Unconventional Materials

 Hi all and welcome back to my blog! Hope you are all keeping well. So, this month’s project is based on using ‘Unconventional Materials’. I thought I would go with a nature theme, as it’s Spring and all the birds are busy hatching Chicks and the trees are starting to get there leaves and looking wonderful! During this blog I will explain how I created this natural journal…

For the base of the journal I used matboard and then applied distress inks to decorate. I used stencils and texture paste to apply detailing before adding leaves, twigs, bark and embellishments to finish the covers. As you can see from the above picture, this is the front cover and below, is a picture of the reverse side…

So as you can see, I have used a few different inks but at the same time - keeping it natural looking.

Now that the cover is complete, I started on designing the inside. I wanted to add in the waterfall die as I am just totally in love with that die, it’s amazing and so sweet! I also wanted to add a few pages with nature on.

I added the waterfall to the front cover as see below;

Waterfall when it’s open. I added a couple of pages where you can make notes and jot down birds that you see when you are exploring! On the right hand page, I used stamps, stencils and the distress inks to create a little bird scene. I added a background paper and lace just to break up the layout.

 

As you can see above, I used a variety of background paper to blend in with my overall design. I used stamps, acrylic inks to add drops to the left side and then topped with leaves and some glittery twine. I added more detail to this page using a leaf & distress inks. I pressed the leaf onto the pad and transferred the colour and pressed down on the page. I wasn’t sure how it would work out, but I am really pleased with the outcome. If you zoom in, you will be able to see the leaf impressions!

 

The photography on the right side is what I took in our garden. We have a family of Blue Tits nesting in the nest box on the tree. They are adorable and it’s great to sit on the bench watching them going in and out of the box feeding their young chicks.

The last 2 pages (pictured above) have a base coat of distress inks, applied using stamps and to create the trees, I used the edge of the distress ink pad to create the branches. I also used a stamp, pressed down on the ink pad and then transferred the colour onto the page to created the leaves for the trees. Twigs were then applied to the page to create the appearance on the main body of the tree.

 

I added some photographs to the back page, of what I had taken recently in our garden. I just love Spring, when everything is coming to life and the gardens are starting to grow.

I hope that I have inspired you to create a nature journal like this. Nature is wonderful in so many ways. Thanks for stopping by my blog! Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Stay Safe

Sarah Lizzie 

xx