RELAX IN THE COUNTRYSIDE journal spread

Journal spread - pocket page on the left with a tag tucked inside, and a cut window on the right.

I thought you'd like to see some more progress in one of my journals. This one has a window cut into the page on the right (with the button fastening) which I'll show in the next post (camera ran out of battery!)

Napkin tissue (single layer) glued directly to a text page which in turn is glued to a painted page, to create the pocket.

The pocket page minus the tag. This is a smaller page, collaged with a napkin tissue background, mounted to a full size page which is painted and stamped. I've done some hand lettering with a dip pen and India ink.

This is a photo torn out of a Sunday supplement - I think it was The Mail On Sunday magazine...

Here's a closeup of the window page - two buttons, the small one layered on top of the big one, which acts as a handle to open the page. The shape is cut round the actual shaped niche in the magazine photo, and I've edged the page top and bottom with some vintage Guipure lace. (I love using real lace in my books).

I've drawn the letters in black, added some scribble - and drawn over again in white. I've also added some glitter (can't help it!)

The tag - front view, using a Lynne Perella stamp. I've lettered by hand using a black Zig pen. The image is stamped with Ranger's Archival Ink in Plum over a tag I've sprayed with pale and dark blues and a little green for an accent colour.

The back of the tag - I drew inside and around the stencil to echo the curve of the clock face, and added scribbled lines for texture.

The back of the tag has a lot of texture - I used a Tim Holtz clock stencil and transparent stencil paste over a sprayed background (blues and green) and then rubbed on some copper gilding cream to accent. The lettering is drawn with a black Zig pen, and I've then added a drop shadow in white.

I seem to really be dwelling on the passage of time at the moment - probably because I've just turned 61 (still feel around 25 in my head, though). Have you noticed the older you are, how the weeks seem to just fly by? Spooky.

Next post, I promise to show you what's inside that window....