Vintage Journal Tutorial

Hi friends! I hope you are well and that your are enjoying your weekend. Today I have a journal / notebook tutorial to share with fun mixed media techniques, and using a couple of second hand finds.

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

I found a couple of these old photo frames in a second hand store recently and thought it was time to use one of them. I removed the image that was in the frame and used a childhood photo of myself instead, after going through a pile of photos to see what might fit the size. The journal was made with Eileen Hull's Sizzix Frame Pocket Journal Scoreboards Plus die. You can also use the techniques for other journal dies.

Start by die cutting the covers and the pocket from Sizzix Little Sizzles Mat Board. This is a Big Shot Plus die and it won't fit in the ordinary Big Shot or Vagabond. I didn't have big enough mat board, but that didn't matter since I wasn't planning to use the closure part. 

Cover with old dictionary paper, using matte medium. Add a layer of medium on top of the paper too.

I cut off one of the flaps from the covers, since I didn't want to use the closure mechanism, as it would have covered up the frame design that I was planning for the front.

Paint with Distress Paints.

Add white paint through Tim's Latticework stencil. 

Sponge Speckled Egg through Tim's Linen Stencil, for a touch of blue.

Stamp here and there with Simon Says Stamp Old Letter Background. 

Initially I was planning to only use the script stamp above, but I was in the mood for stamping and started stamping a whole bunch of sentiments and circles on the background. The circles come from Simon Says Stamp Mix and Match Circles. 

Die cut the frame with the frame pocket part of the Frame Pocket Journal Scoreboards Plus die. Cut off the flaps and emboss in Eileen Hull's Tablecloth folder.

Paint with Speckled Egg.

When dry, sand and ink with Vintage Photo.

The labels were stamped on Tim Holtz Journal Cards with Simon Says Stamp Mixed Labels and die cut with the coordinating dies.

Paint and stamp the pocket in the same way as the cover, but without the dictionary paper. 

I glued a little crocheted piece to the front. It was found in the same second hand store as the frame. 

Adhere the frame with a Tim Holtz brad so that it is stuck down well. 

I also used Tim Holtz Heirloom Roses and a Quote Flair.

The old text paper, paint, stenciling and stamping adds interesting layers to the background without being overwhelming.

You can of course use any sentiment as the title of the book. 

I used cream paper for the inside and stitched down the center of each of the two signatures with my sewing machine. The pages are slightly too small, but I wanted to get as many pages as possible out of my A4 sheets since I was using one of my favorite sketching papers and didn't want to waste paper, so I was okay with that. Round the edges with a Corner Chomper. I used an elastic string to bind the book, making it easy to remove the signatures.

The string was tied through a button at the spine. The fabric A was cut from a piece of Tim Holtz Holiday Eclectic Elements fabric. 

I tied some beads at the end of the strings.

The spine also got a stamped title.

I covered the inside covers with Tim Holtz Backdrops papers. I really like the backdrops papers. The pocket was adhered to the inside of the front cover.

The back of the journal looks like this.

This sentiment comes from Simon Says Stamp Beautiful Butterflies and I reach for it quite often.

With the Mix and Match Circles set you can combine the circle stamps to create many different designs.

I filled the pocket with Tim Holtz Journal Cards and Pocket Cards, which can be used on the pages in the journal. You can add mementos, photos, postcards or anything else to that pocket. I will probably add something else once I start using the journal.

The book is nice and chunky.

You can make this book for any theme and it would also make a great gift. 

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today and I hope you enjoyed the tutorial!

Happy stamping!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.