Maritime Sea Fever Album for 7 Gypsies

Hello, Friends!

I’m really excited to be sharing my Maritime Sea Fever album today on the Canvas Corp/7 Gypsies blog.  You all know how much I love the beach, so this album is near and dear to my heart.

Maritime "Sea Fever" Journal/Kathy by Design

Maritime “Sea Fever” Journal/Kathy by Design

 

Because we live fairly close to the beautiful North Carolina beaches, we visit as often as we can, to walk along the sand, soak up the sun, listen to the surf and let our spirits be refreshed and revived. We find all kinds of treasures along the way, and I thought it would be nice to create a little journal to write down memories and a poem about the sea. The cover is decorated with some of our favorite treasures: wood, shells, sand, bits of sea grass…all the things we love about the shore. I hope you’ll feel the serenity and freedom of the sea as you peruse the pages of this hand bound journal. Come walk with me beside the sea….

Here is what you will need to create your own Maritime Sea Fever album.

I started with a 14″ x 6″ piece of medium weight chipboard that came in some packaging I had. After scoring at 6″ and 7″, I creased the chipboard to form the book cover, then trimmed away any excess so that the front and back covers were even in size. Next, I cut a piece of canvas that was 1″ larger than the chipboard cover on all sides. I misted this with Crushed Shells Glimmer Mist and stitched it directly to the chipboard base using my “messy stitching” technique. I cut a 4″ square of ivory burlap, misted it with Crushed Shells Glimmer Mist, fringed the sides and adhered it to the front cover using Scor-Tape. I trimmed the corners of the canvas, covered the inside edges of my album with Scor-tape and then folded the canvas onto the inside of the cover.

Natural Nautical Journal_2

The white cardstock was embossed with Spellbinder’s “Shell Beauty” 3-D M-bossabilities folder. I inked the debossed side of the folder with the Distress Inks, one color at a time, then spritzed the paper with Crushed Shells Glimmer Mist to add that “fresh from the ocean” shine. I used the mini ephemera, rope trim, Maritime Charms, and found items to embellish the cover. The turtle charm from the Maritime Charms was painted with White High Impact Metallic Paint.

Natural Nautical Journal CCB 05

This rusty clip was created with the TA Rusty Bare Metals Paint System. It was originally bright green, so I just love the total transformation that occurred when I added layer after layer of mist.

Natural Nautical Journal_3

The inside cover liner was created with the 8×8 Maritime Paper Pad. I added Maritime Journal pages, journal cards, ephemera and stamped lots of beachy images using the Under the Sea Stamp set from 7 Gypsies. The page edges were inked, and the pages themselves were spritzed, painted or drawn on with Crushed Shells Glimmer Mist.

Natural Nautical Journal CCB 08a

I cut 6 sheets of kraft cardstock in half, scored them at 6″ on the long side then stitched them together up the middle to create the journal pages. These were glued into the spine, then tied with natural white twisted hemp rope. I hand wrote lines from John Masefield’s beautiful poem, “Sea Fever” throughout the book, leaving lots of room for photos and journaling.

Natural Nautical Journal CCB 09a

The small stamps and torn edges make this book feel like it just came out of an old sea chest.

Natural Nautical Journal CCB 10a

The white pigment ink stamped onto the natural kraft paper let’s the stamp designs stand out beautifully.
Natural Nautical Journal CCB 11a

Adding mini ephemera pieces to various pages gives just the right touch.Natural Nautical Journal CCB 12a

Natural Nautical Journal CCB 13a

Create a pocket using the 5″x7″ journal pages and slip in ephemera and the smaller journal pages in place.

Natural Nautical Journal CCB 14a

Adding touches of nature to your book like this found leaf.

Natural Nautical Journal CCB 15a

The B&W Maritime Tags are the perfect starting place to add color, distress or mist to make them match your project. The vintage nautical art pieces are transformed to match the neutral colors in the book.

Natural Nautical Journal CCB 16a

Creating a tattered, worn album like this is easy when you have such inspirational products to work with. I think I used just about every item in the Maritime collection from 7 Gypsies in putting this together. And I can’t wait to add our family memories to the pages.

Wishing you sand between your toes and a shell in your pocket!

Cheerio,

kathy

 

9 thoughts on “Maritime Sea Fever Album for 7 Gypsies

  1. ncguygirl

    O.M.G. – sooo gorgeous! You know I share your love of the beach and this journal is amazing!

  2. Robin

    Kathy, You’re right…going through the pages of your lovely journal was just like visiting the gentle ocean! Thanks for bringing a bit of calm and wonder of the sea to this Kansas Great Plains girl! Love all your details and found items. When you complete this album with all your family memories, it will be a family treasure. Beautiful!

  3. CarolS

    I love your cover, it’s wonderful and I love the simplicity and natural feel of those pages! Great embellishings as well!

  4. Judy B

    Gorgeous Kathy. Who doesn’t love all things beachy? Your project makes you feel serene and calm. Thanks so much for sharing.

  5. Dawn Skene

    What a beautiful album! Love the glimmer mist and all the embellishments and details.

Comments are closed.