The Journal That Wouldn't Wait - Part II

 Here are more journal pages continued from my previous post. 

A pocket made from more of the paper doily placement, with a vintage book page and stationery tucked inside.

More vellum and a lace pocket with a vintage card.

Pretty paper with velvet ribbon.

This little tag was made with an image from a antique book and bits from  a vintage doily and a beautiful vintage napkin.

This last page was taken from antique sheet music. The ruffle is more net from the antique bed coverlet and a strip of vintage fabric.

I was very pleased to have sold this in my Etsy shop shortly after I listed it, and to have received a very nice review from the purchaser. Just knowing someone loved it and will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it is a great feeling.

My next journal project has been accumulating on my work table for a year or so. It's based on a 1950s McCall's pattern giveaway of a trip to Paris. Maybe someday I'll actually make it! 

The Journal That Wouldn't Wait - Part I

Can't believe I haven't posted here since 2020. I had started this post in 2021 but never finished it, and here it is 2023! A little delayed, but since this was my first big handmade journal made on my own I wanted to include it on my blog.

Having made several journals in 2020, I had decided to take a break from them for a while. Then for some reason I got a burning desire to make a journal using a book cover from the 20s. It may have been the green color and the fact that lots of ephemera on my work table looked lovely with the cover, but whatever the reason, I wanted to do it right away. This is a fairly self-indulgent post as I've included photos of almost all the journal pages (a few were left fairly plain for the new owner to add their own items or journaling) but I hope you enjoy seeing it. This is Part I. I'll share Part II soon.

The blue "frame" is part of the cover and surrounded the book title. I was able to size the Graphics Fairy image to fit. The tie is netting from an antique bed cover. 

I reinforced the spine with wide velvet ribbon inside and out, and tied in the three signatures with pink cording.

The antique postcard image on the inside cover is so pretty. The original had tiny glittered spots, so I used a bit on this copy. The pink lace is a belly band. 

The textured vellum is from an antique photo album. 

The page on the right is avocado-dyed paper with a vintage decal and a paper belly band. 

The belly band on the left is vintage wallpaper (I think from rubyandpearl.xo on Etsy) with a vintage greeting card tucked in. The doily is part of a vintage paper placemat. I found a large box of them at an estate sale a few years back, beautifully aged and in the original box. The velvet ribbon makes a tiny tuck spot.

The pocket made from an old journal page has a vintage fold-a-note tucked inside. The opposite page is a sheet of 1960s stationary. 

I used bits of vintage wallpaper from rubyandpearl.xo on the left, and a small vintage art print made into a journaling card and tucked into a lace pocket on the right.

On the left is a pocket made from a copy of a old greeting card, with a vintage postcard tucked inside. The page on the right is from a vintage wildflower book. 

The center of this signature is the other side of the wildflower book page. I added a little frame with a bit of lace glued to the back. 

The roses are from a vintage greeting card. A bit of ribbon and a faux vintage advertising card are clipped to the opposite page. 

That's it for now. If anyone is still reading blogs out there, I hope you'll check back for part II!

Twelve Days of Christmas Journal

My journal-loving Etsy customer commissioned one more custom journal using her Graphic45 Twelve Days of Christmas papers. She sent me her paper pack with embellishments and stickers, and I used them to create her journal. It involved a lot of fussy cutting and challenged me to come up with different ideas for each page, but I thoroughly enjoyed the process.

For the cover I layered Sizzix Holiday Greens Mini die cuts over a Spellbinders Grand Scalloped Oval die cut. The Graphic 45 die cut is on top, and I added striped ribbon from Paper Crown. Click on any photo for an enlarged view. I had a hard time getting the coloring adjusted, so the photos aren't as vibrant as the actual pages.

I loved layering the fussy cut flowers, holly, and other images on many of the pages. 

For Day Two I added a piece of lace from a vintage curtain panel.

The background papers from this set were really busy for the most part, so I incorporated some other papers here and there for interest and contrast.

Also included were various embellishments I had in my stash, like the gold wreath and vintage lace.

I added a pocket page at the back and inserted some images that I didn't use in the journal.

This was another enjoyable project, and the purchaser seemed to love it as much as I did. She doesn't write in her journals, so no need to leave blank spaces or journaling spots. 

A Beatrix Potter Journal

The second journal my very kind Etsy customer requested was a Beatrix Potter journal. She sent me some note cards and other pieces she had collected and I created the journal using those along with papers from My Mind's Eye's Gingham Gardens collection (I got mine from Paper Crown Waco here,) some of the wonderful images from rubyandpearl.xo's Antique Garden book pages collection, and assorted vintage bits and papers. Click any photo to see an enlarged view.

The cover features vintage lace and millinery flowers. 

The Vegetable Seeds list is a rubyandpearl.xo download. The little cottage scene is a copy from a old greeting card. It made the perfect pocket for the little Peter Rabbit cut-out.

The intricate doily on this page is very old and came from a large estate sale lot several years ago.

The page on the left has a bit of vintage wallpaper border from Haunted Lamp Vintage. The little vintage ads on the right were the wrapping for some ribbon ordered from Monahan Papers.

The pretty produce ad on the left is from rubyandpearl.xo. The rabbit with his basket of carrots fit perfectly in the corner.

The pretty vintage vegetable page is from JunkJournalClub on Etsy and is part of a set that includes mushrooms, florals, and more.

More vintage doily behind the pennant. The blue embellishments were from a estate sale.

This spread includes ribbon from Paper Crown, a vintage photo album frame, a bit of sari fabric, and I believe that's a Prima flower. 

The Vegetable Gardens print is from rubyandpearl.xo and trimmed with tatted lace. 

The little embellishments on the left came from a class kit. The mouse image is mounted on a piece of handmade paper I made with some friends a few years ago. It has bits of leaves and seeds, and seemed appropriate for this journal. 

Here's a better view of the handmade paper, and another sweet Beatrix Potter image.

The little folder is made from a rubyandpearl.xo print and inspired by one of her YouTube videos. The right side includes includes some Sizzix winter greenery die cuts. I find so many uses for these!

The folder opens to show two more Beatrix Potter images. 

The rose print is from rubyandpearl.xo, and the lace is one of my favorite estate sale finds.

Benjamin Bunny adorns a page covered with a vintage napkin, and the pocket page contains a tag I forgot to photograph. 

I love using old index cards in my journals. 

The image on the inside cover, taken from a vintage greeting card, depicts a perfect Beatrix Potter cottage and garden. 

I'll have one more journal to share in a future post, a few projects from earlier classes and retreats that I've finished in the last few months, and some IG-inspired creations. 

Thanks for stopping by!