April 2010

Inside My Very First Handmade Junk Journal

April 22, 2010

Here are glimpses of the bare pages of my junk journal. This journal consists of 3 signatures with 6 pages each. To see how the pages look with content, check my previous post.

I used pages from a Canon catalog that I got from a photography workshop I attended, so you’ll notice several pages with photos of lenses. I also used pages from a Montreal city guide – that’s where the map came from. Both of them were in my recycling bin already before I decided to use them.

Paper bags and pages from old books also found their way in my journal. Here they are stitched together to create the length I need.

On the right, I created a flap where I can insert ‘stuff’ in – like photos or journal pages or mementos.

This page is made from a security envelope. You know what they are, right? I’m sure you get a lot of those from the mail. I’ve collected them for a year now just because I discovered that some of the patterns inside are actually interesting. I was thinking of using them in my collages but Mary Ann’s idea of using them in journal pages is wonderful. I almost didn’t use this particular one because it was torn. But like I mentioned in my previous post, I’m trying to break away from my o.c. tendencies for perfection so I just let it happen. It does give character to the page.

Here’s Mica working on her journal cover. (Remember? She made one for herself.)

And here’s what the covers look like (made from fabric scraps). The left is mine and the right is Mica’s. Mica obviously went wilder than I did. I like it. I don’t have enclosures yet. I might just add a velcro on the flap or go with Mary Ann’s idea of a wrap- around tie. We’ll see. I don’t want to finalize it until I’m done filling up my journal because I want to see how bulky it will get.

I hope this has inspired you to make one. (And if you do, I’d love to see them.) Just the idea of working with materials that are bound to go in your recycling bin should get your creative juices flowing – lol! Imagine how you’ll be helping the earth and ‘creating’ at the same time.

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My Very First Handmade Junk Journal

April 21, 2010

I always feel good every time I am able to repurpose things. And this is one of those ‘feel good’ projects. I call it a junk journal because the base pages are made from junk mail, old catalogs, used books and magazines, and any material really that is destined to be thrown away.

I got the idea for this project from the Remains of the Day class by Mary Ann Moss. It’s the first book I made from total junk and aside from recycling, the main goal here was to break away from my tendency for organization and perfection (kind of an exercise in liberation) – and this project definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone.

Mica and I each created one to serve as our travel journals for our recent trip to California. Here’s a glimpse of mine …

I started filling up my journal days before our trip. I wanted to document some things that we did in preparation for our vacation like going to the salon for a haircut. That’s Rinoa in the photo getting her hair chopped off. I used remnant pages of small, old notebooks for some of my writing and just glued them on the base page.

One thing I realized is that snapshot photos work well in my junk journal. I don’t care that they’re not perfect since they’re going to be shabbified anyway. (I know shabbify is not a word.)

On the left page is a narrow insert I made with a piece of scrapbook paper and this is where I tucked in my cousin’s wedding invitation. (The trip, after all, was mainly about the wedding.)

We promised Mica and Rinoa that we were going to watch Alice in Wonderland before we leave for California and the left side of this page spread documents the day we saw it. A plastic sleeve holds photos of the Mad Hatter and a few other characters.

Another thing we did that day was shop for things we needed for the trip – like a new carry-on luggage for me and walking shoes for Mica. I filled up the page with the movie ticket stubs and tags from the items we bought.

I included some plastic page protectors in the journal and this one on the right side houses the menu card from my cousin’s wedding. I was filling up my journal in chronological order and, at first, it bugged me that the menu card is placed way before I even document about the wedding day. In the end, I just let it go. (As I mentioned, this is an exercise on rebelling against my tendency for order.)

Almost every page has numbers to represent the date. The numbers are just something I printed and punched out. The names of the days are from an old American Girl planner that Mica had. A lot of the mementos I kept, I just stapled on the pages.

On the left side is a pocket page that houses some journal pages. On the right side is a printout of our flight information. The printout was so clean and white, so one morning, I used that page as a coaster for my coffee mug – that way I’ll have ring stains on the page.

Okay, my intention was to fill up a few pages of the journal everyday during the trip – kind of documenting the events as they happen. I was doing good the first few days but I soon realized I’m not that kind of person. I’d rather wait until I get home and work in the comfort of my space. What I did, though, was write a lot on paper during the trip. This way I don’t forget anything, especially how I felt during certain times/events.

On the left is another pocket page. I’m going to insert some photos there.

I didn’t want to overfill every page so this one I kept simple.

Paperclips also work well in attaching souvenirs to the journal pages.

This one shows how security envelopes were used in the making of the junk journal.

And there you go. Tomorrow, I’ll show you what the bare pages of the junk journal look like. I figured I’ll show the filled-up pages first because if I showed the bare pages first, you might think “What the heck is she going to do with this?”

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A Lesson from Anne Sullivan

April 19, 2010

We recently watched Disney’s 2000 TV adaptation of the movie “Miracle Worker” – the story about a young Helen Keller and how her teacher, Ms. Anne Sullivan, broke through the barrier of Helen’s deafness and blindness to teach her the concept of words and language.

In the movie, Anne Sullivan was getting frustrated, not at Helen, but at Helen’s parents who would rather spoil the child than deal with her tantrums and teach her manners. There was a line that Anne Sullivan said to them that’s worth remembering:

“She’ll live up to just what you demand of her, and no more.”

This is a very powerful statement. It not only applies to how parents should raise their children but to individuals, as well.

When I was growing up, my parents set very high standards for me and my siblings. They taught us not to settle for mediocrity. Now, as working professionals, we still continuously push ourselves, always testing the limits of our abilities. (Of course, as I mentioned before, I gave up my profession in pursuit of something more passionate and fulfilling – which is actually proof that I’ve learned not to settle.)

As a parent, and a homeschooling parent at that, this is what I want to instill in my kids – to continuously hunger and strive for self-improvement because I want them to make a difference in society when they grow up. Helen Keller’s life also serves as an inspiration to them. If a deafblind girl can learn to communicate and grow up to be a world-famous speaker and author, imagine what a person with no physical handicaps can accomplish.

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