Chunky Country Mini Journal

Remember when I was telling you about that journal that I gave to a neighbor? Well, this is the journal that I created a few years ago and wanted to share some screen shots of it here. I used a discarded food package to make the cover and I used some country themed fabric to cover it.

I kept the spine the same width as the food package which was much wider than any journal that I had made before. And of course because of this, I had to create more signatures to fit into the area of the spine which came out to 5 signatures before I was done, lol. So, this is how this journal turned into a little chunky one.

For the inside of the spine I used some vintage plaid fabric and for the inside front and back covers I used some scrapbook papers. For the front inside cover, I added a pocket using an old children’s book of a garden theme. Each signature also has a scrapbook paper as the first page of each which was a cream color with big black fun  polka dots.

Throughout the journal I added other pockets along with some side tucks as well. And on the ends of some of the papers I added some cream colored crocheted lace to fancy them up a bit.

Also throughout the journal I used bits and pieces of vintage cut outs from old books and greeting cards. I also found some old farm themed wallpaper edging and used a few of those as some little journaling cards, I pasted some coffee stained paper on the back on them so someone could write something on it if they wanted to.

I was happy to give this journal as a gift to my neighbor. Over the years she has always been there if we ever needed any help of any kind. So, one day when I was talking to her over the phone she started asking me about what I was up to. When I told her I was making junk journals it must have peaked her interest because she wanted to know more about them. So, I grabbed a few that I had recently made, and walked over to see her. When she saw the little country themed one, her eyes lit up and she said she really liked that one. Well, I didn’t give it much thought and handed her the little journal and told her she could have it. Well, she was really surprised by that and tried to talk me into not giving to her, but I was determined and she finally gave in and accepted it, which pleased me very much.

And you know, sometimes people are really shocked when they see kindness given to them. I even find myself being shocked sometimes too when some stranger opens the door for me or gives me a compliment just out of the blue. It also reminds me that there really are some kind caring folks out there and you know, that does make my heart happy knowing that.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and hugs,

Country Road tag by Mod Girl

Old Children’s Book Journal

I made this journal a few years ago using a 1953 book I found at an indoor yard sale. Most of the papers were either torn, ripped out or had been scribbled upon. So, I decided to remove all the pages and add some vintage, coffee dyed and scrapbook papers too. I also made some ruffles using some vintage fabric from my stash. I’ve been holding onto a lot of vintage and retro fabric for a really long time. And, I thought it was about time that I used some of it, lol..

I have never sold any of my handmade journals but I did give one of them away one day to my neighbor. She is a very kind soul who always thinks of others and is always there if you need any help. She has been very kind to me over the years and I had no problem gifting her one of my journals. And, I will show a preview of that journal in the next post so you can see what it looked like.

Anyway, the photos are all below of this journal from the 1953 Children’s Hour book #15 entitled “Leaders And Heroes”.  I created this journal so it could be used for any type of purpose; junk journal, glue book, writing journal, travel journal, diary, etc… Thanks for stopping by and hugs, Mod Girl.

 

Later Alligator

So, I had added previews of this journal in the past but for some reason that post was deleted. I honestly can’t remember why or what happened about that but I thought I would show it off again just in case you missed it the first time, lol.

This started out as an accordion type journal but I decided to glue the backside of the other pages together so they would all lie flat when you opened it. The papers I used to make this journal are from a book I purchased from the dollar tree. The cover of that book was removed so I could use it later and the pages that remained have been used as glue pages when I need them.

And for the cover for this journal I used a box I received from an Amazon order. For the spine, I used some old fabric that I tore into strips and also used one of those strips as a closure to keep the journal closed. I used my sewing machine and did some messy stitching on some of the strips of fabric also.

For the cover and the pages of this journal I glued papers from my Alligator junk journal papers that I made and a few papers that I purchased from Etsy with an alligator theme too. The wording on the front (and back page) of the journal was created by me using photoshop and then I printed out the text, cut it out and pasted it to the journal using a glue stick.

The flowers on the right side of the page are from some journal papers I purchased from Etsy. I thought the flowers went well with the alligator, so I decided to use them in this project.

I think you can see from the flowers on the other side of the page how they blend well with the flowers that are also near the alligator.

I really liked how this journal turned out. When looking through all the stash papers that I have it’s not always easy trying to figure out what papers to use when working on a new project. With this journal, I decided to go “outside the box” and do something completely different. And I am so glad that I did!

This was a relatively small and very easy journal to make. And, I left it pretty grungy with the side of the cardboard for the cover showing when you pick it up and look at it sideways. Over all, I think it makes this little journal more special that way.

I didn’t include all the previews of the pages of this journal. In total there are 20 pages in this journal and that does include the front and back of each page. The front and back covers are not included in that count though.

And that ends the preview of this little journal. I didn’t screen shot the back cover because I just used the flower papers for that. And the thing I like most about this little journal is that all the pages lay flat when you open them and the size is small. It measures 5 and 1/2 inches in width and a little over 4 and 1/2 in height. In all, I’m quite satisfied with the way this journal turned out. And you know, after using images like this alligator it opens all kinds of possibilities of using other animals too. You never know, right?

Anyway, thanks for stopping by and hugs,

Later Alligator tag by Mod Girl