Vintage French Folio Junk Journal
My Inspiration Two French tapestries I purchased at my local thrift store were my what inspired me for this junk journal. These two beauties measured approx. 10″ x 10″ each. I knew I did not want to cut or fold them in half, so it took me a while to come up with a folio style junk journal. This way each image was able to be viewed in its entirety, showcasing their beauty. What is a folio? Basically, a folio is a journal that folds over from the left side then the right is folded back so that it partially overlaps the left. The base of this journal was an…
Around the Christmas Tree Junk Journal
My Inspiration As you all know, I absolutely love scouring flea markets and thrift stores. Whenever I go on a trip, I make it a point to look up thrift stores in the area I am visiting. On a trip last year with my girlfriends, they tagged along with me to a small thrift store in Glenwood Springs, CO. Once inside, I asked them to help me look for anything vintage in all areas of the store. My friend found a Christmas record album from the 1950’s. It was titled Around The Christmas Tree. I instantly knew I had to purchase it, even though at the time I had no…
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…
Vintage Handkerchief and Fabric Junk Journal
My inspiration My love of vintage handkerchiefs has led me to quite a collection. What to do? Create a vintage handkerchief and fabric junk journal of course! I cannot pass up a thrift store, flea market or consignment shop. Every one I visit, I make a point to scour the bins, racks and shelves for these treasures. Consistently, I am amazed at the intricacy of the stitching. The love that went into making these always makes me smile. It is so much fun to think about a bygone era where women had these at the ready. Either in their pocketbook or maybe up a sleeve! Looking at the rather large…
Junk Journal Inspiration From Thrift Store Finds
Thrift store and flea market shopping is one of my favorite things! When it comes to junk journals, the treasures you can find are AMAZING! For me, a thrift store outing on a 50% off sale day was the beginning of a great day! To get a first look at the inventory, I am usually in line before the store opens. The items I discover truly boggle my mind. For over 30 years I worked in the corporate world and most of my cutest outfits came entirely from thrift stores. I don’t have the need to wear corporate attire since I retired. Therefore, my focus has switched from hunting for…
Altered Children’s Book – The Classic Story of Heidi
I loved the classic story of Heidi as a girl. I was beyond excited when I found a version of this book at my local thrift store. The illustration on the cover was beautiful, it instantly caught my eye. Perfect for an altered children’s book. My inspiration As you can see the cover was gorgeous and the book was in good shape. I did not want to take away from the beauty of the cover by adding a lot of embellishments (which I tend to do). Journal Construction and Page Layout The are a total of about 240 pages in this book. I could not wrap my head around how…
Vintage Altered Children’s Book
Every time I hit a thrift store I head straight to the book section to look for vintage books to alter. I have found so many just by scanning thru all the sections. I look for a spine that is tattered and torn or a little frayed, something with wear and tear. My inspiration Today I was specifically looking for children’s books. Fortunately most thrift stores have a section for them (although I have found many in other areas too, so don’t overlook scanning thru them also). This book immediately caught my eye, the blue and yellow was very vivid. I pulled it out and looked at the copyright date:…
Loaded Vintage Christmas Fabric Junk Journal
My inspiration Every year I tell myself I am going to start on my Vintage Christmas Junk Journals and crafts in October. Time goes by so fast, the holidays are already here! I have been collecting everything to do with the holidays throughout the year, so I had enough to inspire this journal without purchasing anything. Great for me since my stash of junk journal supplies is ever growing. Cover construction I put the cover together first for this journal because I knew the fabric I wanted to use. Using fabric mod podge, I covered the outside of a coffee filter box (which was just the right size, 6″x 8″)…
Botanical Themed Vintage Fabric Junk Journal
My inspiration Often, I don’t have a specific idea in mind when I start a new junk journal. My inspiration comes from many sources. Whether it is Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook or YouTube, I always know I will be inspired by all the beautiful images/post/tutorials out there. Although in this particular case, the idea came to me after I found a remnant of vintage fabric at a thrift store. I absolutely fell in love with the colors and images on this fabric! With my new inspiration found, my thoughts and vision for this journal were forming. I chose to stick to the pink and blue color scheme along with green and…
Restored Vintage Scrapbook Album from the 1890’s
I love to go to flea markets and thrift stores. A few months ago I stumbled on the most beautiful scrapbook from the 1890’s. The patent on the back of the scrapbook is dated March 1876 as seen in the photo below. The images that were glued to the pages provided a glimpse into the past. There were hand written dates on many of the images. I could just imagine the young woman cutting and pasting her favorite things. I was beyond excited and knew I had to purchase it. Once I got it home, the question was, what do I do with this? I pondered this question for quite…
