June Journal/Planner Setup!

Sneak Peek!!!

So. This month. Now that I feel I have this whole journal thing down. I wanted to incorporate a teeny tiny bit of planner-ishness into my Travelers Notebook. 

Fear Not!!!

Yes. I still have. Love. And use my purple personal sized Malden Filofax!  It just lives on my desk as a very important information catch it all filing cabinet. I found that I didn't need to carry it every day because I am not a person who really ever has appointments.  I am either at work or at home. 

But. 

I dooooo carry my TN everywhere since it is my journal and I thought IT would be the best place for my daily To Do Lists!!!  So for this month (and hopefully every month going forward.) I will be splitting my Field Note inserts into four weeks. 

This is what I did.  On page one I found a free calendar printable and shrunk it down to size and glued it in.  I find having a month to view really handy!!!  Especially when trying to remember things like Birthdays, and Holidays.

After that I evenly spaced out the next for weeks by tipping in (hinging a piece of paper using tape) Mr. Ray Blake's WO2P FN size templates!!!  On these pages I will write down all those pesky or fun little things I want to get done on any given day!  And of course the occasional appointment.  If I have anything that needs to be planned for the following month (which is rare) I will just stick a sticky note on the last page of my insert so that I know to include it in my next months Field Note.  Easy Peasy!

Finally on all of the blank pages I will be doing my regular journaling, starting the 365/30 List Prompts and of course, my weekly Documented Life Project challenges.  

So yeah. I'm excited. Should be fun!  And I will film a flip through at the end of the month showing the full details.  

What are you all doing for June???

Journaling: Newbie

How I set up my pages!!!

So. Being new to the whole art journaling thing I thought I would share some things I've learned so far and show you how I set up my pages!

Blank white paper kind of freaks me out. It's just there. All perfect and staring at you. It's almost impossible to put pen to white paper for me. It's just. I don't wanna ruin it!!!  Also for me it causes a total BLANK on what I would like the page to end up looking like... Colors represent mood and a hint of color down on a page first is like a fresh breath of air!  So in my journal I have gotten into the habit of pre coloring some pages in advance so when I feel the urge to have some fun I have already avoided that blank white page freak out. 

First. Most of the Field Notes notebooks I use have thin-ish paper. These notebooks were designed for jotting notes and not necessarily ink and paint. So far I haven't had many problems that I couldn't work around.  Also, I think mistakes and experiments and slightly warped pages just add another layer of charm and personalization to your journal!  

So to begin with I like to put a layer down to sort of bulk the page up and resist bleed through.  I like to put down a layer of white gesso first. (Gesso is basically a white acrylic that is a little more heavily bodied and toothy?  Basically it can be used as a barrier to protect the paper, as a whiteout to cover a mistake and start over, or in thicker layers it can be used to add awesome texture!)  This really helps to make sure that no matter how wet you get the paper in between layers you will resist ripping it easily.  You could also use just white acrylic paint or any colored acrylic or skip it all together and go to the next step! But I like to add a layer of Gesso juuuuust to make sure I can have lots of inky, wet fun without worry.

After that I like to put a thin layer of colored acrylic paint. (You can use any brand you like. The less expensive works just as good as the more costly. The only difference I have noticed is that the cheaper acrylic tends to be thinner which can be great for a lightly color washed look. They also seem to dry to a more chalky feel which holds nicely to your next layer. The more expensive ones are usually thicker in consistency and dry to a softer feel. I use both!!!) back to adding paint.  I do this by just putting a few drops down and then taking a wippie, yes,  a diaper wipe and I smear the colors around.  Sooometime I also use a paintbrush, and often I just use my fingers!!!  All methods work great for either the initial setup of your page or covering up something you didn't like and starting again!

That's it!!!  My page is now ready for whatever else I want to put on top!  Ink. Markers. Water colors!  More acrylic. Then in the light colored spaces that are left after I've added some junk journal ephemera or photos I do my actual journaling and documenting. Easy peasy!!!  

If slightly wrinkled and warped pages bother you then for your adventures in journaling I would probably use a sketch journal of some sort. But me?  I like that texture. I like that my pages look and feel worked on. 

Have fun!!!  Cheers! 

Coffee Sleeve Mini Kinda Sorta Tutorial!

Hello!  Ok so here it is sort of...  This is how I go through and make my little coffee sleeve min albums!  Ugh, I only wish I hadn't been working on this last night with no natural light...  Any ways we shall persevere!

So first I hire about a half dozen minions to grab coffee sleeves from everywhere for me.  This method worked really well!  I now have enough to make like a dozen of these little beauties.

Then I paint or ink the edges so when I apply my pretty scrapbook paper (when of course it doesn't line up properly because I am not a robot cutting machine) it looks pretty and finished!  (Finishing touches make a HUGE difference in over all presentation!)

Next I attach little 1 inch circles (I have a punch) with staples to the edge for the binder rings!  I find that this gives you more stability and doesn't take up any of the little decorative space a coffee sleeve allows.  Then I whole punch them, heehee.

*I do this before I start decorating because then you can use the paper to cover the staples!

Then I trace the outlines of the sleeves onto pretty paper and trim them down a bit smaller to intentionally leave a framed edge and adhere them with a tape runner!  You might have to play around with the adhesives you like since cardboard can be tricky...  I like the small little pink tape runners!

Next if for some reason there are some staples showing (eeeeek) I use ribbons or lace to cover them up!  I also wrap lace around the bottom of usually two sleeves to create a little lace pocket for holding tags.

Then I add little photos mats and embellishments!

And Paper bands also for holding tags!

These ones are really fun because I cut two of the sleeves open so that they fold out like a gate!

Then I embellish the heck out of the cover!  My favorite glue to use for this part is Alleene's Fast Grab, it comes in a purple bottle, works wonders!

And attach a piece of ribbon or lace to the back cover to tie a binder clip too for a closure!  These things end up pretty chunky so closures rock!

Last step is to tie lace, ribbon and seam binding around the binder rings!  It hides them and I like the wild pretty look.

All through out this I am also making little tags and booklets from scraps that are trimmed from papers used! The more tags, and fibers and colors the better I say!  Hope this helped someone!  Anyone...  Haha

Ta Da!

Stick pins! So theses were super fun to make and INCREDIBLY easy!

 All you do is take some pearl topped stick pins (also called corsage pins) or you could use regular length ball topped sewing pins (though you won't be able to fit as many beads).

You can color the pearl tips or glitter the ball tops to make them match your color scheme. Then all you do is take some clear all purpose glue (I used Aleene's Max Tacky) and then simply glue the beads onto the pin! I placed the beads I wanted on the pin first and then just added glue in between every few beads (no need to glue every individual bead!)

 These were soooooo fast to make and easily dried over night. I'm going to use them on the covers of my Spring Time Mini Coffee Sleeve Albums! Too cute. Pictures and video of those next month!

Working on Something Fun!

I have been super busy! At least in the crafty realm. I have joined Swapbot and have already signed up for three swaps! The biggest is an art journal swap. I get to make one and embellish its ten pages and then receive one back myself!

I have also joined Mini Album Scraps which is a great site that allows people to get together and swap all kinds of goodies but especially mini albums!!! I have signed up for a mini swap that is to be made from coffee sleeves! I am sooo excited.  Look these up on You Tube to see what I mean!

So it is because of this that I have found a new little craft to tackle! I am making for the very first time Stick Pins or they are also called Hat Pins! Back in the day they were literally used to pin ladies hats to their heads and today crafty women are using them to embellish albums. They are long pins like sewing needles and they have embellished tips, mostly beads, charms and sometimes ribbon!

Photos are soon to come along with my instructions for making due with what you have!  Here's a preview!

The Results!

So here they are!

Soap box mini journal thingamajigs. I think they turned out super! And were a lot of fun to make. Not to mention I used up all of my medium sized scrap paper!

So yayee. These seven little beauties took all together probably about three hours? If I had done them straight through. Not too shabby.

In the next few days I think I'll list them in my shop. Cheers! I'd love to see pictures of anyone else's soap box books!!!

How To Make a Mini Book With Soap Box

I came across this neat little tutorial randomly on YouTube a few months ago and I finally have some soap boxes saved up to try it!!!  It seems to be really fun and simple and I love any paper craft where I get to use up the smaller bits of paper that I hoard because I hate to waste them.  I'm thinking of making up a small bunch of these and listing them in my shop.  Whatcha think?

I think they would be great to:
Throw in your purse for lists
Favorite quotes
Random song lyrics
On the spot ideas that you really don't wanna forget!
Dinosaur prints...

Or they would be fantastic for gifts for:
Birthday party favors
Bridal parties
Baby showers!!!

Uh oh, I LOVE doing themed sets.  OK now I am really excited, lol.

High Pitched Girlie Squeal!

Here are some photos of what I've been working on today! It's a whole new type of journal. Album. Scrapbook. Smash book!

I kept coming across these wonderful journals on Etsy that were made using an entire book.

The pages are bound together in bundles with added journaling,photo spots and embellishments!

Which is like getting to decorate the cover but on every page! Which is always my favorite part.

Figuring out the best way to bundle the pages was a little tricky and took some experimenting but I came up with a few really good techniques!

Whatcha think?

Missed Me?

I can't believe it's been a week since my last post!!!  That's midterms for ya ..  I am just popping in for a quick little post today.  I just stumbled upon the neatest DIY recycle project!!!

You know those great little cardboard boxes that our bar soap come in???  Have you ever thought "geee wonder what I could do with all these boxes?"  Well then this is the video tutorial for you!!!  It is brought to you by the Blog "Creativity Prompts" and I highly suggest you check it out.




There are soooo many wonderful tutorials.  This particular one shows you how to take a soap box and turn it into a lovely little mini book using the box, scrap paper, some Modpodge, thread and a needle!!!  It looks super simple and you better bet I am about to run off to make a few.  Happy GLUING!!!

Twilight Exchange!

And this months theme is "Back to School". So of course I thought NOTEBOOK! But it's a "card" exchange so I made three little mini 3x4 notebooks. I really had no idea about embellishments but I started on the notebooks anyways. After they were constructed I thought hey! I have some letter rubber stamps I never use I should stamp "Twi Notes" on them. Cute huh? Then I remembered I had procured some blueish glitter spray and I went "sky"! Well then of course I had to add my favorite thing which is a tree and so I went with a Forks, WA theme with a Sun button included. I am super happy with how these turned out and honestly the toughest part was waiting for the glue to dry.

Yippie!!!

The 13 new Journals in honor of Friday the 13th and my tutorial going live on Katie's Blog Making this Home are officially in my Etsy Shop and up for sale!!!   This journey of story keeping and finding the medium that feels right to me has been so much fun and Katie has been a huge inspiration to me.  I am super proud of how everything transformed into something beautiful and I love each and every journal.  I hope others will love them as well but if not, I suppose I wouldn't be too heart broken if I got to keep them, (smile).   Well, sorry for the picture overload but I just think they all turned out SO pretty!

Here they are!