Making Journals

 Long time no blogging, but I've been busy, honest, making journals and here is just a little peak at the front cover of one of them.

And here is Billy 'helping' me with a special journal, hush, don't tell anyone, it's a secret for now :)

Scrappy Journal

 I've finally got around to binding my Scrappy Journal, made using scraps of fabric and scraps of coloured watercolour paper left over from my larger journals.

The paper on it's own would have made tiny signatures so I used lengths of scrap fabric sewn on as kind of hinges.  I like how when you turn the pages you get flashes of these fabric scraps as well as them being visible on the outside.

 I used a combination of binding techniques from Mary Ann Moss on the Full Tilt Boogie class and the very helpful instructions supplied by Lynn Holland, photoing pages from a book for me, so kind.

 Whilst I love this little book I feel it is somehow naked and in need of either a little sac bag, so I can carry it with me easily, or maybe a wrap so it can be carried with some art supplies.  I feel another project coming on.....

I picked the first roses from my garden yesterday - St Swithun and Zephirine Drouhin, both beautifully perfumed, ahhhhhh.

Been Doing My Homework

 

But first I had to make a journal to put my homework in.  Whilst I love making journals I think it's probably more of a reaction to when I was at university and we were told what size sketchbook to use and we weren't allowed to decorate them which was crazy beings as we were doing a creative degree.  Enough said, rant over.

The theme for this term's embroidery class is Summer so I immediately thought of gardens (and daytrips to cemeteries) so I used pages from old gardening books and some of my stash of floral wallpapers.

 

I began playing around with fabric transfer paints.  When I was in class a stray thread had got in the way of the transfer but I liked the happy accident so decided to explore that further, using threads, lace and gauze as masks.

 I also painted a clematis design and transferred that to cream poly-cotton fabric, ready to embroider. 

Pssst........ like a sneaky peek?

My other journal is really turning into a labour of love. It's getting even fatter but I don't think it's ready for binding just yet. I thought I'd share just a few pages with you.


I want to use this journal to house some of the many photographs I've taken of cemetery angels and gravestones. Another trip planned soon to Nunhead, one of the big seven Victorian gothic cemeteries that ring London! Can't wait, hope it's a bright sunny day :)

My New Journal

I've made myself a journal in the Full Tilt Boogie class run by Mary Ann Moss. She is one lovely lady, full of great tips and humour and she really gets you going, hence the title. So in no time at all I whipped up this journal.

I love the recycling aspect in her classes. For this journal I used the covers from an old sunday school book that was falling apart. It was dated 1907 and had been awarded to some lucky lad for good attendance.

I used old book pages from books found in charity shops; a gardening encyclopedia, a book on cottage garden flowers, old song books, floral scrapbooking paper and pages from an old Sarah Raven gardening catalogue - she always has such wonderful plant photography in them.

I really like taking old pages and fashioning them into something new.

I left some pages short so I can add papers, photos or embroidery to it in the future. Incidentally my next embroidery class has the theme of summer so I might use this journal as my sketchbook for it, with it's wonderful flower pictures already in there to give me some stitching inspiration.

I also used pages from an old teachers book, which had this pre-raphelite image in there as a descriptive english exercise for the children.
I hope these pages give you a flavour of the journal.

The binding took time but was really easy to understand so I can see alot more of these journals being crafted in the future.

It's getting fatter

My journal that is! Finally found some time to get back to decorating and embellishing some more pages in my journal.

I only started it in August! Maybe I'll have it done by this coming August :-)

Been making Journals

I've been busy in the studio of late; christmas gifts in the making. I thought I'd share some glimpses of some of the journals I've been making.

Less than a week till the big day. I think I'm on schedule, how about you??

New Journal Finished

Finally finished my Oriental themed journal and just got time to show you. It's a bigger journal than I normally make, in terms of pages

with lots of lace, fabric collages, napkins, fold out flaps and ledges to tuck emphemera behind :) It'll be looking for a home shortly when I've got the time to figure out how to set up an etsy shop.

Giveaway!

Hello all, I promised a little giveaway and here it is (better late than never). This giveaway is for one of my 3 latest ATCs - Tudor Diva, Prize Onion and Geisha Teatime.

I'll draw three names out of the hat on the evening of 21st November and all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. My only rule is that you have to have a blog, as I'd like this giveaway to go to fellow bloggers as I've been so inspired by many different bloggers since finding this big wonderful creative blogging world :)

If you'd like to be a follower, or already are, that's great but not necessary for this giveaway, just make sure I can contact you and track back to your own blog.

Good luck!

On the creative table at the moment I have a 'larger than my average' journal, tentatively titled 'Oriental Garden' as I had no plan when I began it and this theme is emerging and I'm enjoying every minute.

Peonies Journal #2

A while ago I made a second Peonies Journal and I thought you might like to see some piccys.

This is a theme I love working with as I adore peonies and have a couple of plants in my own garden.


Lace, acrylic paint, shimmer sprays all came out :)

I thought this geisha looked as if she was juggling with peony flowerheads. She's transfered onto fabric with Transfer Artist paper.

I used photos of my own peonies to indicate little flaps and pockets that things can be kept behind, putting lined scrapbooking paper on the back of the photo so the person receiving the journal can journal there easily.

A little butterfly tag made using my favourite napkins.


Stamps and vintage book papers

Another little fabric collage with a lovely image of a bluebird from the Graphics Fairy blog.

I love to see all the lace peeking out of the sides but I've left plenty of space for journalling in this journal.

Enjoy your weekends wherever you are. Be creative!

Latest Makes

I set to and made an apple cosy for my friend at the weekend. I'd never made anything like it before but it was surprisingly easy, using the pattern from Mollie Makes.

And I made a second Peonies journal for a friend to give to her sister (I'll up load more photos in another post). And as if that's not enough I've made various sample wedding invitations for another friends daughter. They are under wraps at the moment, I'll share them when I know which the happy couple are choosing, up till then Top Secret, lol.

So I may have been quiet on here (so sorry folks) but I've been a busy bee, honest. Also I want to share with you a super little Folksy shop run by Nana Gogo, aka the lovely Anne. I've been lucky enough to purchase a lovely cosy crocheted cowl from her, I've just not been lucky with the light as not been able to take a decent photo of it yet to share with you. But if you'd like to pay her a visit now her shop can be found here Photo of my beautiful cowl to follow!

Hemingway Journal

This is the second journal that I was commissioned to make. I initially found this harder to make as I didn't know much about Ernest Hemingway.

Also, with the subject I didn't feel that I could be too lacey or pretty. I choose instead to stick to a blue and brown colour scheme. Blue coming from his novel - The Old Man of the Sea, ie sea colours but I went for on a cloudy day as opposed to a bright sunny day kind of a blue.

The brown was to suggest the sand of beach as well as vintage browning of pages.

I used a lot of check patterns which I see as more masculine and therefore in keeping with the theme.

He spent some years in Paris so I used scrapbooking paper with french adverts on it.






Working on this commissioned journal and the peonies one in my previous post, has been a lot of fun. If anyone has an idea for a journal you would like me to make just drop me an email to discuss it :)