Monotype Print Cards

 After making name art using some of my monotype prints, I used the rest of the prints to make cards. 

I had so much fun playing with the Gelli Plate (affiliate link). I need to spend a lot more time experimenting to fully understand how to use it and how best to make interesting layers. I don't own one, but that may need to change soon. 

Monotype Name Art

I recently spent a really fun afternoon crafting with my friend, Ann. This is what I made, spread on the floor to dry. 

Those are monotype prints. Monotype is a technique where you add paint (or ink) to a plate, remove some of the paint (via stencils, stamps, etc), and then transfer the remaining paint to paper. Every image is one-of-a-kind (hence the "mono" in the name). You can create similar prints, but they'll never be exactly the same, which is what makes them so special. You can layer multiple images onto the same paper to create even more interesting designs. We used Gelli Plates, a large brayer, and acrylic paint (affiliate links). 

Making monotype prints is really fun, but what can you do with your finished prints besides just admire them? It should come as no surprise that my first thought was to turn them into name art! I started by picking five of my prints and trimming away the excess paper.

Then I cut patterns for the letters in my name using scrap paper. (No pattern needed for the letter I!) I cut them freehand; as you can see, I folded the C and the Y to help with symmetry. I decided against cutting out the center of the D in order to preserve more of the print. 

If you aren't confident freehanding letters, even on scratch paper, try drawing them first. You could also print out the letters or use stencils. 

Before I cut out my letters, I shifted the patterns so that the most interesting parts of my prints would remain. Then I cut. I'm holding the I in this photo, but the letter N is a better example of this. I'm glad I didn't lose that purple stenciled detail. 

Here is my finished name art, mounted on black posterboard. I love how the letters pop against the black. 

Curious what I did with the rest of my monotype prints? I'll show you tomorrow. 

My Favorite Music Museums Across the United States

As you know, I love museums. Music museums are some of my favorites. There are two reasons and neither is because I'm a huge music fan. The first is that music museums are often highly interactive. It's fun to try out instruments or experiment with sound mixing or give karaoke a go in a recording booth. The second reason is that music museums play music. A lot of museums are visually appealing, but a smaller subset are audibly appealing as well. There may be videos playing, but most of the sound you hear in a non-music museum is the noise made by fellow visitors. A good music museum is designed around allowing you to enjoy the experience with your ears as much as with your eyes. 

Below are my favorites among the many music museums we've visited. I've linked each to the post where I originally described our visit. In those posts, you'll find links to the museums themselves.  

National Museum of African American Music 

The National Museum of African American Music is my all-time favorite music museum. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, it is immersive, interactive, and beautifully done. You don't have to know anything about African American music to fully appreciate this museum; it does an outstanding job meeting visitors where they are and allowing them to dig as deep as they want into five different eras of African American music. 

Country Music Hall of Fame

Also in Nashville, the Country Music Hall of Fame is a must-visit, even for those who aren't fans of country music. Or, rather, for those who *think* they're not fans of country music. The genre stretches much further than many people realize. (Any Elvis fans reading this?) The museum has one of the world's largest and most extensive musical collections and the facility is gorgeous. Go. 

Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum

Nashville is home to three major music museums. In addition to the two above, The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is absolutely worth a visit. It covers all genres of music and it does it very well. The exhibits are fascinating and rich with information. No matter what kind of music you like, it's represented here. The Grammy Museum Gallery is located within the Musicians Hall of Fame and makes the museum even more of a don't-miss. 

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland, Ohio. It has seven floors of records, instruments, posters, costumes, ticket stubs, sound equipment, photos, props, letters, and much more memorabilia from the world's great rock artists. The museum has a great energy and is positively packed with things to check out. One large area is devoted entirely to the most recent group of Hall of Fame inductees, so you can visit each year and see something completely different. 

American Banjo Museum

I highly recommend a visit to the American Banjo Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This museum chronicles the fascinating history of the banjo, from its roots with enslaved Africans in the 1600's through modern times. You'll find no more entertaining way to learn more about what it widely considered the quintessential instrument of the United States. Bonus points because the museum features Kermit the Frog. 

Rhythm Discovery Center 

The Rhythm Discovery Center in Indianapolis, Indiana is all about percussion instruments from around the world. If you can bang on it to make a rhythm, it's probably at the Rhythm Discovery Center. This museum is almost entirely hands-on and it's so much fun. 

Museum of Pop Culture

When MoPOP first opened in Seattle, Washington, it was called the Experience Music Project and was entirely devoted to pop music. Now it has other areas of focus as well. While it is not 100% about music, I still consider it an excellent music museum that is worth a visit. 

Musical Instrument Museum

The Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona is spectacular. Or so I'm told. I actually haven't been there. Steve, Trevor, and my uncle Don visited the museum while I was at a conference with my aunt Vickie. The three of them couldn't stop talking about how amazing the museum was and what a treasure we'd missed. Having been to hundreds of museums with Steve and Trevor, they know what my standards are for a great museum and they assured me that's what this was. So I'm including it on my list. I hope to visit someday. 

Sewing a Sock Bear

I got a hole in one of my socks, so I did what anyone would do: cut it up to see if I could turn it into a sock bear. As one does. 

Is a sock bear a thing? There are sock monkeys, of course, and you might remember Sock Lion. Sock Bear is significantly less sophisticated, but I kinda like him. This post contains affiliate links. 

I started by cutting the sock with the hole into a simple tube with two ears, as shown below on the left. 

I turned the sock inside out and then sewed the ears together. 

That is not what I should have done. I should have sewn the tan felt onto the ears when they were open flaps. It would have been a lot easier. I backstitched a mouth onto an oval of tan felt, then sewed the brown fabric button to that. Then I sewed the snout to the sock. 

Then it was time for the googly eye buttons. I stuffed my bear with Poly-Fill, then thought about how I was going to close it to keep the stuffing in. I wanted it to stand up, so I decided the best solution was to sew an extra piece of sock around the opening. 

It's a simple project as it is, but if I were doing this with kids (a Cub Scout Bear den, for example) I would make it even easier. The biggest change would be using hot glue for most, if not all, of the sewing. I'd probably still have them sew the mouth, but you could use a brown Sharpie instead. 

Senior Showcase

Here's another really simple layout from Trevor's senior year of high school. Specifically, this is about the Senior Showcase.

 

Senior Showcase (affiliate link)

Once again, I used the event program as my journaling element. It explains Trevor's Senior Project. I paired it with a photo of him in front of his display and added the school sticker as an embellishment. I love how quickly this came together.