Blog — ephemera

I love to use real junk in my junk journals - you know - that stuff that comes into your house and immediately gets thrown out. And the classic example of junk is the window envelope. They are pretty cool, but they aren't easy to make pretty. The Challenges of the Window Envelope First of all, many of them have writing on them. That's not pretty, so some camouflage is in order. Second, the window itself is hard to decorate around. If you are trying to cover the writing with pretty paper, you have to cut around the window, which...

I LOVE using stickers in my journals and mixed media projects. But they are expensive and some of them come with plastic backs, which are terrible for the environment. So I tried to figure out all the ways I can make my own stickers. Here's what I came up with. Make Faux Stamps Some of these stamps I designed, but some of them I got from Wikimedia Commons Public Domain. I lined them up in Photoshop (you could use Word or any other software that allows images.) Then I printed them on paper and used lickable glue on the back (recipe...

 I have a ton of mangled, ripped window envelopes. I saved them because I figured that one day I'd think of something amazing to make with them, and that day has come! Check out my specimen slides! Directions and the printable are below. There's s video of the process here: Specimen Slide Video Step 1 I started with this printable, which I printed on kraft cardstock. Then I cut out the individual slides. There is a link to the free printable below. Please do not share it with anyone. Free Specimen Slide Printable Step 2 Then I positioned the slide cut...

In this video: DIY Folio I showed how I made this sweet folio. There's a link below for the printables I used. They are free to print or download. Please do not share them. Here's how I made it: Step 1 Print the Folio Template on cardstock. I used 65 # brown kraft cardstock. There are light and dark versions of the template. Use the lightest one that shows on your cardstock so the lines aren't obtrusive. Note: the printables don't have the words on them. I just put that up here so you know what goes where. Step 2 Print...

I spent this past week thinking of all the ways I can add some sparkle to my journals without spending a lot of money on charms and other fun shiny things. Here are some ideas I came up with using heat embossing and Glossy Accents. I used watermark ink (any slow drying ink, such as pigment ink, will work) and Metallic Silver embossing powder to make this pretty vellum pocket topper. Here's a link to silver embossing powder if you want to see what I used. Link I used rubber stamps and ink to make the 4 squares on vellum....