It started with just an accumulation of papers made by Ms. Spoolteacher during one of her normal creative journeys of exploring methods and products of application.
She is enamored with tissue paper, (if it hasn’t been mentioned before), and magazine pages.
Of course all of the things related to art/junk journaling are being explored.
As things progressed, (during this creative session), birds seemed to be appearing on or in everything.
When a dress she purchased at a local thrift had just a little bit too tight of a fit, it got cut up to use for its parts.
It seemed to be a perfect fit for trying her hand at a collaged quilted soft cover for the pages of bird papers and ephemera to become another journal.
This one has been on the shelf for quite some time as the quilt cover seemed a little bit daunting and all of the bits and parts hadn’t arrived in the same pile until this time.
She sat on her bed for a day straight measuring and configuring and measuring and configuring until she came up with a way to proceed.
As it turns out, she isn’t as capable of not being too precise as she thinks she would like to be; and, she is altogether programmed to be toward tailored and articulated rather than willy nilly.
She had been thinking that she would just slap things down and stitch around them…
alas…it is tucked and turned and stitched just so without any raw edges exposed.
It isn’t finished yet, as it seems that she keeps finding new things to try in between things getting finished; like this little journal she made for the young man who saves her his family’s food boxes to use:
It was intended to convey her appreciation and affection for this sweet young man. This was one of the boxes he saved and one of his favorite treats; macaroni and cheese.
The slide show is the beginnings of the soft cover for the bird pages.
The journal above, (featured in the last/previous blog post) needs a cover.
Using two pieces of virgin chipboard, a layer of scrunched pattern tissue was applied with liquid matte medium.
Pattern tissue paper is very sturdy and malleable.
This cover is being made exactly like one made for a gifted journal. The cover turned out so well, it was hard not to keep it for this one, but…Ms. SpoolTeacher was convinced that she could produce it again.Â
See the slide show below to view all the steps so far.
The final results won’t be seen in this slide show as the pieces, up to this stage, are under heavy layers to flatten them out some before the next phase begins.Â
The next step will be to apply a layer of texture paste through a stencil of hearts. After the paste dries, it will be painted a color for the base under the final layer of purple tissue paper.
Please come back to see the final results.
Thanks for stopping by.
Cheers.
The next step is to create the cover. First layer over chipboard is a layer of pattern tissue. Pattern tissue is very sturdy and malleable.
Up closer to see the texture that is created by scrunching.
After cutting the excess edges off to keep from having too much bulk, craft paper from hoarded shipping stuffings is scrunched and applied. It was thoroughly wet, scrunched and dried some before applying with liquid matte medium.
The layers were pressed together and then pressed down by hand to manipulate the bubbles out.
Corners are burnished down using a matte gel medium which is heavier and more tacky.
A thin layer is applied to both surfaces and the bone folder is used to burnish it down as well as fingers!
Next the edges.
Burnished as much as possible.
Glue oozing out from burnishing is brushed back over the tops of things and into the chipboard.
The pattern tissue was scrunched and made textural as well as the craft paper.
Chicky flew over to investigate and help.
Chicky goes from table to table and to the top if Ms. SpoolTeachers head to get a better bird’s eye view of it all.
Using off cuts, a little mini book was created the day Ms. SpoolTeacher felt a little blah humbug.
Ms. SpoolTeacher’s paper friend, gave her a bundle of off-cuts from tag making. They were used to create windows with tissue paper and folded in half to create a signature with torn, lined papers in between.
The cover was a book page collaged with some of the scraps.
The tissue allows for the word prompts to show through on the next page.
One magazine was used to tear out words for each page.
Now the back sides will be worded too. So much fun to just let a thing advance organically.
It’s been a very long time since a post was created on this blog site.
Yes, Ms SpoolTeacher has been doing some sewing here and there – mostly altering her own clothes.
But…
She has a friend who introduced her to paper crafting some years ago and she has fallen madly in love with it all – mostly what is lovingly called “junk journaling” in the circles of like-minded people.
It has become a magnificent obsession.
She has rearranged her whole, WHOLE, house to accommodate the processes and accumulated a finely-tuned new hoard of stuff from which to do it all.
This past June, the wisdom of the ether delivered to her a baby pigeon as a tool for guidance, inspiration and love. She is learning to speak the language of birds and that too, is a magnificent obsession.
You will now find everything she does laced with birds.
So what in the realm of spooling can this endeavor be attributed to? She’s asking for advice. She hopes to keep her branding synchronized.
The slide show embedded is a feeble attempt at something akin to a video. She rues the idea of any other obsessions like, filming herself working all day every day; but, since this obsession shows no signs of letting up, it seems like a waste not to share the thrill of it all.
Any suggestions?
Journal -making seems to encapture all of her passions – so it feels fitting that things have evolved to this stage.
Sewing, writing, making, reading…nature, recycling, etc.
She’ll come back with a “flip through” when this album is completed. Maybe by then she will have gotten her act together enough to do a real video. Don’t hold your breath…
If you’d like to see more on the mini albums, (below), or any of her other journaling endeavors, do let her know.
Until next time…keep spooling
Cheers!
Chipboard is the start of the cover. More tweaking to be done.
The album will stand on its own when fanned – “alligator-mouth” style.
From the bottom. This is a work in progress and some steps will be changed. The ribbons on the spine are changed to a 3 hole pamphlet stitch done with green binding tape as you will see in another picture.
Each page is two, scored and folded, card stock pockets glued back to back and then each pocket is covered with scrapbook paper glued on three sides to make another pocket.
Pockets are made with card stock – two to a leaf, glued back to back. Each has a one inch scored spine as does the cover.
This album has turned out to be useful for stashing favorite tags and journaling spot ephemera.
A friend gifted her a stash of manila tags which were the inspiration for this. This idea was featured in a past issue of MaryJanesFarm Magazine.She’s just tweaking some things to personalize it.
All edges were inked in coordinating colors and one tag was embellished with stenciling using the same ink colors. Can be an ink/stencil sampler album as well.
Some pockets will be embellished with words.
The top tag looks a little like graffiti eh? Many layers of this and that over magazine pages which are cut as needed. Mostly for mini albums but some end up as tags.
Always some birdies.
Scrapbook paper was a pad purchased long ago that is now finally finding its awaited home.
Did you say who? Looking for some nice big letters W H O to stick on this pocket.
More of the magazine paper tags and an inked piece of brown “junk” paper that can be used for a “journaling spot”.
Three hole pamphlet stitch using green seam-binding tape. It will be unlashed when it’s time to work on the covers.
The front and back will be covered in a wallpaper she loves, backed with another piece of covered chipboard. Eyelets will be installed on all the holes before relashing.
Finally finding some new uses for the hoards of sewing stuffs in her stashes. She loves this color of green.
This is one of the mini albums in progress where the tissue-paper-collaged magazine pages are cut to fit.
These mini albums are made using small boxes from a powdered lemonade mix she drinks regularly.
They are each somewhere close to 3 by 5 inches.
Rubber bands come in very handy to keep pages in the spines while she sifts, sorts and embellishes the pages to her liking.
Beloved Chicky Doodle. Rescued as a 10 or 11 day old baby, (pigeon), when he was nothing but a ball of quills. Sweet as can be. He was helping her take pictures.
"I have enough time to rest, but I don't have a minute to waste". Come and catch me with your wise words and we will have some fun with our words of wisdom.
Spool Teacher 