While some of you may doubt the “leftoverness” of this book, let me assure you that Painted Pages is filled with wonderful ideas how you can take those smallest of small treasured scraps and integrate them into beautiful works of art all your own.

Not an artist? Let me assure you about that right from the start as well. This book inspired me to leap into my studio several times and it will inspire you to crack open a journal or test the waters in collage as well.

She explains her process clearly and gives ideas on organizing thoughts. She then steps out some fun warm-up exercises to break up the white of the page and make art making a pretty approachable endevor.

I’m going to share some of my sketch book fun from the past few days along with the pages from the book that inspired them. I hope you will take the plunge with me and make a few of your own scrappy creations.

I regularly use my sketchbook to map out ideas, journal, and capture fleeting inspiration. Sometimes I forget that. Sometimes I get intimidated by “what” and “why” to draw. I really loved the idea of having a scrap box on my desk to help get things started.

On page 38 Sarah explains how a clean work surface makes all the difference. But instead of telling you which cleaner to use for what, she suggests you sweep all the little bits into a nice big jar or box or basket. Then, use those bits to “sketch” in your journal and get your creativity warmed up. “I sweep my pile of scraps into tins and use them for fun warm up activities.”

I found this while decluttering my studio stuff. I have this flash of a memory of it sitting on my mom’s hutch and always being brimming with buttons and thread and sewing things.

The author uses quite a few old photos in her work and throughout the book I kept thinking, “Is she really just destroying all of those neat old vintage books? What if she wants to use something twice?” Well, come page 90 she answered my question. She uses an really neat transfer technique using contact paper and color laser copies. I tried it out this week with this fun image of my grandma and grandpa. It worked like a charm.

The book also talks a lot about process and continuing to work even when you aren’t inspired and along those lines, being keenly aware of “peak creativity” times. While you should do all you can to get things rolling, don’t try and fight your natural state. I know I do best making art work first thing in the morning or extremely late at night (like past 11pm into 3am zone). So I’ve been trying to get up early so I can eat breakfast and work in the studio for a couple of hours before heading to the gym.

She also features quite a few other artists and has them explain their own unique creative process. Everyone focuses around mixed media work, being inspired by collections, found objects, and little pieces of their own past.

After finishing the book, I went for a walk with Jak. My eyes were so much more in tune with all the odd shapes and textures around me. I found these:

I am totally going to draw these after this post goes live.

If you want to get your sketchbook feet wet, definitely pick up “Painted Pages.” If you are an artist and want to infuse your studio practice with some new techniques and practices, this is great for that too.

And some final words from the book to inspire: This book is all about, “…finding your own way, in the everyday, to be creative and make art.”

Happy making!
Kristin

Maybe you really just want nothing to do with wormy friends like I posted about last week. Or maybe they aren’t eating enough to take care of all your kitchen scraps. That’s okay. That doesn’t mean you have to forgo composting all winter long. My issue with winter composting is that it’s during the winter that I allow my pile to rest. I don’t have multiple piles going that I can rotate through, so the winter resting period is pretty key to having a nice pile of usable compost in the spring.

I first looked at all those fancy bins that are “odor free” and lidded. I ruled this out because I really just don’t want to spend $20 on what is essentially a counter top waste bin. I realized that I had everything I needed to conveniently save my compost.

• A cute tin – this was originally for flour, but I’m using some air tight moth proof jobbers now.
• Plastic shopping bags.
• A frozen place – in my case, a Rubbermaid out in the garage.

I simply put the plastic shopping bag into the gallon sized tin, fill it with kitchen scraps (after I take what I want for the worms), and then when it’s full, tie off the plastic bag and put it in the rubbermaid in the garage. The prime veggies get tossed into a big food bag in the freezer to make veg stocks with. Here’s a great article for homemade stock using this frozen scrap method from the Simple Dollar.

As soon as it gets warm enough where the saved scraps would start thawing, I’ll be out getting my garden beds ready, spreading my fresh compost, and building my new compost pile with my saved scraps! Excellent.

Happy winter composting!

Kristin

The gardening bug has hit me earlier than usual this year. Last year I mapped out all the gardening plans in the February Craft Leftovers Monthly. Well, right now it’s too early to start seeds or even purchase them. The compost pile is frozen solid. And it’s too late to start growing things indoors. And I just finished eating the last of the potatoes from the root cellar (aka card board box + layers of newspaper in the basement).

Dormant is a good word for every aspect of gardening in Iowa this time of year.

Or is it?

Just when I thought there was no point in saving my kitchen scraps for the compost pile I remembered that February issue and my worm composting plans. You see, when we moved from the apartment to the house, the worms stood forgotten in a small box on a pile of boxes in the spare bedroom. I felt so bad. I killed all my worms. They dried up and died. That is some sad stuff. Jason consoled me that there were “just worms” but still. I’m the kid that used to collect worms and keep them as pets. My mom actually has pictures of me giving them baths only to stick them into their “clean” dirt homes. I was an odd child but whatever. That story cracks me up.

Anyway, it’s time to give vermicomposting another shot. This time I’m using my friend’s easy to use and manage set up. I’m not sure where he got the tutorial to make it, so I wrote it up for you.

Here’s how you make your own:

::Materials::

• 3 shoe boxed size plastic storage container
• 2 cups shredded newspaper
• Dash of shredded lettuce
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/8″ drill bit + drill
• 1/2lb of red wigglers (I got mine from this ebay seller and then learned they are often sold at bait shops for fishing. I’m not sure if you can get them this time of year in the north. The ebay seller ships them quick and tells you when they are coming so they don’t freeze. And if they do freeze, don’t despair. Let them thaw at room temp and they should be mostly okay. Yes this is a life lesson I learned the hard way.)

::Directions::
Step one: Slowly drill a ton of holes in the bottom of TWO of the plastic storage containers. Use a little oil on the bit to aid progress. Another option would be to cover the whole bottom in masking tape to help it from cracking.

Step two: Place one drilled container into the undrilled container.

Step three: In a mixing bowl, toss water and newspaper together until all the newspaper is damp but not soaked.

Step four: Place the damp newspaper into the two stacked containers. Add in the worms.

Step five: Top off with the second drilled container and a lid. Keep in a cool dark place, like a hall closet, and make sure to leave yourself a note to check on them at least twice a week. Every other day is pretty good.

Note: You can totally scale this system up to huge gallon bins. Drill some smaller (1/16″) vent holes along the sides and in the lid for a bigger set up. Your worms will multiply if they have enough food and space. So scaling up the size of their condo is a good way to go if you have the space. As is, this is a fun little system for your kiddos to do, to feed your houseplants, and supplement your outside compost.

::Maintenance::
This is key since killing these poor little guys is hard, which makes it so easy because you forget they are there.

First, make sure they have semi-moist bedding.

• If you start to notice the bedding is getting dry, mist the whole thing wish some water.
• If it’s too wet (like you went a little mist happy) mix in some fresh shredded newspaper.
• Because of the moisture needed to make this all work, you can sometimes get some, umm, “worm juice” settling to the bottom. A great thing about this set up is that it just collects in the undrilled bottom container. You can remove the bottom tray and dump the worm tea into a house plant, onto your large compost pile, or save it in an old 1/2 gallon milk jug in the frig for use later. That stuff is really nutrient rich, but will really start to stink if you just leave it.

Feeding Your Worms
1/2 lb of worms will eat about 1/4 lb of kitchen waste a day. (I tend to feed them a variety of veg scraps with an occasional crushed egg shell and sprinkling of coffee grounds in the mix.) You could add a 1/4 lb a day or a 1/2 lb every other day. I like to add about 1/2 lb every other day and rotate the placement so I can gauge how much they are eating and adjust more or less. If you have too much food in the bin and they aren’t eating it quickly enough, the eggs in hibernation on the produce will hatch (fruit flies and the like). Here’s what my feeding schedule in the bin looks like over the course of a two week period:

I basically move clockwise around the box, adding in a bit of food every other day. Cover it with bedding/dirt each time you add more. This also helps prevent pests and insects from getting in there.

Getting your compost worm-free.
This is the really awesome part about this triple container set up. When the worms have pretty much composted all the bedding and organic matter in the first drilled tray, you simply fill the top tray with fresh newspaper and start adding their food to that bin. They wiggle their way up through the holes and hang out in the new bedding and munch on the new food. You take the now worm-free compost and use it however you want. Rinse out the tray and put it on top of the now worm filled bedding.

Some great facts on keeping your worm friends happy can be found at Cathy’s Crawly Composters website.

I’ll be posting a book review of the Urban Homestead (my first Kindle book purchase ever!) on Kristinmroach.com later this week or early in the next. I’m sick as I’m writing this, so after I finish this post, I’m going to go hop in a hot bath and relax while reading (carefully) this great book. I can’t wait to get more chickens in a couple of months!

Happy winter composting!
Kristin

Jason and I are spending our first holiday season in our first house. It’s not terribly different from the apartment but there’s just something different. Maybe I’m a little different. Maybe it’s being able to have a real Christmas tree for the first time that’s actually REAL and over 4 feet tall. It’s got me all holiday spirity.

First I made the winter stars for the kitchen window. Then there was the evergreen sprigs on the table under the tv. Last week we actually got our first real Christmas tree. And this week, oh the holiday crafty goodness is commencing and I’m bringing you on for the ride!

For the tree, since we didn’t already own lights, we sprung for the LED christmas lights, three strands did the trick. And they were happily on sale. Excellent. Well, with the tree all lit up, it was time for ornaments. Last year our little tree was overloaded, but this year, it now looks sparse! So later this week I’ll be sharing some of my favorite ornament tutorials with you along with a new one of my own. We need a few more to round it out, but I don’t want to pack it. I’m kind of looking forward to adding them slowly.

I need to make  a new tree skirt since ours from last year is too small. I want to give the kitties a nice plushy place to sleep under the tree–their new favorite spot in the house.

Garlands will be in order for sure. I’ll be combining some evergreen style garlands with a few handmade touches. And since I’m just now getting around to decorating for the holidays, I’m going to keep it “winter” themed vs. “Christmas,” which works great for us since we like to celebrate the winter solstice at the house since we are always out of town for Christmas. More on that next Monday.

A few other fun handmade touches will be paper snowflakes in the windows, a yule candle set up on the “mantle,” loads of cookie baking starting this weekend, and some festive lighting. On Thursday I’ll be sharing some of the tastiest looking holiday recipes + my baking plan.

I’ve been looking for inspiration around the internet and here are a load of tutorials on holiday decorating that I’ve really enjoyed.

1. Quilted Christmas Tree Skirt with Fur Trim (via Craft Gossip)
2. Holiday Decorating on Posie Gets Cozy
3. Acorn Garland on the Magic Onion (via Craft Gossip)
4. Reuse Holiday Scraps on Lola Nova (via Whipup.net)
5. Snowflake Craft Project Round-up on Craft Gossip
6. Making a Doily Garland on Smile and Wave (via Craftzine)
7. Paper Snowflakes! on How About Orange
8. Paper Globes on Tiny Happy
9. All the Trimmings Stocking from Denyse Schmidt (via Craftzine)

So how do you spruce up your house for the holidays? What’s your winter welcoming tradition?

Happy crafting and happy holidays!
Kristin

I’ve always been frustrated by the massive amounts of junk mail I receive each week. Hey, I’m trying my best to do my part to keep the earth full of trees and green and happy. Well, once it’s in my house I sure don’t want to just send it to the landfill. Even recycling takes more energy. Well heck, what to do? Thankfully there are all sorts of ways to keep the majority of your junk mail out of the recycling bin and/or trash. Here are a few of my favorite ones.

Recycled Magazine Coasters on How About Orange

Recycled Magazine Baskets on How About Orange

Postcard Journals on Design Sponge – what to do with the pretty mail you get. Those art opening cards can be really great for these.

That reminded of the little project I made awhile back:

Pocketbook sketchbook on Craft Leftovers. Haha, just had to keep with the format, right? :) Anytime you get junk mail that’s only printed on one side, you can cut them down and make one of these little guys. In fact, I think I’m going to make another one as I’ve been wanting a pocket sized sketchbook lately.

cut, cut, staple

*poof*

Check out this little guy I made just now. See how easy that was? Even my little tiger cat baby likes using it. He drew a self portrait.

Pocket sketchbooks are great!

Seriously though, it’s always nice to have a little pocket-sized book to jot down drawings, ideas, and notes in. You never know when you will get a flash of brilliance. It’s best to be prepared.

See? Totally not junk. What do you like to make your junk mail into?

Kristin