Moving On

Hi Friends, I am just letting you know I will be deleting this Blog probably in a week as I am having issues with it.

You will now find me here at The Junque Journalist

I hope you will continue to follow me there as it will be the same content, tutorials etc from me.

Hugz Kerri 🙂

“Cereal Box Junk Journal” – “Part 1- Gather Your Supplies”

Happy 1/12/2020 Friends,

Hoping this post finds you all well and keeping out of mischief. In between working over the weekend, I have started on my Junk Journal series which I am going to create as a Step By Step in Parts for you.

I will be showing you how to make the cover, pages and how to bind it together, plus decorate and embellish it to the theme of what you want to use your journal for.

You can play along with me or do your own thing and make yours into whatever theme you would like it to be. This one, will be my December Daily Xmas Journal, for me to record some of our past and present family memories in. I am following along with Barbara over @ 49 Dragonflies on YouTube. I will be having a go at her prompts and doing a bit of my own thing also!

49 Dragonflies is here (1) December Daily 2020 Kick-Off/Altered Book/December Prompts for Collaging – YouTube

This shows you what sorts of items you can use for a cover. I am using a Cornflakes box, as you don’t have to worry about making spine for it, and it has a large spine.  You can use an old book, a file/manila folder, cardboard, large envelopes, exercise book covers, paper bags, envelopes, whatever takes your fancy. I want this journal to have a soft cover, but that is the fun of junk journaling. There are no rules and no right or wrong way to make your journals 🙂

BASIC SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR THE COVER –

– Cereal box, cardboard or a book, – some chipboard for spine, – paper cutter/craft knife and ruler or scissors, – double sided tape, –  wet glue like white pva, and some – book or duct tape.

So grab your supplies and join me for the start of your journal. If you sign up to my blog you will be notified each time I post so you won’t miss any steps and I also have my blog linked to my Facebook page.

Have fun finding your items to use and I’ll see you soon to show you how to make your cover!

Enjoy, Kerri x

” Finished Altered Book”

Hello there,

I am having a bit slower week and I have managed to call my Altered Book Project finally finished!! Last year I did a journal class with Johanna clough for photos of unknown people. I had some leftovers from this class, so I decided to make a smaller version of this journal.

You can see how I prepared this book for the embellishing here https://thejunkjournalist.wordpress.com/2020/10/10/revisiting-an-altered-book/

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As you can see above, I have had some fun embellishing my book with Tim Holtz Photo Booth photos, (unknown to me) trims, lace, stamps, inks, gesso, tags, tuck spots, tabs, envelopes, journaling, tea/coffee dyed paper and all sort of other papers from my stash.

I hope you may be inspired to make one of your own!

Have a great evening

Kerri x

“Revisiting An Altered Book”

Hi Friends,

I am back with a spurt of mojo that I found last night….. I started altering a book. I haven’t done one in awhile, just some journals where I remove the pages completely and use the covers. The last one I did was a garden one with photos of all my roses in it. I haven’t quite decided on a theme yet but it might be a Memory book for our pets!!! I found a couple of books in an Op shop before Covid 19, hit us here in Australia and I haven’t had much time to do something with them.

When you chose a book you need to make sure it is in pretty good condition with a good spine and covers. This book measures approx 6×9″. I didn’t want it to be to big as it takes time to alter it….There are 450 pages to reduce to approx. 1/2 or it will be too big and bulky when finished.

The first thing I do is tear out and glue some pages together. I like to use a metal ruler to tear out pages. It is a nice sharp edge and I don’t have to muck around with my craft knife!!

I like to go through the book and do a bit of a plan as to what pages I want to remove, any images that are good to keep and where/if I want to create any pockets. As this book was glued and not sewn I didn’t tear right at the page edge. This is because I needed a bit of it there to stop it from falling out.

I then add white glue or what ever your preferred glue is to one side then I close the book and press down on it too get a good stick! I find that closing the book lets the pages naturally fall straight, and you get less warping.

As you can see, you remove pages, but you make new pages also. This is why you have to do a bit of work altering your book before the play begins!

I just randomly added some side pockets by gluing around the three edges and leaving the opening unstuck on the side of the book.

These were quick to make by just folding down a corner and gluing to the page underneath. These give you extra space for journaling, photos, tags, embellishments etc.

My book has the pages out of it, some glued and some torn out. I have created some side and corner pockets for extra space and it is half the size it originally was!!

There are lots of ideas for using your Altered Books….. Memory books, Art Journals, just to play in. Collage, Glue Book, Technique Book, Personal Journal, About Me, Art, Butterflies, Astronomy, Gardening, Mixed Media, Art Journaling, or anything you can think of, or want to use it for……………..

I did a bit of research on You Tube to refresh my memory on how to create one as its been awhile. I used this video from Karla @ Caged Fish here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhuYxymrbc8 There are lots of great ideas on You Tube and Pinterest. You just need to find what suits your style and the purpose of your book. Now once it’s all dry, I can start decorating the pages and cover for my theme.

Stay Tuned as I am going to start the Embellishment process next and you will want to see how the book gets transformed!!

Happy Crafting

Hugz Kerri x

“A New Journal”

Hi my friends,

I hope you are having a lovely week and keeping well. I have had a busy one and looking forward to the weekend and seeing my son.  We all hang out together for the day and have some catch up time. With us all doing shift work, time together these days is very precious to me.

This journal came about as I went to our local second hand trader looking for a cupboard and came home with free books to make journals with. Sometimes, journals I make end up not being what I want, but I use them for other things. This happened with the one I made for my Dyalog inserts from  “THIS POST”

If you don’t know, I love re-using old books and bringing them back to life!!  As you can see this book was cancelled from a library. I don’t destroy precious books, I only use discarded, unloved ones that probably don’t have any real value, but to a person like me that loves making journals. I cut the page block away from the spine carefully and then I adhered a piece of chipboard to it for more strength. 

I pulled some papers out of an arty collection I have and cut them to the size of the covers. I was going to use the fabric down the spine but I changed my mind!!!

As I will be creating in this journal quite a lot I wanted it to be strong so I added blue book tape to the edges. I buy this at Bunnings and it is great tape for making journals and binding pages. I have used it quite a lot and is the only one I use now.

The paper has all the hard work done for me with some cute arty prints. I just sorted out what I wanted on the in and outside and cut them to size. I rarely measure anything with a ruler. Who has time for that!!!!! I then decided to cut put some elements on one of the papers and used the hearts and some sketchy flowers on the front. I couldn’t resist the kitty on the bottom. I added some stitching on the hearts for some texture. I have my sewing machine set up ready to go and I love using it in my papercraft!!

To finish off the front I just added a bit of text to it, that I thought was good for me at the moment. I am an original and no one else is like me. I need to remember that and to just be me. I am trying to find balance in my life where I am not over worked and I have time for my family and some me time. We all need balance in our busy lives, even more so with what is going on in our world at the moment……..

As you can see, this book fits my Dyalog journal inserts very well and it is a lot sturdier for constant use. I can take one out the one I want to work in. or just open it up in the book as it will lay flat.

I was going to punch holes and put eyelets in the spine but, as I had some elastics and I decided they were funky and to use them instead to bind the inserts in.

Thanks for stopping by and having a peek into my arty journal. I hope you may be inspired to make one yourself! I am wanting to do some more craft of some sort over the weekend and share it with you also.

I hope you have a lovely end to your week and lovely weekend.

Hugz Kerri x

“Gorgeous Posies”

Hi Friends,

I hope you are all going well and keeping safe! I have been busy at work and not much time for craft this week. I was going to join in an online event yesterday but didn’t make it. I decided today I was going to have a play with my new Gorgeous Posies Card Kit!

Also, I had to move my craft stuff out to have our new blinds installed so I decided to move my desk over to the lovely bright window, that I can look out and see the garden. It was great to do some creating today……………………

The kit above comes in the gorgeous box. The stamp set I added for more options to decorate and for the Greetings. It made 16 standard size cards with a few things let over to use on other cards. You also get great instructions for the beginner to get creating straight away with minimal supplies. I mainly used my Tombow glue, the foam dots, scissors, a stamp block, few ink colours and the stamp set.

You can see above the lovely card fronts included to add to the bases, plus the great instructions booklet is easy to follow.

There are lots of pop out die cuts and some sentiment strips all ready to use. It also comes with some gorgeous ribbon and twine. I layered these with our Dimensional foam dots so they sit higher on the cards. and give a layered effect.

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As you can see you can make them as simple or intricate as you like. It is a great kit for all skill levels. I really enjoyed putting these cards together and now I have 16 finished cards to use for friends and family ready to go. I hope you have enjoyed seeing this kit from Stampin’ Up! If you would like any information about the Gorgeous Posies Kit or you would like to purchase one, please feel free to contact me @ kerrismith455@gmail.com or leave me a comment and I can reply to you.

Stay Tuned as I hope to have some more crafty projects on the go during this next week.

Have a great evening, and be safe.

Hugz Kerri x

“Finally, A New Project”

Hello, My lovely friends and followers

I hope you are all having a lovely start to a new week. I had a pretty mixed up week off, last week. We all had to be tested for Covid-19, because of a work contact, but we are all fine. I am waiting to have Wisdom teeth out and feeling a bit off colour.  Finally sort of feeling up to a bit of a new project.  Anyway…………………I decided to make a Journal Cover.

I have purchased a few of Dyan Reaverly’s Art Journal Dyalog inserts. There are a few different ones and while I wait for them to arrive, I thought I would make a cover for them. If you aren’t sure what they are hop on over to her Channel  “HERE” and have a peek.

 It will be an art/junk/planner/journal. It’s a whatever I want to use it for……………………It is a smaller version of my large one, that is also more portable. It’s good to have options, as sometimes you don’t have the time or energy to create on a large scale………………

 

 

I gathered a few supplies and started the cover. I used a cereal box and cut it down to roughly 9 x 6″ which should fit the inserts, as the box had a large spine.  Then I used Gesso on it for stability and so I could add wet mediums over the top of it. I had some really pretty napkins that I hadn’t used, so they were just right.  I removed both layers of the underlying tissue away from them, to remove the bulk. I then, used a wet paint brush to paint on water to make it easier to pull apart the sections I wanted t use.

I loved the text part of another napkin so I used that over the spine of the box and added the other lovely floral parts of the napkins to cover the front and the back. I used my home made Mod Podge/glue sealer under and over the top of the napkin. 

After it was dry and I trimmed off any excess napkin, I rounded the corners and inked around it with black ink. I decided I wanted a more squishy cover for this one. To give it a whimsy feel and a bit of texture, I machine stitched around the edge .You can see the form of the spine that was already there from the cereal box. This makes it easier to make a journal and not have to worry about separate pieces and making a spine……………….You could also strengthen the journal with extra cardboard if you wanted too.

I didn’t want to much embellishment on the front cover, as the napkin is busy. I cut a piece of cardboard, stamped a title, then machine stitched around it for a bit of interest. I just layered it on a bit of scrap cardboard, painted with a bit of gesso and sprayed with some ink, plus some muslin for texture.

I sprayed the inside of the cover with some ink, but I may cover it with some paper or do a bit of mixed media on it. For the binding, I decided to use elastic and then I can take one of the inserts out when I want to work in it. I decided on three holes and I just threaded the elastic through. You need about 4x the length of the spine for a good fit.

I don’t really measure anything, I just eyeballed about the centre and then one hole each side. I punched them using my Crop-O-dile hole punch then I set some eyelets so the holes in the cardboard wouldn’t break.

I also put some elastic through the middle of the spine to create a closure for it to keep them snug inside. I just threaded a few beads and a metal quote embellishment on to it before threading it through the hole. On the off chance that my inserts don’t fit in it, I can just make it into a junk journal to collage in.

I hope you have enjoyed my little how to on this journal cover I made. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know. This was a fun project and I am looking forward to  playing in my new journal soon.

I am working on another project, so stay tuned for another post during the week.

Stay Safe and Well

Hugz

Kerri  x

 

 

 

“Craft Storage Ideas”

Hello Everyone,

It is the 1/9/20 and the first day of SPRING here in Australia.  Hopefully the days will get a little warmer and our Corvid Restrictions might ease a little! I miss seeing my friends and family, but we are slowly getting there I think!

This week is pretty busy work wise for me but in-between, I am changing how I store a few of my craft supplies in my ‘new space’. I thought you might like to see what I am doing. These ideas  might even work for you and your craft area!

First up is my marker storage, which really bugged me! I decided to invest in some decent storage from Deflecto.  They clip together so nothing falls out of them and I can stack them on top of one another! I have all my SU Alcohol Ink and Watercolour Markers, plus my other Alcohol Ink Markers and Distress Crayons, stored all together, easy to find and access.

I like to use different types of storage, that may not be used for it’s intended purpose. A couple of months ago, I ordered these Tupperware Spice containers, but I decided to use them for my craft embellishments instead. The caps come off to fill them up and there is two separate openings to use for getting them out!

I used my Dymo Label Maker to create their labels and they stack nicely on top of one another. They are semi clear so I can also see their contents.

These fit nicely on top of my maker storage and also on my storage unit on my desk which you probably saw on my previous post “HERE”

Another few problem areas I find hard to sort are dies, stamps that come in plastic and die cuts. I think I have finally found a solution that will work for me.

Today I finished sorting my dies into themes. I only keep my SU dies and stamp sets together, at my desk in the white unit. My other dies are sorted into, Leaves, Journal, Grunge, Frames, Flora, Doilies, Winged and Misc. You of course could sort to what you have.

I have some Universal Craft Storage Boxes. Each one Includes one big storage case – 21 x18.5 x 14 cm and six internal 17×12 x3cm storage boxes. They are perfect for storing all sorts of supplies, including small punches, photos, ribbon, washi tape etc…….

Above are all my dies sorted in two boxes.  I decided to leave my Sizzix/Tim Holtz dies in the plastic packets and they are in a box also together.

Die cuts are one embellishment that I probably have too much of, but they are so useful for lots of projects. Sometimes I am lazy and I cant be bothered stamping and colouring to make my own! These are great for my die cuts that I seem to be searching for all the time!

I

I sorted these into themes as well and they are well organised now.

I collated them into the most used themes I have and use.

I labelled the outside of the boxes and the smaller cases with some stamped labels made from cardstock.

I am going to use these for most of my smaller storage. I can label each one in the case then the outside of the main case to tell me what is stored inside.  I think my ‘other stamps’ will be what I attack next and probably collate the same sort of way. They will be all stored on one of my bookcases across from my desk 🙂

I hope you have enjoyed my ideas I have shared with you and you might find them useful!!

Thanks for stopping by

Hugz Kerri x

 

 

 

 

“New Scrap Space”

Hi Friends,

We are slowly getting back to “normal” here, whatever that is at the moment 😉  We moved on the 3/8 to our new home, just as Stage 3 Covid-19 Restrictions hit us in Regional Victoria, in Australia. I haven’t seen my oldest son for about 5 weeks and I do miss him…… We are nearly all unpacked and able to see the floors!!! Life is really busy with work etc, and its nice to be finally getting settled!

I have had this weekend off so I thought I would share with you what has been keeping me so busy!

I thought you might like a little peek of my new scrap space which is wonderful. We have a living area that is not being used, as I have a dining area in the kitchen 🙂 So, it is all mine!!! I was going to use the third bedroom, but not big enough lol!!! 😉 Noooo…. I don’t have too much stuff 😉  This is looking from the kitchen door into the living area then down to the lounge room.  Yes, I had some helpers!! Trishka on the left and Nitro on the right…………….. There are lots of windows and natural light. I am just waiting on my new blinds to be made which will be awesome!!!

To give you and idea, this door is the entrance from the front door/hallway.

LOUNGEROOM SIDE BEFORE…..

AFTER………

I tried to do one area at a time. This is my desk where I will mainly create. I wanted to use as much wall space as I could do get the maximum storage. I sorted and did a bit more de stashing as I went and it did take a bit more time, but well worth it.  I have my shelf storage and my Raskog Cart well used.

I have two of these shelf units. They are smaller and the best size for storing my ink pads, punches, stamps, tapes and extra supplies I have used Velcro to attach the ink blend foams near the inks, so they are there to use and I don’t have to search for them.

Here I store on my desk my most used supplies. I have my larger tools, watercolour pencils and hand sewing items on the top. There is mainly stamps and cardstock on the second shelf and on the shelves below is paper, adhesives, embellishments and all easy to access. I have a large non stick mat and a small cutting mat to the side.

Right behind me I have my sewing machine set up on my white desk, with my Photo Printer on there as well, ready to go.

KITCHEN SIDE BEFORE…….

AFTER…….

The kitchen side wall is made up of built in shelving and my book cases. I have used all the same furniture that I had. I like using see through storage for as much as I can, plus baskets. The large case I have had for at least 15 years, the light coloured one probably about 10 years and Jj bought me the tall slim one last year. It fits 12×12 storage perfectly.

My large bookcase on the right holds albums on the bottom then smaller albums and Junk Journal books I use. The ring binders house quite a lot of my red rubber and cling stamps. There is also my Stampin’ Up! Paper and cardstock plus other A4 size supplies.

The middle book case shows some of my Journals down the bottom with my spray inks on the left. In the baskets, I have stamps, stickers, ephemera etc.

My tall think bookcase holds 12×12 storage that has paper and junk journal supplies. It also homes my larger cardstock and pattern papers. The light coloured book case holds my smaller 6×6 and 6×8 paper and pad on the top. JJ supplies, paint, my cardmaking supplies also.

I have this area across the room near the window with my Die Cutting Machine set up. The cube shelving house my dies, emboss folders, washi tapes, ribbons and flowers, plus other tools and things. The lovely big window looks out onto the side lawn area. We have a gas heater in this room and the lounge has a split system.

My Ikea Raskog cart which I think I have had about 5 years is the handiest storage. At the moment it has my mixed media supplies (brushes, stencils, paints etc) on it and the magnetic tins are great for holding anything you need.

I may change a couple of things as I go along, so it works for me, but as a whole I am really happy with my set up. It hasn’t happened overnight and I was thinking I was never going to get it sorted again. I plodded along a bit each day in between work and life and finally got it done!!!

I hope you have enjoyed my first post back, even though it was a bit long! Stay tuned as I have a couple of storage solutions to show you next…………..

Happy Crafting

Hugz Kerri x

 

 

 

 

“A Rat Pack Journal”

Hi Friends,

Welcome to June and Winter in Australia. It is the Queens Birthday long Weekend here and it has been lovely having a the weekend off!!

I was checking out Youtube last night and found anew Tutorial from Nik the Booksmith on creating what she called a “Rat Pack Journal” this looked like fun so I thought I would give it a go!  Her Video is “HERE” if you would like to pop over and have a look.

 

I decided to make my journal cover, from some cardboard packaging that I rec a book in. It was sturdy enough that I thought I wouldn’t bother strengthening the covers like  I normally would with extra cardboard. I thought a soft, squishy cover, would be nice for a change and  I measured it roughly 8.5×8.25″ (17×16.5″)  I then mesured out where the spine would be and how wide I wanted it. I just eyeballed it with a pen and ruler as it was too big to place in my trimmer.

I nearly always use book tape which I find at Bunnings, to add a bit of strength to the spine as it takes the load of the signature (lots of papers). and binding.  I decided this journal didn’t need it.

I had some of this nice fabric left that I found ages ago and thought it was lovely, so I used a bit more of it on this journal. I just placed the covers on the fabric and cut around it. I then cut a way a bit of the excesses fabric and cut a few notches so it would fold over the edges properly.

I used some thin double sided tape on it just to hold it, while I machines around the edges with a zig zag stitch. I am pretty happy with how the cover came out.

For the inside covers I used some retired SU DSP that I thought was a good match, of course its Blue!!.  I just adhered it with tape and some strong clear glue.

 

 This was the ‘RAT PACK” part of this journal, as I had been saving these lined scrapbook pages and my coffee stained note paper. ………………. I just cut them down to a good size and sew a few pagers together. I made 3 signatures. Of course you don’t need to sew them together as they will stay in the book once you do your binding.

I made this one into a pocket just by sewing three sides together and punching a spot at the top so I can get bit and bobs out of it.

To bind the signatures in I just used some seam binding and wrapped it around the spine a few times and tied it off on the front of the spine. This is an easy way for beginners also with no sewing.

This is the Easy Twine Binding Method that I use for most of my journals. I like being able to add and subtract pages if they don’t work or suit my project!

As I used fabric for the cover and seam ribbon for the binding I thought a fabric name plate was in order.  I layered it up with some book paper, pattern paper, old curtain and some gauze.  I am very happy with it.

This is my finished little journal ready for me to jot down notes and things when I am watching a tutorial or thinking of ideas for my next creation!!!

I hope I may have inspired you to have a go at making your own journal. The are fun to make and use.

Have a great afternoon, I am off to spend some time with my boys!!

Hugz

Kerri x