Coffee Dyed Papers

I finally got around to dyeing some paper with coffee. It will be part of the papers I am using for the inside pages of the journal in the previous post. The original idea of a Junk Journal was to recycle junk mail and other paper items. Artymaze's series Junk in Trunk carries on with this idea by utilizing all the bits of scraps and packaging we all accumulate in our paper crafting. I used mostly papers from where I tested my printers and some of my misprints. I also utilized my coffee grounds from this morning's batch and brewed them for the second time to make my dye. I will post more pictures of the Junk Journal shown in the previous post once it is finished.

JIT #4 Brown packaging

Utilizing brown packaging (which we all get if we buy anything online) to make a journal cover. It still needs decorating, but I will wait until I know what I am going to put in it. I am leaning more towards a nature theme. Playing along with Artymaze Junk in Truck #4.

Link to her video JIT #4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdFNfUNTThc&list=PLjfdU0PMoMrNlmQnlH7IKBYpjGsEesIaD&index=6

JIT # 3

Playing along with Artymaze's Junk in Trunk # 3

Here is a link to her video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4raZWseNe7I&list=PLjfdU0PMoMrNlmQnlH7IKBYpjGsEesIaD&index=4

Artymaze Inspired Junk in Truck Items

I did this before I fell, but never posted it. This booklet is composed of items inspired by Artymaze's Junk In Truck 1 and 2:

Here are links to her videos:
Artymaze JIT#1  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0N9j1Pv5E4&list=PLjfdU0PMoMrNlmQnlH7IKBYpjGsEesIaD&index=1
JIT#2A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnI-Qvggtb8&list=PLjfdU0PMoMrNlmQnlH7IKBYpjGsEesIaD&index=2
JIT#2B https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC_QonVW5K8&list=PLjfdU0PMoMrNlmQnlH7IKBYpjGsEesIaD&index=3

The Reason My Etsy Store Is On Hold

I have had some inquiries about when will my Etsy store be open. I had finished two junk journals and I was working on the third one trying to build a bit of inventory before I opened the store. One night I fell trying to get out of the bathtub during a power outage. It could have been worse but I did do some damage to three sections of my spine and my pelvis. This has put everything on hold for a while until I recover.
The VA took 13 x-rays, prescribed pain meds along with muscle relaxers, and set me up for a bunch of appointments. I have some MRIs on the 31st. They say I will be in the tube for two hours (good thing I am not claustrophobic). Then I will have pain management appointments which include surgical injections and acupuncture. Once released from pain management I will have physical therapy, and then it is back to see my doctor at the VA.
As you can see it is going to take me a while to recover from this. It took me two weeks before I was finally able to lay on my back without screaming. It took me another week to be able to sit up straight. It has been 4 weeks now and I am able to do a little bit of crafting (sit for about an hour at a time) but nothing much more than that. I have to alternate between sitting for about an hour, standing and/or walking around for about another hour, and laying down for no more than 4 hours. I go through this cycle every six hours. Least to say my days and nights are flipped all around.
To top it off my bursitis has flared up in both shoulders so I can't reach any higher than my shoulders or lift anything heavier than a dinner plate. I can't say I am not bummed out about all of this, but I am bound and determined to keep going forward.
I have come from being on morphine for ten years and practically bedbound for three years due to: lupus (which we think is now in remission), Sjogren's disease (which is so bad that it mimics lupus), ankylosing spondylitis arthritis (which has fused my spine in two places),  osteoporosis of the skull and spine, and fibromyalgia (which amplifies any pain I feel from everything I have)... to being completely off the morphine. I was still on codeine 3 times a day and low amounts of muscle relaxers, but I was improving slowly. I hate having to go back on codeine 4 times a day and a higher dose of muscle relaxers, but I know I will be able to reduce these doses again in the future.
In the past, I have been told I might not ever walk again. I have been in a wheelchair from a few weeks at a time up to as long as 18 months, but today even after my fall I am still walking.
I have never been this open about everything that I have, but since I needed to explain why my store hasn't opened yet maybe it was time for me to put it all out there. I am not telling you this to cause alarm or to gain sympathy. I just want you to know that I am determined to fight my way back to where I was before all of this happened. I have beaten the odds in the past and I will do so again.

Gratitude Junk Journal

I just started a Gratitude journal, and I hope to write something I am grateful for every night. I think it is good for your spirituality to focus on learning to be grateful for things.

Travel Journal prototype

This is the prototype travel journal that I made before figuring out how to make the smaller hybrid one. I used papers from the Transatlantique Collection by Graphic 45.

It is a lot like the Christmas planner I made last year.

I am not sure who originated the design (sorry). I have seen lots of versions on the internet.

Hybrid Travel Journal

Recently I had the pleasure of working with another fun digital kit by Connie Prince.
Here is a link to part 1 of a free Hybrid Travel Journal I made using the Globe Trotters Digital Kit .

Here is the link to part 2 which includes journal tags decoration.