Turning One of my First Journals into a Gluebook

 

I recently resurrected two old junk journals I created when I first started making journals 5+ years ago. At the time I had participated in a “Naked Journal” swap in Rosemary Morris’s Facebook group “Trashy and Flowish Junk Journals” and loved how relatively quickly these came together when you don’t have to decorate and embellish. I made several of these to really get my pamphlet stitch binding down.

During this Thanksgiving weekend I started deconstructing a stack of Somerset Studio magazines as well as doing a collage challenge by Ceri  the Crafter using his “100 Perpetual Collage Prompts”. I needed a book to work in and of course my first thought was to make one but common sense prevailed and I went to my journal stash. I started working in “Cadillac Ranch” decorated with a photograph I had taken there during my cross country move from New York City back home to San Francisco over 20 years ago.

This book has 5 chunky signatures consisting of scrapbook paper, magazine pages, various graph papers, ledger papers and resume papers. The cover was made from a cracker box decoupaged with painty paper tissue scraps. I decided to test this out as a glue book and see how far I can push its capacity.

I’ve got 8 out of 14 magazines deconstructed at this point. I always pull out the “Art” papers Somerset Studios includes right away and tend to use them as signature covers in the journals I’ve made over the years.

Ready to deconstruct, I pull out the full page photographs and fold them down into pocket fillers.

Then I go through and isolate the images that speak to me artistically. They could be inspirational in that I could actually make something similar or just use them as color or texture reference. It’s my own personally curated book of inspiration.

Other images I will use to make die cuts.

Somerset Studios will include drawing papers (matte) that include some kind of prompt or artsy task. I use these for pages in future journals.

Although some of the articles and images aren’t my style, I appreciate them for possible uses in collages, backgrounds or punches/die cuts.

Captain Willoughby and Lady Winnimere aka Willie and Winnie. I welcomed these two bebez into my studio in July. They turned 6 months old last week and have brought so much joy into my home, as well as a bit of chaos. Creating can be a challenge because they want to get into everything and be in the middle of everything I’m doing.❤️❤️

Journals to the People: Wildflower Silhouette #2

 

2 signature junk journal

8” x 5 1/2”

88 pages

Garter closure

I created two of these wildflower journal covers months ago and have been working on them off and on. I’ve been hanging onto them because I love them so much and I think I can say that they are probably my favorite journals so far.

The cover is a collage of spent art tissue scraps that has been treated with several layers of matte medium.

Journals to the People: Wildflower Silhouette #1

 

Single signature journal

8" x 5 1/2"

 64 pages

Garter closure

I’ve been trying to send these two journals off to Lindsey Zenors Marketplace consignment shop since before Christmas and I just haven’t been able to let them go because I love them so much.

I couldn’t even bring myself to gift them to my nearest and dearest through out Christmas and the several birthdays that followed. Lol!

Journal for Dorothy

This journal just made its way to the post office today, headed ultimately (fingers crossed) to my cousin in Canada. The cover is decoupaged with spent strips of bleeding art tissues that I had used to dye some of the pages within. I used matte gel medium to apply the tissue, added a layer of glossy gel medium, then coated it with gloss acrylic spray. I had made several of these covers on 12x 12 cardboards from frozen pizza boxes. The cover decoration is a die cut negative mounted on one of the off cuts from one of the other covers.

 

I included several of my collaged cards, some local postcards, and family photos.

Papers colored with bleeding art tissue

Most of the pages are not embellished though I did go back and add stenciling before dashing out to the post office

Moon and Six Pence #2

 

Mixed media cover with a painted Tyvek spine reinforcement, decorated with layered book pages and wildflower die-cuts.

I included several tissue dyed papers.

Collaged pockets which includes a hidden journaling card.

I clipped in some printed images from an ephemera pack I purchased at Shein.

I love this book garter closure.