I can’t resist the beautiful shapes and colors of mother nature’s foliage, especially early summer. In the Midwest, periodic rains keep everything growing and fresh. While working in the garden or on a walk, I love picking a few of the prettiest ones and pressing them to use in my crafty projects. My “high-tech” way to press leaves is in old phone books I’ve kept for this purpose. If you happen to still have one, they are great to use because the paper is light and absorbent, and of course phone books are big and heavy…
Hi fellow paper crafters! Here are two more examples of easy personalized journals. This time I used inexpensive composition books and added embellishments to make a travel journal and a garden journal. You can find small and standard size books at any store – even the dollar store! I like using handmade paper and vintage embellishments, including dimensional items, to make them special. For gluing, I use large glue sticks. Just make sure to spread the glue past the edge of the embellishment, and use scrap paper underneath to protect the surface. The glue makes a strong bond on the…
If you’re like me, you have a stash of scrapbooking and crafty materials collected from various shopping trips to craft stores and flea markets. This journal is an example of how I like to cover existing hardback paper journals using some of these embellishments. You can find hardback journals that look like a book as this one, or are spiral bound. Either type work great, as long as the cover is thick enough that it doesn’t bend. I also look at the inner pages to check the quality, and I like ones with thicker paper that may have…
Another way to be crafty is through photography. I’m no expert, but always have my phone at the ready to capture the beauty around me. I seem to gravitate to things in nature and food (which I suppose is of nature too!) It must be the amazing color combinations and irregular shapes that catch my eye. I think it’s fascinating what Mother Nature can create. Through the years I’ve taken several close up photos of butterflies, and the ones I manage to get in focus can be used for crafty projects. I have printed a few…