One of my most important muses in my journal making is my love of literature. Of all my favorite themes, the poetry of Alfred, Lord Tennyson is very powerful for me. Not only do I love his poetry, which is heavily influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and their focus on medieval literary themes, but it is in the public domain so you can use it freely. The Lady of Shallot is probably my favorite of Tennyson’s poems and this journal was made with that poem in mind. The cover is made from one of my favorite, favorite bundles, Shakespearean Women. I put her under a slice of mica and purposely cracked it diagonally top and bottom as foretold in the poem “the mirror cracked from side to side.”

This is a small journal – it is only 5 inches x 4 inches. It is designed to fit into a clam shell bio-degradable case which I have covered with a design from the Yellow Ephemera bundle. I created a repeating pattern with the design. It really felt medieval to me and I chose it over two other patterns I contemplated. I covered the case by decoupaging the paper onto the case. In the interior, I used the manuscript pages from the European Renaissance bundle.

The interior of the case has two compartments. The space on the left holds an envelope that contains the entire poem printed in a medieval font. The envelope is made from the Marsh & Pond bundle which I modified a bit, but the overall look was so pre-Raphaelite, I had to use it.

The journal itself is covered in a remnant of tapestry fabric I found in a fabric sale. I purposely frayed the fabric so the threads hang below the hem. The Lady of Shallot was weaving her tapestry and I love the effect of the lose threads coming away. The cover features a piece of lace that reminds me of a web and at the center, I have pinned a vintage brooch.

I created several special papers for this journal and one of my favorites is used as the interior of the front cover. This rose from the Scarborough Fair bundle has become a favorite of mine. It is perfect paired with a border from the black and cream ephemera bundle. The first page is one I printed on a scan of ledger paper and it features the violets from the Purple Ephemera bundle as well as a pressed pansy from my garden. I used several dried flowers throughout this journal. I hope you will watch my flip through to see all the different flowers.

The next page pairing features one of the papers I created for this project with the gorgeous pomegranate from the Autumn Botanicals Bundle. This pomegranate just represents the perfect medieval symbol and I picture it hanging from a tree outside the Lady of Shalott’s tower. The right side page is old old paper from a book frontispiece and I have clipped a wonderful printable tag from the Scarborough Fair Bundle. I drew heavily from this bundle using several tags and ephemera pieces throughout the journal.

I have skipped a few pages to show a flip up I created from one of the wonderful images offered in the Medieval Spring Muses. I affixed a bezel I created from a metal paint tray which features a Madonna. I have also used some printables from the Shakespeare’s Women 2 bundle and the Sage Meadow bundle. Skipping ahead again, I wanted to share my use of the jewelry inchie from the Shakespeare’s Women 2 as well as another wonderful tag from the Scarborough Fair bundle. This opens up into a triptych which highlights more wonderful one inch squares of brooding eyes.

I also used the stained glass windows bundle quite a bit, The wonderful printable bookplates fit perfectly into my theme. Adjacent to the colorful bookplate, I created a removable writing note pad with music from the Scarborough Fair bundle and another inchie.

Finally, I knew I just had to use this lovely woman from the Scarborough Fair bundle. And I fussy cut my favorite rose. This page also folds out into a triptych. There are two within this journal. This one is made from water color paper, so it can be used for personal art expression as well. I so loved making this journal. I have had it in my mind’s eye for a long time and I will probably make another version at some point.

The medieval imagery available in these wonderful bundles gave me so much choice, I didn’t even use a third of what I pulled to contemplate this journal. I love the medieval period and it is hard to find good, available imagery. Thanks, Graphics Fairy!