Stamperia Sea Land Travelers Notebook with Eileen Hull Journal Die

Hello, Friends!  August was birthday month in the Clement household, and I stayed very busy in the studio creating cards and gifts for my loved ones.  This Stamperia Sea Land Travelers Notebook made with Eileen Hull’s Journal Die was my gift to our dear daughter Liz.  Her job requires her to travel and she loves the beach, so I thought this would be a practical gift for her.

Stamperia Sea Land Travelers Notebook: The Earth is Flat

Well, maybe not the earth….but the cover of this journal  is very flat compared to what usually

comes out of my studio. Because I designed this for Liz to tuck into her carry on bag, I kept the embellishments to a minimum.  But that does not mean boring, or one layer.  I found lots of ways to add texture and visual interest to the composition of this “flat” journal.

I’ve made loads of these travelers notebooks (see some HERE and HERE) now, and each time I create one, it seems I learn something new.  This time, I used torn and layered papers to create a collage cover.  Since I was working with only a partial pad of Stamperia Sea Land (see other Sea Land projects HERE) I had to really stretch  my papers.  Here are some helpful tips in case you every have to do the same:

• Group your paper scraps by color families.  This will make for a more uniform appearance when it comes time to layer.
• Fussy cut large elements (compass and postcard) and layer in to cover gaps.
• Use small elements (like the sentiments) as embellishments layers
• Torn edges look amazing when inked and layered in.
• Ink edges.  I used Gathered Twigs Distress Ink on all my torn and fussy cut layers.  It’s  amazing how this simple technique creates a feeling of depth on a project!

Stamperia Sea Land Travelers Notebook: Mixed Media Touches

Use a stencil and Crackle Texture Paste to add some ocean “bubbles” and “seaweed) to your cover.  This is a Stamperia Music Stencil but it worked great for this beachy project!

I have an ancient Cuttlebug strip die that I used to cut out the seahorse, sand dollar and starfish from grunge paper…also ancient!  Run these through an embossing folder to create a little texture, then heat emboss with Seth Apter Baked Textures for amazing results.  (Products linked below).  While these elements are not technically flat, they are very thin.  Since they are securely adhered to the surface of the journal, they should hold up just fine during travel.

Stamperia Sea Land Travelers Notebook:  The Spine

You can get a really good look at the the torn paper layers on the back of the journal in this shot.  And you can also see the canvas spine that I created.  The canvas really makes the finished journal feel authentically beachy!  Here’s how I did it

• First, cut a 3″ x 24″ piece of natural canvas.
• Next, stitch along the edges with a contrasting, but complementary thread.  I used my sewing machine, but you could hand stitch if you desired to do so.
• Now, wrap the strip around the journal spine to figure out the placement.  I opted to have the solid piece inside the spine, and the overlapped piece on the outside of the spine.
• When you are happy with the placement, mark the inside edge of the canvas with a pencil, so you can remember where the top and bottom should lie.  Then adhere Scor-Tape or Red Line tape from edge to edge all along the back side of the canvas piece.
• Line up your pencil marks with the top and bottom of the spine.
• Remove the liner and burnish the inside of the spine to secure it to the cover.
• Sew buttons onto the canvas spine.  Then place Scor-Tape to the back side and adhere to the album spine, burnishing well.

Wrap the spine with strands of waxed linen thread.  Dress it up with a few charms to finish.

Stamperia Sea Land Travelers Notebook: A Peek Inside

I had picked up some Momenta Journal inserts on clearance at Tuesday Morning a while back, so I used those for the signatures in this journal.  Again, I finished the covers with torn papers.  The center of each signature slips under a strand of the waxed linen thread.

Each signature is held shut with some vintage bulldog clips from ButterBee Scraps.

I added little phrases to the signatures using some Tim stickers.

For the closure, I punched a hole in the back cover and inserted a knotted elastic band.  The band hooks over the button on the front of the journal.

This was a quick project to put together and a great way to use up bits and pieces of a well loved paper collection.

I hope I’ve shared some tips, tricks and techniques that you can use in your own crafty adventures.  If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

SUPPLY LIST

• Paper
  • Stamperia Sea Land 12×12 paper pad
  • Sizzix Mat Board
  • Tim Holtz Grunge Paper (ancient history…maybe you have some in your stash.  Can use chipboard instead)
• Dies and Embossing Folders
  • Eileen Hull Heartfelt Journal Die/Sizzix
  • Cuttlebug strip die (retired)
  • A reptile looking embossing folder…Tim Holtz???
• Mixed Media
  • Seth Apter Baked Textures
    • Dirty Sand
    • Patina Oxide
    • Blizzard
    • Ancient Amber
  • Versamark Embossing Ink Pad
  • Gathered Twigs Distress Ink
  • Distress Collage Medium/Matte
  • Ranger Opaque Crackle Texture Paste
  • Stamperia Stencil
• Embellishments
  • Beach Charm
  • Bead and Buttons from my stash
  • Butterbee Scraps Bulldog Clips
  • Tim Holtz Clippings Stickers
• Waxed Linen Thread