Wednesday, August 4, 2010

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!

12 comments:

McMGrad89 said...

Your journal came out fantastically. I now have something else to add to my list of things to do.

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!! Chris!! This is STUNNING!! I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee the canvas!! And LOVING the new signature on here too!!! GORGEOUS! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Hanneke said...

My goodness Chris, this is so beautiful!! Love that you made those pockets for pencils!!!

sarah said...

absolutely beautiful. i love that the buttons add a simple but stunning look to your overall book! :)

wishing you a wonderful day.

hugs,
sarah.

Anonymous said...

OH MY GOODNESS CHRIS... this is awesome!!! And you will have it all together, your brushes and paint and pencils - how clever!!! I might "steal" this idea from you.. (if I have time for yet another journal *teehee*) Wishing you a very nice vacation and can't wait to see what you make when you are there!!

Jenneke said...

Wow Chris, this looks fabulous!! LOVE the colors, the music paper and the buttons!!
What a GREAT idea to make this!!

XXXJenneke

aurorafedora said...

wow! that is just beautiful! in fact, all your work is beautiful!
joanne

Bekka said...

Oh, I just love it! Great job!

Deana said...

Your journal is beautiful, Chris! I love the little stitched pockets for the brushes & such! Lovely! :-)

Jessica Wilson said...

That is beautiful!!! Have fun with it:) You are so very talented...I just love seeing all of your creative projects!! Love, Jess

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, this is just beautiful Chris!Love the colors and all the fabric and those pockets..so very creative!!

BonnyBadger said...

i have just started experimenting with altered books and I LOVE this journal!