Thursday, February 14, 2013

rags to riches

Hello friends, 
Happy Valentine's Day!:).
I talked about making a collage journal and last night, I made one :). [Hmmm, Valentine's themed journal?]. I finally used up some of the brown paper bags I've been keeping all these years. Good riddance!:).


I glued to the cover an old lace and sewed a few silk flowers.



The back cover. 

At the back, I sewed a piece of paper with tiny metal hooks.

This is a raw journal, crumpled and ripped so to speak. Lately, I LOVE the rawness of things. Back to basics. The rougher, the better. Thus, I would try add splash of bright colors to cheer up the otherwise, blend projects. For instance, I simply made a ribbon by tearing up a piece of old pillow case. Cheap & good :).

Fabric torn-ribbon.

I started out by cutting three small paper bags into several pieces of 7" X 10" pages. Crumpled and wet them in water, and hung to dry in the sun for one afternoon. LOVE, LOVE these crisp sun-dried papers!. Once dry, ironed them to help flatten the pages a little bit. 


Sun-dried paper bags. They do look much like tobacco leaves!.


Then hand-sewed the paper stack, right in the middle. Decorated the cover with lace & silk flowers. [still very much influenced by the festive mood of CNY around here]. Lastly, I stapled a pink torn-fabric ribbon on the spine for closure. Done :).



My first collage in the journal. 

I guess you could do the same with old magazines, cereal boxes, used gift wrappers and old calendars. Putting together this journal is so quick, since I'd prepared the papers early on. Have fun up-cycling!. HUGS.

19 comments:

  1. Wow! This is gorgeous! Thanks for the inspiration! =)

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    1. Hi, Dana :). How you've been?. Glad you love this :).

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  2. I want to have a Latte with you, love those drawings!! Gorgeous book!! Hugs!

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    1. Yes, yes ... lets do just THAT the next time you come home? :). Just today, Tilla came by the shop while I teach, she wants to learn paint on old book pages too!. Wnderful :). Thanks so much!. HUGS.

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  3. I'm trying to give up coffee at the moment ... your post is not helping!! LOL ... but your little projects is soooo pretty, I know I wont be able to stop myself having one more look! Smiles and hugs from Kel. xoxo

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    1. LOL, I know ... I'm slowing down on coffee too, this must be one of those days that I MUST have one :). Thanks Kelly for the metal butterflies!!. HUGS.

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  4. WOW WOW WOW, you are on a roll Shahrul!! I love this so much, you make the simplest things look gorgeous!! The cover and back are just beautiful! I like the torn pillowcase as the rope to tie this with, so creative and easy.

    LOVE THE FIRST PAGE!! Keep up this creating crafty projects, they are making me VERY HAPPY!

    Thank you for the comment on my PL pages, so glad you like them. I love that we both have HEARTS on our minds and in our projects this week!! HUGS!

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    1. Thanks, Dawn. Ohh it is so much fun to stitch, hope you'll learn simple ones soon ... they really make our art more 'homey', I think :). Remember last year I had this one lazy week & no inspirations at all??. Freaked me out ... and I hope that won't come too soon :). HUGS.

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  5. The lace and pink look amazing against the brown paper.... what a gorgeous creation!

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    1. Thanks, Marjie!. The lace & the pinks do soften the album a little bit :). HUGS.

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  6. Replies
    1. Thanks so very much. Glad you enjoyed it :). HUGS.

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  7. Hello again,
    I just had to come and tell you that all your hearts/love/journals/ have inspired me and today I made one.

    It is a cloth one and added some LOVE to each page. Wish to add some stitching once my machine works/or I learn to stitch easy enough.

    Need to add a few more things to it and hoping the sun is out tomorrow so I can take good pictures of it. Will post it soon as I can for you to see.
    Thanks so much for all the extra inspiration this week, LOVE LOVE IT and want to make more homemade goodies like you!
    Have a good day dear friend!HUGS!

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  8. Oh! I have missed you! Thank you foe visiting and being so encouraging and kind. I admit to feeling a bit down and lost lately, but visiting here this morning is inspiring me greatly! I will come back for details after work today. Your handmade paper bag journal is amazing and now I even want to get out a needle and thread to sew book page designs! Wow, thank you so much, hugs, kathy

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  9. WOW WOW WOW, you are on the roll Shahrul, LOVE all your creation!!!!!

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  10. Your journal looks amazing. I just love the look of the old brown paper sack. So clever my friend. It looks perfect wrapping that lace... I do love popping in to see what you create

    Hugs

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  11. awesome!!!! I LOVE the delicate lace over the crinkled paper bag!!

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  12. I love this notebook. Extra texture with the crinkled effect...woww...awesome!

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' Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen ' - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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