Hello chums. More stash-busting this week, and some more of that make-your-own nonsense as well.
Today I thought I'd concentrate on making journaling spots. Well, actually they needn't be journaling spots; they could just as easily become embellishments, with something else layered onto the 'journaling' space. I wasn't sure whether these should be Stamping on Saturday or Sunday School - but they've turned out mostly stampy, so here they are!
There's no decrease in the number of paper collections incorporating vintage ephemera, and much as I love the vintage look I've managed to avoid buying several of them for the simple reason that they use patterns and images I already have in my stash - either images saved on my computer, or older paper designs that are ready to be resurrected!
So, without further ado, let's take as our first example the type of journaling spot/card that has a blank area in the middle surrounded by some sort of border. One without any lines on it, so it can easily be used as an embellishment.
There are a couple of ways of making one of these - you can use masking and stamping, or you could glue something onto something else. Here's a masked and stamped one:
And here's a something-glued-onto-something-else one:
For both of these you will need some scraps of plain or subtly patterned paper - an item of stash that's useful in many situations, dear reader. In my scraps basket I've got a few big plastic wallets and one of them contains bits of papers like this - excellent for stamping on.
So, if you want to make a single layer journaling card, this is what you do:
Get yourself a piece of plainish paper, the size you want the finished journaling card to be. I used sheet from a 6x6 pad, which was just lined with a red margin.
You need to make a two-part mask. Now, you can do this by hand using some sort of template, in which case the principle is the same as for using Nesties - which is what I used. Because I was feeling lazy....:D
Find some scrap paper for your mask. Initially I was going to try this with post-it notes but after some consideration it seemed that this would be rather difficult. You'll probably see why as we go along. So you will need some repositionable glue or tape. I always use Zig 2-way glue - I used to think it was expensive but the Craft Barn sell it for a good price and it lasts ages. I wouldn't be without it now.
Anyway. Take a piece of scrap paper roughly the same size as your journaling card and run it through your die-cutting machine with a Nestie or whatever in the middle. I did three at a time:
(Hehe, it looks like a clock! Little things.....)
Put some temporary adhesive on the back of the label shape and place it in the middle of your actual journaling card.
Now find a stamp to use for the patterned edges. Think about the scale of the card and the width of the border you're going to create. I thought I'd use this PaperArtsy set:
Stamp your border design carefully. I chose that coupon image on the right and stamped it in Fired Brick Distress Ink:
If you look at this carefully (well, okay, not that carefully) you'll see that I could have made a neater job of stamping right up to the edges of the mask. I didn't actually realise this until afterwards, and because this piece is a bit vintage/grungy, it didn't really matter. However, if you want a nice join, you might have to rock the stamp ever so slightly...
Here's another one I did with a Crafty Individuals music score stamp:
The next thing you do, is you forget to take a photo of the next thing you did. *Sigh*
You'll just have to listen very carefully.....
Take the outside bit of the mask, the bit of scrap paper from which you cut the label shape. Place this over the journaling card so that only the blank, label-shaped area is visible. Ie, match it up! You don't have to stick this down, you can hold it in place because you're only going to stamp one thing on it.
Now take your 'accent' stamp - I used the winged girl on the left of the set - and stamp it in one corner of the blank area. Not the whole image, just a bit of it. I've done one in the same colour, Fired Brick, and one in Vintage Photo.
Then take the mask away, et voila:
I was particularly pleased with the one on the left, as that placement of the text at the very top, and the numbers with the tag at the very bottom, was on purpose!
See - I can do things deliberately!
I think it might be quite nice to cut out a tiny label from another copy of the stamp, and layer it over that top one with its very corner missing.
I also made some pink ones, using patterned paper, but I wasn't so keen on them. Mind you, they look better on here, lol.
For these I used an oval die and a couple more PaperArtsy stamp sets. I replaced the mask and drew round it because otherwise there wasn't enough definition.
I didn't waste the masks, either. The two with Fired Brick on them look rather nice all by themselves, so they'll be pressed into service somewhere along the line.
The third label mask was used to make the layered journaling spot. This was dead easy - I punched a big circle out of some pink patterned paper
I stamped it with a Tim Holtz letter stamp in Vintage Photo:
I used a couple of stamps from the same set to stamp the label shape:
(and my luverly ink splat stamp)
And then I fiddled and faffed with the label, did some faux stitching on it and inked the edges of everything with Old Paper, and stuck it together. I used foam tape on the back so there's at least a chance of me being able to write on it! Here it is again:
So, there you go. (I keep saying that, don't I.)
You may have noticed that I'm making an effort to use stamps from one set each time. My intention is to do a post about this, as personally I'm not very good at seeing the potential in a stamp set and I find it a bit confusing trying to choose something that will provide value for money. I hope that gradually I'm learning what to look for, and maybe I could share some tips.....might have to gather a few more first, though!
I hope you've found this worthwhile reading, I certainly had fun making these journaling cards and I'll be sure to point them out to you the minute they appear on a project!
Have a fab Saturday.
