high hopes journal

Hi everyone, this month the theme for the Emerald Creek Dares Challenge is High Hopes.
It is based on the song by Panic! At The Disco, and this month anything goes.
I hope you will be able to join us!
 I really enjoyed listening to the song, it was one I was familiar with, and really left me feeling upbeat. I have created a journal for noting hopes and dreams.

Before I get into my high hopes journal project, I want to share a little backstory. I think it's important to understand that when we are creating, things don't always turn out the way we plan.
Where I live, August tends to be a month that most people are enjoying vacations and cooling off at the beach; therefore, I wanted to create something centered around the ocean. I set out to make a handful of ATC's using a few of the Emerald Creek Stamps, including one from the new Mermaid Tears collection, I really have "high hopes" for these incredible designs, they are funky and richly detailed. These are the Artist Trading Cards I started making...Steampunk Sea Adaline has high hopes to one day find a sunken treasure and move into the sandcastle of her dreams.

Once I began working on the artist trading cards, my creative muse took over and my project for the month completely changed direction. Whenever this happens (this is not the first time, nor will it be the last), I tend to allow my creativity take me wherever it wants to go; thus far I have never been disappointed with the outcome.

So now, on to my project.
I begin with plain mat board die cuts for an Eileen Hull XL Journal. Thinking about the ebb and flow of the oceans, I draw lines across the cover, simulating the currents. I then pull out a few of my favorite embossing powders to use on the cover. Since I am drawing inspiration from the ocean, I select the ones that best fit into that color scheme: deep sea and dirty sand baked textures, aegean sea baked velvet, and fractured ice allure powder. I also grab my all time favorite allure powder, charred gold. I think this combination will be visually appealing.

Next, I pour some of the embossing ink from my dauber into a welled palette. I use a paintbrush to "paint" the ink onto one section at a time. After the area is filled with a light coat of ink, I cover it with a layer of embossing powder and then heat set it. Some of the powders are best if you begin heating them from the underside, once the melting begins, it can be heated from above. This ensures that the powder will stay where you want it to be and reduce the "fly away."

Continue coating one area at a time, varying the colors that you use, so that the bordering sections are distinguishable from one another. On the areas where I use Aegean Sea Baked Velvet, I lightly coat the area initially, then added more powder randomly to give a varying depth of color. I love the way these sections turned out.

Once the cover is complete, I chose a coordinating color heavyweight paper for the inside. The paper is die cut and then put through my Xyron Creative Station Lite to add a layer of adhesive to one side. The papers are then attached to the inside covers. Using a paint marker, I color the edges of the journal. I love the way the spice gold edges accentuate the charred gold sections on the cover.

The two journal covers are attached at the spine and then a piece of leather is used to cover the outside back and spine. I find it easiest to use Distress collage medium to adhere the leather piece. I first coat the spine and attach the leather piece to the spine. I use clamps to hold it in place until the glue has dried completely. I then coat the back cover with collage medium and attach the leather to it. I clamp the leather into place along the edges and allow it to dry completely. Once dry, I trim the edges where the leather is overlapping. (Note: I do not use the die to cut my leather because I will not be utilizing the central hole in the spine. Cutting the leather myself, allows the hole to be concealed.)

I add eyelets to the holes in the spine that will be used for the binding. Sinew will hold the journal's signatures in place. Once strung, I tie the sinew off and slip the two signatures inside, completing the journal.

This will be a wonderful place to note all my hopes and dreams.
Do you have a special journal to jot down your inspirations? Perhaps I have inspired you to create one, or maybe just given you an idea to create something of you own. We would love to have you join the challenge, if you dare...

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit the blog today,
I really appreciate it.
Hope your day is a creative one!
~Ann


I am entering this High Hopes Journal in the following:
 Funkie JunkieBoutique Challenge: Marvellous Metallics 
(metallic embossing powders used on the cover)

Emerald Creek Products used:
Allure Powders: Charred Gold, Fractured Ice
Seth Apter Baked Texture embossing powders: Deep Sea, Dirty Sand
Seth Apter Baked Velvet embossing powder: Aegean Sea
Emerald Creek Stamps used for ATCs: Dream Home, Steampunk Sea Adaline, See Chest, Take 2

other products used:
colored scrapbook paper
Eileen Hull / Sizzix Scoreboards XL Journal die
Ranger Embossing Ink dauber: Emboss It
Real Leather:
Sizzix Mat Board: white
Wagner Studio Precision Heat Gun
Xyron Creative Station Lite
Zig Painty oil based paint marker: gold spice