls. Regardless of the outcome, their scoring and welding techniques were actually pretty good for their first time.

Rinoa rolled …

and shaped her clay into a pot.

And so did Mica.

But alas, the joy of pottery. We blame the air dry clay.

They’re not too discouraged though. They’re willing to try again next time. Learn from mistakes. That’s what matters.

Happy Mother’s Day

Posted on | May 10, 2010 | No Comments

Recovering from a nasty flu that spread through our household like wildfire. Troy and the girls were sad that we all had to be sick on Mother’s Day weekend since they made plans to surprise me. We did manage to have brunch out on Mother’s day, though we couldn’t eat much. I still felt the love.

To all the wonderful moms out there in the world, Happy Mom’s Day!

Another Lost Tooth

Posted on | May 5, 2010 | 5 Comments

Remember this? Well, seven days later, Rinoa lost another tooth. This time, she was terrified because her gum bled all over. She’s growing up so fast. Sob. Sob.

Rinoa: Aaawww, I keep forgetting to put my tooth under the pillow. {Pauses} Mommy, do you think the Tooth Fairy will still give me money if I put my tooth under the pillow tonight?

Mommy: I’m sure she will.

Rinoa: {Smiles} Well, if I’m supposed to get $5 for the first tooth, then the Tooth Fairy owes me $10 because I’m giving her two now.

Mommy: Who said she’s going to give you $5 for every tooth? {Not liking the thought of dishing out 10 bucks.}

Rinoa: Mica said she got $5 for every tooth she put under her pillow.

Mommy: Aahhh. Well, I think it depends on how generous the Tooth Fair feels.

Rinoa: {Thoughtful} Mommy, how can the Tooth Fairy enter our house if the doors and windows are locked?

Mommy: She has magic powers.

Rinoa: Can I wait for the Tooth Fairy tonight? I want to meet her.

Mommy: I don’t think she’ll come if she knows you’re awake.

Rinoa: Why?

Mommy: I don’t think she wants anybody to see her.

Rinoa: Why?

Mommy: Maybe she’s shy.

Rinoa: So you’ve never seen the Tooth Fairy?

Mommy: Nope.

Rinoa: So how do you know the Tooth Fairy is a ’she’ if no one has ever seen her?

Mommy: {Stumped} Hmmm. I don’t know. I guess the Tooth Fairy might be a ‘he’. Go to sleep.

Rinoa: Ok. Good night.

Celebrating the Modern Renaissance

Posted on | May 4, 2010 | 3 Comments

After months and months of posting seemingly random ramblings and hodge-podge projects to help me decide which of the things I like doing I should focus on for my next ‘passion-filled career’, I realized (or I guess, I started listening to Troy) that I don’t have to choose. Everything I do defines who I am and, in the past, when I tried to build a business out of each of my interests, I was miserable because I felt incomplete. Then again, I was insecure about being branded jack-of-all-trades because as the old saying goes “One who tries to do everything is capable of doing nothing.”

I thought of Leonardo da Vinci and the concept of the “Renaissance Man” – well-educated and excels in a wide variety of fields. If I don’t want to be thought of as a jack-of-all-trades, I most certainly would embrace being a Renaissance Woman. I felt it’s time to squash my inner critic and start believing in what I can do. (It helps if you have a husband like Troy who is very encouraging and supportive.)

Everyone has an inner critic – most people call it the gremlin. Mine is monstrous. I squashed him but he’s still breathing. (Who knows when he’ll recover.) It’s time we realize that these critters in our minds are not us. When we listen to them, it manifests not only in our actions but also in our tendency to procrastinate or in our proneness for perfection. We can choose to ignore or silence them. Only then can we liberate ourselves from our fears and live a more fulfilling life.

“When we listen to our Gremlin, we become rigid and hold ourselves back restricting us from being creative, resourceful and living life to our fullest potential.” – Christie Clipper

The Modern Renaissance

Posted on | May 2, 2010 | 2 Comments

A rebirth of my blog …

The Renaissance, spanning 14th to 17th century, was all about the awareness of human potential and the passion for discovery. Today, in a capitalist-driven society, stimulated by rapid developments in communication and technology, we are threatened with a life devoid of passion and interconnection as we struggle with the monotony of clockwork and the burdens of day-to-day responsibilities. We need a more soulful existence that balances logic and imagination, body and mind. Only by achieving this balance in our lives can we experience more meaningful relationships with family and friends.

Hence, another cultural movement – The Modern Renaissance.

No matter how good we are in our chosen careers, we all need to nourish our creativity because creativity fuels the imagination, and without imagination, we are dangerously restricted. It is time to liberate ourselves – dismiss the preconceived notion that creativity is only inherent to the artistically-inclined and start believing that all of us can cultivate creativity through observation, study, practice, and play.

At the same time, we need to nurture our bodies because a healthy mind can only dwell in a healthy body. We need to re-educate ourselves on how to eat properly rather than caving to the seduction of take-out and processed foods. We need to understand that a good healthy meal can be easily prepared at home.

As a Modern Renaissance man or woman, it is also important that we are globally aware and environmentally conscious. We live in a society where people behave as if they own the Earth. If we just realize that all of us are interconnected and each of us have a responsibility towards nature, and act on it, we will leave a better future for our children.

Journey with me through this cultural revolution as we infuse our lives with creative play, good food, and green practices for a more passionate, well-balanced life. Let’s make our lives a work of art.

My Mind Map (You’d probably put career in yours. For now, I’m trading mine with homeschooling which helps feed my mind.)

About Me

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© 2006-2010 Johwey Redington.

Please don't steal my text or images, it's disrespectful and you'll be subjet to karma! If you want to use any of the images, please email me for a written permission. Thank you.