Monday, November 25, 2013

A Grateful Heart Thanksgiving Journal Made From a One-Dollar Composition Notebook

Hi Everyone,. What a beautiful day it is and outside the sky is again heavy with gray clouds. There's a smattering of fluffy flakes falling adding to the inch or more already on the ground. It's nearly noon and the temperature has yet to reach thirty. My little feathered friends have gathered on the patio to look for something to warm them. And, Brutus, our yellow cat is curled up on my bed. 

The heat from the woodstove has not been very successful in pushing back the cold from my creative corner. So I just went to put on two more layers to try to beat this chill. One is a pretty wool, ruffled wrap that I found at a thrift store. It's very light weight but OH-so-warm! ( That makes five! Who would believe it here in Arizona?)  I think a cup of tea would help too, don't you? One of my favorite things about the cold. An excuse to drink a cup of hot goodness that warms me. Body and soul.
So, I went off and made myself a nice steaming cup of  Twinings Winter Spice. It's one of my favorites. With a blend of apple and chamomile teas spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves, it's a real treat! If  you think you might want to try it, you can find it here.






 
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Today I wanted to share with you the journal that I made from one of those inexpensive composition
notebooks. I have been trying out my fairly new Wordplay Sissix die by Tim Holtz. The word Grateful  is one that I try to remember often to live. It fit with the spirit of the season and so I tried to think of a way that I could share it with others and make it last. I decided to use it to help decorate the front of a journal that I wanted to make to sell. Maybe it would inspire and bless someone.

Following are some photos of the finished journal. As you can see, there are a lot of details. I always say how much I enjoy using detailed embellishments. Well, it's true! You can see what types of shapes I used. I have some Stampin' Up! punches. And the Sissix, Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers die and a scalloped punch are what I used to make the large flowers.

All the cover papers and ribbon were glued with Elmer's Craft Glue. And the embellishments were
attached with hot glue.


The lower half of the journal and the back are covered in a really neat creamy colored and heavily
textured wallpaper that I found at a thrift store this past spring. I love incorporating my neat finds in
my projects. It enables me to be creative and I think everyone likes saving money! I stained the front with a mix of Adirondack Earthtones Alcohol Inks. I used my finger to blend them to get the
tone that I wanted. I almost panicked when I began this process because I'm new at these and didn't really know what I was doing! I was so thankful that it turned out. I would appreciate knowing of a helpful tutorial about how to use the alcohol inks. I've looked but none seem to be what I'm looking for.

 The binding was done with a co-ordinating paper that I wrapped around the existing one. And then brought the paper of the front and back covers up to meet that and finished with a co-ordinating ribbon. And you'll want to put your ribbons on before you finish the inside covers (IF you want to finish it.) so they will be covered.


When I work on a project like this, I go for a neat, symmetrical look. So when I cut the papers for the covers, I cut them big enough to wrap around the inside. Just about an inch bigger will do it. And I found a really nice tutorial on how to make the corners look professional. You can read it here. Thank you for sharing, Amy!



 I also want my inside covers to have a finished look. So I measure co-ordinating paper to go all the way to the edge of my cover and I also wanted to be sure to cover any print that was on the inside covers of the notebook.


These would make a great handmade gift or something to make and sell to make a little extra money for the holiday season or anytime. This was my first big one and it was so fun. I'm excited about making more using many different designs and colors!

Thank you for stopping by. Tomorrow I will be posting my favorite quote on GRATITUDE ~
There's a blessing in every day!  Tamara~


3 comments:

Jeff LeFevre said...

The book is beaytiful! You are soooo creative!!

Aimee at Refresh-Renew... said...

oh my goodness...we have an orange kitty too...named Pumpkin! Love your post!-aimee

Tamara said...

Thank you for the visit and the comment, Aimee~