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Liz, Damnit

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eternally fussing with paper/notebook fetish

  • Jul 5, 2008
  • 2 comments

I've been rescuing scrap paper from work ever since I started there, saving it up to make books out of.  But I don't always feel like stitching things together - bookmaking is a long process, and this is just scrap paper.  Cruising Etsy the other day, I found that someone had made little notebooks with recycled hanging file folders for covers.  They're essentially giant matchbooks!  She was offering them for 3 dollars a pop (or set?  I can't remember) but why buy when I can make?

I spent my morning trimming and stapling, and gluing on illustrations from old issues of Seed:

1
1


It's a bird coming out of an old polygraph machine, I think.

2
2

A puffer fish and roses on some animal-heavy backgorund that kinda looks like calligraphy.

3
3

A list of the sizes of various things (milky way, anthrax spore, buckyball) and some people.  Who I'll be adding more wings to later.

4
4

Half a cow!

5
5

A "simulation of the dynamics of a ribosome in solution"

And lastly my first try at making paper gift bows:.  We're getting there.

Paper bows
Paper bows


2 comments

today's haul/ i can't help myself, i really

  • Jun 16, 2008
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On my lunch hour I went to return a less-than thrilling library book. Figured I'd look at the new acquisitions section and "select a volume"  Three books later, I was happy!  Then, I remembered the bedtime resolution I've been nagging mysely with all weekend - that I'd check out  the sales carts for good old books to practice altering.  For a mere $.75, I have 4 nice thick old-school hardcovers that are destined to become boxes and photoframes!  I described the book/box conversion  process to the librarians and the lady I work with and they were appropriately amused.  I'll be working on my practice one (that I started this weekend) some more and posting about it.  Cause I really can't help myself....

Haul
Haul



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paper beads

  • Jun 8, 2008
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Ok, I decided it was time.  I had stared at the tutorials long enough (Here, specifically) and had some time free. 

I set up the kitchen table in the living room for AC purposes:

1
1


I trimmed up the paper just so:

2
2

Then I ran into a problem.  The tutorials I had read all said you should coat the toothpicks or whatever you use to form your beads around with vaseline so the gluey paper won't stick.  I got it in my head that using my pin tool from ceramics class would make life easier on me since it's way bigger'n a toothpick.  But we have no vaseline.  I went around the house looking for something that could be used as bead lube.  Yes, I was in the position of wanting to lube up my craft supplies.  Please, someone tell me I'm not the only one!

I settled for hair conditioner, since it's slick and relatively harmless, chemistry wise.

3
3

I dunked the paper in modpodge (fancy glue) and wrapped the strips around the pin tool:

4
4

After a few tries, I came out with some beads that kinda resembled photos I'd seen:

5
5

I experimented with shapes a bit, trying to make drops, and cones, and whatnot:

6
6

And that's that!  In addition, I finished up most of that book I posted about a little while back..the datebook.  It's really, really fat now, but looks fun!  I need to sit there some cool evening and glue more pictures in.  Here's a page:

Meat amuses me
Meat amuses me


Post a comment Tags: paper beads

it's hot.

  • Jun 7, 2008
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it's really hot.  someone wanna go get my sorbet for me?  i think i'm stuck to my chair...

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all i need is international whiskey year!

  • Jun 4, 2008
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Everyone start partying for International Year of the Potato!  

http://www.wikihow.com/Celebrate-the-International-Year-of-the-Potato


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paper again

  • Jun 2, 2008
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Ok - today was shredding day at work, and i watched with sadness as gajoobles of shredded papers were thrown out.  Of course, some of them did make for a lovely paper monster!

Paper monster
Paper monster


Mmmmm paper...rarrgh...yummy...


I couldn't help but think the shreds must be useful for something...papermaking, perhaps!  They were already one step towards the blender!  So I mulled it over.  As you can see in this reenactment:

Hmm
Hmm

I've been wanting to toy with papermaking, but I didn't want to go investing in making a big ol' frame and all than when I know absolutely nothing.  So I ordered a kiddie kit from ArnoldGrummer.com and I'll make small things till I get the hang of it (something tells me I will!) and go from there.  The kiddie size kit also has the distinct advantage of costing a mere 10 bucks.  Yay me.

In the meantime, I'm reclaiming an old datebook that we found round the office.  It's an 07-08 so it's not terribly useful calendar-wise.  The thing has such a nice size and heft I didn't want to rip out all the past months. 

Book
Book


So I started gluing rescued** printer paper onto the right side pages (where I prefer to write) and here I am:

Paper
Paper


Gluing
Gluing

And I'm trimming them carefully as I go along - the bits I'm taking off will be made into signatures for more books.  Tiny books.

Trimming
Trimming


Now it's late and I'm sleepy!  I'm out, y'all!


**rescued from the garbage!  it was sheets and sheets of paper that had a few symbols printed on and then got spat out by someone's misbehaving printer.  mine now!







Post a comment Tags: paper, datebook

eh, 's all i got today

  • May 30, 2008
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Pink sherbet earrings 1
Pink sherbet earrings 1

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the spoils of war

  • May 25, 2008
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Yesterday, after dutifully shopping for a few light appliances, my "reward" was to go to AC Moore.  I thought I'd stick my nose in and get a mere packet or two of beads, since I'm really on a shoestring budge now.  But lands...there were little clearance tags *everywhere*....50% off!  I couldn't help myself.  I stayed careful though and came home with a modest spread:

Loot!
Loot!


Pity the cam didn't capture some of the blue-green beads.  One of my new color fixations.  I started designing new pieces right there in the store...so fun.  But the best part is the amount of money I parted with.  A drumroll now, if you please...

omfg!!!
omfg!!!


Oh yes.  Goodies, quite a few goodies, for under 30.  So proud of myself.  Between my last Ornamentea order and this I really am set for a long time. 

Is it sad that this makes my weekend?  Nahhhh....

Post a comment Tags: shoppin'!

whooo!

  • May 23, 2008
  • 4 comments
Ye olde GA
Ye olde GA

Dangler
Dangler
Closeup
Closeup
Oscars headgear
Oscars headgear

4 comments Tags: ceramics, the gentleman angler

the things a lizzie does on a saturday

  • May 17, 2008
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I've been cleaning and throwing away a lot lately, but some things I just can't let go.  Like a handsome leather dayplanner cover.  The little book is long gone, and I was going to hunt out a replacement for it, but that'd take forever, and I've already been sitting on the empty thing for at least a year.  Use it or loose it at this point.

I was also sitting on quite a collection of blank notebook paper - I have this bad habit of buying fresh ones each semester, and at this point, most of my notes go in the margins of my texts or on a laptop.  I'd been saving them, all these beat-up, near empty notebooks, since it's a shame to throw away good paper.  What to do?

Paper
Paper


I finally got the idea and have spent the better part of the last hole hole punching and trimming.  As you can see here:

Template
Template

First i measured the rings in the book and made a template.  Then I made with the whole puncher:

Ka-chunk
Ka-chunk

Followed by trimming and placing:

Trim and place
Trim and place

And ta-da!

Voyle-ah!
Voyle-ah!





Post a comment Tags: planner

Read more from Liz, Damnit »

Liz, Damnit

About Me

Liz, Damnit
United States
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My Links

  • LJ
  • Etsy shop
  • Deviant Art
  • The highly neglected "Cranky English Majors" on Tribe.net
  • BookCrossing! - Let yer books get wild!

Links

  • BookCrossing! - Let yer books get wild!

    BookCrossing! - Let yer boo...

    http://www.bookcros...

  • The highly neglected "Cranky English Majors" on Tribe.net

    The highly neglected "Crank...

    http://tribes.tribe...

  • Deviant Art

    Deviant Art

    http://ismene.devia...

  • LJ

    LJ

    http://thatlitchick...

  • Etsy shop

    Etsy shop

    http://www.etsy.com...

View more of my links

Tags

  • anglerfish
  • bookmaking
  • ceramics
  • ego waffles
  • gold
  • jewelry
  • jewelrybox
  • metalworking
  • pigs
  • plastic bag pincushions
  • puppy
  • sale
  • the gentleman angler
  • unfinished :(
  • unstarted
  • vision brooch
  • whoo!
  • window dressing
  • wrinkle
  • wrinkled

View my tags

Recent Comments

  • Liz, Damnit
    Liz, Damnit said:
    nuttin' yet! i'm hoping to use them for the semester ahead, since text margins are only so big read more
    on eternally fussing with paper/notebook fetish
  • littératuricide
    littératuricide said:
    I like the note books...what is wriitten in them? read more
    on eternally fussing with paper/notebook fetish
  • Liz, Damnit
    Liz, Damnit said:
    Thank you! ^_^ read more
    on whooo!
  • Connie
    Connie said:
    Very, very cool stuff.....C: read more
    on whooo!
  • Liz, Damnit
    Liz, Damnit said:
    Lol! close enough - I *was* called "lizzie poo" a lot in my infancy! :) Surprisingly enough - I'm not... read more
    on whooo!

Archives

  • July 2008 (1)
  • June 2008 (5)
  • May 2008 (12)
  • April 2008 (7)
  • March 2008 (15)
  • 2008 (44)
  • 2007 (19)

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