Alchemy and Arabesque Journal

Hey, everyone! Stephanie Manuel of Smiling Sunlight, one of our amazing Junk Journal Design Team Members, created a fabulous Alchemy and Arabesque Journal for us this week. As you know, we feature one new Junk Journal project each week created by one of our creative team of artists. Our Design Team Members select from the 100’s of Vintage Image Bundles on our Premium Membership Site, for their creations, in order to show you beautiful ways to use those images. We hope you will be totally inspired by this series!

Therefore, please make sure you check out the video tour at the bottom of the page…please scroll all the way down to see it. Are you ready to be inspired? I will step out of the way and let Stephanie tell you all about her incredible project…

Hi everyone, it’s Stephanie Manuel from Smiling Sunlight. I’m excited to share my design team project for the Graphics Fairy Premium Membership website. My studies of ancient civilizations and Arabic illuminated manuscripts inspired me to create this pocket size journal. I named it “Alchemy & Arabesque”. It’s a no sew journal using paper folding techniques to bind the pages together.
What I love about this method is that I can remove and add pages easily.

As you may have noticed by now, I love storytelling and including 3D pop up elements in my creations. The story of this journal is about a girl called Liz, an Arabic Illuminated Manuscript apprentice from London. She has been collecting cards and messages sent from her father who went to explore the famous Silk Road, across Iran and Afghanistan. Through this journal, we’ll explore the beauty of Arabic illuminated manuscripts, plant medicine, alchemical processes such as transforming crystals into paint, astronomy and astrology.

Following a craft tutorial by Jane Chipp on the Premium Membership website, I had a lot of fun making the collage on the cover. Each square image tells part of the whole story. In the center I created an origami fold out star that reveals a Phoenix bird and a secret note on Alchemy.

Across the journal I used script and illustrated images as collage backgrounds, such as dictionary page, music sheets, letters, book pages and even the envelope. I learned to digitally remove the brownish paper colour background from these images and printed them on my tea dyed paper to make the most of the distress effects of my naturally dyed paper and also saving printer ink.

Inspired by Arabic Book Arts, geometry, Turkish map folding, alchemy and arabesque designs; I created several paper folded elements such as the infinity square, a pull out folding box and a 3D card representing an Alchemist.

Several images were printed in black and white and then colored using my coloring pencils. I love the texture that coloring pencils adds. An arabesque pattern was printed on my handmade paper and shapes were cut out creating little windows with deckled edges. The layering of collaged paper, almost as add on clusters, creates a waterfall effect for each page spreads.

Those who created illuminated manuscripts were called Alchemists because they learned to transform elements from nature. In this journal we see several alchemical processes such as the Damask rose, from Afghanistan, that is transformed into Rose Water, the Violet flower from Iran used in tea and the Lapis Lazuli semi precious stone turned into paint called the Ultramarine.

The “Alchemy & Arabesque” journal is also a way to celebrate you, who are reading this post. You are an amazing alchemist, able to turn paper scraps into treasured creations. Enjoy watching the flip through video on The Graphics Fairy YouTube channel (link below) and you’ll find the list of images that I used here. Thank you!

 

ALCHEMY AND ARABESQUE JOURNAL SHOW & TELL VIDEO TOUR

Premium site bundles used:

> Arabesque Designs
> Autumn Song
> Steampunk Apothecary Shoppe
> Roses & Bees
> Script Ephemera 2
> London Detective
> Green Gables Inspired
> Hummingbird & Hibiscus
> Antique Portraits
> Angels are among us
> Celestial Images
> In the Garden Ephemera
> The Florist
> Olde World Maps
> Steampunk Aesthetic
> Pink & Green Ephemera
> Vibrant Valentines
> Cabinet of Curiosities
> Savonnerie (Soapmaker)
> Parisian Pinks
> Wildflower Field Guide
> Watercolor Teacups
> Aeronautical Adventure
> Steampunk Set #2
> Steampunk Set #3
> Cute Vintage Ephemera
> Science & Laboratory
> Crystals
> Easter Morning
> Mythical Beasts
> Tattered paper treasures #2
> Antique Sheet Music

 

Stephanie

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