Journal Tutorial #2 &3 ~ Journal Cover and Journal Pages

Journal Tutorial #2 ~ Journal Cover
OK you say... I have a journal ... now what do I do?


Make your journal yours.
Give it a name.
My journal, is of course, called "Change", my word for 2008.
But your Journal name can be whatever inspires you. A nickname, a flower, a virtue you aspire to, a friend. an enemy, a place, or whatever ignites your passion!

Then, do art on your front and back covers.
Create ... embellish ... make your cover say "This is Me!"

Pick a color, any color you LOVE and apply it to your journal cover via pen, paint, paper collage or anything that strikes your fancy. Then embellish, embellish, embellish.
I did my covers with Modern Masters Metal Effects - Reactive Metallic Paints in the Rusted Iron Finish. It is a 4 step process using: acid blocking primer, iron metal paint, rust activator and finally sealing with Matte clear spay sealer. Then embellished with paper, and other goodies.
The cover might not be finished yet because I will probably add more as the year and I, progress and change.

Journal Tutorial #3 ~ Journal pages
You can use any kind of paper for your journal pages.
If you use the pages provided in the original photo album gesso the pages.
Note: Use undiluted gesso (NO WATER). water added to gesso will make sheets wave and ripple.

Once Journal is assembled you can work on individual journal pages as you desire.

Wherever you find inspiration, seize it!

"Lesser artists borrow, great artists steal." ~ Igor Stravinsky

Most of all remember ... JUST DO IT!

Journal tutorial ~ #1 Make your own Journal

To Journal or not to Journal? That seems to be the question of the day.
Followed next by, "How do I journal?"
Then, "What do I journal?"
Stop the questions and...."JUST DO IT" (another non-"original idea")

I have always half-heatedly started a journal....but mine were a diary, which I soon abandoned for fear I would perish and "someone would read my personal thoughts". Well not this time.
I committed to a Yahoo group journal swap. While technically we are not actually swapping our journals. Members may choose to swap pages with a partner or not. All members must post pictures of their page from the theme of the month.

Over this past year I have discovered that journaling can be whatever you want it.
A journal can take many forms but it is primarily a vehicle to express your feelings at that moment.
A diary format does not do it for me, so I am going to do art journal pages instead. While I could easily make a journal book, I decided it would be quicker to find a pre-made book. I found a photo album. It is bound together with ribbon and more pages can be added.
Best of all I found it at Target in the $1 bargain bin!!!
The cover is pretty but not me, so I proceeded to do an Ultimate Makeover on my new journal!

Well here goes... here it is my first tutorial...
(My artzy crafty artist friends who know how to do this can skip this lesson and my friends who think they are not artists..take notes.)

Journal Assignment #1 ~ Alter or make your journal!
First, take photo album apart or make your own.
Cut mat board to the desired size. My journal is 7 5/8 x 6 1/4. Score in from edge at 1" and fold. Punch two holes centered (1 1/2" from edge and 3 1/4" apart).

Gesso the front and back covers (in and out) or cover with paper.

For the pages. You can use what they provided or cut more pages.
The pages in my journal are 8 1/4" x 5 5/8". An 81/2 x 11 sheet of paper cut in half will give you 2 (8 1/2 x 5 1/2), which fit nicely between the covers..
I decided to replace the pages with watercolor paper. Using an original page as a template, I cut a desired # of pages to 8 1/4" x 5 5/8".

Fold in 3/4" from the edge, glue down, then fold in 1" again. Fold the 1" fold back flat.
Punch 2 holes thu the 3/4" folded edge, using original page as template.
Now repeat for additional pages, note you can always add more later.

To bind your Journal, choose a pretty ribbon, cording yarn or any kind of tie your heart desires. 20" works for 8-12 pages but if you want more pages you will need longer ribbon.
The beauty of this type of Journal is that each day, it is up to you if you want to work in a bound journal, a single loose page or simply work on another sheet and glue it in the Journal.

Voila! You have the backbones for your Journal!

"Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction."
~ Pablo Picasso

Tomorrow's post ... Journal assignment #2 ~ Journal Cover

Banner Picture

Rosslyn Chapel, Scotland.

Composite spread of pictures by me.

Since I have had several inquiries and comments about my banner, here it is so you can click on it, enlarge and enjoy it close up!!!

A disclaimer and reference

Again there are no original ideas.....just serendipitous thought, subliminal messages or coincidence.

This is a disclaimer...
Someone told me today my word for the year, CHANGE, is a campaign slogan. I did not mean that at all. My blog is NOT a political forum and in no way implies any endorsement for any candidate.
The only thing I will say is to VOTE for the candidate of your choice, when you get a chance!

On another note...
My blog banner is a composite spread of pictures from Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. I knew about this chapel before all the Da Vinci Code hype and was intrigued by it. I was fortunate to have been able to visit and have been totally facinated.
Some real deja vous moments.

There are no original ideas

Who Said That?

“There are no original ideas. There are only original people.”
Eleanor Roosevelt ~ Barbara Grizzuti Harrison ~ Zora Neale Hurston

Hummm ... seems ... There are no original ideas!

What is your word for this year...

Everyday I am reminded, “There are no original ideas!”
Just when I think, I’ve come up with something innovative or novel, I find someone else or even ME, in my past musings, has thought of that before.

Every morning, I visit one of my favorite blogs, Tracey’s A Cottage Industry. She is so positive and INSPIRATIONAL. Her links to “Oh, so many wonderful Blogs!” led me to Rebecca’s Out of Hand. I had not read her blog since Christmas. Rebecca has chosen as her word for this year, “Purpose”. Rebecca got the idea from Ali Edwards' in her December 31 post about her 'one little word' project. Ali encourages you to adopt one word that will be our focus for the coming year. Ali has chosen “Vitality”.

So, just as Rebecca and Ali, I encourage you to choose a word for this year. A word that will make, you, a better you.

Spend the day thinking about it.

Take a good look at yourself.

What do you need to bring into your life?

What to you need to get rid of in your life?

First, because an issue, a problem, what is wrong or bothering you, is easier to fathom, sometimes it is easier to “get rid of first”. Kinda like cleaning out all the junk in our studios before we can organize and create.

Then seek what you want or need to bring into your life to be more fully “you”.

Finally, how could you do this?

This is perhaps the most difficult thing to determine... but this will provide you with your word.

I looked at my life.

2007 was my year to “create one thing each day”. I did.

2007 was a year of tremendous highs and deep lows.

The highs were fabulous and I would not change them for bzillions$$$.

The lows and many losses were the things I did not like about 2007. These were things I could not change. Life, growing up, growing old, others, other’s lives, death, the world, and how things changed.

I cannot change the past and what has a happened but I can make changes today, the present, that will impact my future.

So in looking at 2008 for my word, I found ...

I need to get rid of ... all the accumulated junk, of 2007, and before. I need to “clean house” of the emotional baggage, physical weight, art supplies, collectible stuff, and just plain crapola junque in my life and in my home.

I need to bring into my life... organization, focus, new direction and MORE ART!!!!

I alone can only bring this about by ... CHANGE.

I can change myself.

I can change my perception

I can change how I see something.

I can change my point of view.

I can change my opinion.

I can change my mind.

I can change my mess and chaos.

So to initiate my change, I am spending January “getting rid of" and "cleaning out" one thing (hopefully more) each day.

Cha-cha-cha-CHANGE!

So .... What is your word for this year?

CHANGE in this New Year...

We are already 17 days into the New Year.
The theme for this year is .... CHANGE

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. ~Victor Frankl

If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it. ~Mary Engelbreit

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round heads in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." ~ Jack Kerouac from his book, On the Road

"If you can't change the people around you, change the people around you. ~ Unknown

What is your favorite "Change" quote?