Using Dies in Different ways - Nature Junk Journal

A new month means a new theme for Eileen Hull's Inspiration and Education Teams. This month we are taking a look at journals inspired by nature.  And just to make it a little more tricky, we have been challenged to use dies that aren’t normally considered “journal dies”.

I used Eileen's Gift Card Folder to hold a little nature journal. The Junk Journal stamp is from her new set Buttons Cards and More.  The Nature stamp is from a soon to be released new set!

I held the flaps of the folder closed with a blue elastic ribbon.

Remove the ribbon and you'll find a little junk journal

I added a little felt flower using Eileen/s Journaling Cards - Flowers and Leaves Thinlit dies.

I pressed leaves and flowers from my garden using my Vagabond onto panels of watercolor paper 

and onto tea bags that I used as pockets on some pages.

I slipped little die cut pieces into the tea bags.

Here are a few shots showing how I put this together.

I die cut Eileen's Gift Card Folder out of matboard.  Then I stamped it with her beautiful new Damask stamp on both sides.  

Then I used a blender brush to ink all the edges with Distress Antique Linen. (not shown in photo) 

I die cut the ornate piece from Eileen's Gift Box Scalloped Edge die out of matboard and stamped the image from her new Buttons Cards and More stamp set onto it.  I also stamped the ticket from the same set onto a piece of DP and fussy cut around the edges.  I later looped a piece of twine through a hole I punched on one edge so it was easier to get out of the tea bag pocket I put it in.  I die cut the larger leaf from Eileen's Spring Leaves Die out of watercolor paper, stamped a sentiment  and leaf from a 'soon to be released' stamp set from Eileen.

I went out to my garden and gathered some leaves and blooms so I could 'press' them using my Vagabond.  I used a geranium leaf, petunia blossoms, clover, an astilbe leaf stem, Solomon Seal leaves and phlox stems and blossoms.  I pressed them onto new teabags that I had stained with watery Ranger Distress Vintage Photo ink to make them look 'used' as well as water color paper.   My sandwich was teabag, leaf or blossom, piece of watercolor paper.

This shows how wonderfully the petunia blossom pressed into the watercolor paper.  I hadn't removed one of the blossoms from the top piece yet for illustration.

For my Nature Junk Journal, I cut 3 pieces of watercolor paper each one 4 3/4" x 3" that I scored in the mittle of the long edge to create 6 pages.  I laid the pages on top of each other and bound them with a knotted piece of black twine.

I die cut all my pressed pieces with a rectangle Nestability slightly smaller than my journal pages and stamped some of them with various nature themed sentiments.

Please check out Eileen's blog every Wednesday this month where you will find lots of inspiration for using your dies in different ways for journaling!

Stamps:  Vintage Damask, Buttons Cards and More - Eileen Hull/Maker Forte, EAB16 and EAB04 Alison Bomber - PaperArtsy, Potters Bench - Stamping Bella, Stampotique, Verve Stamps.

Paper:  Little Sizzles Matboard - Sizzix, water color paper - Canson Cold Press, DP Petite Places - PTI.

Ink:  Ranger Distress Vintage Photo, Antique Linen, Iced Spruce, True Black - PTI, Iceberg - Altenew.

Accessories:  Gift Card Folder die, Spring Leaves Die, Thinlit Journaling Cards Flowers and Leaves - Eileen Hull/Sizzix, Classic Rectangle die - Nestabilities, new teabags - gift from a friend, black cord, blue elastic ribbon - Cousin, rhinestone heart, ScorTape, felt from stash, Vagabond Machine, leaves and blooms from my garden.