Christmas Junk Journal Organizer Part 2

Hello Blogland, I am here with part 2 of my junk Christmas junk journal. This will be my design team post for Topflight Stamps so let's see what inky fun we can get up to! Happy Mix Media Monday!

My book will need some tags, pockets & in general some shenanigans. How about we make ephemera that can be used for scrap booking, art journal or even your December Daily? These pieces can also be used as a back ground for cards, tags, etc.

I started with some random pieces of white card stock. Next sprinkled some of the PaperArtsy Infusion on my craft sheet & spritzed with water. See the magical crystals come to life? This is Sunset Beach.

I then took a wet paint brush to smooth the color across the card- hum pretty but it takes away from what makes this product special- multiple colors & the walnut crystals. 

Next up, sprinkle some crystals on the craft mat, spritz with water & with a new piece of card stock I tapped it into the colorful puddles, moving the card around to get the color on the card. I left some spaces white. Dry the card somewhat. To add more dynamics, repeat the last step with a change of color & add it into the white areas. Dry the card. Continue by adding color on top of the existing color, if you have added too much just pull the color up with a tag or paper towel. This is Royal Blood & Black Current.

It was fun to experiment, I even grabbed some tags that already had some back ground on them & just dabbed some color on top. I also added color to that red card from the top photo- more Royal Blood & Black Knight- that would be perfect for something Halloween like! I may have over done that one a tad- hee hee.

This sample instead of tapping into the puddles, the paper was dragged through creating streaks. The card on the right was made using the left over ink & that is why it is lighter. It was finished off by adding some Lemonchello directly on top & then spritzing with water, using my finger to spread. I hope you give this product a good play & experiment to see what else it does! 

Dry all the card stock really well. Time to pull out the die cuts! Cut a bunch of tags, shapes ephemera etc. I will list the dies I used in the supplies. 

These pieces are so rich in color & I just love the look of the these. I also am finding it makes more sense to die cut a bunch of things when you are crafting than to just do 1 at a time. The key to this is to have you die pieces organized so they are easy to find & pull out when you don't have time to cut. I have that solution for you further down in the post. 

Next step was to grab some stamps & make some ephemera. I put on a movie & just had fun making bits'n pieces for my junk journal. Using more die cuts or pieces of pattern paper & stamping randomly. 

Here is one of the tags I made. The background was one of my Infusion samples. Some random stamping on the background. Colored in the stamped images with watercolor paint & added some ephemera.

If you want an idea of how to organize your ephemera I made another book to house my die cuts in an easy way. You can find that post here. There is also a link to a video that shows how to thread these books once we are done. 

Here is the cover of the book that is Part 1 which will house the fun ephemera that was show today. It was made using Eileen Hull's Pocket Notebook die, & there is a full tutorial which you can find here.

I hope you join me next month for part 3 where the insides of the book will be worked on. Stay tuned! 

Supplies:
PaperArtsy Infusions- Emerald Isle, Sunset Beach, Royal Blood, Black Knight, Black Current, & A Bit Jaded.  
Paper Artsy Stamps- ZA18, ESN40,ETS27, 
Eileen Hull die cuts by Sizzix
Tim Holtz Tags & Ephemera & diecuts by Sizzix
Cardstock

Christmas Junk Journal Organizer with Eileen Hull's Pocket Notebook

Hello Blogland, I am here today with Part 1 of a Christmas Organizer using Eileen Hull's Pocket Notebook. This is a project that I have had in my brain for literally years, or a variation of it anyway. As November has hit the Inspiration Team are working on holiday projects so grab your favorite beverage- coffee, spiced cider or wine depending on the time of day!

Here is my finished book cover. This is a definite case of having an idea in your head with no idea if it will work out in practice. The best part for you is I will have a list of what I would do different next time, as I did come across some challenges along the way. 

I wanted this book cover to be made of fabric with quilt like padding but sturdy enough that it could hold many pages & end up being a chunky junk journal. I set off on this journey with some luscious Tim Holtz fabric. It is not Christmas themed but has the potential with the map, postage & package labels... love it! Here is the back of my book. Directly below in red is what I would do differently. If you are making a book read the steps 1st & in red see how I would fix my challenges & do things differently.  

I am entering this in the Mini Album Makers Challenge this month. 

 *I would change the way I make the next book. I think I would fuse the fleece to the inside papers & cut the covers using the die. Next assemble the book covers as usual. Then hand cut the fabric larger than the book & adhere the fabric with double sided adhesive, leaving a 1/4" around the edges so I am not sewing through the adhesive. Another option to solve this problem would be distressing the edges or adding something around the edges like lace. 

Step 1: Carry on this way if the edges don't bother you & you want the look I achieved. Cut a piece of fabric large enough to cut 2 book covers out of & iron on the Therm*O*Web Heat n Bond Fusible Fleece. Follow the directions on the packaging. This will be the outer layer of our book. 

Step 2: Cut 4 pieces of book paper or newspaper (this will be sandwiched on the inside of the book so it doesn't matter what it looks like). Cut 2 pieces of music paper being careful with the direction- ie: cut one piece with the holes on the left & one with the holes on the right so when you put your book together the music & words are the right way up. Adhere 3 pages together either with a glue stick or double sided adhesive keeping the glue away from the edges so you won't sew through glue. Make sure the music paper is on top to create the inside covers. 

Assemble the 2 covers using Red Liner Tape along one of the middle edges & lining up the middle hole.

Sew around the cover. *this is what it would look like if you are using the other method. The cover would be sewn from the inside of the book. It will be necessary to  re-punch the holes through the fabric with a cropodile. Follow the rest of the directions as normal.

Here is my book after the edges have been sewn.

Step 3: At this point I felt my spine needed some re-enforcement so I cut a piece of mat board to fit inside the spine, covered it with double sided adhesive & fabric. I went with fabric, tearing instead of cutting it about 1/2" wider then the board. Just a design decision. Alternatively you could also paint the mat board or cover it in paper. 

Adhere & then re-punch the holes using a cropodile or punch, don't worry if you can't see the holes very well because of the fabric & the batting. Hot Tip- fabric only tears in one direction you may have to cut it & fray by pulling at the strands along the edges. Also cut your fabric a little longer as well so the mat board doesn't show. The base of our book is done!!! Now it is time to decorate. 

I had the hardest time trying to figure out what to put on my cover! I had ideas of die cut corrugated deer, Santa ephemera or junk journal type ephemera. Nothing was working, I think in part I did not want to cover up the fabric. Finally I went with a combo of digital ephemera & die cuts. I am really happy with how this turned out!

Here is part 2 in the series you can find it here. This one is a tutorial on how to create tags, pockets etc to build the ephemera for the book. Next month I will work more on the inside Junk Journal pages, the binding & theme of the book.I hope you have a chance to get inky today!

Part 3 is up! It includes how to make the 1st book which is a December Journal booklet. 

Supplies:
Eileen Hull Pocket Notebook die by Sizzix 
Tim Holtz Snowflake, Tree & Deer dies by Sizzix
HeatnBond Fusible Fleece by Therm*O*Web
Double Sided Adhesive & RedLiner Tape by Therm*O*Web
Fabric & Christmas Ephemera by Tim Holtz
Owl Digital Tickets by Artymaze
Flowers by Prima Marketing
Distress Oxide in Gathered Twig by Ranger

Inspired by Tracy Evans for Topflight Stamps & Eileen Hull Part 1

Hello Inky Friends, this week I am doubling up being "inspired by" Tracy Evans & using Eileen Hull's newest diecut the Pocket Notebook. Happy Mix Media Monday!! I love, love Tracy Evans stamps by AALL & Create & conveniently they are available through Topflight Stamps. I also love Tracy's style & have had the pleasure of seeing a lot of her projects live & in color when we were team mates on Eileen Hull's Inspiration Team. 

I made this book using a few of Tracy's projects as my inspiration, with a few spins of my own. I could literally spend days making these inspired books!!! 

It was hard to choose just a few projects to base mine on. Here are the links to the ones that inspired me directly. This Lucky Tag was one.  I like sewing on my projects & so does Tracy, she also uses a very soft minimal palette on this project which will be a challenge for me!!! 

This Flower Stems card is what inspired the colors I chose. Really love that vellum too! Plus the stamps... love them!  

This Raven Passport Book inspired my use of an embossing folder as the background, I also really love the placement of her ephemera on the front. Although I didn't end up going this route, hummmm maybe inspiration for the inside? Please take the time to go check out this super talented, lovely lady on her Craft Addicts blog. A lot of Tracy's stamps are available on the Topflight Stamps website.

Let's get started!! I began using mat board die cut with the Pocket Notebook die. This book size is fabulous with a spine that can be adjusted to almost any size up to 2" & if you wanted a bigger spine just cut 2 spines & attach them! Step 1 was to add the embossing, but the covers are bigger than the standard Sizzix embossing folder. To solve this problem simply emboss out of paper, tear & attach. I picked a few of my favorites so I was able to add multiple designs to my covers. This was glued down with 3D Gel to help the embossed areas remain strong. Any open areas were simply filled in with crackle paste & set to dry. 

Next up color- I used a combo-ish that Tracy has been using lately. Fresco Finish paint in Mermaid, Amethyst, & Blueberry watered down & applied sparingly then wiping back with a baby wipe.

Next up time for some stamping, with Black Archival ink in random places using Tracy's stamp- #79- Bloom & Grow. I LOVE THIS STAMP!!! The arrows & heart are from another other set called Hearts.

For my focal image a bouquet of hearts seemed a good idea. I stamped in archival ink just in case I wanted to add some ink, then sewed some sketchy lines leaving the threads long & messy. 

I made a few extra to keep in my stash. 

Last few steps were to arrange the hearts,& add some metal.

Here you can see part of the back with all that luscious texture. Join me back here next month where I will continue working on my book by adding the elastic & the start of the insides! Thanks so much for joining me, hope you have the chance to get inky today!

Supplies:

Tracy Evans stamps by AALL & Create- Feathered Bloom & Hearts

PaperArtsy Paint in Mermaid, Amethyst & Blueberry. 

Eileen Hull Pocket Notebook by Sizzix

Eileen Hull Redline tape by Therm*O*Web

Metal by Prima Marketing

Archival Ink by Ranger in Black Soot, Cornflower Blue, Plum

Crackle Paste by Ranger