Traveler’s Notebook

Hey everyone.  Beth, one of our amazing NEW Junk Journal Design Team Members, created a fabulous Traveler’s Notebook Junk Journal Insert 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 Beth tell you all about her lovely project…

Hi everyone! Beth here from Beth’s Journal Boutique sharing my design team project for October. Autumn is my favorite time of year and I’m enjoying the beautiful fall weather and colours here in southern Ontario. To celebrate the season, I wanted to create a project that has the feeling of fall, but not necessarily using the traditional fall colours of yellow, red and orange. To achieve, that I’ve used turquoise, burgundy, cream and a bit of gold all in muted tones. For this project, I have designed a travelers notebook junk journal insert mixing the Graphics Fairy printable images, papers and ephemera from a number of the bundles on the premium membership site with real vintage items and beautiful trims to create this journal.

For the cover, I have printed one of the stacked end papers from the Delicate End Papers bundle on 65 pound cardstock and added an image layered over coffee dyed cheesecloth. Coffee dyed seam binding is the closure, and a rusty nameplate layered over some scraps of vintage paper completes the cover.

Pro Tip: The nameplate on the cover has been rusted to create a vintage, timeworn look to match the overall feel of the journal. How did I achieve that rusted look? There are lots of “how to rust” tutorials out there, but this is how I did it. First, I sanded the front of the nameplate and the brad fasteners to make sure that I eliminated any coating that would prevent rusting. Next, I placed the three pieces into a rusting solution. The solution is a mixture of white vinegar, peroxide and salt. I used a quarter cup each of peroxide and vinegar and then stirred in 1 Tbsp of salt. I let the pieces soak in the solution for approximately an hour; after taking them out, I spooned a bit of the liquid onto the pieces as they were drying. This helped to create that wonderful chunky look of the rust. You will not see the full effects of the rusting until the pieces are fully dry. To make sure there was no flaking, I sealed everything with 2 coats of matte medium.

Inside the front cover, I added a printable postcard as a pocket, and tucked in a vintage image and a tag made from on of the patterns in the Vintage Wallpaper bundle.

Pro Tip 2: To mimic aged tape that you may find in an old book, I have colored some basic cellophane tape using alcohol ink, adding it on the cover and in several places throughout the journal.

I’ve used vintage papers and ephemera from my stash and they mix beautifully with the Graphics Fairy printables.

Lots of trims, lace and buttons have been added to the inserts and page edges to add interest and texture throughout.

I enjoyed putting this journal together using a few simple techniques to add some aged details. I’m excited to come back in a month’s time to show you my next project!

You can find me on my You Tube channel where I showcase my journals, on Instagram to see sneak peaks of upcoming projects and in my Etsy shop where I sell my creations.

Delicate End Papers

Vintage Wallpaper Samples

Script Ephemera

Vintage Postcards

French Newspaper and Ephemera

French Ephemera

To see a video tour of my Design Team Junk Journal project, please watch below:

 SHOW & TELL VIDEO TOUR of Beth’s Traveler’s Notebook

Beth

Beth’s Journal Boutique on YouTube

Beth’s Journal Boutique on Instagram

Beth’s Etsy Shop