A Glue Book of Collaged Scraps

Hi there.  Can you tell by my title that I don't know what to call my little project? ;) 

Warning: I am about to ramble (I believe in the UK it's "waffle.")  There is more glued collage scrap art at the end.  Scroll down now if you wish.  Now back to the full-length program.....

Do you have one of these?

Or maybe even one of these little miniature ones?

Yep, me too.  In fact, I have, ummmmm, several.  So I got myself one of these on Etsy:

It's a grand little vintage train case, complete with satin pockets and straps to hold fast to your necessities.  Why?  Well, I was very much inspired by an article I read in Stampington's "Hand Crafted" Volume 6 magazine by Rebecca Sower called "Rebecca's Traveling Companion."  She had me right in the beginning, describing the many hours she spent sitting and waiting for her kids while they attended sporting practices.  Like me, she carted along journals, books, magazines, the latest iTechnology.... but kept wishing she could be more productive, more creative.  So she got herself a vintage train case, and proceeded to very carefully select and package up the most gorgeous artful ingredients - images stamped on canvas, vintage ribbons, beautiful beads, rhinestones - you name it.  She stressed the importance of thoughtfully considering each addition to the case.  "You will be disappointed with the results if you just quickly toss materials into a case, snap the lid shut, and throw it in your car," she cautioned.  She developed a traveling art studio that was a work of art in itself.  And she created many things of exquisite beauty during football practice.

"Aha!" I said, "That's perfect!  That's just what I'll do!"

So I purchased my beautiful vintage train case.

And...... nuthin' happened.  I kept saying to myself that I would soon sit and carefully and cautiously select the most exquisite items to go into the case, and I'd be on my way.  But I procrastinated. I hedged.  I stalled.  And all the while, my tins and bottles and boxes full of scraps, tags, images stamped but never used, backgrounds not completed or not needed... they all stared at me.

So I did this:

Yep, with 10 minutes left before we needed to depart for piano lessons, I dumped the above ingredients unceremoniously into the train case.  I carefully considered only four items:

 A small moleskin journal, scissors, a glue stick, and a little box for sorting things into.

And I had a ridiculous amount of fun while waiting for my daughter.  In addition to the pages at the top, I did this:

And then this:

My method is far from ideal, and one day I will mindfully consider what to put in my case, and create a traveling kit of artfully organized beauty.  But for now, this worked okay.  On my second outing, I will take along a catalog or two from the recycling bin - I found I needed something on which to apply glue, and an old catalog is perfect, because when one page gets all sticky and gooey, you just turn the page and start gluing on a fresh surface. 

I haven't put the slightest dent in my scrap pile, but I've had tons of fun!!