Money, money

Before we begin today, I want to start by saying, it's fairly obvious when my bEARTHday is.  After all, it's why I do this 22 day recycling event each year.  I believe many of you my dear close internet friends feel compelled or choose to send me a card or a gift.  This year I'm asking, no BEGGING you to not do so.  Instead, visit my blog every day, leave a comment if you like or don't like the project I've chosen, and get your circle of friends to visit daily, too.  That will be the best gift anyone could ever give me, your internet friend Dr. E, Queen of Free.

Today I'm joining Valerie at Bastelmania, our host this month at Art Journal Journey, with her Geometric Shapes theme.  I'm also inviting you to play along because I'm sure everyone has at least one security envelope.  If you don't have a security envelope, I'm sure you can find one envelope with a window.  If you're lucky, you might even have one that has a double window.   I'm on the lookout for one of those.

Now that you have your security envelope and have deconstructed it, you need a theme.  Your theme should revolve around bits and pieces of art you have been hoarding for just that right moment.

Be sure the image you want to place behind the window is large enough.  You may need to tape it in place, rather than using glue.  Alternately, you can sew it in place, but because many of you don't sew paper to paper, sewing is only one option.

I dug through my saved stash and found several lovely items I've been given or junk mail I've received.

This is the reverse side of the bookmark.  More on that later.

In my stash was this beautiful piece of printed vellum.  I have NO idea where or when I received it, but I love how the design of the security envelope shows through.  Only translucent materials like vellum could do that.

I hope this coin of Cleopatra qualifies as a circle, so it can be part of the geometric shapes Valerie is looking for.

I wonder if a ring is a geometric shape!

For the image behind the window, I used this piece of junk mail I recently received.  Originally I had thrown it in my recycle basket, but dug it out to use in this spread.

I received the bookmark from my friend who is a numismatist.  It was left over after I made my Money altered book (see my right sidebar).  It could not be used as a bookmark because it had been damaged and was quite limp.

I wanted to document the back of the bookmark before I added it to the page, so I scanned it.  It took a few iterations before I got it so it actually looked like the back of the bookmark and not like a failed scan.  I wanted you to be able to read it, too, so I made sure you could read it before I cut it out and sewed it to the envelope.

This is the full page of vellum I found in my stash.  Several circles qualify for Valerie's theme.

Three rectangles add to the geometric shapes, too.

Another circle adds to the geometric shapes mix.

For this page, I started with a used security envelope, then added a piece of junk mail, a beautiful vellum page, and a bookmark of which I copied the back before sewing everything together using variegated green and white thread. 

Bleubeard and I are delighted you stopped by today. We hope you will also join us at Art Journal Journey with your own art inspired by Geometric Shapes.  

This is Day 3 of 22 and I recycled junk mail and a used security envelope.  Feel free to join us with a decorated security or window envelope of your own.

After seeing Alison's and Chris's April calendars (which put mine to shame, I might add), I realized I hadn't shown mine.  This month is all about birthdays.  Several of them in fact.  It wouldn't be a celebration without rocking horses, along with a rocking bunny, too!  Just so you know, I've already written in mine.