Saturday 29 July 2017

Journal Madness !

Hi everybody! I guess I'm like a number of people in the UK, no scotch that, the World, longing to get my hands on Eileen Hull's beautiful Heart Felt Journal Die. Well, I've done the next best thing and got my mitts on a few precious die cuts, courtesy of the very lovely and very talented, Anne Redfern. she makes the most awesome journals. You can see her work over on her blog, Redanne . She has a real beauty on there at the moment, which you can see with this link . The journal I've made, is covered with a piece of Kraftex. If you haven't come across this amazing material before, it's actually a type of 'rugged paper', which looks and feels like leather. It's extremely strong, and takes inks, paints and mediums very well. You can also stamp on it, stencil and sew it and that's exactly what I've done in the making of this journal. I absolutely love it ! I will do a more in depth post about Kraftex at a later date. For now, I'll just share a few pictures of my journal.
I've used some Graphic 45, paper for the inside cover as I just love the butterflies.
I've made a Kraft paper pocket at the beginning of each of my three signatures, courtesy of Anne. She has an excellent tutorial for making this as well as an expandable pocket, on her blog, which you can see with this link. I've also wrapped each signature with a piece of patterned paper, from Tim Holtz, Wall Flower, paper stack. I can't get enough of this gorgeous paper! The signatures are made of crisp, white, thick cartridge paper, so that I can use the journal as a nature sketch book. I decided to sew my signatures into the journal cover with linen thread. I just added a couple of extra holes either side of the central hole.
I also left a long piece of the thread on the middle signature, so that I could thread some glass beads on to it. These beads were salvaged from a necklace, I bought in a charity shop. The necklace was my original inspiration for the colours I've used.
Here is the linen thread on the inside. I adhered some little punched flowers to the ends of the thread. Not my idea, but I think it adds such a lovely finishing touch.
I made the belt closure, with a narrow strip of Kraftex, which has been painted and stitched close to the edges. The buckle was bought in a set from The Works,  4 buckles for £1. Excellent value for money I'd say! They come complete with a little brads to attach them.
I poked the brad through a single layer of the belt and folded it over and added a spot of glue.This conceals the 'butterfly' back of the brad.
To finish off, I stamped this sentiment onto a piece of plain Kraftex, and glued it to the back of one of Tim Holtz 'Ornate Plates' . I put a couple of brads in the holes and adhered it to the front of my journal. So there you have it! My first Eileen Hull, Heart Felt Journal. Maybe this is the first of many.....that's if I can get my crafty hands on that very elusive die! In the meantime, many thanks to Anne for the wonderful inspiration you have shared on your blog and across social media, and for taking the time to share these wonderful journal die cuts, which I believe are available in both yours and Eileen's, etsy shops.x

7 comments:

  1. What a classy journal. Love what you've done. So Thanks for a great tutorial too. R xxxxx

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  2. Wow Toni,I am not disappointed, just love everything about this...I've been deliberating about getting some Kraftex as I've seen it used a number of times but you've just made me push the order button!
    The colours look so cool and the leather wrap looks so realistic, I was wondering how you'd manged to find something so perfect for the journal!
    I'm hoping to have a dabble this weekend and make one..like you I've been very lucky in receiving a die cut to use...Anne is a star... Inspiring post! Hugs Ruth xxx

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  3. That's a stunning journal, Toni - what an incredible finish on the Kraftex - looks like an amazing material. I also really love the colour variations through the baroque stamping - glorious! Great finishing touches with the belt and buckle (again the Kraftex looks pretty irresistible!), and the fabulous bookplate charm with its snazzy red brads. Brilliant!
    Alison x

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  4. Oh wow Toni, your journal is absolutely FABULOUS, inside and out!!! It really does look like leather and the belt looks amazing, the colour and stitching make it look so realistic - wow!! I am wondering whether Kraftex is a bit like Paper Leather by Sizzix, I need to investigate.

    Thank you so much for the shout out and your wonderful support for this fantastic die. I understand that it will be available from Craft Obsessions on or around 20 August - fingers crossed! Hugs, Anne xxx

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  5. Toni this is absolutely stunning!!! That leather look Kraftex looks fantastic stencilled and stitched the way you've done it. The belt is the perfect closure with the ornate plate and I love your signatures. You are a journal genius too now! xx

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  6. This journal is just beautiful Toni! I am so sorry you have not been able to get the die yet, but I'm sure they will make their way over soon! I love the leather look and metal bookplate on the front- so classic and elegant! Thanks for sharing it!

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  7. this is so wonderful!! I love the colors and the belt closure is fab!

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