Summer Craftiness Fever: Decoupage a Journal

For most of you, it's getting to the point in summer when you find your self saying, "...now what?" The thrill of relaxation and slumber has faded and boredom has arrived. Shesh, that was fast! How can we cure said boredom? Get crafty! Today I'm going to attempt to walk you through a process known as decoupaging. You can decoupage pretty much anything! Hat boxes, books, chairs, tables, and so on. My favorite project is journals. I have a serious passion for lined pages bound together and I love making it personal by gluing photos over the covers. Now, you can too! Ready? Here it goes.

Materials:
A plain journal (B&N has tons of plain, simple ones for super cheap. I believe I paid $5.95 for mine.)
Mod Podge matte glue (I found mine at Hobby Lobby.)
A sponge brush
Tons of photos!

Mod Podge glue and brush

Step 1: Pick, print, and cut your photos

Personally, I enjoy having a "theme" among my photos. I search Pinterest and the web to find the ones I like, print, and cut. One of my journals was Disney themed, which was super fun! For another one, I used black and white photos. The journal I'm working on today is a vintage theme. I scanned old family photos and used other cool finds that seemed to match. Side note: You might also want to find a print or a background to use for the binding. Sometimes I print out cool patterns, but this time I used tissue paper from Starbucks. Whatever works!

Starbucks tissue paper I used

One example of a decoupaged journal. Random photos I like. :)

My Disney themed journal. Also, I always like to incorporate a verse onto the journal. Side note: I KNOW Anastasia is not Disney, but she's awesome. Just clarifying.

Step 2: Glue on the binding first

If you decide to do the pattern or whatever else for the binding, glue this FIRST. Try to approximate how much you will need, cut it to the size of your journal, and glue. (Always overestimate when cutting. It's always better to cut off excess than come out short.) All you need to do for the gluing is dip your brush in the glue, apply the glue directly to the journal, put the paper over the glue on the journal, and paint more glue on top of the paper or photos. Make sense? I'm sure you got this. :)

Finished product. You can see the tissue paper on the side.

Step 3: Arrange your photos

After the glue is dry, which shouldn't be too long, start playing with your photos. Where do you want them? Which ones look best together? How do these shapes work with the others? Sometimes it's like a puzzle. You try to put it together but get trapped in an empty corner. Just keep playing with it until you're pleased. Once you solved the puzzle, take a quick snapshot of it! This is just in case you forgot what you did. It's always good to have it to refer back to if you get stuck in a pickle.

Arranged photos. The empty space will be filled with a handwritten note which says, "Bind my wandering heart to Thee."

Step 4: Glue your photos

Now you are at the fun part...gluing! Apply the glue, stick the photo, paint more glue. Over, and over, and over again. Remember, be GENEROUS with your glue. It will dry clear; don't worry. Once you've done the front of the journal, let it dry. Then, apply one more coat of glue over the entire cover and let it dry again.

Glue, stick, glue. You get the idea.

Step 5: Repeat arranging and gluing process on the other side

Arrange your photos and glue them to the back side of your journal. You're probably pro at this after working so hard on the front.

Step 6: Clean up the edges and clean your mess

If you have any excess paper hanging off the edge of your jornal, cut it off. Make sure everything is completely dry before you use the journal. Clean your brush and all your mess and you're done! Voila!

Front and back. Ta-da!

So that's that! Remember that it will so NOT be perfect. I think it's more fun with crocked edges and messy glue. Now it's your turn! Start those creative juices flowing and get some Pinsperation. I hope this helps your summer craftiness fever! Good luck!

xo,

AKG

Only Jesus

So it's been a little while, eh? I just looked at the date of my last post. Woops. But you know what? I haven't really had anything to write about. Nothing big. Nothing exciting. However, I have a lot to cover. If you stick around to read all of it, kuddos to you. Jesus, take it away.

Alright, there is this book called 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess written by a fabulously hilarious author, Jen Hatmaker. Let me explain. This woman felt it necessary to choose 7 areas of her life that were extra fluff and fast every area to a certain degree for one month each. These areas include food, clothes, spending, media, possessions, waste, and stress. For the food month, only 7 ingredients were used. Clothes? Only 7 articles of clothing worn. Spend money in only 7 places. Give up of 7 media/electronic related devices. Get rid of 7 items away a day. Try out 7 green ideas and habits. Finally, take 7 "sacred pauses" each day to pray the stress away. Make sense? (If not, google away. It's okay; I had to.)

Now for some of you, it may sound like a dream to escape from the machine of excess in America. Others, you may think it's some radically bizarre idea that is never worth trying. Who really lives like that anyways? Well, Jen decided that she wanted to create space for God to move in her. In those areas of discomfort, He would show up even more. I could go on, but instead I'll tell you just to go read her book.

Why am I rambling about 7? Well, my gal pals and I decided to try this crazy fast out. We are experimenting 7. Before you get too wound up, you should know we are only enduring each area for one week, not one month. We are kindergarteners when it comes to this sort of idea, not college students.

That was just the intro to what I want to get across. Whew.

Today marks day 3 of our clothing week. Last week was food...we survived! Here's what we ate for 7 days: chicken, eggs (I substituted nuts), whole wheat bread, sweet potatoes (I substituted carrots), avocados, apples, and spinach. Sigh. I had never felt so healthy in my life. There were some days when I felt like I could eat like this forever. Then, there were other days when I questioned myself for ever trying this crazy thing. About mid-week, it dawned on me:

God gives me what I need, not want.

"Give us today the food we need."
{Jesus, Matthew 6:11, NLT}

So I really don't NEED coffee? 
(As I am sipping my Starbucks while typing this.)
I don't NEED everything I want?

Nope. I'm extremely well taken care of, even with only 7 ingredients of food. (Side note, half the world lives on less than $2 per day. Just some perspective.) God takes care of us more than the birds in the air and look how well they're doin'! Sadly, most of the world is not getting all of the food they need. We are sent out to help fix that problem. Not exactly sure how I will do this yet. Lord, give me Your eyes.

The last day of my food fast was the hardest. Actually, the last five hours or so. I was so close, yet so far. I knew that when I woke up in the morning, I was going to have coffee and a Kashi mocha granola bar. Laying in my bed I thought, I'm going to feel wonderful when I eat that food. I'll feel so much better. Really? Is it all about food? Dear, oh dear, I have so far to go.

Remember that song that says, "You can have all this world, just give me Jesus." Am I really able to honestly say that even when I don't have all the food I want? The clothes I want? Is Jesus another one of my "things" I'm really into? Shouldn't it only be about Him? Do I need Jesus to fill me, along with other stuff that I really like instead of just Him? Have I gotten too comfortable? Can I really live without anything else on this world and still be satisfied with only Jesus? Am I trying to mix Him with other stuff this world has to offer to fill my space for joy and fulfillment? AM I MAKING ANY SENSE?!

I can't believe how much I am rambling on the internet.

Readers, if you are still with me, you rock. All five of you deserve a gold star sticker.

Bottom line, all you NEED is Jesus. That's it. Nothing else. At all. Zip. Zilch.

Wanna know what Paul said? He said he found that he could be content in every circumstance, and I won't even go into what Paul went through here on earth. {Philippians 4:11-13} Wanna know what David said? He said that the Lord is his shepherd. He has no reason to want; he has everything he needs {Psalm 23:1} Finding a trend? Only Jesus, friends, only Jesus.

Right now, I'm draining extra stuff out of my life so Jesus can fill it even more. Today is week 2, day 3. I have a feeling I will learn much more.

So that's that.

Encouraged?

I hope so.

Tired of reading?

Sorry.

I had a lot to get off my chest.

Jesus, move in this space!

xo,
AKG