Tag: Freebies

Good Morning, friends! It’s raining, dark, cloudy & warm rather like a tropical forest in NW Ohio. The gardens & flowers needed the rain, so I’m not complaining. Did you decide to take the junk journal journey? Have you downloaded the kits? I hope you checked out the videos I shared, they’re easy to follow & inspiring…at least they were for me. I’m gathering up lots of ‘junk’ for my journal & planning the next one, two, better make it three journals. After Flower Gathering I’m moving on to a reading journal & a travel journal. The journal journey is some kind of wonderful. In case you missed it, you can download the kits by clicking on the links below:

I’m working on the PDF Directions for creating junk journals along with a tutorial for adding text in Adobe Reader all while creating printables for Studio on the Corner Etsy shop. Wheewwww….everything takes time.

Speaking of SotC Etsy shop, there’s a fun, new listing, BOOM! Yep, that’s the title & if you’re planning a July 4th get-together & thinking this is the year for a vintage vibe you’ll want to check it out…

There are 6 flags all together, 2 have old-fashioned firecrackers on them. Each flag is about 8 inches wide & 10 inches long. Expect to see distressed bits & grungy parts all added to give an aged appearance. The images were drawn from an old Type Foundry book. Love the twinkler border!

The banner is listed, but more will be coming along this weekend. An invitation with an adding text via Adobe Reader (PDF) option. . .

along with party decor like napkin rings, food tents, water bottle labels, & candy wrappers will be available. Look for the Boom! invitation later today. Once everthing in the Boom! colletion is listed, it’s all about options, you can purchase just the banner or invitation or party decor or purchase all in one big party package. BOOM!

Oh my gosh! It’s finally ready to deliver to you…Kit No. 2 of the Flower Gathering Junk Journal. So sorry it’s taken so long, but as a freebie I work on it in between other projects, but it is totally worth the wait.

What’s in kit no. 2, you ask? It starts with 4 pages/papers plus 1. The extra paper is a solid-colored, aged paper that you can use in oh so many ways. You may want to print on both sides using a solid paper on one side. More on ideas, tips & directions later. Each paper has an image or pattern from an old source, the lace border began as muslin pattern from the early 1800s.

If you’re loving the idea of a junk journal but not sure just how to get started, I’ll be sharing a PDF that will have directions, resources, ideas, & tips to help you along the way. You’ll be able to download the PDF & have the manual at your fingertips whenever you want to work on your journal.

I want to remind you that the kits will be available for free for a short time. At some point in the future they will be removed from the blog & listed on Studio on the Corner Etsy shop. The SotC shop version will have more options such as PDF editable tags so you can add text, individual PNG files allowing the bits & pieces to be used in digital projects, plus extras not in the Freebie packages. Don’t worry though, this will not happen for a while.

Here are some new resources and ones I shared in the Kit 1 Post. Check these wonderful resources out to acquaint yourself with junk journaling & get you on your merry way.

I love these six step by step YouTube videos of Marianne Kensington, she is so comfortable & comes across like a good friend explaining how to create a junk journal. If you have a moment you might also want to check out her Facebook Page.

Whooaaa…that’s a long post! Hope you enjoy the Flower Gathering Kit 2 & keep in mind there’s a PDF with Directions, Tips, & Resources manual to help you on your junk journal journey that will soon be available for download. Have a wonderful weekend!

After a couple years of considering making a junk or art journal, it took the news of a baby on the way to inspire me to get busy & create one…Baby’s Record Book.

I started by jotting down ideas, what would I need, & making a plan.

but it was the doing that got my creative juices flowing.

I would add to that list scrapbook elements, gift cards, birth announcements, receipts, bills, pages from old baby books, & loads of created bits like pockets & papers. I am a fortunate soul when it comes to ephemera with a bit of a collection of my own, but I am blessed with family & friends who share, too. Three adorable baby books were loaned to me. The top baby book belonged to my grandson-on-the-way & my 14 year old grandson’s great-grandfather who was born in 1916. I had no idea baby books or record books as they were called existed then. I scanned pages & used at least one in each signature.

The satiny white with flowers is all about their great-aunt. The adorable image of the baby surrounded by flowers came from the baby that belongs to their grandpa.

I was brought to tears as I leafed carefully through each book, touching the tiny treasures that have resided between the pages for so many years, especially the one that belonged to great-grandpa. He left us way too soon before my son had a chance to know him. These three books inspired me beyond measure. Thank you J for loaning them to me.

This little pile of ephemera is all about children’s writing & adds a wonderful touch to the pages. All was discovered at a garage sale & some belonged to the great-grandmother & great, great aunt of my grandchildren.

So charming!

I used a book that I no longer wanted because it was the right size. Let me just say, crazy me did not get a video of the finished book or even the outside, but there are photos of the pages to share.

The was a library card pocket made from polka dot paper dipped in coffee & dried in the oven to give it a vintage look. All the papers I used were coffee dyed & oven dried. A mini baby book with great-grandpas baby info was tucked into the pocket along with an old baby announcement from the early 1900s. The info was erased so mom & dad can add their wee one’s info. BTW…when I say erased I’m talking about creating a copy of the original & photoshopping the writing out.

This is one of the pages from the oldest baby book, scanned & turned into a border that was printed onto a coffee-dyed paper.

Old family baby photos were scanned, printed & tucked into pockets & folds. The baby in the above photo is one of the great, great grandpas.

I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed making the junk journal. The hardest part for me was sewing the signatures to the cover.

One signature sewn in & 2 to go!

Once that was done it was just a few tweaks to finish it up. A sweet fabric glued to the cover gave the outside that vintage look, a front & back inside cover with a note to the baby was added. The book closure was satin fabric from my son’s wedding stitched into ribbon & lastly I added a purchased photo holder that looks like a pocket watch for a bit of a nostalgic finishing touch.

Creating the Baby Record Book junk journal brought me so much pleasure that I’ve decided to do another one just for me….& you, too! Lets make a simple junk journal. Starting next week I’ll share a “page” per week with anyone & everyone who wants to start a junk journal. All you have to do is download the junk journal kit that will have one 11-inch x 8.5-inch page which will actually turn out to be four pages all together. You’ll also receive bits & pieces like: papers, pockets, lifts, tags, labels, journal spots, envelopes etc. along with suggestions, resources, & a short tutorial or two.

Here’s a sneak preview:

It’s all about the beauty of flowers, butterflies, birds & old ephemera. These bits are works in progress, but give you an idea. You can expect a more vintage-inspired look.

You’ll want to start collecting ‘junk’ ephemera like envelopes, papers of all kinds, perhaps a favorite card you received that you’d like to keep, business cards with appealing graphics, a ticket from an event, a page from an old book, dictionary, magazine, or newspaper, even receipts & bills. Instead of tossing out junk mail, take a look at it perhaps there’s something you could use in your junk journal.

There are loads of things you can purchase to enhance your junk journal like beautiful metal corners to reinforce the cover, little doo-dads like charms & fasteners, & tools galore. I purchased 1 new tool: an inexpensive bone folder/paper creaser. It was well worth the $5 I spent. I also purchased a little photo case shaped like an old pocket watch. I wanted the little one’s photo to be added to the outside of the book. You can find all kinds of goodies at Michael’s, JoAnn Fabrics, & one of my favorites for grungy, old looking accessories at Tim Holtz’s site. BTW…Tim’s wares are also sold at JoAnn Fabrics & Michael’s. You’ll need lots of glue, so stock up!

There’s a wonderful resource/tutorial that I followed while making the baby book journal. If you’ve never made a junk journal check it out. The YouTube video in 6 parts, Junk Journal Made Using an Old Book by Marianne Kensington formerly known as A Pocketful of Vintage. You can find the first video at the following link: Junk Journal Tutorial 1 Listening & watching Marianne work is such a treat…love her Australian accent.

We’ll dive deeper into creating a junk journal next week when the first page & accessories are available for download. Until then check out some of the beautiful junk & art journals that people everywhere are creating, just google ‘junk journal’.

I hope you’ll join me on this journey, but even if creating a junk journal isn’t something you want to do you’re welcome to each week’s junk journal freebie.