Hawaii Travel Journal

I've shared some of the photos from my week-long vacation in Hawaii this summer, and also gave a peek into the little kit of art supplies I took along with me for my journaling.  Today, I'll give you a look at some of the pages in my travel journal. 

This card commemorates our ELEVEN HOUR layover in the Denver airport...ouch!
My chubby airplane kind of bugs me, but oh well...

I have a new favorite way to keep a travel journal while I'm on a big vacation.  When I went to Alaska a couple summers ago, I took a stack of index cards, some of which I had "gussied up" ahead of time with tape and stickers.  I used all the different pamphlets I collected on our cruise and the port stops to create collages on the index cards, and wrote details of our daily activities on the back of postcards I purchased at our various destinations.  When I got home, I collected them into a stack, hole punched them, and connected them with a binder ring.  Voila!  It was such a simple way to collect all the ephemera and stories from our trip.  I made one of those Shutterfly photo books over a year later, and was able to flip through the cards for all kinds of fun details to include in my captions.

I planned to do the same type of journal for Hawaii, but at the last minute I decided to create a little book out of cereal-box cardboard.  I covered the cardboard in my most "Hawaiian-spirited" duct tape, used a Japanese screw punch to make holes in the spine for the binder rings, and filled it with index cards and index-card-sized papers in what I saw as beach-y, ocean-y colors.  

We finally made it to Waikiki, and eventually to Kailua!  E komo mai means "welcome".

Oh, poor Katy...If a man-o-war was going to sting anyone, it was going to be her!

This time, we stayed in one place for the whole week, and it was a bit more of a relaxing beach vacation, and less of a sight-seeing sort of vacation, so there weren't as many postcards involved.  But you can see how I used the cards to capture the stories and details of our trip. 

Our morning hike to Manoa Falls

A two-hour horseback ride at Kualoa Ranch

My husband's trip to Pearl Harbor and my shopping excursion in Kailua

The Chief's Luau at Sea Life Park...a spectacular view and a great fire dance

At the back, I made some collages of words and images from some free publications I picked up in shops in Kailua. 

Now I have a bright, fun, detailed source of summer Hawaiian memories!  If you would like to read through my Top 10 Hawaiian Memories, with photos from the trip, check out this earlier post.

Tea Box Books

Remember the Raisin Books?

Well, raisin boxes aren't the only thing in my stash of upcyclable packaging!

My next duct tape notebook project involved making little purse-sized notebook out of Sleepytime tea boxes.  And, boy, do I go through a lot of Sleepytime tea! 

I used a different style of decorative tape on each book to hide the plain green electrical tape I used to attach the fronts of two tea boxes together.  Many of the tapes came from the new selection provided by my step-sister Amanda, straight from Japan.

I used regular graph paper for the insides of these notebooks, and I think this is SUCH a practical-sized page for actual sketching and note-taking on-the-go.

It also makes a sweet size for early morning inspiration notes over a cup of coffee (or, perhaps more appropriately, tea!) from your favorite mug!

I am such a fan of these little books!

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I have been captive in my own home for the past week because my children have both been sick, one with a sinus infection and one with an ear infection.  I am so grateful that we have a doctor we can visit, and medication that they can take, so that they are back to their playful selves this morning after just a single dose!  If I'm lucky, I might even make it out of the house this weekend! 

Best wishes for a blessed Easter weekend.

Raisin Books

Duct tape journals...they commanded our total attention...

 

blog posts, swaps, videos and photos....

 

for such a short time, and then...

 

nothing...

But now I can't walk to the recycle bin without evaluating the materials I am carrying there as potential notebook covers! 

I have amassed quite a large collection of cardboard packaging.

I pulled these little golden raisin snack boxes from my collection box yesterday, used red electrical tape to bind them, and cut paper to size that has graphing squares on one side and lines on the other--practical paper for note jotting.

They are the perfect size for pocket or purse notebooks!

More From the Mailbox

Today I'm sharing some of the other art goodies I have enjoyed finding in my mailbox over the past month. 

First, from Laurie of Lone Black Bird, this lovely hand-drawn thank-you note:

I love the time she takes to add a personal artistic touch to her cards!    (And I'm a big fan of the washi tape on her envelopes, too!)

Next, I want to share a fabulous stitched piece by Viv of Live. Grow. Nourish. Create.  On her fantastically-named blog, Viv shares her drawing, stitching, and home-schooling adventures.  When she posted about drawing with her sewing machine, and shared some of the results of her collaging experiments, I happily offered myself as a recipient of her work.  And luckily for me, she took me up on it, and sent me this piece:

It will be finding its own spot on my craft room art wall!

Next, I received a journal in the Mail Me Some Art duct tape journal swap.  This book came from Barbara in Massachusetts--a nice, big notebook with a variety of handmade and found papers to inspire my art journaling.

There is no better way to assure goodness in your mailbox than to join in on a swap.  You get what you give!  If you are interested, be sure to check out Karen's Mail Me Some Art site in the new year for new swaps.

For another one of her swaps, we created bookmarks.  I was lucky enough to receive one from Karen herself:

And here is bookmark #2, front and back:

And bookmark #3, front and back:

Heaven knows I have enough books lined up to read to give these bookmarks a workout!

 

Finally (for now), I just received this colorful see-through confetti package from Mary, Mary, Uncustomary:

She sent me a whole bunch of unique magnets, from a decorated clothespin to a layered paper flower, to a Greek souvenir, to a beautiful Anahata Katkin piece from Papaya.  Now I wish my fridge was in my art room!

Many thanks to the wonderful artists and correspondents who help keep our mail art friendships alive!  If you are interested in doing any swaps with me, please check out the Swaps tab at the top of my blog, and get in touch!

While You Have Your Duct Tape Out...Part 2

After I made duct tape envelopes last week, I was further poking around Brit + Co. and found her tutorial for creating gift bags from duct tape.  If your duct tape is pretty and your gift is flat (like a book or card set), this is a pretty clever idea. 

The project has the added advantage of using papers that would otherwise be thrown into the recycle bin, like old catalog or magazine pages. 

When Brit created her gift bags, she used two separate pages for the two sides of the bag.  She laid down two criss-crossed layers of tape, and then taped three sides together.

For my bags, I used a single catalog page and folded it in half.  Then I just laid down one layer of duct tape, wrapping it around the edges to the other side.  Then I laid down one layer of tape on the other side, trimming the edges this time.  Finally, I used tape to reinforce the bottom.  I wasn't consciously trying to save tape, but my approach uses less tape anyway. 

One thing I did try to do consciously was select a catalog page that looked pretty when you peer down into the bag.  Pottery Barn Christmas catalogs have pretty full-page photos of decorated tables and trees.

The final step involved punching two holes at the top and inserting a ribbon to tie in a bow at the front.  Brit suggests that you could also use a shoe lace or yarn, and include a duct tape gift tag--cute!



Just another gift-wrapping option for you to consider this holiday season!

While You Have Your Duct Tape Out....Part 1

By now, I'm sure that you have made at least one duct tape journal...right?

I even got my mom on board while she was visiting last month, and she sent me the most beautiful and touching embellished journal in the mail yesterday.  It had all the things in it that I needed to see and hear right now!

But I digress....

While you have your duct tape out--making duct tape journals--there are a couple of other projects that you should also try.

I found a duct tape envelope project bookmarked in my Favorites, and as you know that I love making my own envelopes from magazine pages, maps, calendar pages, and just about everything else, you know that I had to give it a try.

You can find directions for making duct tape envelopes at Brit + Co.  Basically, I followed Brit's instructions for creating a kind of "duct tape paper," if you will, and then followed my own envelope tutorial steps for creating the finished product.  So here is what I did:

1.  Following Brit's instructions, I laid some (super-cute) Hello Kitty duct tape in overlapping strips straight on top of my cutting board.

2.  I pulled the sheet of duct tape off the cutting board and turned it over.  Then I laid down overlapping strips of a different duct tape on the back going crossways.

3.  I used one of my envelope templates to draw directly on the duct tape "paper."

4.  I cut along the lines, and here is the front side of the cut-out envelope:

And here is what the envelope looks like when I am holding it closed:

5.  To secure the envelope, I laid down another strip of the duct tape right across the back, and then trimmed the edges.

And that's it!

Here's a peek inside:

And here's my duct tape envelope collection so far:

I can't wait to send one of these lovelies through the mail!

Sadly, I am officially out of Hello Kitty duct tape.  I am feeling a certain incentive to expand my duct tape collection!

Stay tuned for "While You Have Your Duct Tape Out...Part 2"!