Journals to the People: Beauty

Journals to the People: Cherish

Here's the first of 6 more journals I'm getting ready to send off to The Marketplace at Nevermore Creations. Four of these journals are for the July challenge where we're required to use a selection of digital pages and kits from the shop.
The Deets:
5 1/2" x 8 1/2"
Soft cover "frankenpaper" and fabric
2 signatures
72 pages

digitals:
Full of Hot Air
Button labeled Botanicals
Rose Quotes

Lots of sewing in this one using black thread for the first time.

I only printed this balloon kit once on 20# copy paper ( flimsy but good for collages) spreading it over 4 journals.

As if I didn't need a reason to save every bit of scrap. I layered strips of scrapbook paper then zig zag stitched over a string of yarn.

Frankenpaper cover

The results of my day dying silk fabric strips using alcohol ink. They came out really pretty.

Project Share: A Mega-zine

I watched a video from Mrs. Cogs last week where she flipped through a Mega-zine she made during an online class she'd published in her Etsy shop. She was trying to find a way to use large images that were too big for standard sized junk journals. Once again I was hooked because I too have a lot of magazine, art book, calendar images that I love but they really don't lend themselves to much cropping and I don't want to turn them sideways so I was inspired to create this journal which measures 8 1/2" x 11" with about a 1 inch spine.

I used a heavy duty, legal sized, medical file folder I'd picked up at SCRAP (creative re-use center) last week. I cut down the top where the prongs were embedded and used 2 pieces of the Frankenpaper I made a couple of weeks ago, then wrapped a strip of fabric all the way around the spine.

Mrs. Cogs calls this "the dashboard". I don't know why but anyhoo the pocket on the inner cover is a piece of embroidery I was sent in a swap. I dyed it with food coloring a long time ago for another project that I never ended up using it in. There's a piece of eco-printed watercolor paper on the right.

I just did some minimal decorating with some new stamps and washi tape.

I did an off-set fold on the double sided scrapbook paper signature covers and this is where I used partial calendar images glued down to an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of scrapbook paper to complete the width of the cover also creating a pocket.

I created paper hinges to attach two 8 1/2" x 11" pages together to make one large piece that I could sew into the spine

More eco-printed paper...

The polka dot scrapbook paper was trimmed down to 11" x 12" and folded at 8 1/2. The other piece of scrapbook paper measures 8 1/2" x 11" and is machine stitched to the larger piece to form the pocket on the backside.

Franken Paper cover detail.

On My Art Table-Scrapbusters!

Whenever I'm feeling the urge to make something but don't know what to do or I don't want to get into anything too complex, I collage scraps.  Collaging cardstock packaging with painty papers, random scraps and spent art tissue for what I'm now calling my "Background Book", is a go-to no brainer I find completely relaxing. These will eventually get some further stenciling, stamping and/or random painting. I might use them for journal covers or possibly cut up for tags and journaling cards...who knows?

Junk Journal ephemera: I have an excessive amount of  scrapbook paper that I'm trying to find projects for. These are the cut up strip pages that are included in many pads. I mash them up, layer 3 different widths and then do a decorative stitch down the center. These can be used as belly bands and then remnants of those belly bands can be used in clusters.

Works-in-progress: Book pages pockets colored with bleeding art tissue.

"Frankenpaper" (sort of a paper crazy-quilt) made from a bunch of scraps sent to me in a swap.

I did some eco-printing a couple of weeks ago. I'm still hoarding them as I try to decide what to make with them. I love them just as they are...for now;-)