Welcome Back France Papillon #1 Art Journal ....

I started by cutting a 6 x 8 canvas, so that I could neatly fold the canvas around the frame,then I glued it in place.

Out of 2 mm cardboard, I cut 3 pieces: one of 6 x 8 and two o 4 x 6. I painted the cardboardback and front and all the sides of the canvas with Honey Dew

Once dry, I applied Crackle Glaze, left it to dry and ended with a layer of Mud Splat Fresco Paint.

    After the crackle magic happened (happy moment) I went over the edges with a sanding grip and applied a bit of Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I stamped the Ink & The Dog Mini20 with Coffee Archival Ink and placed the hinge with fasteners.

Using linen ribbon as hinges, I attached the 2 pieces of cardboard to the frame. I covered the inside of the ‘doors’ with craft bazzil.

I ripped watercolor paper to the right size, applied Vintage Photo Distress ink on the edges and sew everything together (the 6 x 8 cardboard, the paper, the little frame with doors) using Coptic binding. 

There are tons of tutorials for this kind of binding on the internet; you can even choose one that works for you as not all tutorials follow the exact same pattern. This is how I dressed up the inside of the frame ...

I stamped a part of one of the wordings from the Eclectica 2 set by Sara Naumann with Black Archival Ink on a ripped piece of Crunchy Waxed Kraft Paper. Once dry, I slipped it into a (very nicely) rusted paperclip.

     
To attach it to the frame, I used even more rusted nails. I prepared my background image, which is Wings1, on Smoothy White Stamping Card with Black Archival Ink and added Vintage Photo Distress Ink blended with water on the edges.

     
 I made a little heart out of cold porcelain and painted with London Bus and Blood Orange. I added Crackle Glaze on top for a shiny finishing touch.

After colorizing a piece of gauze with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, I glued a piece on the first and one on the last page of the journal, which is now 3,5 cm thick! It will be perfect to write down all those fantastic quotes I want to use in my art journaling.

I hope you enjoyed tonight's project and look forward to seeing you join in the GD challenge this week. I will be back tomorrow night with another make.

Leandra Says: Love this innovative project, genius idea for mini canvases. You are so clever at getting great distressed effects France!

Gillian Says: Love how you used canvas to create this gorgeous little art journal, looks like a real old treasured keepsake. Fab project to kick start the week France.