paper pen and plan – Basement Studio

Micro Journaling and why it’s so satisfying

Last week I showed you my little micro sized gel print journal and thought it would be cute in the leather cover I’ve had for a while now.

Already bursting at the seams and even with half the contents emptied out, it was still far too small for my little journal. So the only thing to do was to make a brand new one.

The extra pink bit came about simply because the piece of leather I wanted to use was too short to wrap around the front when all of my journals were inside. I added the fancy edge to it to stop it looking a bit like an after thought!

This little journal which is no bigger than a fat cheese sandwich (or doorstop), with its pre-printed backgrounds, is the perfect place for a quick art fix or to try out a new purchase. Its size makes it far less intimidating to work with as the pages are the same size as an ATC. More to the point the whole journal and cover is just too darn cute on my shelf and takes a great photo.

Creating a journal from pre-printed pages or mop up papers gives me an instant place to start from. This page just grew as I was trying out these Dina Wakley Scribble Sticks from Paper Pen and Plan.

This little page was completed in a few short minutes as the background was already there.

This little journal will grow and grow I think and before long I’ll need to make a few new inserts.

Have a good weekend

Jaine xx

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Art Journaling Again

It’s been a long while since I did any proper art journaling and to be honest I think I may have been in a bit of a mixed media fog for a while now! I just needed a little nudge which came in the form of a parcel from Clare at Paper Pen and Plan containing a few Prima goodies. A Mixed Media Album, paints, brushes and texture tools waiting to be opened.

I spent twentyfour hours with it all on my desk while I had other things to get on with, all the while itching to make a start.

Eventually I cleared some space and started to lay some paints on a page to overcome that first page anxiety. The pages are thick enough to stand up to my Impasto paints and that’s no mean feat either! Using the Prima texture brushes I could spread paint where I wanted and create some cool textures with the combed ends.

I decided on adding a collage over the painted base and using the Prima butterfly stamps to complement the large moth image from my collage stash.

The feather was one I’d picked up somewhere and had been longing to use on a project for ages. Stuck on with some gel medium, I tacked it down further with some machine stitching then added a bit more here and there – just because I could!

I finished off with a smear of sparkly Unicorn paint and black Raven paint also from Prima to contrast with the paleness of the page.

I love it. I’m delighted at how the journal pages stand up to all the different materials without any warping or buckling, and the spiral binding makes it easy to lay flat or push a page under the sewing maching needle.

I think this has been the kick start I needed to get me creating journal pages again.

Jaine x

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May Day

The beginning of April felt like it was going to be such a drag to get through the whole month in a lock down situation, with no where to go and no one to see! However it did pretty much fly by with a whole month of sunshine (no rain until a couple of days ago) and plenty of outside chores to do.

I’ve been experimenting with book folds and gone back to where I started in scrapbooking. These albums with a wide spine and wide gaps between page hinges are great for adding bulky embellishments and excellent for keeping everything neat without having stuff bursting out of the sides. Personally I don’t mind a bit of a fat book but not everyone does.

These books make fabulous albums for special occasions and include pockets, flaps and fold out pages for lots of extra space.

This one has been decorated with a mixture of two paper packs by Simple Stories Vintage Garden District and Vintage Botanicals both from Paper Pen and Plan. It has 4 pages but each page includes an extra fold out page or flap so there’s actually enough space for up to 19 square format photos.

It’ll be hard to let this little one go but it has be listed in my shop here simply click on this link.

Have a lovely day and stay safe.

Jaine xx

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A Valentine Mini Book

I’ve spent quite a bit of time recently sorting out some of the hand bound books from market and art fairs so I can add them to the shop. This meant photographing and numbering each one before uploading to the site. It’s been a while since I made a mini book and this process made me curious to try out something new.

Meet the Square album. It’s a dinky little size at 10.5cm and the inside pages (all 14 of them) are made using Vintage Botanicals double sided patterned papers, originally bought from Paper Pen and Plan on Etsy. If you check them out they’ve lots of paper packs on sale and with my code JAINE10 you’ll get 10% off too! The cover has been covered and decorated with paper and embellishments from the February Sweet Treat box also from Paper Pen and Plan.

It would be perfect for a few Instagram photos and some journaling, personally I wouldn’t want too much to cover up those gorgeous pages.

This is a new binding method for me but I’m now inspired to create something on a bigger scale perhaps.

It sits on a shelf perfectly out on display rather than being tucked away between other books so in that respect it’s more of a decor piece than a simple album.

I haven’t decided yet if I want to keep it or add it to the shop but what ever I decide I’ll be adding to the family.

Happy Valentine’s day,

Jaine xx

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