Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Capon Memories Journal for Frilly and Funkie

Hello friends and visitors! I am hosting the current challenge at Frilly and Funkie, and the theme is 'Read Any Good Books Lately?'. Today, the Funkie girls will present their interpretation of the challenge theme. I will give a description of the challenge, but first here's a look at my Capon memories journal.


Reading a good book on the beach or on the porch is a simple summer pleasure. For this challenge, please create a vintage or shabby chic project that depicts a favorite book or use book pages on your project, alter a book or even make a journal or journal page! Just be sure it's in the vintage or shabby chic style that we are looking for!



Believe it or not, my journal was actually found in the trash! Yup, I did a little dumpster diving! Tee Hee! Actually, it was in with a pile of old photographs and other memorabilia a neighbor was throwing out. They know I like old black and white photos, so they gave me the whole kit and ka-boodle! One of the photos was used HERE.

My inspiration for making this journal came from our recent family vacation to Capon Springs, West Virginia. My husband and I have been going there for over 25 years, sometimes twice a year, and the kids have been coming with us annually since just before they were born. We have been going the same week for about 15 years, and have made some lifelong friends from around the country--we call them our Capon family. Going to Capon is like stepping back in time.  Our memories are precious, but my daughter mentioned that she can't remember anything before about 2 years ago! And my own memories of the first years are growing fuzzier. I thought we might start writing down a daily entry to describe our daily routine and anything special about the day. One of my friends has kept an annual Capon diary, and she has been visiting a few more years than we have. What a great idea!




This is a fairly well made home made journal originally prepared as a wedding favor. All I had to do was remove the glue that was used to make a shell design on the front cover and give it several coats of gesso to prepare for my Distress Oxide and ink background. I blended the blue, green and yellow inks on the journal and spritzed with water to blend, drying, dabbing and occasionally dipping and splattering. I carried the simple background around the back and added a faraway cluster of pines using Tim's tree mini stencil and Peeled Paint and Walnut Stain DOX.


I wanted a fairly simple flat design so that my book could be packed in my suitcase when we visit our summer vacation spot and could be easily handled and stored on a shelf. I colored my die cut trees with Cracked Pistachio, Peeled Paint, and Walnut stain DOX and Mowed Lawn ink.


I made the little cobblestone path using Tim Holtz' Stone stamp, Watering Can Distress ink and Frayed Burlap and Bundled Sage inks and a little Peeled Paint DOX.



For my focal point I chose a happy couple from Tim's Found Relatives, and some sweet children from Paper Dolls. I did have to remove an older sister from the younger girl, because I have a boy and a girl. This brother/sister team is perfect to represent my children--my son has always been about a head taller than his twin sister. I'm sure it's more now (if he would stand up straight!). I aged the foursome with some steel wool, Distress Crazing and crayon. Happy accident: my crazing is a little old, and the results are unpredictable, but in the photo above you can see the cracks fell in line almost perfectly with the folds of the boy's sleeve.


The clock face is left over from a previous project, and I chose some daisies from Tim's Botanical Layers. My title is made with Tim's cling foam alphabet (Love these fun stamps, and they come in the best packaging ever!) and Black Soot Archival ink and a Quote Chip. Everything is adhered with Distress Collage Medium Matte.


What's a book without a bookmark? The journal has an attached ribbon for marking your spot, but I made this coordinating bookmark just the same.  It was a piece of scrap card I used to try a technique I was going to use on the back cover. I didn't like how it turned out--much to messy for the cover, but I thought it would be nice enough to include within the pages somehow. I used the same color inks as the front of the book and Tim's birch tree mini stencil. I also dyed the seam binding ribbon with the same colors. Linda's crinkle ribbon really takes the DOX's well!



On the spine I added a Clippings sticker as a fitting title. There's really a quote for any occasion in this well filled package! At the bottom 'O' stamped (old stash stamp--part of '2010') and '70' (another clippings sticker) serve as call numbers. (I've volunteered at a few libraries in my day.) But it's really a tongue in cheek reference to the Bingo call number OH 70, a corny little private Capon joke.



Inside pages are left blank for writing our memoirs. I decorated the front and back inside covers simply with Tim's Wallflower paper using Distress Collage Medium to glue it down. This is the best collage medium I've used. I ran a strip of Tissue Tape up the join to help with the wear and tear from the handling of the book and secured this with the collage medium as well. I may choose to decorate some pages in the future but for now the plans are just for writing our annual Capon memories. I will also have to seal the cover, since the colors could easily be washed away. I'm open for suggestions...


Thank you for hanging in there with me! If you have time, please stop by the blog to see all the amazing book inspiration by my Frilly and Funkie teammates! Then I hope your join our challenge--you could be the random winner of a generous $25 gift certificate to The Funkie Junkie Boutique or be chosen as one of the team's four favorites! The challenge is open until August 15th.

I'm sharing with these challenges:
Artistic Stamper August's Creative Challenge - Anything Goes I used Tim Holtz alpha stamps and another stamp for the "o".
Die Cut Divas - Anything Goes for August I used a Thinlits tree die.

Thank you for your visit and for all your lovely comments! They inspire me more than you know!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily


These products used on my project can be purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

30 comments:

  1. Sara this is absolutely gorgeous! There are so many wonderful details, I love it!
    Thanks for joining us at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge
    Mandy xx

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  2. What a gem! You really transformed this dumpster diving find! I love the color palette..so summery and dreamy. Great texture and crackling, too. The front cover design is wonderfully nostalgic and beautifully layered. The peeks inside are tantalizing. You really rose to this challenge, Sara! I love it!

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  3. I love that you made this using the memories of your families trips! Fabulous design with thoughtful beautiful details! (Thanks for the heads up on my post... Very wierd). Gorgeous journal!

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  4. Just popping in to say what a fabulous work of art here Sara and a BIG thank you for your sweet comment...I'll be back...x
    [aNNie]

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  5. Your journal looks fanatastic, Sara Emily! I especially love the background with the trees.

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  6. Oh I just love this SE! The very personal nature brings all of the beautiful details to life. I love the layers of your photographs and beautifully decorated inside. Your dumpster diving paid off my friend! The colors here are my favorites and I just love the softness of it all... Such a great take on your fabulous theme. Big hugs, Autumn

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  7. OMG how can someone throw away these things??? Baffles the mind! Glad you retrieved them and gave them new life! Your journal is just beautiful! Love all the fabulous vintage elements and backgrounds! Great job! Thanks so much for playing in our ‘Summertime Fun’ challenge at Dies R Us! Please come back again soon!

    Darlene (DRU Blog Leader)
    DIES R US CHALLENGE BLOG
    DAR’S CRAFTY CREATIONS Please come for a visit.

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  8. Oh my goodness, this is amazing!! Wow!! First of all, what a find!! Who knew you could hit the jackpot dumpster diving!! ;) I absolutely love every detail you put into this, Sara Emily!! From the crazing to the colors to the vintage images, so, so spectacular!! This will be so perfect to fill with memories of your trips!! Truly amazing, my friend!! Also, as a voracious reader - and a writer - I love the theme you picked for the challenge!! I hope I can find some time to play along...it's been such a crazy-busy summer. Have a great day!! Big hugs :)

    Lisa
    A Mermaid's Crafts

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  9. Beautiful, inside and out Sara, this really was such a great find! I love your back story and how you represented it so beautifully in your journal.

    Regarding sealing it, I almost hesitate to say matte medium, but if dabbed on rather than rubbed on it can work over Distress. Or, you could get one of those plastic 'sleeves' that cover children's school books. Better still, some self adhesive thin plastic would work too. Hugs, Anne xx

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  10. Well done Sara Emily! I love this idea! And I love that you went diving for this journal!heehee
    Really ,truly, this is beautiful! Love the colors, peoples and those trees! And looking forward to a few shared memories of Vacation Capon!
    Jackie xo

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  11. What a wonderful way to store those memories Sara...your holidays sound wonderful, you must write things down so that they are not forgotten.The journal cover has such fab texture and the colours are perfect for our blue and greens theme challenge over at COuntry View, thanks so much for joining us xx

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  12. This is just the perfect book to keep those precious memories and what a superb cover!! I loved it already when there were just the trees,and specially also those dreamy ones on the back, but with the addition of the other layers it turned into the most perfect shabby chic journal! The addition of the bookmark is fantastic too!

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  13. Fabulous 'recycled' journal with all it's wonderful details....a treasure for sure! Thank you for joining our challenge at Dies R Us!
    Diane DRU DT {Nellies Nest}

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  14. Wonderful background for the journal. Thanks for sharing it with us at Dies R Us Challenge Blog. We hope to see more of your designs in future challenges.
    Kathy
    DRU DT

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  15. Wow this is fabulous, so many gorgeous details to look at. Thanks for joining us at Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge Blog :)

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  16. Sara Emily, you always find treasure! Love the story of how you acquired this journal. I love how you've decorated it - gorgeous inside and out. I love your trees behind the photos and the stone path for "your" kids (love the crazing!). A beautiful journal for a special vacation every year! Hugs :-)

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  17. This is gorgeous Sara Emily! You've totally transformed the book you were gifted into a perfect place to record those precious memories of trips to Capon Springs. I love how that cover looks with the cobbled path up to the woodlands xx

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  18. This is so lovely, Sara Emily. Love the layered trees giving it such depth, and the soft, natural colour tones are right up my street. Great use of the paper dolls and other ephemera, and I just love that stony path you've created for them to stand on.
    Alison x

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  19. Fabulous altered book that will capture your memories of past trips beautifully. Love the trees on the cover and the florals inside. This is such a good idea because it does become harder to recall everything we have done in life as we get older - trust me, I know. :)
    Hugs!
    Cec

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  20. Great vintage card. So glad you joined us at Die Cut Divas.

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  21. What a truly fabulous little book you have created from your lucky find. Wishing you many more happy times and happy memories in Capon Springs xx

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  22. Lovely ! Thanks for participating in my challenge over at Country View Challenges this week ! Corrie x

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  23. Wow you are really good at that!! Great job! Thanks for joining us this month at Noor! Design UK for the "Anything Goes" challenge. My personal favorite! LOL! Hugs!

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  24. Fabulous project, full of detail, colour & texture. Many thanks for joining in with Love 2 Create Challenges 'Anything Goes' challenge. Lou (DT L2CC)

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  25. The cover is gorgeous! A great recycling project too... For varnish I favour DecoArt. In their Mixed Media range they have an Ultra matte varnish and a unique Soft Touch varnish (also matte) that gives a sort of velvety feel.
    Thanks for joining us at Country View Challenges this month!

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  26. Love your mix media cover, it turned out wonderful! Thanks for joining us Die Cut Diva's!

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  27. A Fabulous creation. Thank you for joining in The Artistic Stamper Creative Challenge :)

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  28. WOW!! wonderful..love each and every details..Thank you so much for joining us at Happy Little Stampers - Anything goes dies Challenge. Hugs xx Deepti Aggarwal

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  29. Clever to tuck the striped sock boy's arm behind another paper doll, I just chopped it off on my journal page. PS Thanks for your visit.

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  30. A super project Sara, loved the background and colours. Thankyou for playing with us @ Happy Little Stamper Anything Goes with Dies challenge. All the best!!
    Hugs
    DT Seemaa
    (https://icraftpaper.blogspot.com)

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