Inside the Nostalgia Art Journal

Posted on | June 9, 2010 | 28 Comments

Here’s a peek inside my Nostalgia Art Journal. The pages are made from old books and magazines, brown paper bags, recycled mail envelopes, maps, and other found paper. This journal is very close to my heart because it’s very representative of me – from the pages that I used to how I put them and the cover together.

The journal has an inside pocket and the first page includes a quote that reads “Savor the quiet moments and know how very much you matter in this world.” – a nice inspiration every time you open the journal.

Some pages feature handpainted backgrounds using mixed media.

Check out my previous post to see what the cover looks like. And this journal (made with so much love) is for sale on Etsy here. Sold!

Shabby Chic Art Journal – Nostalgia #1

Posted on | June 9, 2010 | 21 Comments

The past month or so, I’ve been working on creating more ‘junk’ journals in between my other projects. This week, I’ve gone full blast – working on the covers and taking over the dining table in the process. I grouped my signatures in themes and this one I just finished is the first of three in my Nostalgia series.

This journal has a magnetic enclosure and the cover is made of stiff, padded board enclosed in a satin-like fabric and burnt book pages under an embroidered organza. The satin-like fabric (which I’m not exactly sure what it is) is from a bedding collection I bought in Linens-n-Things when they were closing a few years ago. It’s very nice material but apparently not very comfortable for sleeping. So here I am repurposing it.

I chose to bind my signatures to the cover using long cross-stitches. And I’m really happy with how it turned out.

The journal has 60 pages and here’s a peek at what’s inside. Tomorrow I’ll be showing photos of some of the pages. Go here to see a sampling of the pages.

I made two of this journal – one to keep and one to be enjoyed by someone special. (Of course, the pages won’t be exactly the same.) It is for sale on Etsy here. Sold!

How to Create Your Own Stencil Masks

Posted on | May 27, 2010 | 4 Comments

A mask is the negative of a stencil. It blocks certain areas from being painted so that the paint or whatever medium you’re using creates an outline of the image.

Catalogs and magazines are great sources for creating your own masks. Here’s how to make one:

1. Leaf through your magazines and choose a photo/image that would make a great silhouette.
2. Cover the front and back of the image with clear packaging tape so that you can reuse your mask.
3. Carefully cut out the image from the page.

Voila! Your very own stencil mask!

Here are some masks that I made from a Victoria’s Secret catalog that I regularly get from the mail. When going for people silhouettes, remember that images with expressive arms and legs make the best masks. You can cut away parts of the image to create a better silhouette. For example, the first stencil mask above might work better if I cut out the part of her hair that’s showing on her left side so that I get the shape of her head.

Here’s an example of how I applied the mask. I used the third one from the samples above. You can use a stencil adhesive to temporarily tack the mask on the surface where you’re applying the mask to make sure it won’t lift or move. Here, though, I just held it in place with my fingers and rubbed distressing ink around it with a foam applicator to create an outline. Because the image is protected with packaging tape, I just wiped it clean after I used it so I can use it again next time.

This is actually the outside part of a security envelope from a bill I got in the mail. I’m using it in one of the junk journals I’m currently making. It was full of print so I decided to paint on it.

Junk Journal #1 – Naked

Posted on | April 22, 2010 | 5 Comments

Here are glimpses of the bare pages of my junk journal. The journal consists of 3 signatures with 6 pages each. To see how the pages look with content, check my previous post: Junk Journal #1.

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.

And here’s what the covers look like. 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.

Junk Journal #1

Posted on | April 21, 2010 | 4 Comments

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 Mary Ann Moss’ Remains of the Day class. 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 on our trip to California. Here’s a glimpse of mine …

I started filling up the 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 this travel 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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