Travelling and Junk Journals

My love of traveling - both overseas, and  in Australia is enhanced by my love of documenting these travels in photographs, and in my own hand-made Junk Journals. I make a journal specifically for a forthcoming trip - using favourite saved papers, envelopes, Travel Brochure pages and lined and blank papers, some painted papers and then I sew these together into a cover. I edge some pages with Washi Tape, add newspaper/magazine words, estimate locations and add some travel brochure pictures to various pages. I use a mixture of of sizes of papers - some narrower so that I can add tags, tickets, cards etc., some made into envelopes and flaps and some envelopes as pages. Then I'm ready to go, with a glue stick, a small pair of scissors, some washi tape and a few favourite pens and markers.
OVERSEAS

During December and January my husband and I visited Central Europe - beautiful cities, magnificent buildings and some snow! Lots of museum and art gallery visits, train journeys and flights, newspapers, magazines, brochures and fliers - so lots of wonderful souvenir papers in Czech, Polish, German, Turkish.

I usually make my Travel Journals with folded A4 papers and a slightly larger cover. Easy to carry around and work in!
I work in my journal every day that I'm away - in a train, in waiting areas, airports, and at our accommodation. It becomes a travel diary as well, where I document the events of each day.

 I  took a smaller journal - a  watercolour book for practicing sketching and playing with paint.

TASMANIA
We recently went on a Caravan Trip for 3 weeks in Tasmania and that entailed another Journal, and working in it as we traveled there via the Melbourne to Devonport ferry.

I  had quite a few small pieces of leftover paper on my desk and couldn't resist making a mini arty journal - just for little pieces and some doodling. A tiny size that fitted in my handbag for those waiting times.

LOCAL WORKSHOPS
I tentatively approached our local library with the journals one day and was thrilled to be offered the job of teaching two workshops for teens, during the Easter School Holiday Program. This entailed lots of preparation and collection of supplies, but the 31 teens who participated completed great sewn  hand - made journals that they'll be able to use for photographs, drawing, writing, collageing, collecting or many other purposes. It was great to see their enthusiasm and pride in completing a journal.

MY JOURNALS

I love making journals from "Junk" mail, catalogues, old envellopes - I gesso or paint pages, stamp and paint the pages with templates, hand sew them together then have great fun, relaxation and "art therapy" using these journals as travel diaries, "Smash Books" or "Glue Books" and yearly diaries.

I first heard the words Smash books and Glue Books from a Lawendula Paper Swap friend Melodie and these links give more information.

About glue books, Smash Journals or Junk Journals....go to

www.bluebirdpaperie.blogspot.com - and search "Glue Books" or Mary Green's blog www.greenpaper.typepad.com

This one started life as a stapled catalogue ( 14cm x 21 cm) from a dress shop and I used all those bits and pieces that are too good to throw out so I keep them until ...

 

This next one started as an empty biscuit box cut to a small size ( 10 x 15 cms) as a little book to use on holiday, with words and images added from places we visited.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I make larger journals with strong manila folders ( 24.5 cm x 35 cms) - filling them with "junk" papers from my HUGE collection and adding ephemera and words in a weekly entry.

The next Journal was a collage and word diary type.

I attribute this idea to Nicole Austin at http://kinueko.blogspot.com.au/ (in 2011) so I tried it in 2012 and loved doing it.

I decorate the covers usually with scraps of papers then collage pieces of single ply from serviettes.

Below is my 2013 Journal/Diary - and this time I used mainly plain papers with some junk papers, and painted and stamped and decorated them with washi tape before I sewed it together. I am writing short weekly entries, sometimes in point form, this year.

 

 

 I do have separate "smash" journals happening at the same time - and am making smaller travel journals for our trips this year (17 cm x  24.5cms). These have been featured in an earlier post (2012).

As I love making these types of journals, let me know if you'd like one and we can talk about postage costs etc. depending on where you live.

I was inspired to write this blog by a lovely friend Jacqueline from Stockholm, whom I met on Marney K. Makridakis' Artella's Annual Mystery Muse Project for 2013 - and wanted to know how I make journals. I sent her a small journal from me - her mystery muse.

 

I have now enrolled in my first ever online art course called 21 SECRETS - and know that my year is going to be a very enjoyable one artistically as there are so many wonderful classes, with notes and videos included.

NEW YEAR 2012

Happy New Year to you!

 Here in Australia, and particularly in my part, summer is in full swing! Beach walks, outdoor meals on our deck, tourists and holiday atmosphere everywhere.

We had a very relaxing Christmas Eve BBQ (prawns, special salads & marinated meats, berry coconut cake) and Christmas Day Dinner ( Turkey, special vegetables, plum pudding & brandy sauce).

As we  had such sadnesses during 2011, I deliberated for ages about whether to say grace, make a speech etc but in the end I lit 3 candles - a red centre one for our son-in-law, who died in July; one to "acknowledge" the sad and difficult times of the year and one to "celebrate" that we were together and are looking forward to good times.

I received 2 more cards from my Paper Swap friends - after Christmas - caught up in overseas mail & public holidays- they took more than 3 weeks to arrive. But I love them both - thank you Robert (card on left) and Nicole (right).
Nicole won second prize in a competition with her card, which is layered in red and green and features a tag from Cavellini and paper from anna griffin. Robert has collaged a monoprint and painted on watercolour paper - a lovery wintery feel.

I've been spending time finishing my Junk Journal (begun at the end of 2010) when I retired from regular teaching - which also means I've been getting rid - no - using - all those bits lying around on my bench, in drawers, in the cupboard ... you probably know what I mean!

I've used some old Christmas cards I'd kept because I loved them - to make 2 Christmas books, using paint, serviettes, wrapping paper, stamps, and the cards. I love the cover of the pink book!

 

Two pages from the Christmas books made with old cards.

 I've done 2 spreads for the Round Robin Altered Book for girls in the group and made 3 journals so far - one for our up coming cruise, one to just play in - and one I'll use to collage and write in - inspired by Nicole's blog. I want to make another larger one to work in for Effy Wild's course, Book of Days.
 

Altered book page for Joanne.


I'm looking forward to a creative, healthy and happy year - and wish you, dear reader, the same.

STACKS OF JOURNALS

Browsing through some of my favourite blogs on the weekend I came across Seth Apter's posting for a  Stackaholics Anonymous challenge of a couple of weeks ago. There are to date - 102 posts showing people's studio stacks of whatever you can imagine - and more! There is a huge amount of inspiration included - and I'm only half way through the list of links! I know I am very late, (my life has been a bit difficult recently) but hope he will forgive me if I post some photos of my Journal Stacks here.


My Junk Journals with collaged paper napkin covers - I give them as gifts to friends, to my Paper Swap buddies - and use some myself, of course.




 My Travel Journals - beginning in 1985, with our first trip to Europe - and continuing with Journals from trips to Vietnam, Cambodia, France, England, Italy, Singapore, Hong Kong, Belgium, Lichtenstein, New Zealand, Switzerland, Pacific Islands ... and hopefully many more travels to come.



The wobbly view above, the neater view below, of hand made and hand painted pages, altered books and notebooks.



I am very proud of my hand made journals and seeing them stacked together made me realise what a lot of enjoyment I've had from painting, stamping, sewing, collaging, decorating , drawing - and even - writing in them. And what a delight they'll be in the twilight years as Memory Treasure Troves!

 Below is a delicious stack of boxes and envellopes of inspiration I've received from friends I've met by being involved in Lawendula's Paper Swaps.Such a delightful experience to open one or two and use the papers enclosed.



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A stack of cards I am in the process of making.

"On holidays"

View of my garden in winter from the front door.



View in winter from the back door.

Pot of succulents on the back deck.

It's June already and winter has come to Melbourne. Crisp, dewy mornings and sometimes sunny days to follow, a few rainy times too - well it is winter! I am loving being at home wandering around the garden and just looking at it and picking and cooking home grown produce - a creative activity.

Pumpkins, Silverbeet, Parsley, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Rubarb, Rosemary, Chillies - in my winter garden.

I have done some casual work "freelance" as a teacher and have 5 more days coming up. One day as a University supervisor, and 4 days as a Library Assistant in a secondary school. Both much more 'grown up" than my previous primary school career! I am looking forward to it all - the challenge, the newness of each experience - and a chance to 'dress up' and put on the make-up!
Plenty of cosy indoor things to do too - knitting, painting, book making, card making too. Temperatures ranging from 4 - 19 degrees! I no longer have to go to work 3 days a week anymore as I resigned from my last school when the contract was up - long distances to drive, sometimes 1 1/2 hours each way because of traffic etc. So, I have been "exploring my options" as one friend suggested and I find I quite like the feeling of being on holidays!

Cards I've made...

Beanies I've knitted...
I have also been doing quite a bit of work in my travel journals (getting them up-to-date - ha!) and have been enjoying making small "Junk Journals" using collected papers from my travels, some hand painted papers, some vintage papers and plain papers too. I've given them as small gifts to the lovely friends I've met this year via Lawendula's Paper Swaps. Maybe I'll post instructions soon.