Journal and Bookmark

I used to keep a journal.  I read that if you wrote down whatever entered your mind for 10 minutes every morning, that you would have a better day.  The book said that by writing down your thoughts for 10 minutes, you can get stuff out of your system, clear your head, and maybe even bring out things you were suppressing.  You were supposed to write bla bla bla if you couldn't think of anything, and that if you started writing bla bla bla you would eventually get to the nitty gritty within a few minutes.  I did this for several months and it actually was a nice way to start the day.  I was thinking about starting to do it again, and just recently I saw a notebook project in my Stampin' Success magazine.  Stampin' Success is a magazine that Stampin' Up! sends to demonstrators.  Its a fun thing to get every month because it is full of projects, all using things I probably already own :)
The article was actually about the bookmark, but there was a journal in the photo, and I am in the market for a new journal.   While shopping at Target I saw that they had marked the school supplies down to next to nothing.  These composition notebooks were $0.10!!  So, of course I bought a dozen.  I thought maybe this project would make a good stamp camp.  I covered the front and back with Pool Party card stock, using a glue stick.  A glue stick is good for this because you can get a nice thin even coating, all the way to the edge. I used an Exacto knife to cut the paper around the odd corners that the book has.   I also covered the inside of the
front and back cover, since there was writing on them.   Once I had the journal nicely covered, I sponged the edges first with Pool Party ink, then lightly with Soft Suede.  This gives the journal a nice distressed look.   I used a strip of paper from the new Spice Cake designer paper.  I love this new paper!  I  love the patterns and the colors.   Love it!  Anyway, back to the project.  I punched the strip of paper with my scallop border punch, then attached it with sticky strip.  I used sticky strip this time because the spine gets opened and closed a lot, and I wanted the center to not have glue on it so that it is more flexible, but I wanted a good and strong bond to the edges, so sticky strip.

Sticky strip doesn't move once its down so line it up carefully and only pull the red covering off the tape one side at a time.  So now the base of the journal is finished and you can decorate it any way you like.  I had a hard time deciding what to put on the front.  I thought about "Create" and "Notes", but in the end I decided on "Remember When" from the Word Play stamp set.  On to the bookmark.

The bookmark is made from an elastic hairband.  How clever is that?  I love that idea.  It is stretchy so you can put it over several sizes of books, as well as around many pages.  You can use any ribbons and whatever embellishments suit your mood.  I am using a lot of the Crochet Trim lately.  I used the Fun Flowers die to cut flowers from Pool Party and Spice Cake paper.  I used a sponge in Soft Suede to distress the edges of the flowers.   To make the bookmark, measure a length of ribbon and

loop the ends around the hairband.  Make sure it fits snugly, but not crazy tight.   Use something really strong to attach the ribbon. You guessed it, I used sticky strip!  Now you want to cover the hairband with something.  This is were my flowers come in.  I played around with all my paper flowers until I liked the look, then fixed them all together with an antique brad.  I also make a big loop of the Crochet Trim, to use sort of like leaves behind the flower.  I punched a 2 1/2 inch circle to

use as a cover for the messy layers.  Place the flower on one side of the hairband, and the circle on the other.   Since I used a brad to fasten my flowers together, I decided to go ahead and have it go all the way through the circle too. I figured the added strength couldn't hurt.  I also used sticky strip : )

So, this was a really long post! WOW, thanks for hanging in there.  I hope you found it inpirering.  Enjoy your long weekend!  I probably wont be back until Tuesday, the kids have a 4 day school holiday for Columbus day!  We are going to enjoy the great weather we're having here in Illinois! 
Thanks for stopping by!