Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Tea, tulips, and calendar pages

I've brought my monthly calendar to my dining room where I'm enjoying the last of my tulips that are in bloom.  Most were trampled by the hail, then buried under snow the next day.  The snow did far less damage than the hail, though.

Next to my calendar is the set of month and date stamps my friend Annette (Voodoo Vixen) sent me last year and I've only used once.  I plan to use them more this year, although I'm not much of a stamper.

It's amazing what a change in camera direction can do to color balance.  This photo feels so much warmer than the one above.

Here you see my April calendar page.  I still have to finish it.  I love keeping a daily record no bigger than a square inch, but I don't like to make the calendar pages.  Even when the calendar was in a spiral bound notebook, I had a hard time with those little squares.  I finally went to rows of numbers cut from a real calendar.  That has helped, but only marginally.

There was always the problem of glue.  I tried glue sticks and a few of the strips or squares popped off or partially peeled away after I adhered them.  I tried using double sided tape, but it's expensive.  You need at least two of those tape strips for each strip or square you adhere to the page.  Although the pages don't buckle, it seems like a horrible waste of money.

My glue of choice at the moment is white glue, but it's hard to spread it evenly.  When that happens, the squares are hard to write in because they aren't level.  That usually means there are air bubbles between the two surfaces that don't get removed before the glue dries, even though I spread the glue with an old gift card.   Additionally, even though I try to be careful, the pages buckle like crazy when I use white glue.

If anyone has any suggestions on adhesives, I would appreciate them.  Any advice would be welcome.

But right now I must finish this page and get it scanned in order to post it later today.  After that, I'll be taking a bit of a break.  I need to visit my blogging friends and catch up on their lives.  I've not had time to do that for some time.

Since today is Tuesday, I'm celebrating Tea Tuesday with flowers in my combination tea pot and cup.  Please join me and the rest of the crew and we'll be by to visit.


10 thoughtful remarks:

Caterina Giglio said...

tis the season for breaks, I will be going soon as well, enjoy your break, E and have lots of fun! x

Divers and Sundry said...

what beautiful tulips! i'm sorry the hail cut their time short. nothing can stand up to hail :(

the daughter and i had tea out recently, and i wrote that up for tea tuesday. i think if a place is going to charge $2.50 for a tea bag, they shouldn't make you dip it in a cup of hot water at the table ;) . something like your little tea pot and cup would be much better. http://divers-and-sundry.blogspot.com/2013/04/fratellis-cafe.html

Halle said...

Pretty tulips! Love that they are multicolor. Makes each one unique and special.
Happy Tuesday!

~*~Patty S said...

Your tulip arrangement looks splendid E!
too bad about the hail ...
we wait all year for those blooms and then poof it's over until next year ...

About glue I find what I do after I glue is very important ... when I use glue stick I burnish real well with an old credit card or something similar to help make smooth contact between the surfaces ... I also find that soft gel medium is a perfect glue that can be brushed on and burnished the same way (I even use it to glue metal to surfaces in place of E-6000 which makes me ill because of its smell)...
sometimes when I am gluing individual book text words onto a piece I will do the above and then add a coat of gel medium on top which helps seal everything securely ...
not sure about writing on the gel medium ... probably depends on what you write with

thank you for stopping by for tea along with all of your nice comments Elizabeth!
Happy Tuesday to you
oxo

Anonymous said...

Love those tulips, hail the great destroyer and even a good heavy rain will drop all the blossoms on anything...the Spring paradox eh. "found plywood" is stuff we have hanging around from projects. You could get plywood at a Habitat restore if you have on in Wichita or if you drive by a dumpster where a home renovation project is going on, there might be some small leftover plywood going to the dump. My latest painting which I will share tomorrow is on an old sampler in a wood frame found at the thrift store for $1.....xox

Lori Saul said...

Beautiful variegated tulips- so pretty anywhere to make us smile.
Hope all is well Elizabeth- it's been awhile. I have started a new blog at www.atfoxglovehollow.blogspot.com.

I needed a change of pace for a new digital studio.
Always a joy to visit you.

Lori Saul

cjsrq said...

I agree with Patty's suggestions, but also have used a glue called "Yes" which can be found at Michael's. It cleans up with water nicely and glues completely flat.

Rita said...

Lovely flowers! Too bad you had hail. :(

I don't know about which adhesive to use because I haven't done a lot of college, but what about the thinner gel medium they use for collage? Maybe that wouldn't get as much bubbling or buckling since people use it for collage all the time? You can put it on thinly like you were doing with the white glue. I have never had luck with white glue. Always have had bumps and bubbles and buckles and puckers.

Let us know if you find something that works better.

Unknown said...

Beautiful tulips on your table! as far as glue is concerned, I like to use Ailene's low moisture white glue, which I spread in a thin layer with a credit card. I get it at michael's or hobby lobby. I think the low-moisture part of it keeps the paper from buckling.

Dianne said...

I don't have any tulips, but I sure enjoyed seeing yours! here's hoping it's finally going to stay warm...