Hello Eileen Hull fans! This month the Inspiration Team is playing with one of my favorite things to do... Junk Journals!!! It also gave me the perfect opportunity to use a kit I bought quite awhile ago. Luckily it is still available. One of my favorite designers that I hoard like mad is Heidi Swapp. I love her stuff and buy multiples and store it for like ever. I have an extensive collection! This is an important post as I also talk about Heidi's Light the Fight Podcast & why, if you have kids you will want to tune in. Grab a cuppa & let's go!
I was determined to use this collection & this month was the time. While traditional Junk Journals have things like used mail, envelopes, book paper etc there are a lot that are also made with scrapbook paper or digitals. I will do a combo of that.
My book was cut from mat board using the Pocket Notebook die. I just love the size of this book. The cover measures just under 4.75" x 6.75". 2 pieces of the kit paper were cut to fit the front & back. The edges were inked with Colorblends in Nutmeg. Same distressing for the ephemera which was layered- such a cool look! Those vellum pieces are nummy.
The spine of this book is 2" wide but you can adjust it by adding extra or cutting back the existing spine. I went with the die cut full size, which has room for 5 booklets or signatures.
The
spine was inked with the Nutmeg & some water added to blend the
color out. Really fits the paper of the covers. Inspiration struck to use Tim Holtz tissue paper over this. Really love the look & it was super simple. Just add Collage Medium on the spine working a third of the spine at a time adding the tissue, so the glue stays wet. I also added a coat of glue on top. Let that dry & re-punch the holes. You may want to do the same to the inside of the book.
I went with a hidden binding. Using elastic that is about 1mm wide, start with one of the middle holes and just thread through keeping the length of the elastic on the inside & threading across the holes on the outside. One of my favorite closures for these books is an elastic that can be adjusted as the book gets fatter. To make it even easier use a brad through the center hole to fasten the elastic to the spine. Add a fun chain with some charms, or strings of beads- whatever goes with the theme of your project.
Let's Make Some Booklets
I started making 2 booklets for my project & adding a 3rd lined notebook. This way I can add more books when I figure out what is needed. I cut the paper for my notebooks 6.5" tall by 8" wide. When the paper is folded the books are a touch smaller than the cover.
Light The Fight Notebook.
This whole project was designed to have a place to hold my notes from Light the Fight. I have been meaning to social media this subject for ages. This is the perfect project to talk about Heidi Swapp's podcast, with therapist David Kozlowski. 5 years ago Heidi's son Cory committed suicide. It is one of the moments in my life that I remember exactly where I was when I read the news. Eileen & I were driving back on the Papertrail from Chicago. It was late at night on our 2nd day of driving.
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| Photos shared with permission from Heidi Swapp |
I read the so sad news. The killer that every parent raising a child today has to worry about. Heidi had decided to talk about how her son Cory died. As I read this post out loud to Eileen we were just devastated for Heidi. I had not met her yet but at the time I knew that somehow Heidi would turn this horrible tragedy into something important.
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| Cory & Heidi from Instagram |
18 months ago the Light the Fight podcast was born. It is simply the most amazing resource for parents trying to navigate this crazy time in life with their pre-teens & teens. It is brilliant. The advice that David dishes out is invaluable. It got me though some rough times with my daughter improving our relationship immensely. It changed a lot about how I parent. I have a long way to go and a lot of the podcast still to listen to. Living in a world with Covid there is a lot to learn.
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| Meeting Heidi Swapp at Creativation 2020 |
Light the Fight has helped me to relate to my college age sons & understand better what their struggles were & continue to be.
If you have kids- please take a listen & be sure to keep a notebook handy. The advice & explanations for kids struggles in this day & age are gold.
Suicide is a family nightmare and the more knowledge on how to relate to & help our kids, the better chance they have. You have the bonus of learning with Heidi as she puts a human face on a lot of the situations with her own kids, being coached by David on issues we all face. The inside of this book is simple as it is for note taking. I filled the signature with random pages from calendar papers, agenda papers, lined etc. Added stamping, sticker & labels adds interest.
Time to make more pages because I need more than 1 book. My 2nd book is made from papers from the collection. The cover has a lot of the Emerson Lane but also blasts from the past. The
butterfly & arrow are vintage Heidi, colored with ink. Even the paperclip is from one of the older collections.
The inside cover of the booklet has room for notes & the other page has a pocket for one of the cards cut from the paper pack. I am not sure what photos I will add in here yet but capturing the memories is so so important.
Re-Purpose An Envelope!
This is one of my favorite ways to add some fun to my junk journal. There are some Envelopes in the Emerson Lane collection as in the one on the right. I simply added some ink, back ground stamping & die cut leaves as shown below. The other window envelope was made by recycling a mail envelope. Simply glue left over pieces of the paper, distress edges add some ephemera. The butterfly is a fun way to add a tab to my tag, cut using one of Eileen's dies.
Using some of the paper from the collection & the Journal Card, Flower & leaves die to cut some leaves out. These make great embellishments & a journal card or photo mat.
Add A Mini Book
How about a book in a book? Using Eileen's Tiny Book diecut to make this cute mini book, is quick & easy. Simply cut & decorate the cover. Don't you love that wax seal???? Yup from the Emerson Lane Collection. This booklet can be tucked in a pocket or clipped to a page.
Loose leaf paper, book print & music paper was used for the inside signature. Punch 2 holes & bind with wax thread adding a few beads & charms.
Here is the inside cover of the booklet. I used a mat board rick rack piece from the new Mitten die cut. Plus the kits ephemera. This book is tiny!
Let's Add a Tuck Spot!
Cut a shape & adhere it to your page so you can tuck envelopes or tags in there. The butterfly die cut was added to give the tuck some pop along with a quote from the kit. These are just a few ideas for you.
If you want more inspiration you can check out my flip though video of my December Junk Journal.
Thanks so much for joining me today. Thanks to Heidi for bringing Light the Fight into the world and sharing her story to help others. Make sure you check out her Instagram & website for much more info & inspiration.
Remember to check back all month to see what my Inspiration Team Mates are up to. Don't forget to join the Eileen Hull Fan Club on Facebook and enjoy Eileen's creative live videos & projects Tuesday & Thursdays. Now go get inky!!
Supplies:
Eileen Hull by Sizzix- Pocket Notebook, Tiny Book, Mitten Box
" "- Birds & Butterflies,
Colorblends
Tim Holtz Tissue Paper
