I thought I'd share a project that's been a work in progress over the last few months. I've been making a journal for myself.
This is the first project I have made since recovering from surgery a few months ago, so I thought a work in progress project would ease me back into crafting.
I have been crafting with Debbi Moore Designs for many years; in fact, using her Bookazines was probably where my crafting actually started, in between the Glitter Girls - Kathy & Barbara.
Like many crafters, I like to use and try lots of different things, but some things I use will always stay there throughout my crafting journey.
When I came across the Workshop for the Hortensia Blooms Junk Journal, not only did I love the design, which inspired me to want to make one, but I also liked the idea of getting a workshop that I would watch on YouTube in my own time to go with it.
You can find this on Debbi Moore's Chateau Chomet website, which is also part of Debbi Moore Designs.
I have wanted to make some journals for a while now, and I'm still very much a beginner and learning as I go along. This process involves glueing the spine and using kraft card for my base, with copier paper as signatures to cover with your papers. I just happened to have some cream paper. I intend to stitch my signatures at a later date.
I got a bit carried away, and my journal ended up a lot bigger than it was originally intended to be!
For the spine, I curved a piece of Kraft card, which was then covered with one of the papers and then a strip of lace. I love lace and can't stop collecting it for future projects.
I am very fortunate to have a remnants shop in the town where I live that has lots of material, ribbons and lace to sort through. Often when you are crafting, you 'need' just a piece of something rather than having to buy a reel for a project. I have found lots of lovely lace turn up in charity shops too, hence why I need a box just to keep my lace in now.
I added a ribbon bookmark through the centre of the journal using a piece of velvet that I picked up in the remnants shop.
To add more strength to the cover, I glued a piece of kraft card to the topper before sticking it on. I repeated this for the base too.
I cut out the focal image from one of the topper papers and stamped it onto one of the papers that I resized to create a collage on the page.
I made some of the papers smaller and added some printable vellum
I've used some of the mini bookmarks in the kit and made them into tag clips.
The topper postcards make a great page on their own, with some embellishment and adding glossy accents to the ephemera makes them more sturdy with added texture.
I've used the papers to create mini envelopes and a mini folder to hold the papers, which I have reduced in size.
I've added the sky blue backing paper from the same collection for a bit more variety
I thought that these doilies were pretty when I saw them in the kit, but I have really loved using them. They are really detailed, and I have resized these too throughout my journal.
Ink the edges, and then use your ball tool on the back of the doily to add a little shape to the lace edge. After that, turn it back over and use a fine ball tool to go around the edge of the circle to draw the lace edge up.
From one of the small doilies, I have made an embellishment to add to the tag.
I've used a lot of the lined journal pages throughout the journal.
A few more mini tags
I've used a clear glaze gelly roll pen on the butterflies and centres of the blooms to add a bit of texture.
A few die cuts from my craft stash and strips of ribbon here and there. All the vellum sheets were printed from the Hortensia Blooms sky blue backing paper digital download kit. These papers are also from the backing paper set.
The die cut that I used was a little big, so I chopped off the top and made a little cameo with the blooms, adding lace to the base.
I've added a few more of my die cut blooms, a piece of my mums lace and stamped one of the papers that I reduced in size. I love all the little butterflies and flower accents. I've added glossy accents to the butterflies and faux buttons to make them stronger.
I've made mini envelopes for the mini phrases. The envelopes have been printed on pearlescent paper, and I've added tiny blooms as seals. I love dioramas, so this sort of thing really appeals to me. I've also cut out the focal image from the collection and added her to the frame from one of the papers that I had cut, which creates a different page.
I've used glue gel to stick her in to add some dimension, and the flowers have also been decoupaged, which isn't obvious in the picture.
I've made use of those doilies behind my envelopes and kept this page very simple.
I've made a window pocket for my tag
I've used the Chateau Chomet lace die throughout my journal too and just die cut onto cream paper. It's such a pretty die that you can snip into and separate strips of the lace die for your project.
On the right-hand side, I made a large bookmark from the toppers, which hangs from the lace and is double sided.
I've also added lace to the top of my pages, since I have plenty of it and I think it looks pretty too.
A pocket with some mini papers, and I've also used the faux ribbon strips too and made a few tag clips throughout my journal.
I created a pocket to add some envelopes.
The first two envelopes were made using the Hortensia Blooms Sky Blue backing paper digital download.
This design is so pretty too, and I love this collection's colour palette.
I've added more lace around the toppers for the cover and found these fine pale blue (with a hint of gold) string beads in my craft stash that were just big enough for the journal.
I've shaped and layered the flowers and used glue gel to add dimension to the front of the journal, and popped the mini card in the centre of the blooms. I've used glossy accents also in the centre of some of the blooms and on the butterflies.
It's been an absolute joy taking the time to make this journal, and it's not often that I make a project (other than a decorated box) that I keep for myself.
I always look at my projects afterwards and think, "Could I do that differently next time?"
I think as crafters, we are always learning and evolving and being inspired by what others make helps that process.
Crafting is also that happy place that keeps your brain ticking and is great for your mental health too
Check out Debbi Moore's website; she has a lot of free digital downloads for you to use, and every Thursday on Facebook or through YouTube you can watch her live show, where she will give you a code to download a free project and details on how to find any other free downloads available on her website, as well as tutorials, crafting tips and all the new kits that she is bringing out too. A great place to start your crafting journey and find lots of inspiration too.
I use a lot of digital downloads in my crafting; it just suits the way I craft now.
This has been a lengthy blog post, and I appreciate you taking the time to visit my crafty blog space.
Have a great week, whatever you have planned for yourself.
Happy Crafting
