Grungy Journal - handmade Journal

Grungy Journal - handmade Journal

Hi folks, how are we this very fine day?  Any word of Spring making an appearance around your neck of the woods??  It was 10 degrees at the hottest point of the day in grey Northern Ireland so that's practically summer around here!!

Anywhoodles, I just wanted to show you this Journal I made for my very good friend Fiona (YouTube Jennings 644).  This Journal was actually the first one I ever made.  From scratch I mean.........sewing the papers, making the covers, putting the book together.....proper making a book from scratch.  And I just love how rough and ready it turned out.  It wont be to everyone's liking I'm sure,  but I really love it and Fiona was so chuffed when she received it too.

Im not going to waffle too much and just get on with the photos!  WHAT?  I hear you cry!!  And no, I do not have a temperature and Im not sick!  In fact when I have a temperature and am sick......I tend to waffle more!  Or is that moan more??  Who knows!

As always, I handmade all the flowers on the book.  Lets face it, it wouldnt be something from me if it didnt have handmade flowers on it!  The lace I used on the book cover and to make the large flower was actually lace that I used in my wedding!  Though I did grunge and stain the lace up a bit.....it wasnt like that on our wedding day!  I just love how grungy the flowers look.

I wanted the Journal to look like it had travelled about quite a bit.  So I added ink spots and added torn paper to the cover along with torn book pages. The actual "Journal" word was from Tim Holtz Grunge Board Alphabets pack and I painted each letter with Burnt Umber Acrylic paint and then added Crackle Accents over it and it gave it this great beaten up leather effect.  Im not even sure I could repeat the process.....it was a happy accident!

I wanted the inside cover pages to look a lot cleaner and more feminine.  The outside can get battered and bruised all it wants but I wanted the contents and inside pages to be kept well. 

And as I said above, I made and bound this book myself.  I didnt just buy a book and alter it.  It was made entirely from scratch by me.  I have Bookbinding Video Tutorials coming up soon so watch out for those and you could be making your very own journals too.    

The completed book.  I just love it.  I wanted it to be a journal that could be stuffed into a bag or left on a table and a coffee cup set on it or whatever.  A functioning Journal I suppose.  Something she could pick up at any time and scribble in if she wanted, or write a serious journal entry or just doodle in it or stick in a clipping from a magazine she read.  The book doesnt need to be handled with kids gloves, its meant to be chucked about and have tea stains on it.  Its the contents that is the important thing about it.  So, so what if it falls in a puddle or a kid scribbles all over the front of it!  Its meant to look grungy, well loved and well used.

That's it from me folks. I hope you like this journal.  My room is slowly but surely getting there.  I might show you a before, during and after video once its all done, but Im not sure yet!  We'll see if and when it gets finished! lol

Toodles Noodles......Lee aka Crafty Loops xx

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