{Curio Journal}

So many of my favorite May Arts ribbons pair beautifully with the vintage vibe of Graphic 45, so I am excited that this week is a blog hop with these two amazing companies! I received products from the Olde Curiosity Shoppe Collection including pretty patterned papers, chipboard stickers, metal brads, and adorable mini metal clothespins. I decided to use them to jazz up the plain Jane cover of one of my art journals.

I'm fond of this journal because it's the first one I ever made using the coptic binding method. The covers are upcycled from a discarded book and the inner pages are mixed-media paper that's perfect for watercolors, paints, inks, collage, or anything else I want to splash on them! But I have to admit the plain cover could use a bit of sparkle!

I wanted to create a dimensional opening in the cover that looks like a peek into an old shop window full of curious and beautiful things. You could do this with a store-bought journal or even a composition book! Here's how:
*Cut out the center of a 2-piece chipboard die-cut and trace around it with a sharpie.
*Use a sturdy craft knife to cut out the opening. Sand the edges if necessary.
*Set the chipboard piece aside and decorate the cover as you wish. After the journal is decorated, put adhesive on the back of the center chipboard piece, place it inside the frame, and then press it down to adhere it to the first page of your journal. This will ensure that the placement is perfect.
{For my journal, I painted the cover with a little gesso, allowed it to dry, then used a baby wipe to add some Broken China & Peeled Paint Distress Ink here and there.}

After the gesso and inks are dry, the next step is to add some pretty patterned paper to the cover. I trimmed a piece of Olde Curiosity Shoppe paper 1" shorter than the cover on all sides. Glue the paper to the front cover, cut out the window with a craft knife and glue the outer piece of the chipboard as a frame for the opening.
Black sheer/looped trim from May Arts adds a finishing touch all around the edges of the paper!

I added some Graphic 45 stamped metal brads to the corners for a bit of interest. I removed the metal tines on the back of the brads by simply twisting them off, and used extra-small foam squares to attach them. Much easier than punching holes!

The journal is looking much better, but still needs a couple of finishing touches. A butterfly cut out from the Butterfly Specifics paper looks lovely perched on the corner of the frame. Fold the butterfly in the center after you cut it out to add some dimension and attach it to a corner of the chipboard window frame with a foam square. 3 metal clothespins with stamped words add an inspiring element to the edge of the cover.
Now I love my jazzed-up journal more than ever! Thanks to May Arts and Graphic 45 for sponsoring this fun project! Hop on over to the lovely blogs listed below for lots more inspiration and ideas! Happy hopping everyone!

Jen Shears

Candy Rosenberg

Susan Lui

Laura Denison

Denise Hahn