Triple-stacked Pocket and Tags

I found a tutorial for this cute triple-stacked pocket on Yvonne Preston's YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bna2jv-WSMo) and just had to make one for my junk journal.

I used three pieces of tea-dyed copy paper about 4" wide x 9" long, folded them into pockets and glued them together to form the "stack."

The little tags are bases of book pages glued together and then collaged with scraps of papers and embellished with botanical stickers I purchased quite awhile ago from Ali Express. They are about 3" x 3.5."

This was easy and fun to create. Yvonne's tutorial is very good if you want to try to make one.

"Waterfall" pockets using envelopes

This waterfall pocket is made with two business envelopes (#10). I cannot find the You Tube channel I originally found the tutorial on, but here is one if you want to see the actual construction. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w663mrPlgZ8)  The top edge is cut off slightly to make pockets. One envelope is folded so there is one end longer than the other (this forms the top pocket and the back). The second envelope is also folded to form two more pockets. This is tucked into the fold of the first to form the waterfall.

I sewed the two envelopes together at the top fold and covered the fronts of the pockets with vintage wallpapers, vintage images and lace. The undersides are covered with tea-dyed paper for space for journaling.

The tags/journaling cards inside each pocket are book pages folded over and glued together to form a sturdy base then collaged with various papers and images. The backs are plain paper for journaling.

This can be slipped behind a belly band or tucked into a journal with a paper clip or even glued to a page. I love that it's interactive and not hard to create.

Tutorial - Small Ephemera/Postage Stamp Storage Folder

I've been in an organizing mood lately and, since I'm trying to stay home most of the time, I've also had lots of time to create. I came across a little ephemera storage folder on YouTube and decided to give it a try.

This is a fairly quick and easy little folder to make. It is 4 inches wide by 6 inches high when closed and uses just one 12"x12" piece of paper plus two 4" x 6" pieces. This can be made with patterned paper, solid card stock, coordinating patterns or all the same. I used papers from an old Pink Paisley collection.  

First you will need to cut 8 pieces 4"x6" - I cut 6 from the 12x12 paper for the "pages" and 2 coordinating ones for the front and back covers.

You will also need three 4"-long strips of muslin about an inch wide. Take two pieces of your paper and lay side by side with a tiny (about 1/8") space between, front side facing down.

Place a line of liquid glue along each side of the gap and lay down the muslin. This secures the two pieces together and allows for a fold.

Repeat the above with two more pieces of paper. Then attach the two sections together in the same  manner.  With the four pieces now joined and still facing down, glue the two remaining papers to the two center sections ("right" side up).

Next, glue on the front cover paper to the section farthest to the right (see below). If you want to attach a ribbon for the closure, glue that on before placing the cover paper on.  You could also just add an eyelet for a closure after completely covering the booklet.

Repeat for the back cover, adding to the section farthest to the left.  Accordion-fold the booklet.

For the little pockets to hold ephemera you will need some vellum.  Cut 6 pieces of each of the following measurements: 4"w x 1 1/4" h; 4"w x 1 1/2" h; and 4"w x 2" h.

Use a thin line of glue on three sides of each piece and adhere to the pages, the largest on the bottom of the page, the 1 1/2" high pieces in the middle, and the shortest at the top, leaving a small space above each. (See below).

I then sewed around each page but this is not a necessary step. It would help the pockets be more stable though. 

This was a fun little project and will be useful in keeping small ephemera sorted and visible. Hopefully it will make it easier to find and use these items. I hope you will try one yourself. It could be adapted to any size!

DIY Ephemera Folder

A few weeks ago I made this folder to hold some of my paper ephemera which I've been storing in various locations - not very conducive to seeing and using. I saw several versions of this on You Tube so this is not my original idea but I think it's ingenious.

The base is made with two 12"x12" pieces of heavy scrapbook paper. I used old papers from The Girl's Paperie (anyone even remember that?) that I love and have been hoarding. I thought I might as well use them on this so I could see it and enjoy it regularly rather than being stashed away in a drawer! The finished size is 9"h  x 6"w and is tied shut with a torn strip of muslin.

First I cut two papers 12"x9" and scored each in half at 6" (folded to form the inside cover flaps). I adhered the two papers together with a 2.5" wide strip of heavy fabric glued along the two 9" adjacent edges, leaving an approximately 1.5" space to form a spine. I took two more papers and scored and folded them in half at 6" and then at 9" to form pockets. I glued these inside the front and back covers.

For the inside pages, I used some Tim Holtz embossed kraft papers from an old paper pad that I have never used since they will be mostly covered and are sturdy. I cut them to 12"x9" and folded in half to create the pages. On each I used pieces of plastic cut from old page protectors for the pockets for the ephemera.  

I had quite a time adhering these to the pages. My liquid glues wouldn't hold the plastic - I tried several kinds. Some people had sewed theirs but I didn't want to go to that trouble. I ended up using Scor-tape and my ATG tape which is holding up ok. A few overstuffed pockets are starting to come apart so I may have to redo those but most are fine. I used either two or three pockets on each page for different sized ephemera. I sewed these into the spine with a three-hole pamphlet stitch.

This folder holds quite a lot and I'm really liking the portability and accessibility of it. So far so good!

Documented Life - Week 30

July Theme - Ephemera

July 25 - Week 30

Art Challenge - Real Life

Journal Prompt - At This Moment

This week was the last week of the July theme ephemera.  The challenges were "real life" and "at this moment."  On Monday at The Little Blue House we had the product release of all the new Illustrated Faith/Bella Blvd. products. Of course, I bought lots of these to use in my Bible journaling, so I thought it was appropriate to use some of the packaging as my ephemera this week. And, because I am currently enjoying creating in my Bible, I thought that theme would work for the journal prompt.

This is how my page spread started out. I cut off parts of the washi tape packages as well as the information that was printed on the back of the package for the "messy mat." I glued these to the left side and then filled in with some VERY old floral stickers. It was fun to use those up!

Then I applied a light coat of gesso and some pink and yellow Distress Paints. It was too pastel at that point, so I sprayed Picked Raspberry and Spiced Marmalade Distress Spray Stains in places. I did not want to totally cover the page.

I stenciled the leaves with white paint and painted the scallops on the right side for the days of the week.

I printed out one of the freebie Illustrated Faith printable and added some of the new washi tapes in several places. I outlined areas with a china marker, added my "title" and am calling it done. Not my favorite page but I stuck to the challenge and I'm ready for the next week!

Documented Life - Week 29!

July Theme - Ephemera

July 19 - Week 29

Art Challenge - Photographs and Memories

Journal Prompt - "All That I Have to Remember You" ~ Jim Croce

It seems that I have been using photographs and memories for the last few weeks' spreads, so I wasn't sure where to go with this week's prompt. In the end I was inspired by Rae Missigman's interpretation of the theme using a black and white photocopy of family members and then using ephemera, paints, stencils, mists, collaged painted paper circles for the background.

My father died in 1987 and I have always loved this photo of him. He was a painting contractor and carpenter and really knew his craft. We lived in a small ski resort town and he was well known for his impeccable skills. Many wealthy tourists built expensive vacation homes there and he was the contractor everyone demanded. Long before the days of Loews and Home Depot custom-mixing paint colors with a formula, he could do it by eye - tell him the color you wanted and he would mix it! I feel blessed that I inherited some of his color sense.

This is how the page started. I glued down ephemera - book text and strips of paint chips (a nod to his painting career) and some of Rae's painted paper circles I'd bought from her etsy shop.  Once that was all dry I started adding layer upon layer of paints, mists, stencils, stamps and doodles.  

It's a little hard to see, but I handwrote the title "remembering Dad" at the bottom of the right page. Around the photo I wrote adjectives that described the man he was (i.e. quiet, humble, loving, talented etc.). I also wrote his name at the top and along the left side his date of birth and death. He died just a few weeks after his 64th birthday - way too young - and I miss him every day. This is just a small tribute to this wonderful man in my life.

Documented Life Planner - Week 28

July Theme - Ephemera

July 11 - Week 28

Art Challenge - Focal Point vs Layers

Journal Prompt - Time keeps on Ticking

I had finished this week's spread early as I was scheduled to go on a retreat with an online group this weekend. The best laid plans... I came down with a sore throat, bad cough and pink eye! Instead of traveling to the retreat on Thursday, I was at the doctor's office!  And this has really set me back - I have felt like doing absolutely nothing except laying on the couch surfing the internet or napping all day! And today is the first time I've made it into my art room since Wednesday!

Anyway, here is the spread for this week. For the layers/ephemera part of the challenge, I collaged a torn book page, a Bingo card, assorted leftover letter paper tiles, an old coupon, a receipt and a reference chart for screw threads on the background. 

Then I applied heavy gesso with a palette knife to obscure the different pieces before using Ken Oliver's Color Burst pigment (violet) all over. (Sorry, I just got into the flow then and forgot to take some process photos!)

Color Burst is a very concentrated powdered pigment which activates with water and acts much like watercolor. The violet is a beautiful color with specks of blue and turquoise as well as violet. I manipulated this over the page and added more gesso until I was satisfied with the look. I challenged myself with this color choice as I am NOT a purple person! It is very hard to work with colors you don't favor.

The journal prompt of "time keeps on ticking" made me think of how time is flying by with our little grandchildren. It's been only three years since the first was born, but oh, so much has happened since then (three additional grand boys!) and they are growing up so fast. I decided to print out tiny photos of them at birth and then a photo of all four of them from last weekend when we were in Albuquerque celebrating #2's third birthday. I changed the photos to black and white because all the colors were not working with the background. 

The focal point is the title stamped with two different-sized alphabets surrounded with a chipboard clock die-cut. I painted the die-cut black and then added Glossy Accents to highlight it. I also used a few clock stamps and a "time" definition stamp on the background along with a few wooden clock pieces.

Before calling it finished, I had to change some of my documenting on the days of the week to reflect that I was not able to attend my retreat. I was very disappointed in that, but there is always next year!

Documented Life Planner - Week 27

July Theme - Ephemera

July 4 - Week 27

Art Challenge: Using Old Maps, Letters, Tickets and More

Journal Prompt: Life...with a History

This week started the second half of the year and the month of July will be devoted to ephemera.

I CASEd the journal page of Lorraine Bell, one of the Art to the 5th originators. She did a timeline of her life using ephemera and old Crafty Secrets images. I loved her page and, since I had been hoarding saving the very same Crafty Secrets images, I decided to create a page similar to hers.

First I collaged old handwriting pages, a few receipts, a scrap of textured wallpaper, and a few pieces of an old map to the background. That took care of the art challenge! I covered this with a thin layer of off-white paint and then a very little pink paint.

Then I arranged cut up images, copies of a few photos of my very young self, and bits and pieces to document my story. I used rectangles cut from old wallpaper for the planner section.  It was fun to reflect on what has happened in my life so far and feature some of the important events.