Paper Fridays--Book Project

These are samples of papers that I am using in a current project. I will show you the project next week when I finish it.

Joy Postcard Final Step

So, the final step of the Joy Postcard is the Gocco printing of the word "Joy" on the opposite side of the postcard. This is the easiest step in that all it takes is printing the image. I am using an outline font to print out the word. I flash the screen and print. I used blue ink out of the tube and lightened it up with PearlEx powders hoping to add some iridescence but that didn't work.

Now the big question is "What does a dog in a tree have do with Joy?" Well, I have always marveled at the unbridled energy of animals--especially dogs. To see a dog run with joy, chasing squirrels, fetching a ball etc. always makes me smile and feel joy. Sometimes we should just take it easy and enJOY the world and/or simpler pleasures in life.

This is a picture of my boss' dog who died last year. Bella (the dog) was such a pleasure to be with and she would love to bark at the birds and/or squirrels in the tree. She was happiest in the country where she could run around being a dog.

This image still brings a sense of joy to my heart.

Joy Postcard Step Two

The second phase of this postcard is the photo transfer. I choose a photo and print it out on regular copier paper on my laser printer. I prefer a black and white photo but color photos work too. I prefer black and white because I usually place these transfers on a colored background. Let the ink set on the paper for a couple of minutes to set.

Once the ink is set, cut a piece of clear contact paper slightly larger than your image. Cut the image from your print out. Peel the backing off of the contact paper and place the image (image side down) on the sticky side of the contact paper. Cut the image and contact paper down to size. With a bone folder or brayer, rub down the image so all air bubbles or wrinkles are gone. You should now have a laminated image.

In a bowl (I use a Tupperware container) put some hot water. Place your laminated image in the water and let it sit for several minutes. The image will curl in the water so don't fret. When the image is cool enough to handle (or wait until you have time), start to rub off the paper backing of your laminated image. Don't rub too hard or you will scratch the image. I use the meaty part of my thumb rather than a fingernail. Keep rubbing until all of the paper have been removed.

Once you have removed the paper run the transfer under warm water to remove any stubborn paper or gumminess remaining. You are now ready to adhere the transferred image to a project.

I place a thin layer of ModgePodge to the project (rather than to the transfer) and lay the transfer over the ModgePodge. Use a bone folder to press out all of the bubble and glue out from under the image. Do not get heavy handed with the ModgePodge because you don't want glue spot under your image. Just use a very light coat and it will dry clear under the image.

Here is the image that I used on one of the cards from the series of watercolor images that I showed you yesterday.

Photo transfer over watercolor background

Joy Postcard

I have started working on the Joy Postcard which is due by the end of the week. It is not that I have been procrastinating but I have been busy doing other things. Someone asked me to provide the step by step process of these postcards so I am obliging.

The first step is to paint the single sheet of watercolor paper with the background. I use Arches watercolor pads. I love these pads because all of the sheets are bound together. You work on the top sheet and because they are bound, they dry flat without warping/buckling.

You don't have to have a lot of talent to be able to do this type of project. You are simply providing a watercolor wash. Use the colors that you like or that you have in mind for the project. I use Dr. Ph. Martins concentrated watercolors in the bottle. In essence, you just play--almost like finger painting. You get your brush wet, put on some color and move it around. The only recommendation is that you start light and work to dark. Your darkest color should be the one you use the least. With my watercolors, you more water you use, the more transparent (lighter) the color.

Once the paper is dry, you ModgePodge the whole sheet--while it is still attached to the paper block. You can use a brush. I use a plastic shopping bag from the grocery store that I scrunch up into a ball. I dip the ball into the ModgePodge and tap away on the painted paper until the entire surface is covered. You only need one coat.

Let that dry and cut the paper to size. I use the 18" by 30" size paper so I can get about 15 4by 6 inch postcards.

The beauty of the project is that you never know what you are going to get until you cut your postcards. You can think that you have ruined an entire piece of paper by adding a color but when you cut it down to size, it doesn't look bad. Similarly, if you don't like a portion of the page then you can only use the portion that you like.

I thought that I had ruined this sheet by adding a huge swatch of red on a background of blues and greens. I wanted a dramatic color to offset the more subtle shadings of the blues and greens. Now that I see it on the smaller scale, I rather like it.

Four of the basic watercolor cards.

Love Postcard

Front of postcard

Back of Postcard

So here is my final design for the Love Postcard. I decided to go with a Love Quote and some of the hearts that I had left over from my Valentine's Day projects.

I had a hard time deciding how to finish the card. After the color wash was dry, I had to decide how to print the quote on the postcard. I tried to use my laser printer but the watercolor paper was too thick. I then had two choices--do a transparency overlay or print on my InkJet printer. I decided to use my InkJet but how should I go about it? I know that I wanted to use ModgePodge on the postcard as a high gloss medium. If I printed before using the ModgePodge, I was pretty sure that the ink would smear. And of course, it did.

On another card, I printed on the postcard, sprayed with varnish, and then applied a coat of ModgePodge. This seemed to work fine although my studio still smells of varnish and I am starting to get high off of the fumes.

On a third card, I applied the ModgePodge and let it dry. Then, I sent it through the InkJet printer and it worked fine. There wasn't any smudging as long as I printed on the "coated paper" setting.

After the inks and/or ModgePodge dried, I applied the die cut hearts to the front of the card and placed it under weight to dry.

The back of the card is printed with the word "Love" in large 3" letters in pastel pink Gocco Ink. I will then address the card and write my message on this side of the postcard.

As a whole, I am pretty pleased with the outcome. Unfortunately, there are only 12 postcards per batch.

More Swaps--Love Postcard

I have joined several new swaps on Swap-bot and I am hosting some swaps as well. I am hosting swaps in the Handmade Postcard group. I was going to host a swap based on colors but switched to a swap based on Emotions. Every month, a new swap will be hosted based on emotions. For February, we had two cards due. The emotions for the months of January and February were Love and Joy. We had two postcards to make because I started the swap late and want to have 12 different postcards by the end of the year.

The Emotion for March is Awe.

With Valentine's Day over, I can now start to concentrate on making these postcards. I have the cards designed in my head but I just need to execute the design. I have decided to make these postcards out of Arches watercolor paper.

For the Love card, I am doing a watercolor wash for the background. I then plan on using an overlay with printed images (either a copy of the wedding section of the NY Times or a Love Quote from my Valentine's series). I then plan to collage some hearts on the card.

For the reverse side of the card, I want to Gocco Print the work LOVE in large letters across the entire card in an iridescent ink so I can write a message and address across the image.

I will let you know how it all turns out.

I am so tired!

It is the afternoon lull at my office job and I am about to fall asleep at my desk. I have already run the office errands so I could get that fresh slap of cool air that is travelling through Manhattan at the moment. I even made an excuse to run to the Post Office rather than let the mailman (yes, he is a man) pick up the office mail.

The reason for being so tired? I am a knuckle brain--plain and simple. I decided to work on a book project and seemed to be in a zone during the whole project. I just couldn't stop. I would get one step completed and would rush into the next step with such anticipation and excitement, I didn't want to stop the creative process.

The book is a hard case pamphlet made with beautiful Fabriano paper. There is a story line throughout the book based on 9-11 with pictures that I took on that day. First, I trimmed the signatures. Then I chose the pictures. The I chose the mats. Then I mounted the pictures.

I kept on looking at the clock and knew that I should stop and get some sleep. As I kept moving through the project, I kept on thinking--just one more step and then I will take a break and go to bed. Before I knew, it was already 5:00 am. YIKES.

I woke up at 8:15 am and had to get ready for work. Now, I am so tired and to make matters worse, I have one of my bookbinding classes tonight (that I am taking). I hope that I don't cut off my finger in class.

Working Journal

I mentioned my Traveling Journal in a previous post. My Working Journal is my second type of journal. Other people would call it an "Idea Book." This journal consists of clippings of other work that I like. For example, I subscribe to various paper and rubber stamping magazines. When I see a sample that catches my eye, I will photocopy the example and place it in this journal with a simple notation of what I liked about it. Other entries include techniques that I would like to try and products that I would like to consider.

Samples of work that I like.

Another section of the journal includes my ink samples. I have a sample of every stamp pad ink and re-inkers that I have. I used to have a bad habit of buying inks pads that I already had in the studio. Now, I do not buy any supplies without my Working Journal by my side. If I am out shopping and notice something that I might want, I will write a note in my TREO and will see if I already have it by looking in my Working Journal. I have also reduced my costs by shopping online for products that end up being considerably cheaper than NYC prices.

Ink samples.

A third section of my journal includes scanned copies of all of my brass stencils. I keep the actual stencils in a three ring binder with baseball card holder sheets. As I get new stencils, I will scan them and print out a copy to be included in the journal.

Scans of my brass stencils

Finally, the biggest saving grace of this journal is that I have an all inclusive list of all of my books and magazines. I have a compulsion when it comes to books about my paper interests. I find that I am rather impulsive when I am in a bookstore with a good craft section. At one point, I had already double bought five separate books and ended up having three copies of the same book! This journal prevents me from doing that again.

Whenever I am in an artistic funk, I simply pull out my Working Journal and always get inspired.

Paper Fridays--Christmas Sale

I just love an after holiday sale. I was walking through my some of my favorite stores just wasting time on an extended lunch break when I decided to go to Kate's Paperie on 57th street in Manhattan (between 6th and 7th Avenue). I shop at Kate's often--actually so often, they know my name ala Norm in Cheers--so it was no surprise that they rolled their eyes knowing that I was going to make someone work hard in the paper or card/envelope section of the store.

As I was walking the paper aisle, I noticed that one of the A-frames has a discount sign on it. All of the papers were Christmas related and this was almost Valentine's Day. Most of the paper was wrapping paper which is usually too thin for my purposes but then they had this Cavalini- type paper that was perfect for a future project. Originally $4.50 per sheet, it was now on sale for $1.00. I never have this kind of luck. Normally it happens to people like Shu-Ju who are much more bargain savvy or lucky than I am.

So, needless to say, I bought out their stock. I already know what type of project that I will be working on. Maybe I will go trolling for sales after Valentine's Day.

One view of the Christmas paper.

Another view.

Even another view.

Valentine's Cards

As promised here is one variation of the Quote cards that I have been working on. The hearts shown on a previous entry are interchangeable. The cards are all similar but the quotes will change.

The cards are made from Fabriano paper. The hearts are cold pressed watercolor paper.

Front of card

Inside of Card

I can be so dense

Here I have been busting my butt to get all of my Valentine's projects done. I have been working until about 4:00 am, taking a nap, getting up at 8:00 am so I can get to work between 9 and 10. My studio is a mess. I have projects drying flat, I have projects hanging to dry and I have clothes drying in the restroom.

All of this so that I could have all of my Valentine's projects completed by Wednesday so everyone can deliver them for Valentine's Day on Thursday!

But guess what? Freaking Valentine's Day isn't until SATURDAY. Why didn't I know this?

For some unknown reason, I have been running crazy thinking that Valentine's Day was this Thursday. All I had to do was look on the calendar to find out. But NOOOOOOOO that would have been too easy. My boss asked me if he could get his Valentine's Day card early on Friday because he wanted to leave the office by noon and wanted to take his card home so he could give it to his wife on Saturday morning. I looked at him and said "Have you been drinking--I'll have it for you on Wednesday so you can give it to her on Thursday." At which point, he tells me to go look at a calendar and decide who had been drinking.

So, I went to bed early last night and had dreams of dancing hearts.

Up to my elbows in . . .

HEARTS. I have hearts falling all over the place--even after I cleaned up my studio space. I found one in my shoe. I found one glue side up stuck to one of my socks. I am working on a series of "Quote" cards for Valentine's Day. Each card features a different quote about love. On the front of the card is a cut out of a heart. When you open the card, there is a die cut of a heart.

I had painted and textured some watercolor paper using a variety of techniques. I used modeling paste for texture, embedded some mulberry paper, used water colors and ink from the bottle for color. I poured salt on some of the water color pieces for texture and a small bit of glimmer and I used glossy Mod Podge for others. I then used these pages for the die cut hearts. After punching out all of the hearts, I was finding them everywhere.

What a mess.

BTW, those imperfect hearts on the bottom row where done on purpose. The card will read "I know I am not perfect . . . but will you still be my valentine?"

In the Weeds

Ever since I have returned to NYC full time, I have been inundated with projects. I am struggling to get my Valentine's Day orders ready. I will post pictures when I get them all finished. I am also doing Valentine's Day cards for children this year (actually the third year). The problem is that I have to make two sets of different cards because the two children are in the same class. The first year that I made them everything was fine. Then the second year, the mother of one of the boys that had received a card from the first year wanted cards for her son as well. So now, I have competing mothers who are trying to outdo each other.

Mother One: This year, I want at least 3 colors.
Mother Two: This year, I want my cards to look better than Sylvia's (Mother One).
Mother One: I will pay you more but my cards MUST look better than Carolyn's (Mother Two).

I guess that I could have worse problems.

More Japan Journal

Here is another set of journal pages from my Japan Journal. The left page features a direct to page ink technique using cosmetic sponges and ink pads. I like the random effect that is caused using this technique. The right side feature two double mounted pics but also the common theme of this journal--a sample of paper that I purchased on my trip.

Japan Journal

While I was away, someone asked me about the travel journal that I made before going on my last trip to Japan. I had intended on filling it up while I was there but, of course, that didn't happen. I have all of the pages designed--all I have to do is execute them.



Most of the pages will feature Japanese arts and crafts. Similarly, many of the pages will feature backgrounds that show paper samples from my trip. This is the first in the series of my Japan Journal. It features materials that I purchased at Tokyu Hands.



If any knows the title of the characters that are featured in the stickers (or the artist) I would definitely appreciate it if you could let me know. I know it is a popular character, possibly from children's books. For some reason, they just make me smile. I would definitely like to get more of these stickers. Any help locating the name of the characters or the artist would be great.

Back on the Grid

For those of you reading both of my blogs, this is a duplicated entry. . .

Sorry that I have been away for so long but it was necessary for a variety of reasons--primarily, a contractual agreement. First some back story.

I was in a comedy competition called "Funniest Man in NYC." It was run at a famous NY Comedy Club and was being taped as a quasi-reality series. The premise of the competition was head-to-head stand up comedy routines where the evening's competitors would be narrowed down by a group of judges and the audience--a battle of the stand up comics, so to speak. There were over 800 contestants to start and these were narrowed down to a final group of five--of which I was a finalist.

For the final competition, we were not told when the finals were going to be. We would be notified within one hour's notice of when to report. When this happened, the finalists showed up and performed and the winner and runners-up were announced. I finished in third place. The top two finishers were guaranteed a half-hour show on one of the cable comedy shows.

After it was all over, the organizers of the competition found out that the top finishers had the information regarding the time of the finals leaked to them. In so doing, they were able to load up the audience with their friends and family. So the whole project was nixed.

As a compensation, the organizers approached me and asked me if I wanted to do a documentary/reality series about the struggle of a budding stand up comic. We would do 30 small area venues (with some larger houses thrown in) and my trials and tribulations would be taped and edited into some type of program.

Part of the contract was that I would not know where I was playing but would be provided transportation and lodging. I would have to convince the owner of the comedy club or club to allow me to perform. Another part of the contract is that I was supposed to be off grid so that the project would be leaked and so I couldn't fill up the audience with favorable audience members.

So that is the reality of the situation. When I know more about the project, I will let you know. As a result, in six weeks I will be taping a 30 minute comedy special for a major cable network. I will let you know when to expect that as well.

Off the Grid

Since my last post, I have been performing in small venue comedy clubs on an almost nightly basis. I have been traveling throughout the United States. For reasons that I will discuss later, I have been asked to stay off the grid until the end of my tour. Thank you for your well wishes and concerns but I am doing fine. I promise to be less cryptic in the future when this is all over and will discuss everything in much greater detail. Trust me--it's all good. Who knows, you might see me in your small, local comedy club. Just watch out for Russell Romano in a hole-in-the-wall near you.

A Little Confession

I need to confess something. In terms of Project One for the New Year, the project really wasn’t a weekend project. I explained it as a weekend project so I could get several blog posts out of a single project. Also, I broke it down as a weekend project for those people who might want to replicate the project.

The actual project took me about four hours to complete. A lot of that time was actually stopping and taking pictures and re-measuring. Now that I have all of the correct measurements, the project will take me about two hours from start to finish—mainly due to drying times of the various adhesives.

Project One, Day Two

Day Two usually starts with the assembling of the the boxes/cylinders. At the end of day one, I should have cut the pieces so I could assemble them on day two. For this project, I cut the pieces on day two.

Here are the cut pieces ready for assembling.

The toughest part of this process is the waiting time for the glue to set. When you are connecting Davey Board to Davey Board, I use straight PVA. Even though the boards are covered, whenever you join two pieces of board you should use undiluted PVA. Here are all of the pieces joined together waiting to dry.

Drying time.

If you noticed in the above picture. The two cylinders have the linings on the inside. One error that I made in this project was the need for all of the lined Davey Board. Only the cylinders needed to be lined because the box will be lived when it is covered with book cloth. To remind myself of this, I purposely put the lining on the outside of the box.

The next step in the process is to cover with book cloth. The book cloth is left over from a previous project. Since I hate the color pink, I decided to try to get rid of some of the extra book
cloth that I have on hand. Each component is covered with book cloth.

Front elevation of the component parts.

Top elevation of the component parts. Notice the lining
in the cylinders. How you can see why the lining
must be done before assembling the cylinders.

The next step after all of the glue is dry is to decorate the outside of each component part and to decorate the interior of the box. The decorative paper is another piece of paper that is similar to the lining paper. On the whole sheet, the pattern is a little too busy for my taste. It seems less busy when cut into strips this project.

Front elevation.

Top elevation with box lid closed.

Top elevation with box lid open.

There are to last items to take care of before the project is finished. A base must be cut and covered in book cloth. Secondly, the hinge on the box lid must be stretched so that it will remained closed. To do this, you place a piece of matt board or oak tag on the box, close the lid over it, and then weight it down. This will stretch the hinge so that it closes properly. If the hinge is too tight, the lid will remain open about 1/8th inch.

Stretching the hinge.

The last portion of this project is to glue all of the components to each other and then glue them to the base. Weight them down so that the glue will adhere.


The final project.

The final project doing its job.

When I do this project for real, I think that I will change the dimensions a little bit. It seems a little dainty for me. The base is only 4.5 inches square. I think that I might widen the width of the cylinders to 3 inches each (rather than the 2 inches they are now). I like the height dimensions so I will keep those. Overall, I am very pleased with the final product.

Project One, Day One

This project will be a desk top organizer made up of Davey Board, book cloth and decorative paper. This is the mock up which will be used as the basis of a future design that will be made from faux leather paper. When I work with mock ups, I always use leftover materials rather than the materials that I am planning on using for the real project. I would rather ruin lesser quality materials than the more costly materials. The only time that this matters is when you have differences in your paper thicknesses or paper grain.

The goal of the first day is to get all of the pieces ready for assembly. The first step is to cut the Davey Board. This is a shot of the entire sheet. Only a portion of this sheet will be used for this project.

The entire sheet of Davey Board. The arrows annotate

the grain of the board.

The pieces that will be used for this project. The

markings in the left bottom corner indicate the

right angle (or squared-off corner).

After the boards have been cut and squared. The second step is to laminate one side of the Davey Board with the paper that will be the liner of the cylinders and box. The liner paper has to be applied because when the individual parts are assembled, you will not have the opportunity to line them. This is a scrap piece of decorative paper that I had.

The lining paper ready to be pasted to the Davey Board.

The finished board with the lining attached.

Because of the size of the board and paper and the thinness of the decorative paper, Rice starch paste was used to adhere the two together. This type of paste allows you the most working time and is less likely to tear your paper. Because of the added water content to the Davey Board, the board will tend to warp (even when placed under pressure). To compensate for the natural warping of the board. it is best to paste some type of paper to the reverse side to counteract the warping action. In this case, I pasted a piece of newsprint to the back side of the board.

The board pasted with newsprint on the reverse side.

The last step on the first day is to weight the board so that it will dry flat and, hopefully, not be warped. I don't think that you can ever get all of the warp out of the board. But you can still hand bend pieces that have a little bend to them.

The Davey Board under weight.

Tomorrow will feature Day Two of the project. Cutting, Assembling and Decorating the finished project.

Shigoto-Hajime 2009

According to Wikipedia, celebrating the new year in Japan also means paying special attention to the "first" time something is done in the new year. Hatsuhinode is the first sunrise of the year. Before sunrise on January 1, people often drive to the coast or climb a mountain so that they can see the first sunrise of the new year. Hatsumōde is the first trip to a shrine or temple. Many people visit a shrine after midnight on December 31 or sometime during the day on January 1. If the weather is good, people often dress up or wear kimono. Other "firsts" that are marked as special events include shigoto-hajime (the first work of the new year), keiko-hajime (the first practice of the new year), hatsugama (the first tea ceremony of the new year), and the hatsu-uri, (the first shopping sale of the new year).



So, this post celebrates the first weekend project of 2009.

It all starts with a clean studio.


A clean glue station.

A Clean Work Station

A Clean Cutting Station

A Cleaner Works-in-Progress and Drying Station


The first real order of business was to make Rice Starch Paste. I always make small batches of paste when I know I will be needing it. It never lasts very long and I end up throwing it away after every project. Therefore, I make the smallest batch each time. I get my Rice Starch from Talas and follow a different set of instructions that are not listed on the package.


I use 5 Tbs of rice starch for 1 cup of hot water. I make a slurry with the paste and 3-5 teaspoons of cold water. If you put the hot water directly into the dry paste, it seizes up and you never get out all of the clumps. After adding the hot water, you put the pan on a low heater and whisk until your arms fall off. When the paste thickens and turns translucent, take it off the heat and let it cool. It will thicken even more. If you want a thinner paste, you can use 3 (or 4) Tbs or rice paste. I prefer the thicker variety, personally. Keep the paste covered when not in use. I will last 3-4 days. If you do not have a lid for your paste pot, you can cover the paste with cold water and place a piece of cling wrap or wax paper on top (in order to prevent a skin). When you want to use it again, simply pour off the water (which should be riding on top of the paste), stir and Bob's your uncle. Some people put their paste pot in the refrigerator but I never have done that. I am afraid that I might get it mixed up with my morning oatmeal.


Put the kettle on, we are making paste

Making the slurry.

The final product cooling.


P.S. I always use a plastic container from my local Chinese food restaurant. I have a fancy for good Hot-and-Sour soup and keep the container. The small container (pint) is perfect for glue pots.

Paper Fridays--Red Drawer

Paper Fridays has returned for the New Year.

My Travel Journal

I wanted to share with you some of the inspirations that I get regarding projects. I have to commute into Manhattan daily for work. I live in the Bronx near the Yankee Stadiums. If I have to go into midtown, it takes about twenty minutes on an express train or 30 minutes on a local train. When I have to travel longer distances, I can commute for 45 minutes to one hour. Because of all of this transit time, I usually carry my Travel Journal (or more importantly—my Idea Book).

I have several journals lying about because I usually keep the first mock up of any book project that I do. The first copy usually is an imperfect that I do not feel comfortable selling or giving away. Sometimes there are only minor flaws that only I would notice. Sometimes there are major flaws that only a Father would love. My good friends know where I keep these books on my shelves and will help themselves to a journal if they like it (usually just the minor flawed ones). Sometimes I think they only come for dinner is when they want a free journal and a free meal.

I have three idea books. The first is my traveling book. The second is my working copy book. The third is my recipe book. I will be writing about the second and third books in a later blog.

My traveling book is a general journal that I jot down ideas while I am commuting. I write about anything that I want during that time. Sometimes I write down ideas for my comedy routines. Sometimes, I doodle. Other times, I design greeting cards and decorative boxes. I always carry a stash of pens and colored pencils in Ziploc bags when I travel with this journal.

Today’s idea was a desk set made out of Davey Board and covered in faux leather paper. The set will consist of two cylinders and a lidded box. The first cylinder would be 6 inches in height. The second cylinder will be 4 inches in height and will be joined by a common wall. In front of the two cylinders will be a lidded box for paper clips that will be as wide as the two joined cylinders. It will be joined to the fronts of the joined cylinders.

As you can see by my sketches, I am not a drawing or sketch artist. Fortunately for me, I completely understand the sketch. You will also notice that I love the exactitude needed for decorative boxes. I love how they have to be cut in such a way that the angles need to be precise. A wonky box is not a good thing unless you design it that way—more on that in the future.

So this is my weekend project. I will be providing pictures of the project in progress—If I can only remember to take the blasted pictures.

Have a great 2009.

Best wishes—russ