Falling Leaves Spool Journal

It is time for the new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog and this time I am the hostess.  The challenge is called Aquamarine and here is how I describe it:

"Aquamarine, the birthstone of March, has a rich color and has long been a symbol of youth, health and hope. Its mesmerizing color ranges from pale to deep blue and are reminiscent of the sea." The challenge is to create a shabby chic or vintage project using the colour aquamarine in any of its shades along with one other colour (it could be white or brown or whatever you wish). The definition has lots of other prompts you could also use in your creation but the colour requirement is the main focus.

I wanted to make something a little different and came up with this little spool journal.  I convinced my husband to make the spool for me but if you have a vintage spool that would be so special.  The spool is just under 4" tall with a 3" space for the journal.

To prepare the spool, I covered it with a coat of White Gesso (Dina Wakley) and then a coat of Crackled Texture Paste (Wendy Vecchi).  Once it was dry, I took a soft makeup sponge and covered it with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink since I had chosen brown as my other colour.

The next step was to create the journal.  I tore strips of white card stock that were 2 7/8" wide x 11" long and inked them on both sides with Tumbled Glass and Broken China Distress Ink (Tim Holtz).  Then I joined them together on the short sides to make a long strip.

Lots of stenciling using a variety of stencils with Mermaid Lagoon and Peacock Feathers Distress Inks came next.

The Nature's Wonder stamp set (Tim Holtz) and Gathered Twigs DI were used to add the falling leaves and sentiments.  The ink was also used to make the circle markings with a spray bottle lid and to add the faux stitching from a stamp set called Seamless Experience (Tim Holtz).

Originally my vision was that the journaling would be done over the stenciling but then I thought it might be nice to add some blank "pages" as well so I tore some small pieces of card stock, inked them with Tumbled Glass DI, added faux stitching and adhered them over the seams.

A hole was punched in one end of the journal strip and some jute was threaded it through it to make a closure.  The journal was then glued to the centre post making sure that it covered the post and then when it was dry the jute was wound around and tied.

To make the spool topper I started by cutting some little leaves from Shattered Kraft Stock (Tim Holtz) using the Fall Foliage die (Tim Holtz).  Two of the leaves were attached to fishing line so they look like they are falling.  More leaves, some paper flowers and a wire twist were also added to the top.

I hope you will join us for the challenge. It runs until 11:55 pm EST on Tuesday, March 17th. One randomly chosen entry will receive a gift certificate to go shopping at The Funkie Junkie Boutique and with all the new products coming in, that would be a nice thing to have. The Design Team will choose their top four picks and the overall winner will receive an opportunity to be a Guest Designer with us at a future date.

Supplies List with links to The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso MDM41689
Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Texture Paste - Crackled WVPASTECRA
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Gathered Twigs TIM32823
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Tumbled Glass TIM27188
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Broken China
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Peacock Feathers TIM34933
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Mermaid Lagoon TIM43256
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 14PK - Fall Foliage by Tim Holtz 660955
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Nature's Wonder
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Bubble THS002
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Harlequin THS016
Scor Tape
Dylusions Staggered Brickworks Stencil
Wendy Vecchi Dots and Stripes Borders Stencil
Dollarama Zig Zag Stencil
Teresa Collins Geometric Stencil
Tim Holtz Shattered Kraft Core Paper Pad
Tim Holtz Seamless Experience Stamp Set
Artistic Wire
Fishing Line
Jute Twine
Recollections Paper Flowers
Dollarama Half Pearls
Bic Markers