How To Make Inspirational Journal Cards for Your Journals or Scrapbooks With This Beautiful Embellishment Technique

 My motto for 2021 is to "Be A Kind Human"!  Do my part to bring some kindness into someones life each day.  Whether it is through my videos, on social media in my comments, or in one on one relationships with my friends and family members.

To get the ball rolling I made these beautiful journal cards with the sentiment "Be Kind" on the front.

Here is the list of supplies that you will need to make this project.  You will also find them in my Etsy shop at Markets of Sunshine. click here <<<<

Supplies List

• 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of white or cream card stock
• one book page
• small piece of art paper cut to fit on the front of your card leaving a small border
  
• glue stick
• ink pad and stamps
• white gesso
• a variety of paint colors 4 different colors that look good together (one should be a metallic)
  
• stencil pattern of your choice

Now here is a detailed step by step process.  You can also watch my video to see exactly how it's done in a live presentation.

Step 1:  cut your card stock in half at 5.5 inches then fold in half.  You'll have two card blanks.

Step 2:  take your piece of art paper and add your paint colors one at a time as shown in the video using a bouncing technique with the tip of your paint brush.

Step 3:  Wait for the paint to dry before moving on to the next step.  Or, use a heat gun to speed up the drying process.

Step 4:  Take your decorative stamps and fill in the page until it looks good to you.  More is good here.

Step 5:  Lay your stencil on the art paper and apply the gesso to fill in the design you've chosen. Let dry.

Step 6:  Use your metallic paint and add highlights to the raised texture of the gesso.  Let dry.

Step 7:  Tear a piece of the book page to fit in the center of your artwork as shown in the picture.  Then ink the edges with a distress ink from Ranger.  I like to use Brushed Corduroy.

Step 8:  Stamp the words Be Kind onto your white piece of card stock that is smaller than your book page piece.. Then ink the edges as well.

Step 9:  Glue the center of the artwork paper and attach it to the card front.  Glue the book page in the center and center it on top of the artwork paper.  Glue the sentiment in the center and add it on top of the book page.

Step 10:  Sew all the edges of the papers using your sewing machine for a finished look.  Zigzag looks great on the artwork paper.  A straight stitch works fine for the book page and sentiment piece.

Enjoy! using it for a daily motto in 2021 and join this "Be A Kind Human" movement!

Sending You Sunshine!

Marsha

The Ultimate Junk Journal Gift Guide

Hello Friends!

I hope you are doing well today.  We have been very busy here growing our YouTube channel and it is slowly gaining new subscribers. Yay!  So, I just wanted to say "Thank You" to those who have followed along.  Don't know what I'm talking about?  Click here! 

Check out all my videos on everything to do with junk journals and the cash envelope system of budgeting and running an Etsy shop, Markets of Sunshine CLICK HERE!  It is so exciting to be sharing my 11 years experience selling on Etsy with other women trying to have a little side hustle to help out the family budget.

The perfect gift for our memories is a junk journal.  You know all those things you collect that are bits and pieces from your travels or cards from friends and even that artwork from a child.  Where do you keep it all so that you can refer back to it and enjoy those special moments?  In a junk journal of course!

I wanted to take a moment and show you all the ways you can use a junk journal and how they are the Ultimate in gift giving this year.

• a gift
• a diary
• a gratitude journal
• a scrapbook
• daily to-do-list
• mind dump at the end of the day
• photos aka brag book
• an art journal (I'm learning and love it)

I offer a number of styles for you to choose from.  Here is what you'll find in my shop and they come in different styles and patterns.

1. Gratitude Junk journal with pockets and no ephemera (use your own stash)
2. Junk journal with handmade ephemera and vintage book pages in the pockets and journal pages in the middle
3. Junk journal with tons of ephemera
4. Junk journal and gratitude journal combo with all the embellishments needed to make your life so much easier and ready for you to use or give to a friend

#1 gratitude journal                                         


 

                                  
                                                                           
#2 junk journal with some ephemera

                                                                                           
#3 Junk journal with lots of ephemera

                                                                                  
#4 Over the top junk journal with everything you need to embellish and get started storing those memories now!
Includes a blank junk journal along with the tags, buttons, pages, cover elements and more for you to make your own junk journal to fit your style.

                                                                                  
Shop Here at Markets of Sunshine today!

I hope you found this Ultimate junk journal gift guide helpful and inspiring enough for you to want to give it a try today.

Sending You Sunshine from sunny Florida.

Marsha

1000 Subscribers On YouTube Giveaway Contest

Why use a boring paper clip when you can jazz up your pages with something decorative and cute, like this adorable tea pot bookmark made from an ordinary paper clip.  Can you tell?



I made a goal for the new year of 2020 to reach 1000 subscribers on my YouTube channel.

So, I'm making a video every other day featuring items in my Etsy shop, Markets Of Sunshine.



I hope you will subscribe to my channel and help me reach my goal quicker.  When I do reach 1000 subscribers I will do a giveaway here on my blog with a gift set of goodies from my shop valued at $100.00 and it will be open to all subscribers worldwide!



In order for me to reach my goal I'll need some help getting the word out.  If you would be so kind and share this post using the social media buttons.  Or, just copy and paste the link on to your social media page.



Feel free to browse my Etsy shop and leave a comment below with your favorite item or items and I'll be sure to include something from that product line in the giveaway collection.  Who knows you might just be the winner.



Why is reaching 1000 subscribers so important to me in 2020?  Well, I'll tell you the truth.  It's getting harder and harder to reach people and get them to my Etsy shop.  When folks see my items in person they drool and buy something on the spot.



But, looking at a picture just doesn't give you the hands on experience like a video does.  So, making a video of each of my products gives you a live presentation and is almost like seeing it in person.



If you are a customer and already know how much you love my products could you do me a huge favor and leave a comment below sharing your feelings?



I know my 5 star feedback rating in my Etsy shop speaks volumes too.  But, it would be really nice to hear from you here on my blog too.



Thanks so much for your wonderful support to my small handmade business.



Sending You Sunshine,



Marsha

DIY Altered Book And BOGO Contest

I thought we'd make this week's blog post a little more exciting and get you all to participate in a fun contest I came up with to go along with my DIY project for the week.

                                             A Buy One Get One Free Offer!
                                                             (BOGO Contest)

I'm going to show you how to make your own altered book that you can use as a scrapbooking, as an art journal or even a save the date book for important events of family and friends.

Here is how to play the game and enter the contest.

1.  You'll need an old book any size will do, just keep in mind what you want it to be used for and then you'll know what size to get.

2.  Gather all your craft supplies you have on hand now such as glue, scissors, paper, ribbon, brads, paint, mod podge, gesso, buttons etc...

3.  A camera and your imagination.

4.  All entries must be submitted by June 30, 2014 to qualify for the contest.

5.  Prizes:  Each participant and winner will receive a free $5 or more gift with purchase! 
                 1st place gets free shipping from any of the vendors on our Vendor Classified page
                 2nd place gets a 10% off coupon to use in any shop on our Vendor Classified page
                 3rd place gets a 5% off coupon to use in any shop on our Vendor Classified page
                 The remaining participants will get one sample product from each shop at the price
                 posted and a coupon for a future product discount.

Instructions to make your altered book:

Start by removing every 3rd page from the book right at the binding using a sharp cutting tool.  If you are good at tearing, then score the  page by the binding and then tear it off as straight as possible.

This will allow room for embellishing each page and gives room for the book to expand and still close.



Now, just start adding embellishments to one side of the page and on the other fold the corner down to make a pocket as shown in these pictures of a book I altered.  This book was sold to a lovely lady in Japan!



I laid the book flat and took a portion of the middle pages and folded them over to make more pockets.  Glue the ends together using a glue stick.  These make perfect places for small mementos like ticket stubs or receipts from vacations etc....



You can even add fabric like I did on these pages and then layered with ribbon and trim.  I used calendar pages that were glossy to cover some of the pages as you see in this picture.  I used a thick tacky glue such as Aleen's to make sure they stay in place.  I also use a paint brush to smooth out the glue.
You can also use Mod Podge by Plaid and a sponge brush if you don't like the tacky glue.

Another, technique that I use to make pockets is to punch holes in the bottom of each page and then thread a ribbon as you see here in this picture.  The pink ribbon was then tide and had a charm attached with about 2 inches hanging out.

So, what will you use your altered book as?  Maybe, an altered book journal?  Or, how about an altered book scrapbook?  Oh, I know, an altered book save the date book!

I've been working on a few for children and will be putting the finishing touches on them and adding them to my Etsy shop this month.  Visit my shop on our Vendor Classified page along with all of our other great artist's shops.

Sending You Sunshine,
Marsha