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Top Tutorials Week

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Happy 4th of July! We are off to Lake Tahoe for the week! Luvinthemommyhood is having her “top tutorials week” so I thought I’d tag along and have my own as well! Head on over and vote for your favorite tutorials on her blog! BUT before you leave Lil Blue Boo….let me know which of my tutorials is your favorite too!
Top Tutorials Week via lilblueboo.com
This is a great chance for me to list some of my tutorial links (in no particular order) for newcomers! Welcome to my Lil Blue Boo blog!
Thanks so much for your support of my blog! I love coming up with new ideas and sharing them with others! All of you help me to stay inspired and I love reading your blogs as well!
EARLY tomorrow morning we will be driving through the middle of nowhere to get to Incline Village. Only poor little Diesel and the housesitter are being left behind. I know I will be going through CRAFT-WITHDRAWAL about 2 hours into the drive…….but it will be SO nice to get out of the 110 degree heat for a little while!
Boo in Tahoe via lilblueboo.com
Sienna in Tahoe last summer…..she looks so young!
Have a great week and I’ll be back soon!

Making a Composition Book Art Journal….

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Can you believe that this…..
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
…..was once this:
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 1 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
It took a lot of work but now the journal below is FULL of memories, notes, lists, drawings, etc. It is a simple process and you will get so much enjoyment out of it. It would be a fulfilling activity for older children as well. My 2-year-old has already started her art journal (with my help obviously)….it is a little simpler than this….but the same concept: a book to draw, create, embellish, make lists, and create!
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 2 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Here is how you can make your own:
The cover is the easy part. I usually take scraps of decorative and vintage paper and apply to the cover using paper Modge Podge. Vintage cigar wrappers make great borders like you see in the journal below.
Then I poke holes in either side of the journal and thread ribbon through. This allows me to tied the journals closed to keep all the stuff in!
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 3 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Sometimes I’ll use gesso (gesso is pictured further along in the post) to paint over some letters to decorate the cover as well…..
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 4 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
…I love the messy, haphazard image that is left behind.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 5 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
The next step is to thicken the pages. This step makes sturdy journal pages that you can paint and sew on! I typically do a few pages at a time and then as I finished journaling on them I will do a few more. I even work in several journals at once.
You’ll need matte medium to start (I prefer Liquitex Matte Medium):
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 6 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Place wax paper underneath 2 pages of the journal to protect the other pages.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 7 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Paint matte medium on the bottom page to glue the top page to it.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 8 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Take a brayer and roll out any air bubbles.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 9 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Next, I take old phone book pages and use the matte medium to glue them onto the top page. Brush a light layer on top as well.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 10 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Keep adding scrap phone book pages until the page is covered.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 11 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Once covered, place wax paper on top of the page and use the brayer to roll out the air bubbles and to flatten the page. I leave the wax paper on the page until it dries.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 12 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
You can work on several pages at once and leave the wax paper on the pages so that they won’t stick together.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 13 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Here is the journal closed with wax paper in between the wet pages.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 14 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Once the pages dry, I use gesso….

Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 15 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
…and cover the pages to make them opaque white. This prepares the surfaces for paint or other mediums.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 16 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
I also use gesso to paint the inside cover.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 17 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Here is the inside cover of one of my journals.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 18 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Once your pages are dry there is SO much you can do with them. Below are a few examples!
Punch holes to sew around the edges with embroidery thread:
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 19 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 20 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Sew items into your journal:
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 21 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
I even like the stitching from the back side…..
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 22 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Sew fabric or decorative paper into your journal:
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 23 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
I covered fabric with modge podge to keep it from fraying and stitched the words “spilling open” on the front.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 24 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
You can see the stitching on the back of the fabric page. I covered the back with gesso so that I could write on it.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 25 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Closeup of how the fabric page was sewed into the journal. I cut one of the prepared pages down….punched holes along it and then used embroidery thread to attach the fabric page.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 26 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
An artist’s brochure I stitched in as a “foldout” page.
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 27 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
A booklet of photos that I attached to the back cover and used embroidery thread to tie it shut.
I always like to leave the last page of my journal with a cute drawing or quote!
Making a Composition Book Art into a Journal 28 (Tutorial) via lilblueboo.com
Here are some of my other journaling posts for ideas!
Journaling – Part I (Introduction)
Journaling – Part II (Books and links for inspiration)
Journaling – Part III (Drawing in your journal)
Journaling – Part IV (Accidental pages)

Journaling – Part III – Just draw it!

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Journaling - Part III - Just draw it via lilblueboo.comThe thing I love about “art journaling” is that I don’t have to come up with words to describe a moment in time that I want to remember. I was a math major in college and never really had to do much writing so I struggle with it! This entry back in 2006 was just a picture I drew of the “perfect lunch” with my mother-in-law Gale. We were at this charming little cafe called Squeez-In in Truckee near Lake Tahoe and ordered enough veggies for 4 people…and ate all of it. It was such an awesome spread that I had to draw it in my journal.

Other ideas for your journal:
Draw a map of a place you want to remember. I was on a plane once drawing the below map of the old farm where I used to keep my horse when I was younger. The lady next to me leaned over and commented “you must be writing a children’s book” and I think she was puzzled when I told her that it was just a journal entry. Mr. Rea, the farmer, was such a character and the land had been in his family for over a 100 years so there was much to explore. I had so many memories that kept coming to mind as I drew and labeled that I could barely keep up: the broken down tractors everywhere, the secret locked fields, the tree that Hurricane Hugo claimed, the wrecks on the curved road…..I thought I’d post this page for all my friends that grew up at Rea Barn.

Journaling - Part III - Just draw it 1 via lilblueboo.com

Draw the layout of your childhood home. Draw the floorplan of an old house you want to remember.  You will be surprised at what starts triggering your memory….furniture, where you chipped a tooth, the wallpaper color, the fort you had in the attic…..
Draw random pictures from the moment. Flipping through some of my journals I’ve found the most random drawings: embroidery stitches I wanted to remember, seating charts, the shape of a cookie….. My little 2.5 lb yorkie Diesel loves his little miniature toys. Each one has a name. These are old “friends” of his before we had our daughter Sienna. Now he is only interested in whatever she is playing with.
Journaling - Part III - Just draw it 2 via lilblueboo.com
If you need a new journal check out the charming vintage journals by Robin of The Fancy Lamb! Robin repurposes old books into journals. She even throws in an original book page here and there throughout the journal as a surprise. I love recycling old items into new so these are right up my alley….slight imperfections, character and unique charm. Robin has offered 20% off any journal purchase to Lil Blue Boo readers, so make sure to include “Lil Blue Boo” in the notes to seller! Thanks Robin!
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