Wisadom Keeper Junk Journal

Hey, everyone! Stephanie Manuel of Smiling Sunlight, one of our amazing Junk Journal Design Team Members, created a fabulous Wisdom Keeper 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 Stephanie tell you all about her incredible project…

Hi everyone, it’s Stephanie from Smiling Sunlight. I’m really happy to be back with you for another term as a member of The Graphics Fairy Design Team. The creation of this journal started with the desire to explore intuitive collaging as a way of journaling. I also wanted to use all the pieces of scrap paper that have been piling up for a while and that I don’t want to throw away – I’m sure you know that hoarding feeling, right?!

Inspired by one of my crafter friend, Dody Williams, who was also a member of the Graphics Fairy Design Team, I created my own version of a cluster book. Not only is it a place where I can store
my clusters for journals but I have also added pockets and pouches to store pieces of ephemera and scrap papers for the creation of more clusters. I used several interesting recycled materials in this project such as used tea bags, file folders, tea dyed printed paper, book pages, tissue paper, tetra pak and toilet paper rolls. To tie the pages together, I braided sisal cords to make it thicker and added a bow handle with a piece of recycled silk fabric. How cool that I can carry it around like a little bag! This is the “Wisdom Keepers Journal” where I visually illustrate the different ways that wisdom was kept and shared across history. Since I want to continue to create more clusters, I have chosen 4 themes that inspire me the most: Egypt, Naturalist, medieval France and Asia. I created the cover to look like the false door of an Egyptian Mastaba, with images representing each of the themes. There is a hidden pocket behind the false door onto which I glued my first intuitive collaged cluster.

For each theme, I’ve included a large pocket in the page to slide in paper scraps, a digital collage folded into a Victorian puzzle purse and a paper origami pouch to store the completed clusters.
The first spread is about Egypt. There is a new bundle called The Archaeologist on the Graphics Fairy Premium site and as soon as I saw it, I knew that I wanted to use these images in this journal. In Egypt, wisdom was recorded on papyrus and wall painting. I like how the use of thin torn tetra pak paper gives that textured look, almost like papyrus to the collage.

The Naturalist spread is a nature delight specially since The Graphics Fairy has an amazing collection of bird, plant and butterfly images. I painted color swatches on strips of book pages matching the color theme, they are great collage elements. The Naturalist explores the natural world and record her wisdom and discoveries in herbariums and field notebooks.

Another great collage element is stamped words on strips of book pages. They really add that beautiful finish look to a cluster. The French medieval spread shows how wisdom was shared as a
visual story in illuminated manuscripts and on stained-glass windows in cathedrals.

The Asian spread celebrates the art of indigo pattern and elegant kimono. This is the first time that I am using the Asian themed image bundles and it was a lot of fun. I learned to create the digital collages by following some wonderful digital tutorials on the Premium site.

I hope that this journal inspired to have fun exploring intuitive collaging too. Happy crafting! The flip through video is available by clicking on the link below and you can see the list of images
that I used here.

WISDOM KEEPER JUNK JOURNAL SHOW & TELL VIDEO TOUR

 

 

Premium site bundles used:

The Archaeologist
Ancient Travel
Shore Birds
Lotus & Water Lilies
Rustic Tattered Treasures
Printemps
Entomologist’s Field Guide
Pumpkin Spice Ephemera
Junk Journaling
The Lepidopterist
Australian Animals
Central Park Bird Watchers
Medieval Spring Musings
European Renaissance
Gothic Autumn
French Ephemera Collection
Stained Glass Windows
Japanese Garden
Asian Inspired Images
Delft Blue Ephemera
Blue & White Chinoiserie

 

Stephanie

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