French Rose Junk Journal Tutorial - Part 3: Embellishing

French Rose Junk Journal Tutorial *Contains Affiliate Links
Part 3: Embellishing
This tutorial goes through the steps of creating a junk journal using the French Rose Journal Pages from My Porch Prints on Etsy.

In Part 1, we learned how to make a junk journal cover from a cardboard box. In Part 2, we learned how to add binding & pages to our journal. Now in Part 3, we'll wrap up this tutorial by learning how to add embellishments, including a pretty tassel.

Craft Supplies Used:
Glue Stick
Craft Glue
Kraft Envelopes if desired
Distress Ink if desired
Scissors
Sari Silk Ribbon
Various Lace
Green Leaf Ribbon
Twine
Lobster Hooks with Key Rings
Bronze Charms

Printables Used:
French Rose Library Cards
Bicycles & Roses Cards
Romance Writer Scrap Pack
Vintage Rose Tags

Embellishing Pages
When I attached the book plate to the cover, it left these little fasteners showing on the inside front cover. I decided to cover them up using the free Journal Words Printable words. I cut a strip of craft paper and attached the words to it with a glue stick. Then I glued these over the fasteners to hide them.

I added this library card to the pocket.

Next, I glued a bit of lace to the pocket to give it a more finished look.

Next, it was time to work on embellishing my first page. I started with this cutout envelope, adding Distress Ink to the edges to give it some dimension and a more finished & aged look. If you don't have Distress Ink, try using a make-up sponge and a dark brown marker.

I cut off the flap from a craft envelope and glued it in sideways to create a pocket. I also glued a scrap piece of sari silk ribbon to the edge of my page. This will show even when the journal is closed.
On top of my envelope, I attached the smaller rose envelope as well as a vintage ticket. Then I added some tags and cards. These can be found in my Etsy shop.

This is just one way to embellish your pages. You can add additional papers, ribbons, fabric, charms, cards, tags, etc., either from a kit (my Romance Writer Scrap Pack works very nicely with this style) OR you can gather your own items to mix & match.

Tassel Time!
I also added a tassel to the spine of the journal. This is a good opportunity to use up scrap lace if you have any. I bought some of my lace at Walmart. I also got some on Amazon. I also used lobster hooks with keyrings, twine & charms. You could use whatever you want for this: fabric scraps cut into strips, yarn, beads, etc. Don't be afraid to get creative and use the supplies you have on hand.

Cut your ribbon & lace to the size you want for your tassel. Remember to make it TWICE as long because you'll be folding it in half to create the tassel.

Gather your ribbons and fold them in half, leaving one piece free. The free piece will be used to tie your ribbons together as shown.

Using the same piece, tie it to your keyring.

Gather all your ribbons together (including the piece you used to tie them) with the keyring at the top. About an inch or two down, use a piece of twine to tie your ribbons and create your tassel.

You can stop here if you want to, but I like to add a bit more to my tassel. So, I attached a couple of bronze charms to the twine as shown.

Next, attach the lobster claw clasp to your key chain. Then attach it to the binding twine on the spine of your junk journal as shown. Now it is a pretty embellishment that can also be removed if desired.

And that's it! We've created a cover, filled it with pages and added embellishments for a beautiful junk journal that is ready to hold your thoughts, creative projects & ideas, photos, art & more! Thanks for reading. :)

Will you make a junk journal now? Share your art on my Crafting Ideas Facebook Page.

Shabby Scrap Cloth Garland

You can make this shabby scrap cloth garland! It's easy and fun and gorgeous. I used mine to decorate a booth for a vintage market, but I might just have to re-use it as a window valance!



















First, you find some scraps of fabric. You might already have some, but if you're like me, they are fairly useless and in a knot in the bottom of the sewing drawer. So, I went to a local thrift shop and bought some inexpensive lace curtains to mix in with my scraps. Then I just cut them into strips of varying lengths.

Here it is hanging up at my sale booth!

I used a pretty white rope to string them up. My scraps are spaced out, but you could really bunch these together for a fuller look!

Don't tie them in knots. Rather, use a kind of slip knot. (I'm sure it has a name, but I don't know what it is and even if I did you probably wouldn't know what it meant.) You fold the scrap in half to make a loop, then you place it over the rope and pull the two loose ends through the loop to hook it on. Repeat about seven gazillion times and voila! A pretty shabby garland for your home... or, in my case, to try to cover up the fact that you couldn't find your regular canopy for your booth and had to substitute with a bright red sports-themed canopy.

I love the way this garland turned out, don't you? :)

Altered Bottles: "And all the silly sightless people came and looked...and called it junk."

I love junk. LOVE. IT. I will gladly dumpster dive for the right treasure. No shame! Because to me, it's kind of like a rescue mission. A last chance for some poor, unloved thing. I'm a sucker for saving last-chancers. That is how I came to own several old booze bottles (quite the conversation pieces for a non-drinker).

Thankfully, I didn't have to resort to dumpster-diving for booze bottles. I found most of these pretty little things abandoned at the thrift store. It's a miracle they didn't get sent straight to the recycling station or worse, broken in the trash.

I dressed them up with some pretty baubles: lace and ribbon, gems from a craft store and faux labels! Gorgeous!

Reminds me of one of my favorite children's authors: Shel Silverstein and his poem, Hector the Collector.

HECTOR THE COLLECTOR

by Shel Silverstein
Hector the Collector
Collected bits of string,
Collected dolls with broken heads
And rusty bells that would not ring.
Pieces out of picture puzzles,
Bent-up nails and ice-cream sticks,
Twists of wires, worn-out tires,
Paper bags and broken bricks.
Old chipped vases, half shoelaces,
Gatlin' guns that wouldn't shoot,
Leaky boats that wouldn't float
And stopped-up horns that wouldn't toot.
Butter knives that had no handles,
Copper keys that fit no locks,
Rings that were too small for fingers,
Dried-up leaves and patched-up socks.
Worn-out belts that had no buckles,
'Lectric trains that had no tracks,
Airplane models, broken bottles,
Three-legged chairs and cups with cracks.
Hector the Collector
Loved these things with all his soul
Loved them more than shining diamonds,
Loved them more than glistenin' gold.
Hector called to all the people,
"Come and share my treasure trunk!"
And all the silly sightless people
Came and looked...and called it junk.