2017 #6 Travel Journal {by Jennie Atkinson}

2017 Topic 6: Resin

Have you got time to prep a journal cover for yourself or a friend? Jennie has shared some of her great secrets with infusions in this post and in the process creates a delightful memoir. Read on... 

Hi everyone Jennie here with you on the PA blog tonight with a project for the Resin challenge. I am only newly "into" Resin having great difficulties in getting it shipped here to Shetland. But I managed to get some Resin products delivered to family on the Mainland and have now had the chance to experiment a little.

As you all know I love the Vintage Ink and Dog stamps so I have combined a some of the Travel and Ephemera plates, along with two types of "resin" to create this small holiday journal - all ready for my travels later in the summer!

As I will be packing this little journal into my suitcase I wanted to make sure that everything was relatively flat on the front cover, so have chosen elements which have been able to be glued down well.  As usual I have looked for Ephemera style stamps:

Travel 2

Travel T4

Ephemera EA1

 

I made the papers for the journal cover first adding texture with Grunge Paste and a fabulous stencil from Scrapcosy's recent release and then spritzing a sprinkling of Sleight Blue Infusions here and there.  

PS049

Many of you have asked how I manage to get such a light colouring with the Infusions. Well first of all I do paint my paper with a Fresco Paint, in this case Chalk, which means the colour and water do not sink into the paper. I also use A LOT of water! dabbing it off whilst drying with a heat gun. To show you how much colour I take off, this is the state of my kitchen towel when finished!

Having established my base background colour I then turned to the Resin embellishments. This piece of light board was die cut and then painted with Chalk Fresco Paint to give it a base. Again I added the Sleight Blue Infusions with lots of Water.

After some over-stamping with Potting Soil Archival Ink I went in with the Infusions again and this time let the walnut stains really settle as I knew I would need a darker colour for the next step.

And then the fun part of adding Ultra Thick Embossing Powder - I say fun as I do find it goes everywhere ! and I always wonder whether my stamp will ever survive the stamping into the hot embossing. But it always does!  It is difficult to take an adequate photograph but there is a lovely depth to the script-stamped UTEE.

And so to the experiments with the two-part Resin. I added some Infusions to the mould before adding the resin in the hope that my white resin would be beautifully coloured, but sadly it didn't work!

I gave the resin a coat of Fresco Chalk Paint so the Infusions had some tooth to grab on to and added layers of the Sleight Blue Infusions until I got a good depth of colour. I managed to paint the Gold Fresco in such a way that it looks crusty and old, heating with a heat gun to get it to bubble.

And then fun time decorating the journal. 

I have used stamps from all three sets both on the cover and also for the embellishments. As you all know I love how all these little stamps can create layering labels.

A simple signature tied together with string will give me my journal pages and there is a little pocket in the front for some of the smaller tickets I like to collect. I always find a simple ribbon binding also works well as these little journals can get a bit bulky!

I really love how using the same colour Infusions has resulted in a lovely range of colours and the Resin pieces are very solid and will stand a fair bit of abuse in my bag!

A simple but I think quite effective little travel journal which will be fun to write in and record my upcoming holiday with my two old school friends in Crete in May. I do like these small journals as I don't feel "threatened" in terms of writing in them, they fit perfectly in a small handbag and actually look rather cute on my craft room shelf. If you would like to know more of exactly how I made the journal (which wasn't really the purpose of this post) then please visit my blog HERE where I have included a few more details of sizes, etc.

As always thank you for joining me and have a great crafting week!

Jennie x Live The Dream

I love how the journal looks perfectly ready for Crete too, the colours have a lovely nautical vibe. I think you might need a sepia pen for your journalling notes while away! Trying to think how we can use the infusions to tint the resin, and all i can think is perhaps if they were mixed in with part A (or B) of the resin before combining the 2 parts, then you may have had more success. But no doubt some resin expert will let us know! Have a great trip Jennie! 
~ Leandra

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