Hello folks, Nancy here, and welcome to a tutorial for a handmade art journal using corrugated cardboard, ephemera and a number of great new stencils from The Crafter’s Workshop.
I’ve recently learned that the combination of corrugated cardboard and white gesso is a match made in heaven. The contrast of the brown with white and the chalky gesso with the texture of the cardboard is divine!
The Crafter’s Workshop provided me with some product to create this project. The opinions I share are solely my own.
Supplies Used:
TCW713s 6″ x 6″ Birds on Branches stencil
TCW662 12″ x 12″ Tile Mania stencil
TCW684s 6″ x 6″ Bird Gathering stencil
TCW2144 6″ x 9″ Tree of Life stencil
TCW716s 6″ x 6″ Four Feathers stencil
TCW701s 6″ x 6″ Have Faith stencil
TCW622s 6″ x 6″ Mini Time for Love stencil
TCW658 12″ x 12″ Jungle Vines stencil
TCW659s 6″ x 6″ She said Yes stencil
TCW664 12″ x 12″ Bird Houses stencil
cardboard: corrugated, lightweight
quick dry adhesive, glue stick
assorted ephemera: vintage copies, envelopes, tags, library circulation cards, decorative paper
fabric: muslin, Osnaburg cotton
paintbrush
foam spouncer/applicator
sewing machine & black thread
tea-dyed cheesecloth
masking tape
twine
TCW Heavy Body Paint – Black Licorice
alphabet rubber stamp set
fluid chalk ink: chestnut roan
Staz-On ink: jet black
black snaps, rusted washer, mini Scrabble letters
waxed linen cord
yarn darner needle
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Cut corrugated cardboard into five 6″ x 8″ pieces and fold into 4″ x 6″ “signatures.” Apply white gesso in select areas with paintbrush.
Arrange ephemera and fabric on journal page, adhering with a glue stick for the papers and gel medium for the fabrics. Add stencils as desired. Make sure to mask off unwanted areas with masking tape and use foam applicator with Staz-On ink through stencil. Add rubber stamped text, if desired.
Stitching randomly on the fabric (before adhering) adds interest to the page.
Sometimes just the addition of a stenciled word…”truth”…can add so much to a journal page.
Stamping a message on mini-tags and hanging from twine adds interest, especially when backed by tea-dyed cheesecloth.
A simple numeral, stenciled onto muslin and stitched, adds a nice element to the page.
On an open journal spread create an overall background pattern with Tile Mania stencil and ink. Add a library pocket and card and embellish with a bird in flight stencil. Tea dyed cheesecloth adhered with gel medium, plus a stamped sentiment, completes the spread.
Using fluid chalk ink through a text stencil creates an interesting background on the simple, gessoed cardboard. The addition of feather stencils and cloth makes a striking arrangement.
TCW Black Licorice heavy body acrylic paint, applied with a foam spouncer, works wonderfully well with stencils. Very little paint is needed to achieve a strong result.
Cut two copies of vintage text into 4″ x 6″ pieces and apply TCW Black Licorice paint through Jungle Vines stencil. Use these as end papers adhered to the inside front and back of the cardboard journal cover. The cover is created from cereal box cardboard, utilizing the side of the box as a spine and double thickness for strength.
Add a final quote to the last end paper.
With gel medium, adhere Osnaburg cotton to the spine of the journal cover. Let dry. Bind the five “signatures” into the cover using waxed linen cord and a long stitch. (Tutorials for this stitch can be readily found online.)
Embellish corrugated cardboard with lightweight cardboard (gessoed & inked), fabrics, cheesecloth and rusty washer and adhere to the journal cover “base” with quick dry adhesive, slipping twine between the layers to act as a tie. Add gessoed corrugated cardboard to back and add twine also.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial for a handmade journal and see how the fabulous stencils from The Crafter’s Workshop can take cardboard from basic to beautiful.
Thanks for visiting!
The Crafter’s Workshop Design Team Member
ADMIRABLE J ADORE ET +++
I really love this…from the cardboard (readily available in my store’s recycling) to the bits of fabric and wonderful use of stencils. I see a journal in my future!
So creative!!! Every page is beautiful!
Fabulous!!!!!!!
I love it! Every page is so beautiful xx