Inspirational Junk Journal

Today I'm sharing a project made for a friend last year and this junk journal is the sort of thing I love to put together as it can be filled with all sorts of things.

Shabby chic was the look I was anticipating and as for the content well, there was no plan really just messages in the shape of inspiration of hope, strength and faith in yourself which we all need sometimes and forget from time to time.

I had decided that a small neat book shape in kraft card would be perfect for my junk journal and the Tattered Lace precious nested book die, which is about 13cm x 18cm was just about the right size.

I used and adapted the die to create the spine for my journal from the Tattered Lace Enchanted Tales book collection so that I could secure the pages into my junk journal and for the cover, I liked one of the design papers from Stephanie Weightmans Its a gift collection which I printed onto cream velour paper that I have in my stash. 

I originally discovered this paper when the Dreamees stocked it. I love the fact this paper is printable and the suede texture it gives to your projects. I made the flowers using the Dreamees Loops and Lace flower dies on olive green pearlescent paper, with cotton ribbon inked with Tim Holtz vintage rose distress ink.

When I first discovered this poem, I thought it was beautiful, wise words that definitely needed to be shared and a good starting point. I didn't want to take too much attention away from the words on the page so kept this page fairly simple with a little moss at the base and part of an embossed tree with some acorns at the top. I have typed out and printed the poems in this journal onto patterned paper.

A simple little vellum butterfly was all that was needed to embellish this page, made using the Dreamees Fall & Foliage stamp set, along with some glossy accent on the bubbles. I thought this poem was another great strong powerful hope floats tale.
Life is hard at times and we all stumble and fall and from a young age, you learn to get up, dust off the grit from your knees and carry on, with encouragement.

I always tell my children that no matter how hard life gets, somewhere out there someone has left a light on for you.... you just have to find it.

Using a mix of vintage design paper and the same that I had printed onto rice/sumi paper, I added a little cream webbing, lace and the odd vellum flower topped with another poem.  We all get caught up in life and living and its so easy to lose touch with the little things that you don't always see but were always there.

As I started to put the journal together, I thought that I had better even it up a bit with a few more light-hearted artwork pieces.

So, on the next page I used some of the Love Art rice paper by Stamperia and thinking along the lines of "hope floats," I found these cute heart embellishment along with these inspirational captions and decided to tie them into my page.

I mirrored these with some more Stamperia rice paper for my next paper with some mini vintage envelopes with matching notecards, adding a little vintage postcard to the top of my page.

I love these rice papers, particularly the ones with the face art on them. I do have another design to use for another project.

For my next page, I stencilled and inked my page added some layers, lace and ribbon and made an ATC card using the Puddle Jumps digi image by Vera Lane Studios. 

The card says it all, sometimes a good puddle is all you need. I backed this onto a background made using a little acrylic ink spray and shaving foam. To accompany my ATC card I also used the Just Pray & BowBee digi Images which were coloured in with promarkers.

I love making ATCs, they are something I keep saying I want to get back to making and swapping and even if you don't swap they are just nice to make. A little piece of art work, make one, send one and make someone's day.

My next page is a tag pocket, and there are some lovely inspirational sayings that I wanted to add to the journal, one being from an artist which I really liked. I used the Dreamees Loops and Lace dies with some pink lace, some more vintage rose distress ink from Tim Holtz.

On the back of that page, I used  one of the lovely design papers that  my crafting colleague Alysha Sheridan designed and I printed this onto cream velour paper and added this pretty ornate frame by Crafter Companion with some "never forget quotes." We all need a little encouragement sometimes, that warm voice in your head that reassures you that it's going to be ok.

And when you lift the flap, a few more words of encouragement and then a little picture just hidden under the flap.

Which says it all really. Through the eyes of a parent, you understand that.  You know they have the ability to fly, to be the person they want to be, to overcome all those obstacles in their way but the hard part can also be believing it too, a process that takes time...

On the inside cover, I made a band out of Kraft card and added some antique lace. I had originally thought of maybe making some postcards and popping them in there but then I thought, what about a survival kit.

Looking on the shelf in my bedroom there is one that my son bought me many many years ago when we were in Jersey. It was something so simple and yet so sweet in an organza bag. I have seen lots of these around and thought that this would finish off my junk journal nicely.

It was fun making this as you can personalise them to suit and I had to remember that all these things needed to fit in the bag too...after I sourced them.

This junk journal was more inspirational wording than junk art-based because it was more personalised with a friend in mind. I do like the random sort of nature of these, where you start with a blank canvas and that creative project just develops.

I have a taste for making these now and it's on my list to make another of a different sort, along with a few more things to make this year, hopefully with all being well and good.

Have a good day, whatever you have planned.

Happy Crafting