Making Paper and Fabric Embellishments for Junk Journals

I have become captivated with making junk journals and have been playing with paper and fabric. A junk journal can be made of anything from junk mail to scrapbook paper to antique linens. Some that I have seen are almost too pretty to write in and others are playgrounds of experimentation. I love that there are no rules to follow, rather, they can be made up of anything, be bound using a number of different methods, and can be short, tall, wide, narrow, big, or tiny. Since there are no rules, you can’t make any mistakes!

I started out sewing bits of fabric and paper together like in the top photo. Then I began adding die cuts and stamped images too, like these:

Next I tried using the combination of paper and fabric to create a background paper. On the first one I inked the edges:

On the next one I didn’t ink anything and used a straight stitch, even though the pieces are not at all straight:

On the last one I used a zigzag stitch thinking it would reduce the number of seams to sew down, which it did:

I have no idea exactly where I will use the embellishments or what photos I will scrap on the layouts, but I am having fun working  playing with bits of paper and fabric!

Gelli Printing Fun!

Lately I have been enjoying You Tube videos about scrapbooking and I like that I can create my own playlist of the videos I want to see. What typically happens is I will set up a playlist and then watch while I am creating. The only problem is that I keep making projects or experimenting after the playlist is finished. If you leave the auto play button on, after your chosen videos are finished You Tube automatically plays more videos, mostly related to the type of videos you were watching.

This is how I fell into the lovely world of Gelli Printing. You need a Gelli plate, some inks or paint, and paper. It is also helpful to have a brayer or two, some stencils, and lots of counter or floor space for your prints. The link above has a how-to video and once you get started it is hard to stop!

The photo above is the result of my first try – I used two colors of paint and the one on the left is the first print, the middle is the second and the one on the right is the third print. As you can see the second and third prints are a lot like second generation stamping, where you stamp two or three times without re-inking your stamp. The paper was a card stock weight.

The rest of the prints used copy paper. I added a stencil and some purple paint to the top set and a stencil made from a cut file for the bottom set.

For these pages I used two stencils  – the top set you can see some of the turquoise paint from the previous print shows up on the image on the right. I really the like that print except for the turquoise paint transfer. Then I turned the stencil over for the print on the left. The bottom set used a stencil from a die and the holes were really small so when I made the print on the right the dots are small, when they show up at all. I turned the stencil over for the print on the left as I did for the top set.

Some different colors and another stencil from a die. These turned out okay but they are not my favorites.

I used a swirl from a cut file on the top prints and a brick mold for the bottom pages. I dislike the colors and the intensity of both of these sets of prints and will likely reprint on top of them of paint over them.

These prints are even more blah in color and pattern. Tried another die cut stencil and don’t like the way it came out.

I had fun experimenting with the Gelli plate and will definitely use it again soon, making sure I have lots of space ready to set the wet prints on to dry.

Fashion Runway & Art Journaling

I am not a fashion designer or connected to the fashion industry in any way but I had a thought the other day that the fashion runway is similar to art journaling. The high fashion runway clothing is daring, imaginative, and creative. These fashions don’t typically show up in everyday life but seem to influence the clothing sold at stores that people do wear every day.

I have been experimenting with art journaling, although at this point there isn’t much journaling happening since I am mostly trying to learn techniques. The videos I have been watching encourage experimentation with different mediums and their applications and show the process as organic, happening naturally. I admit it doesn’t come naturally to me to just play with the mediums without having an idea of the outcome but I have been practicing. Using what you have on hand, recycling packaging, and combining everyday items into your creations are approaches I have been trying.

I like to add many layers to create dimension and interest and have been using gesso, paint, and ink sprays under and between the layers. This page is one that I just played around with using some extra rings from making ornaments last year; there are punched papers underneath them and some random scraps of paper. I don’t think this is a fabulous page but it does show how I got to the layout below.

I like the circles and the bit of interest they give to the background without being the main focus of the page. Keeping them white with a little white gesso over the top of them helps emphasize the white flowers in the photo using repetition. The layout doesn’t have a title or any journaling yet and I will probably add the title above the photo and the journaling below.