Hey Hey good people, Tamiko here on the blog!! Can you believe it's the end of August already? (smile) As many of you know I love to make books/journals. I know among all my hoarded supplies there is enough for a journal of any kind. Today we create a junque journal. Now what's a "junque" journal? Well the term "junque" means to rummage through findings. They don't need to be all matchy matchy and the collection can be rather eclectic! Today's junque journal has a Chicago theme and if I am lucky I can complete it later with pictures of a few of my favorite places and foods and send it to my friend in India. Let's check out how I made the outside of the junque journal today.
Supplies:
- Helmar Premium Craft Glue
- Helmar Super Tac Glue
- Canvas
- Chipboard/Cereal Box
- Paper Cutter
- Scissors
- Stickers- Chicago Themed
- Watercolor paints and Brush
- Squegee
- Misc, blank papers for inserts
- Hemp/Twine/Thread
I collect chipboard, in the form of old cereal boxes or frozen food boxes or in this case.. the packaging of paint pallete. If you have ever made a simple book with chip board you know all you really need is a measurements of the front and back covers and a spine. I chose to do a book that was 5x7 with a 1 inch spine. I can often reinforce the sturdiness of the book by just doubling the boards used. I used Helmar Super Tac Glue to put the layers of board together. Then I used the Helmar Premium Craft Glue for the spine. I find that the Super Tac Glue is very fluid and adheres quickly. There is a VERY THIN LAYER, between the boards. I choose the Craft Premium Glue for the spine because of the thickness and flexibility needed bending back and forward.
I then cut my canvas to size and decorate the primed side with simple watercolors. You can use acrylics too if you like. While the canvas is still wet, I adhere it to board using Super Tac Glue. I take the glue and with catalyst tool or a squeegee of some sort I spread the glue across the board and place it against the canvas. I then smooth the canvas against the board with the squeegee to force out any air bubbles. The half inch space (sometimes I feel like I should have figured more like an inch maybe) that I leave around the outside, beyond the board covers the edges. I used the Helmar Craft Premium glue again to secure the edges. I also took cardstock and covered the inside of the book, remembering to cut the page a 1/4 of an inch within the cover, so there would be no overlap.
I created a flag of the city of Chicago tacked that to the front with Craft Premium Glue. I had some Chicago themed dimensional stickers I had been hoarding and while I deconstructed them by removing some of the bulkiness (from the layers and foam tape), I still finally used them! (Yay me!) and again used the same glue to adhere the paper stickers to the canvas. I folded some blank papers to create a a few signatures on the inside of the journal. I used the hemp cord to secure them loosely to the journal cover and knotted the outside.
I hope you enjoyed this junque journal and go check out the glues mentioned in this post and other great products from Helmar USA !!
