I thought I would take just a bit and introduce you to my handmade journals. I sell them in stores, at Artisan Markets, and in my etsy shop. They make the perfect gift for graduation, wedding, Christmas, birthdays, or whatever other gift giving occasion you can think of… or just treat yourself!
I will start the introductions with my Lil’ Junker. At only $12.50 it is clear to see why this is my most popular journal. They have a print of my own artwork on the cover, cardboard on the back, and the inside is filled with all kinds of “found” papers. You may find any assortment of these inside: sheet music, map pages, book pages, magazine cutouts, vintage photos, junk mail, old calendars, postcards, office stationary…. and more. Whatever ends up in my junk paper heap is fair game! It is like a bound grab bag of fun papers that you can tear out and use in your collage and mixed media art, or leave in as an art journal, photo album, recipe file…. whatever you can imagine! Then it is bound with comb binding and embellished with a bit of sari remnant and beads. So fun! At 4 x 6 inches, it can easily tuck into a drawer or your bag for on the go creativity.
Next is the smash book. These are made from the covers of old Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, and filled with more found papers, including some of the original book pages. The spines have been painted over so that you can write in your own titles. The covers are embellished with all kinds of fun things; label holders, vintage slides, old hardware, and whatever other goodies we find in my stash. The pages are contained by double binder rings attached to the cover. These are great because you can shift the order of pages around whenever you want to. Or you can add more pages in by simply cutting to size and adding holes.
These are popular as glue books, recipe books, photo albums, or art journaling.
Here is a smash book that I used as a travel journal one year:
The Vintage Book Journals are also very popular. These are made from rescued books, sometimes literally pulled right out of a dumpster. It is sad to think how many books are discarded, but I do feel good about giving them a second life. I love looking for fun titles or beautifully illustrated covers.
The insides are also filled with found papers, but these have a little more space for just writing. They also contain some of the original book pages as well. If the written word is the primary use you have planned for a journal, then the vintage book journal is the one for you!
Last, but certainly not least are my hand stitch bound junk journals. These have pages made by taping found papers together to form lovely, inviting spreads, ready for you to express yourself in whatever way you choose.
I am currently all out of these in my etsy shop, but I am sure I will be making more!
So, there you have my standard line up of journals! Which is your favorite?
I also need to introduce the journal fairy, aka my daughter Betty, who has worked for me part time for some years now. She loves the time consuming process of making journals, and does an excellent job making sure everything is just so!
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