Monday 26 June 2017

Travellers Journal for Olivia

Good morning friends.

Note - this is a photo heavy post. Lots of people do YouTube videos showing their journals, but I don't do videos. So ...

I had fun this past weekend making a Travellers Journal for our 6 year old Granddaughter Olivia. If you follow my blog, you know that she loves pink and purple and everything girlie. I've had this pad of Disney Princess paper since Children's Wish Foundation sent Olivia to Disney World so I got it out  againfor her journal.

I used Eileen Hull's Journal die to make the journal itself - it's from her Heartfelt Collection and it's AMAZING. The different ways people are using this die are nothing short of inspiring. It goes together perfectly, all the scoring is done and holes cut with the die. It's a BigZ Score Board die, which means it cuts matt board, chipboard etc. I used heavy chipboard for my covers, covered front and back with patterned paper and it still cut beautifully.

Here is the front cover, embellished with lots of glitter glue, some purple heart gems (purple for Pulmonary Hypertension and hearts because of Olivia's big heart) and layered sparkly 3-d butterfly stickers.


I added a mauve tassel and iridescent heart beads to the spine.


You need to cut two covers - one for the front and one for the back. Then they adhere together with a strong adhesive. Since I use the Elizabeth Craft Designs double sided adhesive for my paper crafting, I used that on my first Travellers Journal. However it is NOT strong enough. I picked up red-line tape for this one. Here you can see that there are three signatures (inserts/booklets) inside the journal.


This is the cover flattened out so you can see the front and back. I chose a wide, pink sparkly elastic to close the journal ... the end photo shows it closed with the elastic.


Here is the inside - there is a little bag with a window & transparency that I've tucked some iridescent rose stickers in and added some purple gems. Olivia can add other goodies to the bag as well. You can also see all three inserts as they fan out when the journal is opened. I added a punched tab to the top of each insert, staggered, with an iridescent gem on the front and a purple one on the back. The front cover of the insert has lots of sparkle and a fabric flower.



Inside each insert, I added a flat paper bag with the bottom trimmed off and notches cut into the top and bottom. They are folded in half sideways and placed against the cover, so when the pages are added to the book the bag forms a pocket. There is one at the inside front cover and the other end is inside the back cover. I added sparkly washi tape to each end to decorate them up a little. Olivia can doodle or write on the bags as well.


Inside each of the bag/pockets there are 4 x 6 patterned paper pieces that Olivia can write secrets or special things on, and a small sheet of washi stickers.


I added a sheet of patterned paper to each of the inserts as well. This first insert has quad paper inside that Olivia can use for practicing her writing. I also stamped each of the pages and she can colour the images in or draw around them.



Below you see the back of the first insert and the front of the second. There is another tab with gems at the top, lots of glitter and another 3-d sparkly butterfly sticker.


I stamped a few images throughout this book as well, but the pages are sketchbook paper so Olivia can use this one for drawing in.



Below is the back of the second insert and the front of the third. As with the others, there is a tab with gems, lots of glitter and a 3-d sparkly butterfly sticker...


... and here you see another bag/pocket. The Disney patterned paper is double sided so there are sweet patterns inside the covers as well.


This third insert has a combination of sketch paper and quad paper. I added iridescent rose stickers throughout this one.


Below is the back of the third insert and the back cover of the journal.


Finally, here is the journal with the elastic closure. It's not too tight so little fingers will be able to slide it off and on easily.


This must seem like a lot of work to do for a 6 year old, but with the amount of time Olivia has to spend at the Children's Hospital I think she will get a lot of use out of it. It will easily fit in her backpack too.  I may look for some small gel pens to go with the Travellers Journal and add a pen-loop. But for now, I'm calling it done!

I'll be back later today with my regular 'Masculine Card Monday' post ...

Thanks for stopping by today


3 comments:

  1. oh what adorable papers, perfect to use for Olivia. I am sure she will love it :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. So touching, this is a work of the heart, and a work of art! I know it must brighten her day and make her feel very special and loved, and gives her a magical place to escape to and have adventures in!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to comment - I appreciate each one!