A Vintage Bohemian Junk Journal

Hey, everyone! Kathleen Mower of BeAgain Books, one of our amazing new Junk Journal Design Team Members, created a fabulous A Vintage Bohemian Junk 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 Kathleen from BeAgainBooks, and I’m happy to share my latest journal for the design team at The Graphics Fairy. Thanks for joining me as I .share my love for all things BOHO When I saw this beautiful upholstery fabric I immediately began to dream making a vintage Bohemian journal and I knew that the images at the Graphics Fairy Premium Membership Site would help be achieve my vision. I wanted a semi-soft cardboard cover that would mold around all the bulky fibers and lace I knew I wanted to include. The journal is a perfect size to hold in my hands and the rounded spine fits just right in my palm.

I embossed and painted a panel to act as a closure and I glued a metal book plate to embellish the front of the panel. Hand-dyed sari ribbon ties wrap around the journal and tie in a bow on the front. I also included a handmade fancy charm dangle at the side of the panel to further embellish the front cover.

I made a removable panel as a closure, in order to show off the beauty of this gorgeous fabric. The vibrant colors perfectly reflect the boho style and the paisley pattern was a popular ornamentation for the Roma people.

The inside front cover has a pretty window pocket, but the focal point is the first of the delightful Roma ladies framed in flowers. There is never a shortage of flower images to choose from when designing a page and this splendid morning glory botanical image came up in a search for blue flowers. These ladies begin a pattern of repetition to achieve unity throughout the journal.

I absolutely love layers in my journals and this photo shows how much! I call these layers “shorts” and always include a few in my signatures. The background center page is a floral page from the printables section of the Premium Membership Site and the layers build up from there. I used the dark green book cover image from the Bohemian Ephemera bundle as a large folded journaling paper that is clipped to the page on the left. Next comes two layers of lined papers that I hand dyed with Distress Inks and embellished with a scarlet ribbon through the edge. A dyed junk mail window envelope creates two pockets on the final layer. Again, my goal was a kind of Victorian opulence. Lace, ribbon and a bit of gold leaf frames it all.

I have used all of the lively Roma dancing ladies as the focal image for the signature cover pages throughout the book. Each one is digitally layered on top of a beautiful botanical image that harmonizes with the colors of the dresses. These floral images .are hand illustrations that have a sweet, old-fashioned look I love to hand dye and use other mixed media techniques to alter papers and elements for my pages. Here, opposite the dancing lady, I have smooshed Distress Inks and stenciled to create an artistic flip with a small pocket to hold ephemera such as this vintage playing card. The flip element is layered over a bound-in glassine bag which holds one of the small journaling cards from the printable that is included in the Vintage Bohemian Style bundle. The violin is a classic boho motif and I added additional Boho style with a stylized stenciled floral image with texture paste on top.

The long wraparound pocket is one of my favorite journal elements and it shows how useful are the prints from the Rich Marbled Endpaper bundle. I used the vibrant red marbled image as a backdrop for a fussy cut collaged image of this splendid red flower. A small collaged postcard image peeks out from behind. The vibrant colors of these images lends just the right Boho touch.

I love how easy the printables for each of my bundles made it easy to make pockets and tuck spots in the journal, or tags and papers to stuff into my pockets. This pretty patch pocket was part of a collage page included in the Vintage Bohemian Style bundle. Although the photo doesn’t show it well, I used a bit of Glossy Accents .to add dimension to her hair ribbons and the details on her dress.

I have used a fun image of a tambourine to create an altered paper clip with a bright blue crinkled ribbon at the edge. Each side mirrors the other.

A large side-loading patch pocket is a common feature in my journals and this one highlights the classic Roma violin. It’s even more charming with a little white texture paste through a stylized floral stencil.

Here is the violin again with other fussy cut musical instruments in a simple collage to embellish a simple white paper bag. A page from a vintage calendar rests inside the pocket.

A thick golden lace creates a pocket on this stunning blue marbled paper. Printable journal cards with further embellishments are tucked into the pocket. A large butterfly with glossy details accents the bottom corner.

This spread reflects again my love of layering. The pretty red floral pattern is enhanced with the endpaper of a torn-up book. One edge of this folds down for interest and I’ve used a small brass brad to tack that fold. A vintage embossed cutwork stationery is layered over vintage onion-skin notepaper. A very boho-“ish” stylized flower image in texture paste peeks out from the bottom of the stack. I honestly don’t think I can even make a journal with stenciling somewhere.

Speaking of cut-work! This type of fussy peek-a-boo pockets are another of my favorite elements to make. I try to arrange the pieces so that whatever pieces are slipped into the pocket will peek out around the spaces in the design. I love it! A final image of a dancing lady, with lace and trim, finishes the journal and a pretty blue leafy design finishes off the inside back cover

Thanks so much for your interest in my journal!

VINTAGE BOHEMIAN JUNK JOURNAL SHOW  & TELL VIDEO TOUR

Premium Membership Bundles used in this project:

Vintage Bohemian Style
Bohemian Ephemera
Bohemian Butterflies
Bohemian Brights
Rich Marbled Endpapers

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!