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…
Victorian Steampunk Junk Journal
Victorian Steampunk. What is that? The makings for a junk journal of course. I was instantly drawn to these fascinating images. Seeing them on Pinterest, in movies and books, and as Halloween costumes, I knew this was for me. The combination of Victorian era fashion, the grunge look, machinery powered by steam, this subculture is truly captivating. My inspiration It all goes back to my love of Victorian fashion. I could look at these images all day long, imaging a time long ago and how elegant and beautiful these fashions were. I found a magazine at a used book sale called The Century Magazine, dated August 1904. The whole thing…
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:…
Shimmering Christmas Holiday Junk Journal
My inspiration The idea for this shimmering Christmas holiday junk journal started when my sister in law and I were out shopping. She mentioned how much she loved the Christmas trees that were not decorated in traditional red, green and gold. Her favorite was decorated in blue, pink, and silver. The wheels started churning in my head…. a Christmas journal in these colors for her as a present! I took a picture of the tree she pointed out and the idea was all set. Page construction Since I save all my previous years Christmas cards, I had quite a few to choose from. I pulled out any that had these…
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…
Vintage Scrapbook Album- Memories of my Mother
The idea of a scrapbook album showcasing vintage photos of my mom had been on my mind for a long time. After my mom passed away, I found dozens of photos and newspaper clippings of her. They were saved in a cedar chest in her basement. I knew I wanted to create something I could look at often. However, I didn’t want to go sort through old photographs packed away in boxes every time I thought of my Mom. The Graphic 45 Vintage Hollywood paper collection was the perfect choice to feature all the beautiful photos I had. The cover was constructed simply by taking a piece of paper from…
Altered Cigar Box with Graphic 45 Vintage Hollywood papers
Immediately when I saw the Graphic 45 Vintage Hollywood paper pack I was blown away. The images reflect one of my favorite time periods. There were so many projects floating around in my head for what to create with this beautiful paper collection. I settled on a altering a cigar box. This particular box was smaller than the standard cigar box you usually see and somewhat deeper. It also has a lid that secures which I like. I chose the movie star to be the focal point, she was just the right size for the top of my cigar box. I cut out the image and decoupaged it to make…
Paper and Lace Dress on Mixed Media Canvas
Today I wanted to create something a little different. Paper dolls were always a favorite for me as a little girl. After seeing all the paper craft posts on Pinterest, specifically the images by Brenda Henning, I decided to give it a shot. The bottom half of the dress was created by folding craft papers accordion style like a fan. Some of the pages had frayed edges, some scalloped, some torn, some distressed. I kept gathering and clipping together the folded pages at the top to create the small “waist” of my dress, fanning out the edges to create the dress shape. Once satisfied with the shape, I stapled the…
