Victorian Sewing Journal

Hey, everyone! Kathleen Mower of BeAgain Books, one of our amazing Junk Journal Design Team Members, created a fabulous Victorian Sewing 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 Kathleen tell you all about her incredible project…

Hello everyone! I am excited to be hosted today on the Graphics Fairy website to show off a bonus journal for the Graphics Fairy Design Team. This journal is a semi-soft fabric covered journal that I’m calling a Victorian Sewing Journal.

I have wanted to take advantage of the gorgeous sewing bundles at the Graphics Fairy Premium Membership Site for some time and am pleased to finally make a journal from these lovely images. I have created a beautiful collage on the face of the cover with images, fibers and buttons. I have included a pretty tied ribbon spine tassel with a charm dangle and I have also used my button and elastic beaded closure to keep any loose papers safely inside.

I start the journal off with a large peekaboo pocket with various fussy cut images holding sever vintage pieces of ephemera. The facing page is a large image of the cover of a needlework book with a silk ruffle and charm embellishing the side edge of the page.

Layering staggered pages, pockets and ephemera is one of my favorite journaling techniques. I often use lace, ribbons and fibers threaded through any holes left in the papers I choose to use for these “shorts.” It all results in a kind of interactive “collage” and I love creating them.

All of the premium bundles come with beautifully designed printable papers of papers, pockets, tags, tabs, collage sheets and other journal elements. This printable page inspired me to used embroidery wool to accent the printed design.

A fun interactive double flip creates several spots to hide journaling under flips and flaps. Braille paper adds some visual interest and a third pocket on top of the hidden envelope holds even more vintage ephemera

A large folded paper ruffled pocket holds a folded journaling paper. This pocket page is created with the pattern paper instructions and sewing pattern tissue forms the ruffle. The journaling paper is embellished with large button images from the bundle.

I mentioned that the sewing bundles feature beautifully designed printable journal pages and I have certainly taken advantage of these in this journal. I love this simple page with a large embellished thimble facing another page with a more elaborate fabric pocket. I love the hand crochet and the hand embroidered motif on this special recycled pocket.

This printable page is my favorite! The red bird carrying a spool of thread evokes a wonderfully antique mood to the page and the vintage image of a thread sales card layers beautifully on top of this image, creating a corner tuck to hold matching vintage receipts. I can just picture a Victorian parlor with a salesman spilling silks across an old-fashioned settee and the lady of the house choosing just the right colors for her next needlework project.

The blouse pin image is also a favorite and I’ve used it twice in this journal. Here I have made it the front piece of a coin envelope element and added a lace pocket to hold a journal card and a vintage button card tag. 
Who can resist this image of a mother and daughter sewing together? Sewing together has always been a sweet activity among women of all ages.

A second large peekaboo pocket is featured on this page – made by layering several images together and leaving the edges free to reveal the papers behind the pocket. I used a large fussy cut image of pink roses together with a calendar image, a label image and that beautiful embellished thimble. I love this pocket.

An enlarged image of another mother sewing finishes the journal as a wraparound paper, pinned to the last page. There is plenty of room in this journal for writing memories or keeping sewing notes and patterns .

Thanks so much for spending some time with me today. I hope you have enjoyed a little tour of my Victorian Sewing Journal. This journal is listed for sale in my Etsy store, link below.

VICTORIAN JOURNAL SHOW  & TELL VIDEO TOUR

Premium Membership Bundles used in this project:

The Seamstress
Sewing & Needlework
Sewing Ephemera

I hope you will visit me here:

Kathleen’s YouTube

Kathleen’s Etsy shop
Kathleen’s Instagram

Thanks so much!

Kathleen

Check out the Graphics Fairy Premium Membership Site HERE!