Dyan Reaveley

Craft it Forward Button: Grab it for your own blog

In early February, I launched my first Craft it Forward. Here’s how it works. The first five people to comment on the original post receive something handmade with the gardening nirvana touch. In return, they agree to pay it forward, crafting their own unique item for the first five people on their list. Craft it Forward encourages community, creative spirit and camaraderie. It also encourages flexibility, so I expanded my list from five to seven based on interest in the project. Isn’t it fun making your own rules?

Further, in the era of the internet, who doesn’t like ‘real’ mail? If you haven’t started your own Craft it Forward, today is a good day to get one going.

First up: A Living Journal

This manilla-covered journal has heavy-duty art paper, appropriate for ink, paint and pencil. You can see the original, unadorned journal here. Recipient #1 is a talented artist in her own right. She paints, sketches, sculpts fabric ‘dolls,’ along with myriad other projects. I’ve been on the receiving end of her own talents, including a set of tie-dye tea towels and a hand-felted, one-of-a kind, purse.

I crafted the cover, using as assortment of ribbon in rainbow order, with some peace signs thrown in (her favorite) for additional interest.

Peace and a rainbow of ribbons

Closeup

An attached, expandable envelope lines the inside cover, great for collecting bits of inspiration. For now, I’ve tucked in a few seeds she can plant in her garden.

A Peak Inside…

The journal came wrapped in a sleeve of silky-strong paper too nice to toss, so I fashioned it into a simple bookmark, using other scraps on the face of the envelope.

Creative Journal by Dyan Reaveien of dylusions

I trimmed the wrapper and used it as a bookmark

Personalization, gardeningnirvana style

Finishing touches include her first initial made from a balsa wood letter, then covered in paper and inked along the edges. It’s embellished with flowers (of course)!

I hope she enjoys filling it as much as I enjoyed crafting it. Perhaps a year from now she’ll let us take a peak into a few pages and I can feature her work on gardeningnirvana.