8.31.11 ... framing my first caricature chibi print by scout

today i framed scout's first impression of the chibi stamp she made for me. i found this frame at fred a while back and couldn't resist it because i love the design of it and the original photo...

how sweet is that? when i took it apart i found another adorable photo of this young lady when she was younger. i wonder where she is today? i bet she looks exactly the same. i had no idea what i would use the frame for when i bought it and when i saw the size of the chibi stamp i was happy and hopeful that my guess that it was a match would be correct. like it's previous insert, it is just a simple something that is special to who it is special to.

i know i will love seeing this everywhere i move. it will easily find a new home in our houses. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

8.30.11 ... mister chippy and the girls

i made something pretty cute today but i can't share my photos yet because that would spoil the surprise for the person who will be seeing it in their mailbox in a few days. so i will share that soon. so, hey, any excuse to share my babies with you... here's one i snapped of mister mister last week. such a sweet old man.

and here are the girls, ginny in the foreground and besos. our home is a happy one for our pets. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

8.29.11 ... my chibi stamp project and a package

today i made some bamboo paper note cards and envelopes using our homemade stamps. this one is scout's chibi caricature of me. isn't it amazing? she has a few refinements to make but we have to wait until ev builds and mounts it onto its block. but with 109* temperatures he isn't in the mood to go outside and work with his power tools. go figure. so it's a bit tricky making prints with it. for now.

i can't handle how good she is at this.

here's my crocodile. he's on the back corner of my notecards. they have my house stamp on front. and here is a package i prepared today...

pretty cute, eh? the jewelry box has handmade shredded tissue paper and miniature hearts sprinkled inside.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

8.28.11 ... blueberry coffee cake

today my creative activities involved hours of organizing and straightening my art desk drawers and paper stash files. i had these beautiful photos from another day. somehow i feel these are much more interesting than my mess of papers. although, it was fun finding all kinds of things and tidying up everything. it's a dirty job but somebody has to do it. meanwhile, back at the ranch, this is the maine blueberry coffee cake ev made for my birthday breakfast.

isn't it lovely? and it is divine, too.

we need to talk him into another one. i miss it already.

i hope you all had a beautiful sunday and i send you best wishes for lots of happiness in the new week.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

8.27.11 ... tin can becomes pencil can with a twist

here is my step by step process for today's creation. we use these tin cans for our silverware and pencils and markers. but this time i wanted one i could safely toss my scissors into so i thought i'd make a variation on a hot pad as a cushion. i had this scrap of designer fabric and i folded it in thirds and then...

... in half and stitched through all layers in no specific fashion or pattern.

i trimmed around and discarded the excess and ...

... there we are. a pretty little protective base for my scissors. have i mentioned i am a scissorholic? i am. time for another episode of psych so ttfn. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

8.26.11 ... vintage barbie doll clothes

today i didn't get photos of my projects, which were small, but cute. that's what happens when i rush and/or get distracted. mostly a combination of the two. at any rate, on wednesday i hand washed all of my barbie clothes. i've been collecting them from fred bit by bit. yesterday i hung out as many as i could to take photos and had some fun goofing around with various shots. i had 91 in all and these are a few of my favorites.

some of these outfits are hand made and i just love that. i can't believe the care and detail that went into these. from the fabric choices to the wonderful trims and snaps, they are all delightful.

this dress above and the 1960s hippie coat of many colors as i call it below are two of my favorites. the dress needs some repair in back. it has a really strong snap - very old school. that made the fabric give way. just think about how many times it was snapped on and off. some little girl had hours of fun with it.

don't you wonder who made them and who they belonged to? check out those purple skivvies. they are too much.

totally 1960s garb.

the hawaiian shirt is hand made. it has velcro for closure but the seamstress still sewed on those teeny buttons. i really love that stewardess dress. it is not as old as everything else. i think early 1990s. it is a commercially made dress.

the second outfit here - i wish you could see it. it's a roller skating looking outfit. with a crazy rainbow bright star. the red kimono with the blue ribbon sash looks as though it once had a flower or something sewn on one side of the lapel area. i am mulling over refurbishing the pieces that need some repair. i am not a barbie doll person. at all. no barbies in my house. ever. but these clothes are sweet. so i guess i am an anti barbie pro barbie clothes anomaly. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

8.25.11 ... a wonder boys treasury challenge

scout and i played a treasury making game. we chose one of our favorite movies - wonder boys. the treasury above is the one i created. here is a link to visit it:

my wonder boys treasury

and here is scout's...

and the link to hers:

scout's wonder boys treasury

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

8.24.11 ... russian tea room & a perfect film scene

i found this ashtray recently and was unbelievably excited.  this find is one of the reasons i love thrifting so very much.  i had no idea this even existed.  of course it makes sense that they would have ash trays at the russian tea room back in the day, but i don't wake up in the morning thinking of all the gazillion possible vintage treasures that might exist.  and what are the odds that this would cross my path?  this was only my second trip to this particular thrift store.  it is not one of my usual haunts.  so this was just a happy moment.  and it will keep bringing me a smile for years to come.  apart from the fact that it is so darn adorable and graphically fabulous, we are tremendous tootsie fans and especially wild for the scene outside and inside the russian tea room.  you really should treat yourself....

i use it as a coaster.  it's perfect with our ridiculously hot summer - there's more water on the outside of our glasses than on the inside.  so when a regular flat coaster won't do ... repurpose and old ashtray to catch the moisture.  i hope your day has been a lovely one.sweet dreams, everyone.  thanks for stopping by.   until tomorrow.  happiness to you. from me. with heart.   ox joon

8.23.11 ... maurice sendak recycled chicken soup

my sendak pierre series buttons and magnets were a big hit so i was thrilled when i spied a discarded chicken soup with rice at fred on sunday. today i got through step one - choosing and cutting the circles. i know i will enjoy step two and i'll be back with photos when i complete the pins and magnets.

i always have a hard time deciding if i should make buttons or magnets. if any of you have a preference i'd love you to let me know. thank you. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

8.22.11 ... recycled whale stamp corner bookmark and ...

a simple little creative act for today. i made this corner bookmark as a package extra. i really could be happy making these every day. i love that the possibilities are endless, even when i start with a favorite stamp like this one. no two are ever the same.

i also had fun with another package, seen below. isn't it fun?

i hope the recipient breaks out in s smile when she sees it. how was your monday? mine was pretty darn good. and, guess what? dave and craig are back new tonight. woo hoo. it's always fun when they return from a two week vacation. much deserved, of course, but we miss them. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

8.21.11 ... my scout treasury

visit the real deal HERE

i created this treasury in honor of scout and her new etsy shop. it features some of her favorite things. here's the break down:

1:   this kiwi is one of her favorite finds and is listed in her shop.
2:   mister rogers. we love him. enough said.
3:   she LOVES milk. we're talkin' love.
4:   a little scout finch tkam reference. how cute is that?
5:   scout collects vintage ziggy smalls. these are really unique which we like best.
6:   loves dule and psych and burton guster and will be tapping with dule one day. so stay tuned.
7:   like bert, scout has a thing for pigeons.
8:   scout has an eclectic and groovy hat collection. this is very like one of her favs.
9:   pigeons again and how darn cool is this thing?
10: tootsie is a supremely favorite film. we quote it endlessly.
11: as a rule, not a day goes by without scout and ice cream spotted together.
12: loves horses and misses horseback riding.
13: gershwin has been her guy since she was a tiny tot.
14: she has a fun paulie bleeker t shirt and has an affinity for michael cera.
15: parks & rec. again, enough said.
16: wes anderson is a favorite film maker. the stars will align for scout and wes. i know it. they are a match made in heaven. at a theater near you.

i had a lot of fun creating this and plan to curate more scout's favorite things treasuries. her shop is off to a great start, btw. you can visit it here: 

www.SeventeenAgain.etsy.com 

you might want to bookmark it. the girl's got a good eye. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

8.20.11 ... salvaging my deck of cards pants

previously, on joonbeam ... i fixed two of my favorite articles of clothing. i posted about my tie dyed shirt last night - i wore it today with great happiness, by the way. tonight, i am sharing my pants. not literally. you may not have them or any part of them. i love them so. they are really on their last legs. what a card i am this evening. i wasn't sure i could save them because the entire waistband is shredding to pieces. but i think i came up with a brilliant idea. the strip of fabric you see encircling the below the waist area is the edging from a sheet - that also fell apart and yet i continue to salvage it. it worked out perfectly because i could add it below the elastic and tie channel. in theory this should be enough to get me by for a year or two longer. i hope so. i also added some of my tag patches.

this one is covering a side seam that is wearing away.

the tiny fit tag has been cracking me up for a long time. it now has a place in my wardrobe. it was just right. the toggery tag is covering a larger hole from the general waistband disintegration.

i love that toggery tag.

i did something else creative today that i want to post but i will have to share it tomorrow. i love that i have overage these past few days. it feels good to be creating more than usual.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

8.19.11 ... saving a favorite shirt

those of you who visit here occasionally have probably seen a post or two where the day's project was mending something or other. today i tackled this shirt. i have been without it all summer all for wont of what turned out to be about one hour's work. why, oh why? well, let's not tackle that issue tonight. the story behind this shirt: i found it about 7 years ago at a resale shop in northampton, ma. it was 1.25. i love this shirt. every time i wear it someone compliments me on it. i trimmed the neck so it wouldn't choke me. and i keep adding patches.

i think i added 10-ish today.

this photo shows two previous patches and two new. the sprout applique i have had for well over 20 years. maybe closer to 30. i have been saving it for just the right place. i forgot all about it. but it peeked out from my huge pile of tags and i decided today was the day. i used fabric pieces for all of the other patches on his shirt today but i also fixed a pair of my favorite pants, which i will share tomorrow. i used some tags as patches on those.

thats all for tonight, folks. i had quite a productive creative afternoon but too many photos for one post so i'll be back with more tomorrow. here's to a wonderful weekend for us all. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

8.18.11 ... themed box, mr. peabody and stamped tissue wrap

a little package i had fun with this afternoon.

scout made some peabody stamped cards. i plan to make some, too, but i borrowed this one today and added my own touches. on the inside i printed: recycling the past for a brighter future. www.joonE.etsy.com making history

and here is some stamped tissue paper wrap i created. the recycled vintage playing card bookmark you saw last week. it's lovely to have something on hand.

i always spend too much time on packaging, but that never stops me. i must believe it's worth it.

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon

8.17.11 ... fixing found art with soul

i spied this at fred a few weeks ago and it may strike you as incredibly looney, but i couldn't bear the thought that this ripped up caricature was going to the dump. so i carefully gathered the three sections and babied it all the way home.

it looks to be a teacher portrait. another reason i couldn't leave it. who could ever discard something so precious and who left it to ruin?

it reminds me of a character straight out of a christopher guest film. well, now he is restored in a housewifey folk art way.

that's good enough for me. i am going to hang him up in my art room as a reminder of all those great teachers who are returning to their classrooms this month. and i bet he is going to bring me good luck. i'll keep you posted. 

sweet dreams, everyone. thanks for stopping by. until tomorrow. happiness to you. from me. with heart. ox joon

Posted via email from just joon