Journal Making

Mushroom Journal

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Happy Monday!

I hope your weekend was a nice one. My youngest had a horse show and it was such gorgeous weather and we had a really nice time. I am gearing up for the holidays as I am sure many of you are and I am planning on sharing the handmade gifts I will be making for everyone this year. I spent this week figuring out what I was going to make for everyone and I think I am even being some what realistic. I am still hopeful to finish the Coraline dolls for the kids and that is my plan for the coming week. In fact I couldn’t sleep last night and as I was lying in bed I came up with a really cool idea for a box for the dolls. I will be sure to share the results with you all and how I make out.

I was going to film a video on my setting up my Christmas planner in my bullet journal but the weekend got away from me so I decided to share this video I recorded maybe two weeks ago instead. I was hesitant to share it as I can’t seem to find this journal anymore! I know it’s around and most likely right in front of my face but either way it’s a really fun project and if need be I just may have to make a second one. I also have my fall journal to fill up and then I am hoping to get my Christmas memory journal caught up.

Perhaps I am not being so realistic with my holiday plans after all.

Regardless it’s fun to have to ideas and projects on the go and at the end of the day I am determined to just enjoy the making and I get done what I get done.

Today however I am sharing my little mushroom journal with you.

I made it out of a mini composition notebook that I believe I bought in a big pack off of Amazon but I know you can get these at the Dollar Tree too. I was prepping the pages to make art in them but never really got beyond that. I saw Janet Nash’s mushroom journal and I really loved the idea so I decided to turn this notebook into my own version of a mushroom journal.

I gut out of very simple template leaving a hinge of sorts to keep the journal together. I traced it on the notebook and then cut out the pages a few at a time. I found my scissors worked perfectly for this. I love the idea of maybe adding fabric collage to the cover and then maybe even a combination of hand stitching and paper collage to the inside pages.

I hope you will make one too and maybe we can work in our mushroom journals together.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Fall Journal DIY

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Happy Monday!

I am excited to share this quick little journal video with you. I decided I wanted to make a journal for fall where I could memory keep all the fun fall activities we do. Fall is my favorite season. I love the changing leaves and my birthday is at the beginning of October and I just love the decorations that go with the season.

Today I am using a fall paper pad I found during our moving clean out and I really enjoyed using it. I thought I purchased it online but I couldn’t seem to find it. The set is caused Celebrate Autumn and I have had it for a few years now. I am really trying to use what I have on hand for my craft projects unless I really need to purchase something and it’s a fun challenge to work on. If you have been around here for a bit you know I love a good Use What You’ve Got Art Challenge and this is one of those times 🙂

I am also finding that I love making journals right now. As I write this I have a perfect little box sitting beside me on my desk that I think will be perfect for a tiny journal. I think this one will be an art journal so let me know if you would like to watch me make that one. I am trying to find the content that people like to see here so I don’t want to overwhelm with journal making tutorials. If you have any suggestions please let me know!

The journal went together easily with a simple pamphlet stitch and I used different size pages to give it some interest. I would love to hear if you have any fall crafts planned and what are your favorite fall activities?

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

 

This Week in the Studio: Frustrations with Starting a New Business

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Happy Monday!

Today I am sharing my weekly studio vlog and it was a bit of a challenge. Most of the week went well as I was able to get some studio clean up done and I also set up my new writing binder for a new story I am working on. I have signed up for a Self-Publishing course and I am really excited for it. To prepare I began with getting my current work in progress. I write all new stories by hand first in a notebook. My first edit comes when I type it into my computer. There is something about writing hand to paper that just connects me to the story in a way the keys don’t. It’s a fun way to get to know my characters and their world.

I set up a binder which is a new system for me, that is going to hold all my story information. Characters, worlds, plot, chapters that sort of thing. In addition to the one I am writing there are several others waiting to be edited so they can be self-published. I would love to have a book ready by the end of the year to publish-even it’s just all the editing is done.

When I first saw the class I was really excited and signed up for the waiting list. I have been following the author for a while and I really love her approach to career and this course feels in alignment with my own career goals. I’ll be sure to keep you posted as to how it’s all going.

The other goal I had this week was to print the sticker sheets I have been creating and add them to my shop. Theoretically this was going to be easy. The hard part of conception and creating the art was over right? I was so wrong.

I have been wanting to turn my art into stickers forever and I have tried over the years and basically ended up really, really unhappy with my cutting machines.

I finally thought I had it all worked out and then the machine (my newest one) was giving me issues. I managed to solve those issues only to have my printer give me problems. In the end, I have re-designed my stickers and I have one sheet available for purchase-woohoo!!! I am very hopeful that I will have the rest of the stickers done and ready for purchase by the end of the week.

To celebrate the sticker sheets are shipping for free so yay! You can purchase a sheet here if, like me, you love your coffee too 🙂

I will also share a secret little item that, for now, only you my faithful blog readers will know about. I have a new journal for sale in my shop too! If you have been following along in my Make a Journal Series this is the journal I make and this Friday the last of the videos will go live. I will also promote this journal for sale so if you would like to pick it up before then you can find it here.

So that was what was going on this week in the studio. I have lots of new projects in the works and I am hoping to have some new dollhouse content up if I could just decide on the upstairs flooring. I still think I want full carpeting but I am really not sure. I will keep you posted.

I hope your summer is going well. My oldest two have been enjoying camp for the past few weeks and I have been playing chauffeur. Looking forward to next week when the schedule quiets down for a few before another week of camp.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

 

 

 

 

 

How to Make a Junk Journal: Part 1 The Cover

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Hi everyone! Welcome to my new series where we are going to learn to make a junk journal from start to finish. If you have have never made a junk journal before this series is going to walk you through step-by-step. I will over lots of examples for different materials you can use as well so you don’t need to run out and buy a lot of materials. I want this to be a fun, easy and expressive way for you to make your own journal without having to break the bank-after all we are just using junk right?

So let’s get started!

Today we are going to begin work on our cover and here are the supplies you will need:

Cereal box or other chipboard packaging. Think the back of a notepad, brownie and cake mix boxes (they are actually my favorite boxes because they are the perfect size! Whatever you have to hand will work.

Brown paper bag, kraft paper or wrapping paper

Glue/Double Sided Tape: PVA glue will work but my favorite is double sided tape but you can also use a permanent glue stick.

Scissors

Paint if you want to paint your cover. Regular old craft paint is perfectly fine but you can decorate your cover is so many ways. Stickers, markers, stamps-use what you have to hand!

That’s it!

Let’s get started:

Step 1.

Cut your cereal box/chipboard.
I cut my to 9″x6″ I like this size because I really like using regular letter size paper and this size cover allows me to use a full sheet of letter paper folded in half. You can cut yours to whatever size you like-the process is the same.

You can also double up your chipboard to make a really sturdy cover if you want.

You also need to cut chipboard for the spine. It will be the same height as your cover and whatever width you want. I cut mine to 2″. I also glued 2 pieces together for the spine.

Next you want to attach the covers to your spine. In the video I am using book binding tape but you can use regular masking tape. I only used this because I have it and I never use it-because I generally use masking tape! It’s much cheaper and works just as well. You may have to use a few more layers of it to get the sturdiness you want for your cover but it’s a great option that’s readily available in most stores.

I lay a piece of the tape down, sticky side up and then place the spine in the middle of the tape and the covers on either side leaving a small space so the covers can open and close. If you want to measure you can leave a space the thickness of your chipboard between the spine and the cover.

Step 2.

Next you will ned your paper shopping bag, kraft paper or wrapping paper.  If you are using double sided tape I like to add it to the 3 edges of the cover. Then you want to lay your book cover on top of your paper. If you are using wrapping paper make sure that the pretty side is facing your work surface. Then you want to fold over the sides of your paper and “wrap” the cover.  You can cut the corner (see below) so you can a nice corner. Just don’t cut too closely.

If you are using a liquid glue the paper may warp and bubble a little just keep that in mind. I would then put glue on the full cover and spine and glue it down to my paper folding and wrapping the edges adhering them down with more glue.

Step 3.

This step is optional but I like my journals to feel like a book and to not have any “wobble” with the cover and spine. To help with this, I take masking tape or in my case book binding tape and I place some on the inside of my cover (the part without paper) and overlap the cover and the spine. I put down a few pieces until I am happy with the sturdiness.

Step 4.

If you are using wrapping paper or want to keep your cover brown like you kraft paper you can skip this step but I love to make colorful journals so I take my favorite color and paint the entire cover including the inside flaps. You can let this dry and then apply additional coats as needed. This is where you can really be creative. You can add fabric, stickers, magazine images-you name it! Have fun!

Once your cover is completely dry you are done!

I hope you found this helpful. If you are more of a visual learner I have a video below where you can watch me follow these steps and make your cover along with me, pausing as you need to.

In next week’s post I am going to share how to make your signatures and decorate them several different ways.

Until next time!

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Video: Making a Hand Embroidered Journal Part II

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Hi everyone! Today I am sharing the second part in making my refillable, hand embroidered journal. I had so much fun making this journal and I cannot wait to share my plans with you. For now I hope you enjoy watching this video.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Video: Making a Hand Embroidered, Refillable Journal

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Happy Monday!

I hope your week is off to a lovely start. I am on my own for a few vacation days and have been having such a nice time. I have gone for ice cream with a friend, gone shopping, gardened and harvested a load of green beans, lots of reading and spent an entire day in my studio. I really cannot ask for anything more.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using this links I earn a small commission but it does not cost you any more.

Today I am sharing with you an exciting project that came to me a few days ago. I wanted to hand embroider a journal cover. I have a pattern I purchased a while ago that I hadn’t used and decided to embroider it on the cover of a refillable notebook. It’s really simple and fun to do and I hope you will join me.

I am sharing the process in 2 different posts. The first post will be making the signature and sketching out or transferring your embroidery design and the second post will be embroidering the design and adding the embellishments and elastic to hold the signature.

I used a combination of book pages, magazine pages, scrapbook paper and ledger paper to make my signature. You can used anything like you of course-have fun! Maybe you want to use watercolor paper or mixed media paper or just copy paper from your printer. It’s your journal so I hope this post inspires you to make a journal that you will love to pick up and use.

I attached the pages together using my favorite 3 hole pamphlet stitch and set it aside.

Next I took some embroidery fabric (affiliate link) and sketched out the design I chose. A light box would make this really simple but mine was out of batteries so I made do.  If you would like to purchase the same pattern you can find it here.

There is so much you could do with your cover-including just using regular fabric and skit the embroidery part. If you don’t like embroidering you can just pick out some fun fabric and use that. You could use canvas fabric and paint your own cover-there really is no limit! If you do choose to embroider I will be sharing a video of that, along with putting the hole thing together later this week.

I do hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to comment below.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

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