Collaged Scrappy Tags

Hi everyone. I'm sure many of you have seen Nik the Booksmith's Franken-page video on YouTube. Gayle Agostinelli also has some great tutorials demoing how she uses the idea on pages and tags. The thing I really like about the technique (besides it being super fun) is that it allows me to use up paper scraps and come up with something cool at the same time. I had some sturdy kraft paper tags from who-knows-where. I liked both the size (2.25 x 3.5 inches) and the ticket shape so I cut a template for future use and decided to quit hoarding them :)

Because I liked the combination of designer papers and vintage book/music paper with the kraft background, I wanted to be sure to let some of the kraft show on the finished tag.

I kept a lot of the designer paper scraps rectangular or at least with straight edges in shape because I wanted to play with that geometric look. The exception was the music and book paper which were shaped with circular punches.

The embellishments ranged from small stamped tags with rub-ons added to cork heart stickers, coffee dyed paper flowers with button centers, and small tags with tiny lace flower accents.

On three tags, Idea-ology Big Chat stickers were used to add a little wording and a little more black to the design.

As part of making the design my own, black faux stitching and outlining were added around the various layers of paper as well as the outside edges of each tag. I love black details and how the outlining emphasizes the layers and shapes. I even added a little x or angled faux stitch on some of the edges of the sections. 

The tags were edged with Coffee Archival Ink to tie in with the inking done on each individual scrap. The tags were topped with either cotton woven ribbon tied with hemp or a length of crinkled seam binding tied in a simple know.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope I have given you another idea to add the texture/look of stitching without having to haul out your machine. Be sure to check out the videos linked above. They explain the Franken-page idea very well. It's a fun way to play with scraps.

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Joggles Art Journal Adventure ~ week 18 ~ the letter G

Hi everyone! This week, it's my turn again to choose the prompt for the 2018 Art Journal Adventure. For Week 18, I have chosen the theme, the letter G. I was inspired by the bits and bobs on my desk, including vintage book and music paper, from another project I was working on. I liked how they looked side by side and was inspired to create a grid background which ended up being twinchie size ( 2 x 2 inches).

I cut 3 twinchie backgrounds from French text, sheet music, and coffee dyed paper and then alternated the papers shifting them over one space with each row. Thin black washi tape with gold dots was used to divide the squares, camouflage any bad cuts, and emphasize the grid pattern. Then the fun began, as I auditioned elements for each of the squares, deciding upon colour scheme, placement, and textures. I made sure that I scattered a little bit of red in each row to create that visual triangle I love so much.

I added some Tim Holtz ephemera, some handmade elements, buttons, bits of metal, wording, and a darn good poker hand of miniature cards to fill the grid with things that make me smile. I also made sure that I added enough string details for a second visual triangle and a little extra texture as well as repetition, all of which helps the design flow and work as a cohesive whole.

This was such a fun page to complete. I love playing with tiny little pieces of art and for this page, I had 9 to fiddle with. Thanks for joining me here today. I hope you will visit the Joggles Art Journal Adventure Facebook group to see the wonderful responses our members are making to the weekly prompts. I'm excited to see where the Letter G takes everyone.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Sweet little junk journal library pockets

Hi everyone! I've been playing with creating junk journal embellishments again to use up my stash and decided to feature some small images cut from old Graphic 45 papers. I have bits and pieces and pages with smaller elements left over from long ago projects created with these papers and I decided to look at them with a junk journaller's eye. They are wonderful for small clusters and collages.

I re-sized a Mirkwood Designs template for the library pocket itself until the width of the pocket once folded was 2 7/8 inches. Then I traced it onto kraft cardstock and fussy cut the pockets. They were then scored along the folds, the thumb semi-circle was punched, and they were glued to close the flaps.

Each pocket was inked with Coffee Archival Ink around all sides. I chose to add faux stitching with a black pen around all the outside edges , both because I like the look and because I enjoy doing it :) Real stitching, or a simple doodled border...or nothing for that matter...would also work.

A torn scrap of vintage book paper was inked around the edges with Coffee Archival Ink and then adhered across the tag to begin the background layering. One of the Graphic 45 images was chosen for each pocket and then other scraps of designer paper or cardstock which had been embossed as well as small Tim Holtz ephemera pieces were auditioned to add detail and layering.

Bits of cheesecloth, small charms, and small buttons were included for added dimension and texture.

Wording from TH Big Chat and Chit Chat Stickers plus other ephemera packs was inked around with Black Big Brush Pen and added to each pocket.

Because I am a fan of black details and outlining, I used a black pen to outline each of the layers of paper on the pockets. I like the contrast with the kraft background and how it frames each element and unites the design. It also ties in with the black faux stitching.

I think these would be so cute glued onto the inside cover or one of the pages in a junk journal. If I was to leave them as floating pockets, I would definitely edge the backs with Coffee Archival Ink and also would faux stitch the backs so they looks more finished.

For the inside library tag, I resized a free image of a library card to just under 2.5 inches wide and printed it onto cream coloured paper. I cut the card front out and adhered it to plain designer cardstock which looked coffee or tea stained. The card was then trimmed again to the library card size and inked around the edges on the back with Coffee Archival Ink to become a future journalling spot.

Thanks for visiting today. I definitely see more of these library pockets in my future...they are so fun to play with that I can't just stop at one batch...LOL.

Joggles Art Journal Adventure - Week 16 - the # 6

Hi everyone! We've been bearing the brunt of some very un-spring-like weather in my neck of the woods these past few days so I was delighted to have the next week's Joggles Art Journal Adventure prompt to keep me inside and occupied yesterday. The prompt for Week 16 is the number 6. For some reason, this prompt stumped me for quite a while. It's funny how sometimes the simplest theme will do that. Anyway, I decided to create a cat pyramid featuring 6 examples of Carabelle Studio Simple Elegance art stamp.

The 6 x 6 inch background was created by spritzing Sassy Sapphire, Tibetan Poppy Teal, and Delphinium Turquoise Lindy's Starburst Sprays onto my craft sheet. I then mopped up the inks with my background layer until I had the coverage that I wanted and let it dry. Forget Me Not Archival Ink was applied to Joggles Nonsense Latin Text stamp and rolled onto the background in several places to add texture and interest. Black gesso was slightly watered down and added in the form of rings using the lid of a bottle.

The elegant cat was stamped onto white cardstock 6 times using Jet Black Archival Ink. These guys were then coloured with Prismacolor and Polychromos pencil, keeping all but one normal cat colours. The exception is the pink one with the bright glasses and the Tropical Tangerine Stickles on his bowtie as well as Icicle Stickles on his fur. I wanted him to feel free to express his individuality and take the advice of the quote to heart. All of the cats were fussy cut and then tacked together with glue where they overlapped to form the pyramid. Foam tape was used to pop them up and Glossy Accents was added to their glasses both for the dimension and shine. Below, you can see both the Stickles and the Glossy Accents a bit better.

Before the cat stack was added to the background, I wanted to add washi tape to look like they were sitting on tiers or shelves. I liked the accent of the black and white washi, which I adhered to strips of white cardstock so the background colours didn't show through the transparent crosses. It also grounds them so they aren't magically floating...they aren't that kind of cats :)

The wording was computer generated, printed onto white cardstock, and cut into individual words. These were then matted with black cardstock, and popped up with foam tape. To emphasize the two words, blue gel pen was used to fill in the open letters. Black splotches were added with Jet Black Archival Ink and a Paper Artsy stamp. A black pen was used to doodle a simple border around the outside edges. To finish off the page, Forget Me Not Archival Ink and Black Big Brush Pen were used on the four edges and Pthalo Green Pan Pastel was applied around the cats to help them stand out against the busy background.

Thanks for joining my feline friends and me today. We are all grateful for that. I hope you will join in the fun at the Joggles Art Journal Adventure Facebook group. It's an awesome place to hang out, make new friends and get inspired. I'm always excited to see what people create :)

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Fishtail Flag Tuck Spots

Hi everyone! A while ago I made those cute fishtail flag paperclips which everyone has seen by now. I love the fishtail shape and have seen these cute layered and overlapping junk journal tuck spots on Junk Journal Junkies, YouTube, and Pinterest although I can't give you any specific links. Anyway, I decided to try my hand at making some using designer papers as the base and then embellishing the heck out of them...'cuz that's what I do :) These will attach to the top of a page by either gluing or sewing the top of the flags to the page in the journal. That leaves the bottom free meaning I can tuck things under it and they will stay put.

I cut the flags using MFT Fishtail Flag Stax dies on pairs of coordinating papers. The flags were all cut at around 3.25 inches in length but the width varied depending upon which die I used. The edges of both flags were then inked with Coffee Archival Ink and one was adhered to the other one along the edge where they overlapped.

Bits of lace, scraps of vintage book paper, and elements from several TH ephemera packs were used to create the focal clusters bridging the two flags.

Buttons, tiny crocheted doilies, die cut tickets, and punched stars, hearts, and butterflies found their way onto these tuck spots. Even a rusty safety pin was used as a butterfly body.

Coffee dyed mulberry flowers, long neglected brads, and part of a paper doily helped the layers become interesting and add dimension.

Tim Holtz Chit Chat and Big Chat stickers also came into play to add a single word on some of the clusters. These were a lot of fun to play with and a great way to use up scraps and left overs. You certainly wouldn't need to use the dies. A simple template could be cut from cardstock to give you the fishtail shape and keep them uniform if that's a look you like.

Thanks for stopping by today. I'm so glad you did. I hope that if you make some of these tuck spots, that you'll tag me so I can see what you have done. I can never get too much inspiration :)

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Tiny pockets stuffed with Tiny Tags :)

Hi everyone! Because my hands don't like to be idle, I've kept them busy lately making some tiny and tinier pockets out of vintage music or book text paper and then stuffing them with tiny and tinier tags. These will go in future junk journals but would also be super cute on art journal pages or cards. The smaller of the two pockets is only a 1 1/8 inch square and the larger of the two styles is 1 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches. Again, I was inspired by Jen Miller's Junk Journals and her fabulous videos. I didn't have a punch to make these so I drew and tested a few samples and then constructed cardstock templates from the two I liked best.

All of the pockets are made from two layers of paper glued together for added strength. The edges of the pockets and inserts were inked with Coffee Archival Ink and stencilling was added to several with the same ink. Little scraps of stickers, vintage papers, and the smallest elements from Idea-ology ephemera packs were layered on the fronts of the pockets.

Scraps of lace and punched paper borders, as well as punched and stamped layered butterflies, die cut arrows, and tiny buttons also were included in the mix. 

Cheesecloth and tiny crocheted doilies, ranging from .5 to just under 1 inch in diameter, also layered up to make embellishment clusters. All those tiny left overs finally found a home and a purpose. Have you noticed that all of my buttons have thread through them? I have a thing about naked buttons...no idea why...just one of my many quirks :)

I tried to make each one different, including what I used for inserts. Some have little decorated tags, others have ephemera from the TH packs, including tiny photos, letters, and ledger pages.

I had a great time puttering and creating these tiny pieces of art...so much so that I decided to make the smaller ones, too.

Given the small size of these, they had less real estate to decorate but I didn't let that slow me down at all. I just used tinier scraps and punched pieces and shorter Chit Chat words. The tiny white button ain the flower center is a brad with the legs cut off. I had to get a little creative...and the holes don't go right through the button brad so it IS naked...EEK!

You can see on the pocket with the hearts that I found a place for a little scrap of tulle. The punched tag shows an example of the type of embellies I used although this one is less decorated than some. I only made five of these babies.

Thanks for popping by today and special thanks to Jen Miller for the inspiration for these sweet little pockets and tags. They were pure play to create and I know there will be more in my future...they are addictive.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

A variety of JJ Tags

Hi everyone! This week, I've kept my little fingers busy creating random tags of various sizes for junk journals. I had a piece of cardstock from the 12 x 12 Recollections Vintage Country Paper Pad which I wanted to use as a background. It was a series of different papers all combined on the same sheet in stripes and made it look like I did a whole lot of collaging of paper scraps. Shh! Don't tell :) I used it for all but the tag below which was created with a scrap of burlap paper cut into a 1 3/8 x 2 3/8 inch tag shape. Both the tag above and the one below feature fussy cut digital butterflies, one with a rusty pin body and the other with a black button head. The one above has Tim Holtz Remnant Rub stars as a border and the one below is layered with French book text paper and cheesecloth.

Still following the butterfly theme, the tag below is layered with a scrap of edge punched mixed media paper and a scrap of book text both edged with Coffee Archival ink. This butterfly was matted with black cardstock, topped with a threaded button, and popped up with foam tape. Before adhering it to the tag, a piece of cotton lace was glued to the bottom edge of the tag. A TH mini paper clip, a kraft paper reinforcement, and a cheesecloth topper were added to finish the tag.

The final butterfly tag of the bunch features a rusty safety pin body, a Chit Chat sticker matted with torn black cardstock, and a rick rack topper. Cream coloured embroidery floss was used to stitch about 3/4 of the way down the tag just to add texture. This tag as well as the next 4 were cut from the same paper using a Marvy Uchida tag punch. All were edged with Coffee Archival Ink.

On this one a scrap of TH Glassine paper was adhered across the bottom and a book paper scrap layered over that. A piece of woven cotton ribbon was used to separate the top section from the bottom of the tag, and a tiny beige threaded button was adhered to the right side of that. The digital and fussy cut heart is edged with Coffee Archival Ink and popped up on foam tape for dimension. A cheesecloth topper and a Chit Chat sticker matted in black finish the tag.

Lace adhered across the bottom edge and stitching about 3/4 of the way down the tag are details repeated from previous tags. The black flower or asterisk is a chipboard piece and has been accented with a black faceted gem. The topper for this one is looped and knotted twine.

The final two tags from this set feature one of my folded, inked and sewn music paper "ruffles" adhered to the bottom edge. The one above has a cork leafy vine included in an ephemera pack. On top of that, I added some layered punched flowers with enamel dot centers. Before layering the flowers, the punched shapes were cupped by running a stylus around the center area of each. A Chit Chat Sticker outlined with black pen was added to the top left corner.

The final tag of this group was layered with coffee dyed cheesecloth and then a stuffed dog from another ephemera pack. A tiny black jewel was added for his eye. The topper is a length of tan dotty ribbon with an open heart button adhered where it meets the tag.

Thanks for stopping by today to see these 8 little tags. I hope you got an idea or two and are feeling inspired to create your own. Be sure to tag me on FB so I can see what you make. I'm always looking for new ideas :)

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie