Hello folks, this is Nancy bringing you a tutorial for a stenciled art journal. Creating your own journal is such fun and using The Crafter’s Workshop stencils gives you so many ways to add design to the covers!

The Crafter’s Workshop provided me with some product to create this project. The opinions I share are solely my own.

Supplies Used:

6″ x 6″ and 12″ x 12″ Love to Fly stencils TCW 640s/TCW640

6″ x 6″ Heart Key stencil TCW642s

12″ x 12″ Life Remembered stencil TCW627

12″ x 12″ Star Quest stencil TCW639

cereal box cardboard

fine grit sandpaper

The Crafter’s Workshop white gesso 

paintbrush

acrylic paint: vanilla, burnt sienna

baby wipes

Scotch® Quick Dry adhesive

fluid chalk ink: deep lagoon, burnt sienna, yellow ochre

masking tape

fine line permanent marker: brown

miscellaneous papers

phone book

awl

waxed linen cord

yarn darner needle

corrugated cardboard

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Cut cardboard from cereal box to the desired size for your journal, utilizing the side of the box as the spine. Cut additional pieces for front & back cover and spine and adhere to inside of journal to reinforce. Sand the gloss from the cardboard and wipe off the dust.

Paint with 1-2 coats of white gesso, inside and out, and allow to dry.

Paint inside and out with vanilla acrylic paint.

  Mask off areas on 6″ x 6″ Love to Fly stencil and using deep lagoon & yellow ochre fluid chalk ink add design to cover.

After adding the design, I decided the background was too pristine, so I “grunged it up” a little with burnt sienna acrylic paint and a baby wipe for blending.

Trace around outside of heart design with a fine line marker.

Using 12″ x 12″ Life Remembered stencil and fluid chalk ink, add design to the spine.

Decorate the back cover with 6″ x 6″ Heart Key stencil and the inside covers with the 12″ x 12″ Star Quest stencil.

Apply fluid chalk ink to all outside edges of journal and the spine edges as well.

Create seven signatures, consisting of five pages each, using miscellaneous papers.

Use a template and an awl for making holes in signatures; done easily while working in an open phone book. Make corresponding holes in the spine of the journal.
Bind the journal using waxed linen cord and a long stitch. Tutorials for the long stitch binding technique are readily available online.

Dry brush bits of corrugated cardboard with vanilla acrylic paint.

 Add touches of fluid chalk inks to the cardboard bits, and using a quick dry adhesive, adhere to the cover. Let dry.

Add a stenciled dragonfly from the 12″ x 12″ Love to Fly stencil to complete the journal cover.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial.

I think once you begin to make your own hand bound journals you’ll find that you can’t stop!

See you next time!

Nancy