retro recipe journal

I love the simplicity of summer days: outdoor barbecues, picnics, and the lack of scheduled activities and responsibilities. Summer days give us time to relax. Lately, I've noticed a trend in journaling towards junk journals. I thought it would be fun to create a vintage styled "favorite recipe" junk journal, combining the simplicity of vintage style with modern day trends. Today I am on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Blog sharing details for my retro recipe journal.

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts art journal is the perfect base for this project. It contains sixteen chipboard pieces of varying sizes and textures and two binding rings. All of the pages are punched to accommodate ring style binding. Four of the pieces are "tabbed" perfect for creating different sections, and if you want to add your own pages, 5x7 fits perfectly.

I wanted my journal to have a retro vibe, so I selected a vintage red and white gingham check for the cover, then I added a black stripe along the binding edge. I embossed the favorite recipes title with a black glossy finish and added it along the right side of the cover. Since the cover will receive the most use opening and closing, I added chrome grommets to the punched holes. This will allow the journal to open easily.

Next, I searched for vintage images of recipes and advertisements to include on the front sides of the chipboard pages. I intentionally left the back sides of the pages unfinished to allow for artist freedom when the journal is put to use.

The images were cut out and added to the smaller chipboard pieces that are located in front of the tabbed dividers. On pages where the image was smaller, I incorporated the red and white checked paper, as well as some black paper details.

Each of the tabbed divider pages are covered with a vintage ledger paper. I thought it would be fun to add titles to the tabbed portion, in the keeping with the retro recipe theme. I used label letters to spell out each course, ie. salads, soups, entrees, and deserts.

With the main pages complete, I created some clips that can be used in the journal. For these, I used the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts kitchen utensils set. I added a coat of black gesso to each side of the pieces. When  the gesso was dry, I attached a paper clip to the back side with strong glue and set aside to dry. The oven mitt piece was covered with gingham and black paper before the clip was attached to one side.

The only thing left to do is cut some of your favorite papers to be added to the journal. I cut a few different types of paper in 5"x7" size then, using the existing page holes as a guide, I marked each page. Using a hole punch, I created the holes and slipped all the pages into the journal where I wanted them. The binding rings make adding and removing pages a breeze.

I think the possibilities for the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts art journal are endless. You can turn this piece into any style of your liking quickly and easily. The size is perfect for slipping into your bag and taking it with you wherever you go.

Perhaps I've inspired you to create your own journal, I'd love to see your take on this piece.
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today,
I really appreciate it.
~Ann
 xxx

supplies used:
black gesso
black embossing powder
found papers and images
1/4" grommets

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts:

art journal, favorite recipes title, kitchen utensils
paper clips
sookwang double sided adhesive
Tim Holtz Ideaology: label letters
Versamark embossing ink