Good Stuff!

Hello, crafty friends! Today I’m sharing a papercraft project. I’ve loved the idea of making little books since grade school. One of my favourite school projects ever involved making two little books with my best friend. We wrote and illustrated cute little stories that starred a unicorn and a princess. Totally out of character, right? 🙂

I discovered junk journals at some point last year when I stumbled across Mad Paper Crush. She makes fabulous junk journals and altered books, and she inspired me to try an envelope journal. (I’ll share that another day.)

That brings me to last week, when I watched a video from Jana Eubank of Simple Stories. She showed how to make a cute journal using supplies from January’s Scrapbook and Cards Today  sampler. I had been wondering what to do with all the bits and pieces from the Simple Stories Good Stuff collection, and the journal just captured my heart.

I’ll be using this journal to record my favourite things: books, music, scents, memories, dreams, etc. I’ve also included pictures of my family on one of the pages that I didn’t share. All of the papers and stickers I used came in the sampler from Scrapbook and Cards Today, and are from the Simple Stories Good Stuff collection. The Love word and the hearts are die cuts, created using the dies included in the January sampler as well.

The patterns and colours of this paper collect are pretty out of character for me. (They feel very retro late 70s/early 80s to me, sort of). But, sometimes working with things that are out of character helps because you are forced to look at things in new ways, play with new pairings, and really tap into your creativity. I think this journal turned out great, even though I would never have bought this paper for myself.

Needlework is still my greatest crafting love, but working with paper and creating little books has been so satisfying.

If you are interested in the Scrapbook and Cards Today Magazine sampler, you can find information here. Every month has a new surprise. I’ve received lots of wonderful paper, stickers and other embellishments, a stencil, stamps, and dies. It is turning into a wonderful exercise in creativity for me.

You can see the full Simple Stories Good Stuff collection here.