ArtbyJean - How did you do that?: 2008

Fw: ..and we wonder, "What happened?"

And now we wonder.........."WHAT HAPPENED???"

Joe Smith started the day early having set his
alarm clock
(MADE IN JAPAN ) for 6am.
While his coffeepot
(MADE IN CHINA )
was perking, he shaved with his
electric razor
(MADE IN HONG KONG ).
He put on a
dress shirt
(MADE IN SRI LANKA ),
designer jeans
(MADE IN SINGAPORE )
and
tennis shoes
(MADE IN KOREA )
After cooking his breakfast in his new
electric skillet
(MADE IN INDIA )
he sat down with his
calculator
(MADE IN MEXICO )
to see how much he could spend today. After setting his
watch
(MADE IN TAIWAN )
to the radio
(MADE IN INDIA )
he got in his car
(MADE IN GERMANY )
filled it with GAS
(from Saudi Arabia )
and continued his search
for a good paying AMERICAN JOB.
At the end
of yet another discouraging
and fruitless day
checking his
Computer
(Made In Malaysia ),
Joe decided to relax for a while.
He put on his sandals
(MADE IN BRAZIL )
poured himself a glass of
wine
(MADE IN FRANCE )
and turned on his
TV
(MADE IN INDONESIA ),
and then wondered
why he can't find
a good paying job
in AMERICA .....

Y'all gotta Keep this one circulating, please.!

Prototype - Hand Stitched Journal #04

A brightly colored journal with floral panel on the front cover which is soft padded. Hand made paper beads match the flowers on the print which has a navy blue background.

BOOK DETAILS
Hand Stitched Journal with Coptic Binding
224 Pages - Cover Size: (15.5 x 22 cm) (6 1/8 x 8 3/4 inches approx.)
Fabric panel on front cover is soft padded.
String and bead decoration
Each group of pages in the coptic binding is enclosed with a green page so the coptic spine shows all green.
Copyright Jean Hall 2009

Bark dropping by the basket full!

Michael sorted things out for me so now I can get photos from my camera to the computer. Today I will crop the photos and load them up so you can see what I have been up to.

Every year the huge gum tree in my front yard sheds its bark. Some of the bark is really beautiful, so I gathered a basket full of it and first thing this morning I was breaking it into pieces, sanding the edges (it is quite thick bark) shaping the pieces, and varnishing some of them. I will have quite a collection when I am finished. More than enough to last me till next year's drop. Of course I am going to use it on the covers of some of my books. (I have not gone completely mad!) I reckon it would look nice mixed with sea shells and jute string. So those are my plans for today. Breaking up bark and loading up pictures.

The next thing I have to do is work out how to calculate postage so the shopping cart will know what to do.

Journals by Jean

Scrapbooks, notebooks, journals, memory books, guest books and more, all made and stitched by hand with coptic binding (open spine) These gorgeous gifts use re-cycled materials wherever possible and every single book will have at least one re-cycled product.

Little Bits and Pieces Needed - Please Donate!

Well! I got out the camera and got it working again. Actually! The camera was always working, it was my brain that had to be re-set! Also checked that the drivers for it are still on my computer. Could not find the CD with the software though! I think it may be at my Daughter's house. I may be able to get the pictures from the camera to the computer without the fancy software program ... will check that out today. Yesterday, I took photos of the three books I have made so far.

Today I would also like to get more organized. Keeping things in order is one of my biggest downfalls. I seem to make allot of mess when I work. wink!

I started a new book yesterday and hopefully, I will get it finished before nightfall today. One of the problems I am having, designing my books is matching the colors of the different elements. For instance! I have quite a few pieces of fabric off-cuts that I bought from the op shops and some that were passed on to me by my lovely daughter Wendy. I also have a few beads, some twine and some string that I bought new, but the colors don't often match-up with each other. Buying new crochet and embroidery thread costs a small fortune especially when you need lots of different colors. Any small donations of scraps of colored crochet thread and string, old beads and junk jewelry and small fabric offcuts would be so helpful. The pieces of fabric can be as small as 20cm x 28cm ( 8 inches x 11 inches ). A few of these bits and pieces should not cost too much to put in the post and would be most appreciated. (My address is below) Also, pieces of string and crochet thread from 75 cm ( 30") in length can also be put to good use. I have also made a list that you can use as a guide (see sidebar)

Making books from scraps - Join me!

This is what these kids have to do to survive!

Part proceeds from the sale of my books will be sent to the kids in India through donations to World Vision. My shopping cart buttons will be PayPal, but I would need to pay World Vision by Credit Card. Proof of each donation will be published here so you can see how much is being sent.

.
If you would like to donate any of the following pre- loved items to be used for making a hand crafted journal, album or scrapbook you can bring them to my house or put them in the post. (Address below)

THE FOLLOWING ITEMS WOULD BE MOST APPRECIATED:

Fabric offcuts

String and twine offcuts

Crochet thread

Upholstery tacks

Junk jewelry

Large beads

Wood beads

Beach glass

Sea shells

All kinds of plain or pretty paper

All kinds of CRAFT card (not from packing boxes)

Small soft leather offcuts

Craft Weaving
Cross-stitch samples
Lace doilies and fabric
Bridal and formal gown dress fabric offcuts

My address:

Jean Hall
33 Corfield Street
Gosnells, 6110
Western Australia

Donations now being accepted

This is what these kids have to do to survive!

If you would like to donate any of the following pre- loved items to be used for making a hand crafted journal, album or scrapbook you can bring them to my house or put them in the post. (Address below)
Proceeds from the sale of the books will be sent to the kids in India through donations to World Vision.
.
Items being accepted:

Fabric offcuts
String and twine offcuts
Crochet thread
Upholstery tacks
Junk jewelry
Large beads
Wood beads
Beach glass
Sea shells
All kinds of paper
All kinds of CRAFT card (not from packing boxes)
Small.soft leather offcuts
Weaving
Cross-stitch
Lace doilies and fabric
Bridal dress fabric offcuts

My address:
Jean Hall
33 Corfield Street
Gosnells, 6110
Western Australia

Making books from scraps - Join me!

Today I saw on the morning news, children in India digging through garbage to find stuff that they can salvage and sell for a few pennies in order to help support their family. This brought tears to my eyes for two reasons. One, the sadness of them needing to do it in the first place, and two, the thought, that if the richer people could just organize themselves a bit better, and give the stuff directly to the poor families, then they would not need to go digging for it among dirt and filth.

For about a year or so now, I have been trying my hand and bookbinding and made many practice books. Some turned out quite nice, others have mistakes in them that taught me "what NOT to do".

Today an idea came to me. Why not set myself a challenge to make beautiful, fun or even crazy journals ... almost completely from re-cycled materials ... then donate the proceeds to these children in India.

The pages would need to be either be 100% re-cycled paper, or scrap paper that has been donated by others. Donated paper could come in the form of unused pages from unwanted notebooks and scrapbooks. Pretty craft and scrapbook papers that were never used, or any other type of re-usable paper or pages.

The covers could be made from many different types of materials. Book card, MDF, thin timber or plywood, re-cycled covers from old books, etc. The stitching done with string, yarn, crochet cotton and even wool donated by other creative people who have this type of stuff lying around doing nothing.

The possibilities for decorating the covers are endless. Anything from sticks, sea shells, fabric scraps, old jewelry bits, beads, fancy threads and cord, ribbons, scroll saw cut-outs, small craft shapes, tie dye fabric pieces, lace doilies, lace fabric, ... in other words, anything nice to look at!

Today I have set a goal to get myself organized. Work out the dimensions for my journals, and set up a nice place to work. Wish me luck!

Fw: Heed the warning. It sounds awful!!!

Heed the warning. It sounds awful!!!
Anyone using Internet mail such as Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL and so on.

This information arrived this morning, Direct from both Microsoft and
Norton.
Please send it to everybody you know who has access to the Internet.

You may receive an apparently harmless e-mail with a Power Point
presentation ' Life is Beautiful '
If you receive it DO NOT OPEN THE FILE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, and
delete it immediately.

If you open this file, a message will appear on your screen saying:
'It is too late now, your life is no longer beautiful. '

Subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC, And the person who
sent it to you will gain access to your name, e-mail and password.

This is a new virus which started to circulate on Saturday afternoon.
AOL has already confirmed the severity, and the anti virus software's
are not capable of destroying it.

The virus has been created by a hacker who calls himself 'life owner'.

PLEASE SEND A COPY OF THIS E-MAIL TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS, And ask them to
PASS IT ON IMMEDIATELY!

THIS HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY SNOPES

http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/mailserver.asp
snopes.com: Life Is Beautiful Virus ••••
Information about the 'Life is Beautiful' PowerPoint computer virus.
...Computers --> Virus Hoaxes & Realities --> Life Is Beautiful Life
Is Beautiful Virus: Life is Beautiful.pps Example: [Collected on
the...
...an apparently harmless email with a PowerPoint presentation
called 'Life is beautiful.pps.' If you receive it DO NOT OPEN THE FILE
UNDER ANY...
...file, a message will appear on your screen saying: 'It is too
late now, your life is no longer beautiful', subsequently you will
LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR...
Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:14:49 GMT http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/life.asp

Gone out to buy paint!

I need to go out for about an hour to buy some floor paint. I am painting my work-room which will eventually be carpeted, but at this time, since I don't have a shed to put my wood working tools in, (Actually I do have a shed ... It is neatly packed away in a cardboard box) (Actually! I have 2 sheds! The other one is so full of stuff, dust, spiders, little bits of wood ... about a ton of it, plaster molds, screen printing stuff, plus all the stuff that normal people collect over the years ... Not much room to walk around in, ... I could not possibly work in it!) So ... Until my darling son finds the time to come and build my lovely shed, my family room has to be my work room. So I am going to paint the concrete floor. That way when I cut timber in there, it will be easy to clean up. (As opposed to cleaning a carpet.) So I am off to buy the paint. This project is going to take a couple weeks to complete as I have to shift all sorts of stuff all by myself and I am not so young any more. Wish me luck! If I disappear for a couple of days you know where I am.