I am so excited to share today’s project with you! I absolutely love the vintage, antique look, and recently created these altered vintage journals. More accurately, they are altered composition books, but that title just didn’t have the same panache!
I used vintage papers that I had in my stock, and a few retired CTMH products that I found to make them more antique-y.
This first book was altered with papers that contained a cursive script. Since it focused on writing, it only made sense to make this one into a journal. I glued the paper to the front and back of the book and then antiqued around the edges with Cocoa Ink and a sponge dauber.
To cover the binding, I REALLY wanted corrugated paper, but didn’t have any in stock. So…. I improvised. I took Kraft Paper and painstakingly scored down the length of the paper every 1/8″… yes, EVERY 1/8″ inch for every binding cover, and every book. It took awhile, but I was very happy with the semi-corrugated look. Then I added a piece of black ribbon to cover where the seams met.
Taking a closer look at the front, I added some chipboard elements from CTMH (retired). The key was my favorite piece! I inked it with Cocoa Ink. Since it had a resist pattern, a portion of the chipboard remained white, revealing a nice design. I added a piece of scored and distressed Kraft paper to look like a journal closure and a button that looked similar enough to a lock. Voila! A cute faux lock and key design.
Here is the back of the book, finished the same as the front, but without the design elements.
This book was done in the same manner as the previous one… vintage-looking paper, designer chipboard elements, and a CTMH resin button (retired) for the “lock.”
Another similar book with the same concepts but different look. This paper had a clock pattern, so I added a time element… the year. It can be used as a 2016 journal, notebook, planner, etc.
This book was my favorite! The musical note pattern just screamed “notes”, which was perfect for a journal/notebook. I used mini tags to spell out “Love Notes” and added some chipboard pieces that I colored in Cranberry Ink.
The chipboard piece also had a nice resist pattern that remained white when colored. I used it to replace the “O” in the word “Love” and added additional colored hearts to the top of the book. I found a random red button to add as the lock.
These were so fun to make!
Featured Products
| Stamp Sets | None |
| Patterned Paper | Unknown |
| Cardstock | Kraft Paper |
| Inks | Cocoa, Cranberry |
| Accessories | Designer Resist Chipboard (retired), Buttons, Black Ribbon |
| Cricut | None |
| Tools | Bonding Memories Glue, Glue Dots, Easy Stick Adhesive, All-Purpose Mat, Versamat, Paper Trimmer, Score Board, Non-Stick Micro-tip Scissors, Corner Rounder, Sponge Daubers, Rub and Remove Eraser, Bone Folder, Ruler |
I’ll see you in the craft room,
