Gothic Glam Junk Journal
My Inspiration
As you all know by now, thrift store shopping is one of my FAVORITE things to do. Recently, I came across a ball gown (or perhaps a VERY fancy prom dress) and it captured my attention. It was captivating! Everything from the red and black color to the intricate detail of beading and rhinestones, this gown was GORGEOUS!! I just had to have it. The inspiration hit me right there – create a GOTHIC GLAM JUNK JOURNAL using the satin, tulle, beading and rhinestone trim! This gown would certainly be the star of this gothic glam junk journal! The kicker? It was $1.00!! Hard to believe right?
Here is a picture of the gown after I had cut up some of the bottom for my journal.
Exterior Cover Construction
I knew wanted to have a black journal cover, so looking through my thrifted books I found a hardback book in a dark black. Perfect! After removing the pages and spine, I cut a piece of the black beaded tulle area of the gown large enough to cover the front and back covers of the journal.
After positioning the tulle over the black book, it seemed a little too black. Therefore, I went to my fabric stash and cut up some gold applique fabric to use underneath the tulle. Just right! The gold appliques showed through the black exactly the way I wanted them to. I picked out a piece of fabric that was black and had red and gold roses on it, to continue with the Gothic Glam Junk Journal theme I envisioned: red/black/gold/roses. The plan was to use this fabric to cover the 2 1/2″ spine I constructed using heavy cardboard. The rose fabric was attached to the spine using Fabri-Tac. I glued the beaded black tulle over both the gold appliques and the rose covered spine, coming right to the edges of the book.
My cover was almost complete. It just needed a little extra. I chose a little black rose I made using petals from my artificial flower stash. The petals were covered with red glitter glue. I attached the flower to the upper right cover, with an antique earring secured in the center.
Interior Cover Construction
Completing the interior of the front and back cover was done by adding heavy duty red cardstock cut to size and glued to the book using a heavy duty adhesive: E6000.
I decided to make some border corners out of paint chips/scrapbook paper and fabric. This added dimension and interest! It was just what the blank areas needed.
interior of front cover with embellished journal tag 
interior of back cover with collaged tag
A tutorial on how I created these corners along with dangling ephemera is on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/uOgaZARWOZA
Tie closure construction
To create the journal closure, I deconstructed a fancy red thrift store tie and a skirt that had a large piece of black lace. I machine stitched these two together. The clasp on the closure is an old shoe clip that I sewed on to the tie/lace. The pin on the spine holds one of my dangling ephemera.
tie and lace closure 
shoe clip and red glitter black flower 
spine with vintage pin holding ephemera
Now onto gathering an assortment of papers. Choosing everything from scrapbook paper, music sheets, plain and lined writing paper, cardstock and book pages, I dipped some of the paper edges in red and black watercolor. I used glitter spray on certain pages. This gave them a goth/grunge look without overpowering the pages. I was ready to start assembling my journal.
masquerade mask tied to glitter sprayed cardstock 
gothic image copied onto glittered page and gown attached to page using blanket stitch 
watercolor dipped page 
stamped cardstock
After attaching the pages to my spine using a 3 hole pamphlet stitch, it was time to decorate and embellish my pages. I did not have a lot of images that had that goth look to them. I found the perfect set of digitals to use on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JournalCentric .
interior fold up pocket cover with lace 
writing booklet with raven 
paper bag pocket with journal card inside 
bellyband with ephemera 
lace covered cardstock with fold out pocket and long journal cards 
double corner pocket with vintage postcard and journal tag 
raven booklet with sequins and rose embellishment
I made everything from pockets, tuck spots, tags ephemera and booklets as you can see. I glued on my bling touches. The pearls, fabric roses, tulle, lace and rhinestones gave each page some sparkle.
double pockets with vintage ephemera/die cut trimmed with satin from gown 
stamped and stenciled page 
belly band adorned with rose and leaves holding vintage postcard 
gothic image and lace/crochet doily with dangling ephemera 
signature center with matching lace trim 
large collaged journal cards
I am so happy with how this turned out! The Gothic Glam Junk Journal turned out exactly how I hoped! The gothic look throughout while still having that pretty and glam feel!
It just goes to show you that you never know where the inspiration for your next junk journal will come from!
Happy Halloween and Glitter on,
Pamela
I am a self proclaimed junk journal fanatic and creative crafter. If it is vintage, I am in! I recently retired from the corporate world and now have more time to devote to my love of creating one of a kind treasures. Besides junk journals my hobbies include thrifting, flea market outings, fashion, cooking, hanging with my girlfriends and daughter and golf with my husband. I currently live in the mountains of beautiful Colorado.
