Funkie Junkie Focus – "Finish It" Undone Projects

It's not quite spring (at least not around here, it's been snowing all day). However, you might be in the mood for some spring cleaning! It has taken a crafty turn for our current Funkie Junkie Focus theme which is "Finish It" – take an uncompleted project and finish it off. I partially completed a junk journal in June of 2022 and then it and all the stuff I had collected for it looked like this until now:

oh my, what a pile LOL

I still had two signatures worth of pages left to fill to complete the journal. You can find the first post about it here. Here is the outside:

The journal structure was created using Eileen Hull's Folio Journal Die and filled with all sorts of stamping, ephemera and die cuts. Here's a sampling of some of the new inside pages:

I had previously added some Waterfall flips to the inside cover but hadn't decorated them yet.

I did do a tutorial for putting the cover together in my first post. Here are a few in process photos from my journey in finishing up the other pages:

 It's quite a chaotic crafty scene! Lots of scraps and bits all over the place ha ha.

I decorate all the pages, front and back, before binding them together. It is much easier that way!

Elastic binding makes it really easy to add the pages. You just slide them under the elastic.

So, mission accomplished! I now have a cleared off tray in my art rack. Hurray! Thanks for stopping by. Keep an eye on the Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog, Inspiration Ave. because you are now getting regular doses of expanded (and inspiring) content each week. Don't miss it…

Supplies used:

Eileen Hull Die - Folio Journal Die 
Eileen Hull Die Set - Faux Postage 
Eileen Hull Die Set - Library Pocket, ATC Card & Tabs
Eileen Hull Die Set - Journaling Cards, Flowers & Leaves 662811 - retired

Eileen Hull 3-D Embossing Folders - Silverware, Vintage Buttons, Crochet Mandala
Tim Holtz Die Set - Vault Lovebirds

Tim Holtz Stamp Sets - Floral Trims, Field Notes, Ornate Trims, Specimen, Bold Botanicals, Eccentric, Papillon, Nature Walk, Ledger Script, Flutter, Bird Feather, Tiny Toadstools

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Backdrops - Vol. 5

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Snapshots Vol. 2

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Layers - Organic

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera - Curator

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera - Number Strips
Sizzix Textured Cardstock Pack

Design Tape

washi tape

Distress Collage Medium Matte

Tonic Deckle Trimmer

Some links in this post are affiliate links which do not affect the price you pay but allow me to earn a small percentage of a sale. Thanks! (My husband also thanks you!)

Forest Junk Journal – Chapter 1 Sizzix Dies with Eileen Hull

Time for a closer look at the second project I made for Eileen Hull's Chapter 1 Release Party! It's a forest themed junk journal that is stuffed full of fun stuff.

I love the flap on the new Frame Pocket Journal Die; it adds a nice touch. You can also make the journal without it (you can configure it a number of ways.) 

The large pocket component can be cut out of mat board and used inside the journal covers to hold tags and other ephemera. You can also cut it out of paper and fold it into a flat pocket to use on a journal page instead.

The pocket frame part of the die is a wonderful element to use through out your journal. Here I mounted it onto a large tag as a base and a smaller tag fits right into it.

Here's a look at the inside pages:

Frame pocket again on a page with a slide in tag.

Here's the frame pocket on a page with a card that slides out.

The Library Pocket is great for pages.

Some process high lights:

1) Here are the parts for the journal structure. I cut them out of mat board first and then added the patterned paper with adhesive sheets, trimming excess. I wanted to be able to precisely place the patterned paper on the cover parts so I did it this way. You can also adhere paper to the mat board first and then cut the parts. 

Cut with a craft knife through the patterned paper over the
score lines if you adhere it afterwards.

2) I stamped the insides of the journal cover before assembling.

I like to use a wet glue adhesive to glue my covers together. Strong red line tape also works well. Tip: peel the top layers off the mat board tabs to lessen the bulk of your glued joint.

3) Pocket frame component from the Frame Pocket Journal Die. I mounted it on a tag for this example. It holds a smaller tag. I like the peek a boo window.

4) Here's a closer look at the Library Pocket, ATC Card & Tabs Die. So handy and versatile! I used the pockets throughout the journal and liberally sprinkled tabs everywhere ha ha.

You made it through this really long post! Good job! Thanks for stopping by and be sure to keep an eye on Eileen's blog for more inspiration from the Educator and Inspiration Teams.

Supplies used:

Eileen Hull ScoreBoards Plus Die - Frame Pocket Journal ( Sizzix, SB )
Eileen Hull Die Set - Library Pocket, ATC Card & Tabs  ( Sizzix, SB )
Eileen Hull Die - Tile Alphanumeric  ( Sizzix, SB )
Tim Holtz 3-D Embossing Folder - Tree Rings ( Sizzix, SB )
Tim Holtz 3-D Embossing Folder - Pine Branches ( Sizzix, SB )
Sizzix 3-D Embossing Folder - Leaf Veins ( Sizzix, SB )

Tim Holtz Sizzix Die Sets: Bunny Hop, Branched Birch, Feathered Friends, Block Adventure Words, Funky Insects, Funky Nature, Darling Deer, Garden Greens, Funkie Foliage, Garden Greens
Tim Holtz Stamp Sets: Slight Alterations, Nature Walk, Ledger Script, Birch & Pine, Curiosities, Forest Floor, Yuletide Gatherings, Tiny Toadstools, Tree Line, Bird Feather, Specimen, Field Notes, Falling Leaves, Leaf Prints 2, Entomology

Patterned paper - Stamperia 8x8 pad, Forest Life

Some links in this post are affiliate links which do not affect the price you pay but allow me to earn a small percentage of a sale. Thanks! (My husband also thanks you!)

Halloween Journal - the Final Tutorial!

Hello and happy Halloween! I've been working on a big Halloween journal project over the course of the past several weeks. It started with the creation of the cover using Eileen Hull's Sizzix Full Size Journal Die. Two subsequent posts centered on all the inside pages - find those posts with tutorials here and here. I really had a lot of fun first going back through all my Halloween family photos from years past and then getting out all my Tim Holtz Halloween dies, stamps and media and going to town!

Here's a video flip-through of the journal (my rookie attempt lol):

A last piece of the construction of the journal is how I made the binding and attached the pages. Let's take a look…

Step 1

Eileen Hull's Bookbinding & Label Die Set is perfect for making ---- bindings for journals. It is sized to fit perfectly in her Folio Journal Die but it can be easily adapted to other cover sizes. The die cuts and scores the spine pieces so you can quickly fold them up. (No laborious measuring and scoring!)

Step 2

Once the paper was folded, I put red-line tape in place to adhere the 'peaks' together. (The peak forms a tab that you then attach your page to.)

Step 3

I used a quick grab wet glue to adhere my tab pieces in place on the spine block. I wanted it to be really strong!

For the final page installation, I first glued each front/back set of pages together but DID NOT put glue on the edges that would fit over each spine tab. When all the page sets were dry, one set at a time, I added glue inside that 'spine edge' and slipped it over a tab. A couple of clothespins and my fingers held it in place for a moment while the glue set.

Thanks for reading and keep an eye on the Funkie Junkie Inspiration Ave blog for loads of creative projects and techniques shared. Happy Halloween!

Using Up Leftovers with Eileen Hull's Dies

Are you scrap hoarding? We've all got them – those little bits and pieces which we can't bear to part with, the last of a pack of paper, bits of stamping, collected items for recycling… you get the idea! All this monthof June we've seen the Teams creating with leftovers in projects using Eileen's dies. For my project I created a junk journal using the Folio Journal Die as a base (and a whole BIG pile of scraps and leftovers!)

Here's the pile of "leftovers" I gathered to use. I had previously cut the Folio Journal out of burlap covered matboard and then never moved forward with that project. Out it came for this make! Of course I have a large stash of leftover paper scraps, die cuts and ephemera.

A junk journal is a perfect way to use up lots of scraps!

Here's a peek at some of the how-to:

1) First I decorated the insides of the cover pieces. I collaged some book pages onto them, spritzed with Distress Spray Stains and stamped on them.

2) After decorating, I glued the two halves of the cover together. I like to use liquid adhesive for a stronger bond.

3) Here's a look at all the pages in the first signature. I find it easier to decorate all the pages before assembling into a signature.

4) I also used Eileen's Card, Waterfall & Tags Die Set to add a waterfall feature to the right side of the fold out cover.

5) I used another set of Eileen's, the Folio Page, Pocket & Flowers Set, to add a little tag pocket to the other side.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to keep an eye on Eileen's blog for more inspiration from the Educator and Inspiration Teams!

Supplies used:

Eileen Hull die - Folio Journal  (Sizzix / SB / TFJ )

Eileen Hull Die Set -  Card, Waterfall & Tags (Sizzix / SB / TFJ )

Eileen Hull 3D Embossing Folders - Crochet Mandala (Sizzix / SB / TFJ )

Eileen Hull Die Set -  Folio page, Pocket & Flowers (Sizzix / SB )

Eileen Hull Die Set - Journaling Cards, Flowers & Leaves #662811

Eileen Hull Die Set - Bookplate, Hinges & Label #662356

Eileen Hull Stamp Set - Snail Mail Postage

Whole pile of Tim Holtz Stamps, Distress inks and sprays ;-)

Some links in this post are affiliate links which do not affect the price you pay but allow me to earn a small percentage of a sale. Thanks! (My husband also thanks you!)