Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Clusters are FUN and EASY!

Cathy's Garden uses hot glue, small pieces of lace, flat-back and seed pearls, skinny ribbon bows, and safety pins to create the coolest vintage fancy-looking clusters!  A little over-the-top for me, but I think a few in my stash would look fabulous!  Video here.

The middle part of this video by Kelly from Root Pursuit are these square-on-square very flat clusters.  They make up fast, quick, easy....and there are numerous ideas you can use!  See the short video here.

Sunday, December 8, 2024

What is a Junk Journal and How Do You Make One?


One of my favorite - and super easy - videos is Shanouki Art's tutorial on using a granola bar box as the cover and lots of leftover scrapbook paper as the guts. No nonsense!   It's only 10:22 long, easy to follow.....let's do it!

joie de fi
 (Manchester, UK) has a video where she discusses different kins of journals - all the types that speak to me - including great food for though.  She, herself, prefers single signature junk journals that have 12 - 13 sheets of paper.  See that video here.

She also has a video showing exactly how she chooses, then puts together the pages to make a double signature junk journal.  It's really interesting to see her collection of books and to hear her thinking about all aspects of the creation of the journal.  That video's here.

Margarete Miller makes a very cool (and easy) journal from a package of alphabetical 4 x 6 index card dividers.  She puts it together *with masking tape!), creates an easy cover, and then decorates her first two double-page spreads.  This could be made from any consistently sized heavy duty cardstock or even a lightweight cardboard.  Will definitely give this a try.  She's making hers for Christmas.   Video here.   She's one of my favorites ... fast forwards through lots so you don't have to keep going faster yourself.

This isn't exactly a "Junk" journal....all the pages are the same size and it's binding is glued together, not sewn. It's called "Christmas Hard Cover Journal."  The pages are 8.5 x 11 kraft paper folded in half with a piece of patterned paper dividing the pages into thirds.   It's glued heavily on top, covered with muslin, then covered with a paper binding.  LeNae shows every step and how easy it seems to be. Easy-to-follow instructions are found here.

82. The Waiting by Michael Connelly

Ballard & Bosch #6
listened on Audible (purchased)
407 pgs.
2024
Adult Mystery
Finished 12/8/2024
Goodreads rating: 4.47
My rating: 5
Setting: LA and vicinity, contemporary

My comments: The Cold Case Unit in LA, headed by Renee Ballard - Connelly spent the 6th in the series about this LA police detective working on three major cases.  They're all intricate and edge-of-your-seat fascinating.  Renee and Harry have become very close friends, having similar thoughts, feeling, and reactions to many things.  What was wonderfully great for me sas that Maddie Bosch is part of this book! (Why is her relationship with her father so strained? and almost secretive?)  This was a really good one!

Goodreads synopsis:  LAPD Detective Renée Ballard tracks a terrifying serial rapist whose trail has gone cold, with the help of the newest volunteer to the Open-Unsolved Unit: Patrol Officer Maddie Bosch, Harry’s daughter.

Renée Ballard and the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit get a hot shot DNA connection between a recently arrested man and a serial rapist and murderer who went quiet twenty years ago. The arrested man is only twenty-three, so the genetic link must be familial. It is his father who was the Pillowcase Rapist, responsible for a five-year reign of terror in the city of angels. But when Ballard and her team move in on their suspect, they encounter a baffling web of secrets and legal hurdles.

Meanwhile, Ballard’s badge, gun, and ID are stolen—a theft she can’t report without giving her enemies in the department the ammunition they need to end her career as a detective. She works the burglary alone, but her solo mission leads her into greater danger than she anticipates. She has no choice but to go outside the department for help, and that leads her to the door of Harry Bosch.

Finally, Ballard takes on a new volunteer to the cold case unit. Bosch’s daughter Maddie wants to supplement her work as a patrol officer on the night beat by investigating cases with Ballard. But Renée soon learns that Maddie has an ulterior motive for getting access to the city’s library of lost souls.

Saturday, November 30, 2024

Page Ideas: Snazzing Up/Decorating Pages and Pockets

Kathleen Mower shows how she collages on plain pockets and snazzes up tucks and makes flips for just that little extra (and simple) "oomph".  Video is here.

Thursday, November 28, 2024

CARD HOLDER Junk Journals

 
Thrifty Day does a live tutorial every Tuesday, and there are lots of "hi's" to lots of people and sometimes she does go on and on.....BUT she's funny and always makes me happy, she's so upbeat.  You can also fast forward a bit.  This particular tutorial is about using a Christmas Golden book, two rings, and I think 8 pieces of double sided cardstock to create a Journal that'll hold an abundance of Christmas cards.  It's also a great way to hold birthday cards and other special greetings received from friends and family.  She's going to make a YouTube tutorial about it soon, which should be a lot shorter, but this works until that one comes out. Watch the live tutorial here.

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Dangles for Your Junk Journal


 Hectangnooga1
makes simple paper clip beads by wrapping construction paper around paper clips.  She uses dollar story glittery nail polish to finish them up!  That's them, above.  Find the tutorial (only 2:35 long!!!) here.

Crafted by Christy wraps paper around paper clips to make dangly beads.  She paints over them with a glossy finish and they look great!  Here's her video.

The Creative Cove hides a paper clip (with its end sticking out) with paper/cluster, then attaches a dangle to the protruding clip.  Clips onto the edge of any journal.  Video's here.

Sunday, November 24, 2024

Tags, Tags, Tags... Bookmarks..... Tuck-Ins.....and Journaling Cards!

Fun, fun, fun, different (and yet still easy!) tags from book pages folded into quarters, then sewn (or not), painted a bit with spray oxides, gessoed, painted, and stencilled...final touch a stamp with a bit of thread bunched up beneath the stamp.   Love, love, love them!  Thanks, Shanouki Art!
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Easy scrappy tags for your junk journals - these happen to be for Halloween, but can easily be done for anything!  Mass making ephemera, too!
Sweet Bee Designs Co   (2:20) shortie

She also makes journal cards from index cards and small strips of leftover paper....here. 
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Tiny Tags are Like Junk Journal Candy!
  The Paper Outpost, in her usual fun style, creates 3/4-inch by various length tags that are simple and fun and you can make a slew of them at a time!  Book pages, tiny toppers, stamps...you don't need much!  Here's the video.
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Cindy Burkhalter makes folding bookmarks that have lots of journaling space ... easy!  Fold any piece of paper - book page, map, children's book page....into fourths.  Glue one section (the back) together for a little more strenght, thenglue down writing paper on the remaining flips.  A ribbon on top, she dangles some beads from the bottom (unnecessary) and voila!  The video's here.
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Camelia Craft's Designs
(she's such a riot with a British accent) makes a bookmark/journaling card with a vellum belly band.  She uses Christmas paper to make it into a Christmas card!  Love it. (Note: My vellum paper was really too dark, and the first one should have been a little thinner.  Learning more and more with every creation... Find that video here.
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Cathy's Garden uses a double-side sheet (a rectangle a bit smaller than 12 x 12) to make a three-fold tuck-in with three pockets.  Cool!  Find it here.
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Pink Monarch Prints makes ticket strips by sewing (without thread) every few centimeters on a strip of paper, then stamping and adding simple (small) embellishments.  Must try these!
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Brenda Clark aka The Simple Crafter uses the middle part of a corragated box as the background for a tag....a really different look with a bit of substance.  Check it out here.
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Kathleen Mower takes a long piece of one-sided paper and turns it into a folding envelope-type things that is a great large journaling space with  a beautiful embellishment.  Perfect for lots of journaling, and really easy to make....just folds and a little distressing.  Check it out here.
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I've got to make these three Christmas tags by Root Pursuit.  Trees, square on square cluster, and hanging ornaments, quick and easy and very eye-catching. Video is not long.
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Cindy Burkhalter made REALLY quick "file folders" to journal inside by quickly embellishing the outside and adding a punched-out tab.  See "Easy File Folders for Journaling here.
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Saturday, November 23, 2024

Used Postage Stamps as Ephemera in Junk Journals


 Nina Ribena uses different methods to use and show off used postage stamps on ephemera.  Here's the video.  I particuarly like the way she's made a "masterboard" using same-sized stamps!

Recrafted by Carol has some really fun ideas to use when you have bunches of postage stamps, particularly if you have a lot of the same color.  This I must do!  (She glues them over hanging clothing labels!)

Friday, November 22, 2024

No-Sew Junk Journals


This is cool - megjournals uses the front and back cover of a decent-shape old book and "patchworks" the pages inside using leftover papers. It's an accordian-style book.  I like it!  Watch her YouTube here.

LeNae Creates makes a journal using all sorts of leftover 6 x 6 paper (and other sized, too).  She scores each paper/page at 1/2 inch, then glues this gusset to the next piece, making sure this gusset/bound edge is even.  At the end, she glues a piece of paper around this to make a decent binding.  She adds all the usual pockets/tuck spaces and creates a pretty cool junk journal!  This is a must try!  Check it out here.

Liz the Paper Project uses four leftover/unused greeting card envelopes to make a flip book/accordian-style junk journal.  The first half of the video is her showing the finished product, but the second half shows how to put it together.  YouTube video is here.

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Mass Making Ephemera for your Junk Journal

Black Swan Journals uses food packaging (with both white and kraft-colored) backing to make tags, belly bands, etc. to have them ready to go into any journal she may be working on.

Brenda Clark aka The Happy Crafter takes 10 playing cards at a time and gets them ready for more embellishments.  She uses torn paper, tissue paper, washi tape, and oxide paints.  See the YouTube video here.

Shanouki Art made these tags six at a time!  Fun, fun, fun, different (and yet still easy!) tags from book pages folded into quarters, then sewn (or not), painted a bit with spray oxides, gessoed, painted, and stencilled...final touch a stamp with a bit of thread bunched up beneath the stamp.   Love, love, love them!  Thanks, Shanouki Art!

Tiny Tags are Like Junk Journal Candy!  The Paper Outpost, in her usual fun style, creates 3/4-inch by various length tags that are simple and fun and you can make a slew of them at a time!  Book pages, tiny toppers, stamps...you don't need much!  Here's the video.

How to Mass Make Journal Tags in Minutes - No MeasuringEtcetorize paints one side and covers the other to quickly make a whole bunch of tags to have ready for further embellishment!  Here's the video.

I really love mass-making a bunch of clusters.  One of the first projects I tackled!  In her recent Christmas video, Lillian Guerrero makes quickie, ripped scrap paper clusters of three and then shows further embellishing depending on the theme.  Having a pile of these ready sure comes in handy!  See the video here.

Using Paper Napkins in Your Junk Journal

              

Liz the Paper Project
uses a glue stick to adhere napkins to book page envelopes and pockets.  She puts nothing on top to decoupage so you can feel the texture of the napkin.  Her YouTube video is here.

Creating Masterboards and What to Do with Them


Paper Outpost uses "ugly" scrapbook paper, covers it up with papers, then stencils and stamps on it to create a really cool masterboard/background!  Check it out here.

Tracie Fox Creative shows you how to create and 12 x 12 masterboard and then finishes the video with all sorts of simple ways to create tags of every shape and size.  Love it!  Here it is.


My Favorite Junk Journalers

49Dragonflies - Barbara from Vienna, Austria

Annette Green

Camelia Crafts Designs - funny older lady with a British accent, enjoy her creations

Cathy's Garden

Cindy A. Lewis - Inspiring You to Create
       She usually gets right down to business and her ideas are wonderful.  Lots of ideas on masterboards.

Hither and Yon
This is one of my favorites she thinks like I do and is not particularly "neat."  Lots and lotsand LOTS of page and ephemera ideas.  Her videos tend to go a little long, but all the talking is meaningful and she doesn't drone on and on about stupid stuff. 

Kathleen Mower : Be Again Books, Creative Junk Journals and Inspiration
     No excess talking.  GREAT ideas, usually easy.  Videos aren't incredibly lengthy.

LeNae Creates
She doesn't go razily long and doesn't seem to overtalk either.  She's a good one.

Lillian Guerrero
She rips and doesn't spend a lot of time inking edges.  Likes to give all sorts of additional ideas and her videos don't seem to drag on and on....

Liz the Paper Project
From Ontario, Canada, she has great ideas and although she talks continually all through her videos, she keeps working and showing you how it's done.  

Margarete Miller
Loves stamps, seems to be a collector.

The Paper Outpost
She talks fast (and a lot) and always has a mess on her desk. She cracks me up. She does stick her stupid, fluffy little dog into the screen at the end of each video and have it pretend-talk.  That's obnoxious. Part of her quirky personality.

Pink Monarch Prints
     I love that she preps all her papers ahead of time (cutting, ink around the edges) so that she just shows how she puts it together and you miss the tedium of all the tie-consuming stuff!  She makes most of her stuff from kits that she sells.

Root Pursuit

Septeria18 - young woman from Sydney, Australia
She uses the scoring board tool to great effectiveness

Shanouki Art
No Nonsense!  Not a lot of stupid chatter.  Fast, clear, EASY ... I love her videos!

Tracie Fox Creative

Vicky Papaioannou
A gal from Greece(?) with a very Greek-ish accent.  No nonsense, great, easy directions, doesn't seem to waste time!


Creating Pockets for Junk Journals

 Cindy  A. Lewis has three folded multi-pockets that are QUICK and work really well!

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Hither and Yon uses 6 x 6 and 6 x 8 double-sided papers to make a cool, easy double-pocket to either glue onto the page or clip on. They're also perfect for mailing fun stuff in a card.  Love this one
I made a lot:



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On TicTok The Vintage Journal makes a folding, pocketed "insert" that's fun to make and to put anywhere.  Find her video here.

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Septeria18 uses scrap papers to make simple pockets... The video's here.
Cut a 2 1/2 x 5 scrap and fold up 1 1/4 inches.  Glue the two sides.  Punch a half circle into the upper right side of the card.  Glue onto a 3 x 4 leaving the side open for a pocket.

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Root Pursuit makes four corner pockets at a time with this method using scraps of paper and an interesting technique of gluing before collaging, then simple cutting.  The video's here.

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Using Playing Cards in Junk Journals

Annette Green photocopies a playing card so that it's a bit bigger (and white on the other side) to create a decorated pocket that a regular size playing card can tuck into as a tag. She also shows how to create a frame with kings, queens, jacks..... Find that video here.  

Here's the video that shows gluing tiny bits of book pages to playing cards and turning them really vintage-y.  Fun, easy process!  Find it here#Treasure Books

Week 3 - Playing Card Tags | Summer Fun Ephemera Challenge - Let's make Ephemera Series
Sweet Bee Designs Co.  (22:10)

Brenda Clark aka The Happy Crafter takes 10 playing cards at a time and gets them ready for more embellishments.  She uses torn paper, tissue paper, washi tape, and oxide paints.  See the YouTube video here.