New teaching job

This week has been a crazy, emotional week. 

Something really important happened on Tuesday. I interviewed, was offered, and accepted a job teaching 8^th grade Language Arts at Anthem School. Normally, one would be ecstatic about this type of information. I have been a bit of a wreck.

Let me back track.

At the beginning of the summer, I was contacted by a school in Deer Valley Unified School District that had an opening. They must keep their applicant files active for more than a year because I had applied there last summer. I toyed with the idea, but ultimately rejected it because I liked the school I was working in. I was going to be the assistant teacher with middle school students, working with an established teacher and a great incoming group. I was really excited about this.

When I brought this up to John, he immediately jumped on the business/rational end of it. He ran the numbers, which were deeply depressing.

John: “So you make $10/hour now, working at least 40 hours a week. Call it 42 hours a week in case of overtime, times the number of weeks in a school year (38).”

Less than $16,000.

Now I knew I did not make great money. But to hear that number, I felt worthless. I think that is below the poverty line, but I’m not going to check that fact. I got upset with him and told him I felt like he was devaluing my job. He wasn’t, but I needed to end that conversation. I agreed to at least pursue the other position.

This said position was a series of back and forth emails that died out about the time our guests arrived, since I was now occupied elsewise to care to call and find out if this principal actually wanted to interview me. During the week of our guests, I received a call from a different principal in DVUSD seeking an ELA teacher. Since it was pretty easy to return a phone call, I did. This resulted in a conversation that was going well until it came to screeching halt when she asked about my certification.

So, I scoured the whole certification process last summer. I first needed to obtain a fingerprint card through AZ, and could not even complete my application until I had the card. I had my fingerprints done in July and received them in late September. Real efficient. And since I was already working at MDS where I did not need the teaching license, I put it off. Call me lazy if you want. But the proper word would be cheap. See, I had already paid numerous fees to Ohio, Praxis, and Kentucky to obtain a piece of paper that said I was worthy to teach in said state. And those papers expire. And you have to pay more money to renew them. I was simply delaying the future renewal dates until I would actually need them. Because I didn’t need Ohio’s, and I am still a little upset with unknown BGSU education advisor who told me to get it anyway. Money flushed down the toilet.

Back to the conversation with principal. She asked if I had an Arizona license. When I told her no, I was told that she could not even interview me without seeking special permission because it was so late already. (The thought running through my head: Man! The Arizona Department of Education must be super slow.) So I hung up, found her email via the website, and forwarded a resume and cover letter with some lame note along the lines of: “If you are able to interview me, here is a resume and cover letter to review.” I wrote this school off, went back to enjoying my week with Anna and Juan, and almost forgot about it. I was a little disappointed, because I was more impressed with this school than the previous one, and I liked the sound of this principal. I pegged her as a Midwest transplant because she was super friendly on the phone. But life went on.

Fast forward to Monday afternoon. I get a voicemail from said principal, saying she has gotten permission to interview me and would like to tomorrow if possible. I returned the call and set up an interview for 10 a.m. What’s the harm in interviewing? I need to keep my skills sharp. Plus I had promised John to pursue any leads.

This turned into 7:30 a.m., so we could meet with the assistant principal as well. I gulped silently at the time, knowing full well it would be a struggle and a half, but given no real choice but to agree.

A little fudge about already sending in certification resulted in a mad dash to collect the items needed. I gathered the materials and took them directly to the UPS store after the interview to get a notarized copy and send it off.

I searched through dusty digital files to find some usable lesson plans to print off, thankful that only one had a date on it, since all of them were at least a year and a half old. Nobody is going to lesson plan if they don’t have to. Admit it.

And that was that. I printed the resume, cover letter, and lesson plans, gathered in a nice display, and called it a day. I was not going to waste valuable hours picking through Internet advice sites and old textbooks to prepare myself for this interview. I figured, if it was meant to be, it will be. Que sera sera. I only had about 12 hours anyway, and dinner and a good night’s sleep were top priority. Not to mention, figuring out if I could get away without wearing a suit jacket in the summer heat.

Tuesday morning, I arrived with 15 minutes to spare, and got to casually chat with the principal while awaiting the assistant principal. When she arrived, right on time, as the principal predicted, she reminded me of Ms. Banks, across the hall at Waite High School – same personality and even looked a little alike. I was surprised by how young both administrators were.

I was given a list of eight questions to follow along with as they asked. I really appreciated that touch – when someone asks you a three-part question, you can sometimes forget the question while you are answering, then, you have to muddle your way back to the question you think they asked. I felt like I did an average job answering their questions, and got to ask just a few questions back to them. I had more I wanted to ask, but when the principal stands and says, “It was great to meet you,” it’s not the time to keep asking. She had other interviewees waiting.

I was ready to get home and change into something cool and comfortable. About an hour after I got home, I received a call from the principal offering me the job. I had asked John the night before, “What am I supposed to do if they offer me the job on the spot?” He assured me that this would not happen; he had interviewed many, many times and never had been offered a job on the spot. This was pretty darn close, and I was a little unprepared for it. I asked for some time to discuss this offer with my husband, to which she reluctantly agreed. She was on a timeline, trying to make decisions before her vacation on Friday. I was not willing to make any decisions before coming clean with my current principal.

I made a call to Pat and asked if I could talk to her. No explanation, but she invited me to come in. I explained the situation, and she responded in the tactful way I expected. It was emotional to discuss, and endearing to hear her talk about my time at the school. I wasn’t sure about what to do when I walked in the office, but I left feeling more at peace. Maybe I just needed to make sure I wasn’t burning any bridges. She told me she knew what this conversation would be about when I called. I think she believed I had already made the decision. Maybe I had, but I wasn’t admitting it to myself.

Luckily, John was off work early on Tuesday. I met him at Paradise Bakery for lunch – an offer I knew he couldn’t resist. He loves their broccoli cheddar soup. We discussed the offer, and even though I still felt uneasy, I knew I would be dumb to turn something like that down.

Over the past few days, as I have been able to tell more people, I have become more solid in my decision. It is scary to be joining a brand new eighth grade team (all teachers will be new) and a new school environment. But if you can’t take a risk, you will only regret it. Lots of people pass up opportunities to stay in their comfort zones.  I am nervous in this new adventure, but luckily, I have a supportive husband, family, and friends. I am not facing this alone. 

What Facebook means to me

I had been mulling over a blog post about my thoughts on social media – that I thoroughly enjoy the last connection I have to most people who once played an important part in my life. I have often contemplated these thoughts: I might still hang out with certain people if we lived in the same area code, or I may never see so-and-so in person ever again, or what would my life be like if I remained within driving distance to these acquaintances. It's a slippery slope to fully delve into these thoughts, so I trudge forward with caution.

Don’t get me wrong. I am loving my life here in Arizona, but it came with a fair amount of sacrifices. And sometimes, I get sad and sift through old high school and college photographs. Sometimes, I get angry at the people that post pictures hanging out with their high school bff still. I have to ignore the social get togethers I can’t be a part of.

And sometimes, like this week, I can feel an outpouring of love from people afar. I received a heartfelt comment on here from a grade school classmate, 150+ views on the blog in two days, and some Facebook activity that makes me smile. A big part of me will always remain connected to Ohio. That wouldn’t happen if I couldn’t connect to these people online. I love seeing the marriages, pregnancies, vacations, and life events of the kids I knew growing up. I love seeing the perseverance and pursuit of dreams. You probably don’t know that I sift through your pictures and think back to a Girl Scout meeting from fourth grade. You probably don’t know that I giggle about having a crush on you that you never knew about as I see pictures of you and you girlfriend. My closest friends are starred and I am notified if they so much as hiccup and post it on Facebook. I crave this connection. I am not ready to give up these ties to my old self, at ten, sixteen, twenty-one.

I would lose so much if I were to turn my nose up at social media sites. I have been feeling somewhat lost, little, and disposable online lately as I am trying to maneuver this Etsy store. I feel like I’ve been waving my arms and sending up flares for weeks with no one even so much as batting an eye. It fills me with hope that people I know will follow my links, come here and poke around. It can be a little scary and disheartening at times to put yourself out there. But I’m glad I’m not alone on this cyber journey.

Pinterest Interest (a few days late)

Thanks Dawn for repinning this journal!

First Anniversary

Yesterday, John and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. This involved buying new plants to replace our dead, "heat-resistant" plants in the front yard. We stayed away from any plant that was not labeled as "desert," and ended up with some Texas sage, desert spoon, Mexican bird of paradise, and red yucca.

I wanted to create a special dessert for tonight, since our wedding cake was long gone. We got to keep the top layer of our wedding cake, but had no easy way for it to survive the cross-country move. So on moving day (about two weeks after the wedding), my family and I all enjoyed the cake as a farewell. I had my eye on these key lime truffles I had found on Pinterest. John and I both enjoy a good slice of key lime pie, especially John. He is a citrus fanatic. I went with plain store-brand vanilla sandwich cookies for this recipe. It was half the price for double the amount of cookies. Good thing, too. John came in from planting and helped himself to quite a few of the cookies while I was making them. I also bought the wrong amount of white chocolate - one pound instead of two. And I opted for the vanilla candy coating instead of white chocolate chips. Cheaper, duh. It turned out to be just enough, since I left the bottom of the truffles uncoated to make them easier to transfer.

Still, they turned out amazing!

 No pretty decorations needed - these taste wonderful

We found a new restaurant in Scottsdale to try called Village Tavern. It was a great experience. John absolutely loved his seared tuna. My thai chicken salad was huge, and pretty good - a blend of different flavors that worked well together.

Dinner pics 

I also coerced John into taking some anniversary pictures with our wedding date frame. My aunt created a beautiful frame for our wedding shower that showcased the date. We used it at the wedding and have kept it in our house. She said we could replace the numbers with photos, but I like seeing the date as a reminder. Unfortunately, our cat Pepper knocked it off the piano and broke one of the corners. I was able to salvage most of it; it just has a rounded off bottom corner now.

Displayed at our wedding

Pictures to come. I haven't had a chance to get them off the camera yet.

After dinner, we watched the ceremony of our wedding and enjoyed the truffles.

Anniversary, part two is coming up tonight. We will watch the reception video and fill out the questionnaires I created.

I wanted a series of questions we could answer each year on our anniversary to create a record to look back on. I searched online, and the only ones I could find were extremely long and detailed series of 50+ questions, or misogynistic in nature (Wife question: "How can I help you as the leader of our family?"), or dumb/leading questions. Some I liked, so I compiled my own.

Here are the questions:
1. What do you look forward to the most in the future?
2. What do you fear the most?
3. What was your biggest accomplishment in the past year?
4. What was your biggest struggle in the past year?
5. What things do you enjoy doing the most with me?
6. What is one personal goal you have for the next year?
7. What is the best thing about our marriage?
8. What are three things that make you most happy right now?
9. How would you describe me to someone who has never met me?

10. What is your favorite memory from our wedding? 

Along with a list of favorites: 

Food
Color
Month
Movie
Book
Hobby
Name for a girl
Name for a boy

You can view the PDF document I created here. This picture below shows a screen shot.

Gifts to come. John's custom gift has not yet arrived, so we are waiting to exchange gifts. I have it on good authority that I will be so surprised by this gift, so I am a little antsy waiting. I hope all our anniversary celebrations will be this special.

Harry Potter journal live on Etsy

My new journal can be found here on Etsy. Thank goodness I have perpetual sun to take pictures outside whenever I feel like it. A little sun always makes pictures look better.

New journal fit for a muggle

I feel like I have slowed down tremendously in making crafts. This resulted from a number of reasons:

1) I am moving away from making earrings. The market on Etsy is super-saturated and I already have about 50 pairs in queue. I would like to see how other items do.
2) House guests are more entertaining and fulfilling than crafts.
3) I am trying to curb any excess spending so I'm working with the craft supplies I already have (or am trying to).

Still, I was able to finish another journal tonight.

Harry Potter inspired journal

When I saw this fabric remnant in the clearance bin at Hobby Lobby, I thought "antique, dainty, tea-time fabric." It was a neutral shade that would appeal to a wide group of people, so I picked it up. (The clearance fabrics are awesome for these journals, because they only require about two square feet.)

Somehow, it brought me to the Marauder's Map. If you don't know what the Marauder's Map is, leave now. Just go. Acquaint yourself with popular fiction and come back. I had seen a cute mug that had this saying on it, and hot liquid showed the secret message, "Mischief managed." There are a lot of cute mugs out there; I do not drink coffee and therefore seldom drink out of mugs. No point in owning cute ones.

But, I wanted to apply this clever allusion to a journal.

The back inside cover boasts the secret message

It would have been neat to have an aged map fabric for this, but I am going for subtle (and what was available to me at a discount). I chose a burlap patterned paper to stick with the neutral, aged look. I gave the book a black ribbon to match the text ink - so it wouldn't look out of place.

Searched for "Harry Potter font" and found one immediately! Gotta love Google

Tomorrow will be taking some better pictures and hopefully getting it posted on Etsy.

Garland Attempts/San Diego Weekend

I was going to create an entire post to detail our weekend in San Diego, but I keep putting it off. So a few remarks about San Diego:

1) It is the epitome of mild weather, hovering around 75º. And at 35 degrees less than what I was used to in Phoenix, I was cold for a majority of the time.

Day one: visit to Mission Beach

2) That water is too damn cold. This must be why everyone in California is into the beach/boardwalk activities - it's too miserable to actually swim in the ocean.

Walking by the edge was as close as I was getting to "in"

3) The tram ride at the San Diego Safari Park was an awesome way to view the animals without feeling like you are gawking through a glass window (even though we did some of that, too!)

Ready to leave on our safari!

A view of the tower of giraffes

4) John is uncomfortable being around drag queens. Witnessed at the restaurant on Saturday night where we got to dine and see a drag show. Even if he didn't like it, we got to explore the cool neighborhood of University Heights.

Dinner at Bourbon Street  

5) States only care about placing border checkpoints where you enter their state. Not where you leave it. So we got to go through a border checkpoint in Cali on the way in and Arizona on the way out.

Boasting the number of immigration arrests, criminal arrests, DUIs, and pounds of drugs seized

So there is a slight overview of our first trip to California. It makes a nice vacation destination, but I don't think I would ever want to live in California.

On to today.

With all these craft projects (okay, only journals), I have been creating a lot of scrap pieces of paper. I did not want to just recycle them, so I stowed them to find a use. I am trying out garland to use it up.

First garland attempt was to string origami together. I was going to try to make paper cranes, but then I realized this shape was easier/faster to make, and would appeal to more people.

I have no idea what these are called, but these are a simple construction of six pieces folded in a base that I also have no idea what it's called. 

Strung together

I had seen a wedding garland posted on Etsy in bright colors made of folded boxes (like paper dice) and this idea surfaced. I may have made this one too long. But a set of ten hung as a backdrop - I think it would look pretty.

Next paper scrap was a little trickier. A hundred-ish scraps of 1/2" x 11" strips. This idea came from a Christmas ornament we made as kids. It involved pipe cleaners strung with beads and strips of plastic canvas grid doubled over to create a rounded effect. I used that same idea to string together some paper garland bunting.

I can't decide if I like the beads enough to continue. I was going to create a rainbow effect, but I wonder if more rounded beads or something else would look better. Plus, I don't have enough correct-colored beads to continue on!

I like the way it has movement to it. The paper swings freely and would move around in the wind if hung outside.  I may have to hunt around Hobby Lobby to see if I can find something else to serve as a placeholder between the paper.

Day Trip to Sedona

The past few days have been chock full of travels. On Thursday, Anna, Juan, and I drove to Sedona so they could see "red rock country." I was happy to go back; it's great to have a place so beautiful within a two-hour drive. 

We decided to visit the Airport vortex. John and I had visited Sedona last November and hiked the Boynton Canyon vortex trail, which was about a six-mile hike roundtrip. I wanted to visit a different (read: easier) one. Luckily, the airport vortex hike did not require a Red Rock Pass, so we save ourselves $5. Do you know what vortexes are? Read about the Sedona vortexes here. 

Except, we didn't even realize we visited the Airport vortex until after we left it. Whoops. 

Taking some fun pictures at that big rock near the entrance (i.e., the actual vortex spot)

While driving along Airport Road, we spotted a gravel pull off  for parking and the trail for the Airport Loop. Eagerly, we set off hiking to find this vortex. We chose the Airport vortex because it was a 1/2 mile hike - the shortest of the vortex hikes. And even though Sedona has a high elevation, the temperature was still hovering in the 90's. 

We started along the path and hiked for approximately a half hour before we decided we were not on the right trail. (The Airport Loop is a 2.5 mile hike around the Sedona airport.) So we turned around and hiked back. On our hike back, we spotted some tourists standing on the top of a rock from across the valley and wanted to climb up there as well. Turns out that actually was the vortex we should have gone to and saved ourselves some time. 

After the hike, we returned to town to eat our packed lunch and explore the shops. I found some prickly pear cactus taffy and had to try some. It has an interesting berry/grape flavor. 

On our way out of town, we drove down Chapel Road to see the famous chapel built into the rocks. 

Chapel at the Holy Cross, a Catholic church

A fun surprise we saw as we were driving? The obnoxiously huge mansion built on the road right below the chapel. So millions of visitors get to gawk at this mansion while they visit the chapel. We were driving by it and marveling at the features: four-car garage, two-story fountain outside, huge garden, observatory, etc. Clearly, someone has an inferiority complex and is trying to show off. 

This mansion, apparently owned by a rich Romanian doctor

Being the nosy person I am, I wanted to see the inside of this place. Luckily, someone has already creeped for me. Or, gotten a tour. Choose your wording. Here are some pictures of the palace. 

We had planned to hike along Fay Canyon as well, but nixed the idea. It was too dang hot. So we made it home in dinner to make some delicious dinner. One of the perks of living in Arizona. 

Pinterest Interest

Menu board slowly traveling on Pinterest

Got some Pinterest love from someone who loves all things Asian. I won't complain; she has 550 followers. 

"Vacation" Break

These past few days, I have been taking it easy on the Etsy front. No new creations brewing, at least for this week. The reason? These lovely, beautiful people:

Anna and Juan at our wedding reception

 Okay, so that's not a very clear picture of them, but I love it anyway. This picture was taken at our wedding reception, the night Juan (John's friend from college) developed a crush on Anna (my cousin). They were both members of our wedding party. Juan took Anna on a plane ride for their first date and they've been together ever since.

Anna and Juan have come to visit for the week. It has been wonderful to entertain guests and catch up with one of our favorite couples. We take full responsibility for their togetherness. It is just such a great meet cute.

So I have been focusing on spending all my time with Anna and Juan. We did the boring stuff (groceries, post office) and the fun stuff (pool, eating, drinking, exploring). So far it has just been things here in Phoenix. We started off Tuesday night with dinner at Z'Tejas in Old Town Scottsdale. There was a location a little closer to us, but we just had to show them this part of town. It also enabled us to drive down Tatum Blvd. to show them the ritzy mountain houses in Paradise Valley.

There's a good picture of them!

A good picture of us, too!

The food at Z'Tejas was downright amazing. I am not usually over-impressed with restaurant food, but it was delicious and filling and well-presented. Now I know why everyone raves about this place. (I've been wanting to try it for a while now.)

Our margarita and mojito drinks at Z'Tejas

 We started with some nice frozen drinks, an excellent choice for this summer night, although they did have the misters going on the patio. Then we nommed on the Tejas Trio, an appetizer of chili con queso, guacamole, and salsa. I'm not even a big guacamole fan and I was digging into it. The queso was great (who doesn't love melted cheese?) and the salsa had a nice spicy kick to it. My dinner was the sesame ginger salad, which had an amazing feta cheese on top. So soft and airy. Mmm...now I'm making myself hungry again.

John's form of compliment: "We should make this place the new Malone's*."

*Malone's: a famous steakhouse in Lexington, KY with pricy, amazing steaks**.

**I do not like steak. I can neither confirm nor deny the deliciousness of these steaks.

Malone's had a pretty good lettuce/tomato/bacon/ranch salad called the Lexingtonian salad. But nothing on their menu amazed me. This place? I could live with coming here on a semi-frequent basis.

Our selfie at Z'Tejas

And our attempt at a group photo at home. Meeka did not want to participate and tried to leave midshot. 

Today, we explored some thrift shops in Phoenix. We started with Eclectica Home, one I had passed several times on Bell Road but never visited. It was mostly furniture and home decor, with a lot of paintings/wall decor. We did, however, manage to find these fashionable hats.

Ready to saddle up or go on a safari...not sure which one

It was a short visit to this one. We traveled on toward downtown, and ended up at Qcumbers, a thrift shop with 7,500 square feet of space. That is a ton of space, particularly when it's crammed, floor to ceiling, with vintage items. (Literally. Lamps, chairs, shelves, flowerpots, bikes, etc. hang from the ceiling.) It is fun to explore because it's sectioned off with steps, doorways, and doors. You could have a lot of fun playing hide-and-seek or marco-polo there. The employees may not like it, but you'd have fun until you got kicked out.

Near the back of the store, I nearly yelled when I came upon this gemstone of a find. Anna and I have been joking that this store looks a lot like our grandma's house, and we were thinking we could find some of the same items here as she has. I stumbled upon a painted wooden sign that says, "SIT LONG, TALK MUCH." This is the exact same sign our grandma has hanging over the TV closet in the family room. I'm 99.9% positive. So of course we had to document this moment.

Same paint colors and everything.

What makes this picture epic is the fact that there is a cutout creepily hanging out between us. Taylor Lautner from Twilight? I'm pretty sure that's him. This is awesome because neither of us even noticed this cutout at the time. We were too excited about the sign. No, we did not buy the sign. 

Juan found a couple great records there. Anna spotted two sand pictures on a wood post and pointed them out because they were teal. Duh. I kept returning to them. I liked the color, and I like the southwest/Indian feel to them. They are each of a decorated vase. So I decided to get them; they were only $3 each. Later, we found a bucket of teal tiles, clearly from some home renovation, marked for a dollar apiece. So for $8, I found a reasonable set of art pieces to hang in the guest bedroom.

The sand art reminds me of a craft I did as a child, which included a similar process of adhering sand to paper. Only this is wood. 

Pretty details. I am impressed this was done in sand. 

I can't wait to hang them up, although I will have to figure out a way to attach a picture claw to the teal tiles. This can wait until visitors are gone!

We ended the day with swimming, a filling dinner, and a raucous game of Pictionary. First in couples (Anna and Juan won), then in genders (Anna and I won, of course). The second game was definitely more entertaining, as Juan and John's "top notch" drawing and guessing skills ended in no arguing, fits of laughter, and yelling.

Holding up our favorite drawings from the game

First Sale

Yesterday, I received my first sale! It was a bit of a shock when I checked my email and saw a notification from Etsy. I had to double check to make sure it was real. I was surprised to see it was from a fellow Mercy Bobcat, Nicole. We were close freshman year and seeing her name immediately brought me back to Ms. Kron's environmental science class at the very end of the hallway. I am touched to receive this support from a high school community that definitely has roots. Many current students can recount all the sisters, cousins, mothers, aunts, and grandmothers that also attended Mercy High School. So, to say the least, I was excited to see that first milestone reached. 

I gathered up the purchased necklace and wrapped it in tissue paper. I didn't have any turquoise/aqua/teal tissue paper, but that would be a nice touch. I may have to get some for future purchases. I jotted a personal thank you note - it was a nice chance to reconnect with a high school friend. I do not get the chance to see many of the high school crowd. I set up a return customer coupon discount of 15% and included it as well. It is gathered up, and on its way to Cincinnati!

Not going to go over the top with packaging like some Etsy stores, but I included some nice personal touches. 

Pinterest Interest

My journal got some Pinterest love from a high school classmate. I like to think it's a beautiful thing. :)

Journal #2 for sale

Journal #2 is live on Etsy. Want a similar journal? Then request a custom item at my Etsy store.

Journal #2

Tonight I finished a second journal. We made a trip to Staples this afternoon after a lovely Subway lunch and test driving a pickup truck. Trucks are big. And expensive. Not a car choice we can consider for the time being. But I will admit, that 2013 Dodge Ram had an incredibly smooth ride.

This was, of course, after I made an impromptu trip to Hobby Lobby last night at 7:15 p.m. It is the plight of every crafter: realizing late on Saturday that you absolutely must have this yarn/wire/bead/fabric/paper/stamp/paint/glue/etc. and Hobby Lobby closes in X number of minutes. I think the closest I cut it was leaving my apartment at 7:45 p.m. to reach the one in BG before it closed. So I picked up some fabric choices, inside paper, and a can of spray adhesive. Yes, I do have another can trapped at school. But rationalizations won out: I will find a way to use up spray adhesive. Thanks, Aunt Michele, for introducing me to it. So I bought another one.

A side note about spray adhesives: for the love of all things lovely, use a cardboard box lined with new newspaper every time. Just do it. I would say to do it outside in a well-ventilated area, but I chose the fumes over doing it in the heat. Priorities here.

Now, I was able to try my turn at making another journal. I tweaked the instructions slightly to make this book. I made a bigger page size (8" x 11") so I would not waste as much paper. On the 6x9 book, I had to cut 2" and 2.5" strips off a piece of paper, so now I have a stack of white strips I am figuring out something to do with. I do not want to simply recycle all that paper. Craft idea to be determined.

I decided to try four pages to make a signature this time. The first one I used three pages because I did not like the unevenness created by folding 4+ pages at a time. By creasing and recreasing with my nails, I like to think I did a good job creating an even edge for the side of the journal. I also needed to create an inch of journal, since that was the size foam board I had cut for the spine. I used 20 signatures to create a journal with 160 pages. (Well, actually, I added one piece of paper to a random signature to make it 160 actual pages. When counting the total pages, it includes the two sides glued to the inside cover. I don't consider those usable pages. So I added an extra so I could say the journal had 160 pages.)

I also chose to double the thread over to create a stronger binding when sewing. This was a tip from the original website, which I found after following the link on the pin. The pin itself led me to some Asian website with no help but the picture.

Here are the pages drying, sandwiched between all my library books. Do you know what happens when you go too long without visiting a library? Book binge. 

I also changed the size of the cover for this journal. The space between the spine and the cover coupled with the extra width on the cover made for too wide of a lip over the side of the pages. So I decided to used a cover that was the same width and slightly larger height.

The journal cover shell with inside color choices. John got to pick this one and chose the green. 

While I waited for the glue on the binding to dry, I worked on the cover. (Let's just call it over-excitement about this fun print.) I found this great chevron print at Hobby Lobby and thought it would look excellent with a bold inside cover color, so I picked up these textured pages to try. Green was tonight's winner.

Using the spray glue to adhere the inside cover. Now you know my little secret: the foam board sticker is on my book. 

I wasn't really planning on finishing the book tonight. I just wanted to get the pages sewn together, but my enthusiasm took over and, voila, I have a finished book.

So pretty! Sale worthy journal