Artist journal

I have been wanting a watercolor and sketch journal for some time now and decided to make one for myself. I was very inspired by Ruth Rae's book Layered, Tattered & Stitched, and used her journal as the basis for mine.  However, I used canvas for the cover and lined it with heavy interfacing and felt. I sprayed the canvas and the felt with Tim Holtz Adirondack color wash in lettuce - this goes on very well but takes a while to dry on the fabric. I then layered everything and sewed it together, creating a spine. I used old sheet music for the bottom layer of the embellishment and added some of the new Gecko Galz Versailles designs - Opulence and Let them eat cake (I printed the designs on fabric paper) for layers and also added some antique lace, some tulle, and some of the wonderful vintage Gecko Galz buttons as well as some from my collection. Everything is securely sewn onto the cover.

On the inside of the front and back covers, I added some pockets to hold pens, pencil, brushes, and a small watercolor kit.

For the insides of the journal I created 4 signatures of watercolor papers and actually sewed the signatures to the spine.  This was probably the hardest part of the project but I am very pleased with it and will be taking it with me on vacation later this week - I hope to sketch some of the beautiful scenery in North Carolina.

Thanks for reading and have a creative week!