Autumnal Oxide Journal

Hello all!  As promised, I'm here with some more pictures and words about one of my latest journals created with Eileen Hull's fabulous journal die.  Warning - there are many, many pictures to capture all the colours and angles, so you might want to grab a sustaining beverage!

Oh boy, did I have fun playing with the Oxides on this one?!  As well as some of Tim Holtz's brilliant new Thinlits dies... and I'm very happy with the journal I've ended up with.

If you missed the exciting launch of the Journal Treasury - a collection of inspirational projects made with the die (but also providing inspiration for any kind of handmade books/albums/journals) - you can catch up with all the details here... or just head over to Bella Crafts to grab a copy of the e-book at the reduced August price of 30% off.

Buy the Journal Treasury E-Book

This particular journal isn't in the book, but there is one of mine there, and there are some spectacular projects to enjoy from amazing crafters around the world.










From the moment I saw the new Thinlits collection, there were some "must-haves".  They're intended mainly for Halloween, but there are lots of them which will have a much wider use, especially for those autumnal projects which always get my creative juices flowing.

You've met this colour combination before, and with crows associated with it too.  I've pretty much "cased" my own journalling pages, A Beautiful Adventure.











But now I've got some glorious ink and oxide effects in the background, which simply couldn't have happened back then in pre-Oxide days...












... as well as Tim's fabulous Scarecrow to add to the scene.  And it's a journal not a journalling page, so really it's quite different!














I started with a large piece of watercolour paper, and my autumnal landscape colours in Distress Inks on the mat for the first passes.














Once I had some good bright layers down, I switched to Oxides on the mat and started layering.














And from there I did a bit of ink and Oxide mixing, as well as plenty of water-spritzing, until I was happy with the results.
















Well, a little more than happy, actually...












I cut the Eileen Hull journal cover first of all in some strong cardboard.

I spent a bit of time deciding which parts of my large sheet I really wanted to feature... 












... before running it through with the die to get my front and back covers, which I stuck on to the cardboard pieces for extra sturdiness.














I love how the final layer of white spatter really adds detail and depth somehow.
















I had added some stamping, of course... one of my favourite Tim Holtz meadow flowers stamps...














(I love how the Antique Linen Oxide gives you this wonderful misty look over the top of all the other inky layers.)












... and the glorious tree branches to give a little more for the large crow to perch on.

He does have the branch which comes as part of the set, but I like how the stamping gives a little more depth and truth to the illusion.












He seems to be contemplating whether to join his fellows in the sky.














The tiny birds flying away in the distance come with the Scarecrow.  They're fiddly, but definitely worth it...
















... providing an echo of another of my favourite TH stamps, but with a bit more presence over a busy background.















On the front cover, his partner in crime has no such doubts about whether to leave...













... he's off!
















The scarecrow can only stand and watch the results of his successful scaring.  I do love the detail on this die.















If you're wondering, his twiggy fingers do go off around the corner onto the spine.
















My signatures inside are made up of some cheap watercolour paper, perhaps for mixed media journalling...















... or maybe I'll stick some of the many autumnal tags I've made (past, present and future) onto the pages.














The signatures are held in place with some elastic twine, so they're easy to get in and out.  I haven't bound the signatures, as I thought it would be easier to create on the pages if I left them loose.

Some simple rustic twine forms the closure.  I didn't want anything getting in the way of the scene too much.













It goes in through the central hole in the spine and is held in place with some wire inside, so it's not going anywhere.















You can undo the knots without any worries about losing the twine!
















This one really gives me great joy to look at and to hold, as you can probably tell from the number of photos!  I hope you've enjoyed seeing some more of the details in close-up, front and back, inside and out.













Thanks so much for stopping by today.  And remember, if you're looking for more handmade book inspiration, do check out the Journal Treasury.  See you again soon!

Life is populated with scarecrows—all those people and things that seem so scary and trouble our sleep. Isn't it nice to know that most of them turn out to be made of nothing but straw?
Jerry Spinelli







I'd like to play along at That's Crafty Challenges where they are looking for Anything But Cards
At Love To Create, sponsored by Premium Craft Brands, they are having they're usual Anything Creative/Mixed Media Goes, so I'm joining in there too
At the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, they'd like to see things For A Child - I'd have loved a notebook like this as a child to record my thoughts in