Project Share!

Good Wednesday all my crafty friends!  Well kiddos are all back to school and it's time for old mom to get back on a schedule!! Yipee!!! I'm all about order and schedules!! Don't get be wrong, I like spontaneity as well, it's fun here and there, but for the most part, everything has it's place!!! LOL Both my girls went to a new school this year, one high school and one in middle school. It was all exciting and so far so good! Happy back to school everyone!

In July I shared with you some love in my box that came from mixed media artist Tonya Gibbs. Tonya had a video series using her Gelli plate whereby she made a mini album. At the end of the series she did a give away and I WON!!! Yay me! I never win anything, so that made it so exciting!! What made it more exciting is that I won an awesome Gelli plate and Tonya blessed me with enough stash to do my own mini journal! I have been busting to get that project going!!! You can see Tonya's Mini Journal Series here.  

I have had so much fun doing this project. I am finished with the journal itself, but will now have to do the pages. Below is my little process that I went through and I will share the first spread that I did. I still feel real awkward doing the monoprinting, I don't feel like I do that plate justice. EVERYONE else's pulls look far better than what I come up with, but I am trying to live by one of Tonya's mottos...."don't over think it!" She believes there are NO mistakes, you just turn it into something else!! I LOVE her style!! So I tried to keep all that in mind and just have a good time.

Tonya gifted me with a 5x7 Gelli plate and I really like that size. I will at some point invest in the 8x10, but to start I agree with her, 5x7 is a good size. I had fun making my pulls with another gift that I got from my good friend Wanda Hentges that I shared on my blog last week. She gifted me some discontinued paints from PaperArtsy. I won't share the color names because I wouldn't want you to want them too bad and then not be able to get them!! LOL, LOL!! But let me just tell you, I LOVE THEIR PAINT!!! I can't thank you enough Wanda!! :)  Tonya also gifted me some die cuts and die cuts she did to use as stencils and I took full advantage of using those and they worked great! I also used some of my stencil stash and homemade items I came up with to also add texture. They turned out okeedokee!! LOL


I then folded and put together the 4x8 signatures that Tonya included using Mod Podge. She used gel medium, which is probably fabulous as well, but I was running low so there ya go. She did suggest to not use dry glue however. In the end I really liked the way the Mod Podge brought it together. It "toughened" the pages up, if you will so that they are very durable. I can't say if that is the same feel they would have had with gel medium, but It just made me feel like the book would really hold together with anything further I chose to I do with it by using the Mod Podge.

That sweet Tonya also included muslin, which I had specifically asked her about in one of my comments and it just tickled me pink. I have never done anything on fabric before, so I was a little nervous, but I LOVED IT!! It was so much fun! Thank you Tonya!

One of the "die cut stencils" she included was the leaf pattern you see here. I knew I wanted to use it and have a draped effect, if you will from front to back, so that is what I did here and it worked out perfectly! A little unusual for me, as I usually have to botch it up a few times before my preconceived notion works out!!! LOL I must have had a "Tonya Angel" sitting on one shoulder clicking her wand!!! LOL, LOL

I then simply adhered the fabric to the two 4x4 cover pieces Tonya included in my stash. I was really nervous about that part as well, because I was so nervous that I wouldn't glue it right for the signatures to fit in, but I watched the video again where she went through process and it worked out perfectly! After that, I then Mod Podged the signatures in for a perfect fit!

I decided to go ahead and cut all my Gelli pulls down to 4x4 sizes and decide which ones I wanted to use and then go ahead and adhere them all into the journal initially and then I could journal on them or add extra texture after the fact. I think it turned out pretty swell, better than anticipated as a matter of fact!!! I just couldn't believe that I had done it! :)))) Tonya, YOU ROCK!! Your videos were my saving grace and you helped me every step of the way! :)

I am going to try to do a spread a day until I get it done. There aren't that many pages, I assume you could have as many as you wanted to, but it may get a little bulky with too many. But I really believe this is an easy project that I would like to do as gifts for Christmas or Birthdays. It's easy and creative and I think would make a special gift for someone as you journal each page specifically for that person.

Here is my first spread, which I really like and think it turned out well. The saying is something I found online as I was doing my Tag Swap from last month, that has been resonating with me ever since.  The theme was "Royals" and I chose to do it from a Christian stand point of view in that I am "Daughter of the Most High King!" We should daily remind ourselves as "daughters," who we are in Christ and as joint heirs to a mighty Kingdom!! As royal princesses to the Most High King, we need not worry about a thing because He has great plans for our lives!! What an AWESOME promise from the Lord! We ARE worthy, we are His! :)

Tonya had put this cute little flower in my pack and I wanted to use it in the journal and this worked perfectly. I adhered it with Mod Podge and then used some Stickles in the center for a little color. I then stamped with some of my fabulous stamps from Unity Stamps and then did some dangle doodles from the hearts. A really simple spread, but I thought it was cute.

Take the time to allow your Father in Heaven to love on you and show you how precious you are to Him through the pages of His written word! There is no better love!

Blessings