Penelope's Journal + a few fun resources

One last page to show you from the most recent class, and I wanted to share some creative resources I use that you might find useful, too.

First of all, here's page 7 of the handouts with the usual quotes to can use in your journal.

You might notice that I've already used some of the quotes in pages I've posted earlier, and here's one last page from my journal using up the last of them:

Nothing super spectacular, but I wanted to post it. I've added strips of coordinating washi tape on the top and bottom edges to fill space. Sometimes I'll use washi tape that contrasts with the image, and sometimes (like here) I'll extend the colour to keep the page more monochrome. The dark blue was VERY DARK, so I added some borders in light blue and light purple (cut from scraps from making my Teesha page) to add some contrast, and also added purple water-soluble crayon borders on the quotes and directly on the image to tie them all together. Not brain surgery, but it does make the page more interesting.

Now - for some fun resources to play with! In several class conversations lately, I mentioned some resources I use in my work and I wanted to give you links so you can use them, too. FYI ~ some are free, some are affordable.

Firstly, something I use every week is a tool that converts PDFs to JPGs. Doesn't sound exciting, right? But it does let me convert our handouts to images that I can post to the blog. Totally free and you don't have to create an account. You can instantly download your JPGs, and there are different quality levels, depending on whether you want your image for screen use or print use. They also plant a tree for every 50,000 conversions, which happens more often than you'd expect.

Secondly, print your own graph paper. For my personal journal, I flip over scrap paper at my and print my own graph paper so I can write on it to glue into my journal. Since the graph paper prints faintly in gray, I'll sometimes lightly trace over it with coloured pencil crayons to tie it into the page I'm working on. I also now know what I call "regular" graph paper is called Cartesian. Cool. I usually choose the 1/5" (5 lines to the inch) option and print it out at 115% larger so it goes right to the edge of the paper. If you're printing out without enlarging it, I'd recommend printing the 1/4" option (4 lines ot the inch). They also have some other cool option like hexagon and polar graph. Totally free.

I don't buy scrapbooking paper anymore - I buy "digital" patterned papers from Snap Click Supply. I wait for their $1 Wednesday sale, where I can buy a 12"x12" paper set (usually 8 to 12 patterns) for $1.00. Once you have the digital files, you can print them out as often as you like, and even alter them in photo editing programs. I use them in backgrounds for quotes, or just print out a pattern I like and glue it in my journal. You'll need a colour printer, or have them printed out at a photocopy place. Takes up *way* less space buying and storing papers you might never use since you only print out what you want to use when you want to use it. One reason why it's worth paying for (for me, at least) is that some very well-known brands are available like Basic Grey and Prima, who make beautiful papers. Not free, but quite affordable (depending on how many you end up printing). You'll need to create an account and an online payment method.

If FREE scrapbooking paper is more your style, I just recently discovered there's a trove them at deviantart.com. Using their search tool, type in TeacherYanie (all one word), and it'll take you to a page of 431 sets (!) of free patterned paper to print out and play with. For a taste of what's there, here are four sets I chose at random:

A word of advice if you're planning to download a bunch - create a folder on your computer and save each set separately under each image is labeled using numbers, not names. I rename each image them after I download, but as I mentioned earlier, I'm kind of a Virgo that way. I think there are totally worth it if you want to print your own patterned paper to tear up for collages and use as starting backgrounds. One more thing - they're supplied 12x12, but most printers will ask you if you want to fit them to the page (which would shrink it to a smaller square and leave a white gap at the bottom of the page). As usual with computer things, your mileage may vary.

Have fun with all these!