I cannot tell Journal

You may remember I showed you some back to back journals I made following an online course by Roben Marie Smith as part of the 21 Secrets classes. I had so much fun doing it that I made two and was still hungry for more. So I decided to investigate if Roben Marie did more journal making classes on her own website and struck gold. Her Ripped and Stitched Journal sounded right up my street and before I knew it my finger clicked the Buy button and I'm so happy it did. This class was if anything even more enjoyable than the back to back one and I'm in love with the finished product. So much so that I have already started making another one! This one, however, will always be the version I love most as it is imbued with many lovely memories of producing the pages, painted fabrics etc. in my gorgeous painting shed (studio) in all that glorious weather we had in July. 

 I gave mine the title I cannot Tell, as I tend to get quite close and personal in my journals and sketchbooks which is the reason you won't see them after I start writing, collaging, sketching etc. in them. Sometimes I make a page that I feel I can share but most often I keep it to myself and it's only the eventual ideas that come from those pages that are exposed to the light of day.

 I'm not going to talk about the how of this journal. If you are interested you can go to Roben Marie's site and sign up to make your own copy, but I will say that the journal uses 9 x 12" envelopes so there are plenty of places to hide secrets in the resulting pockets. You can paint them in any way you want but I used my gelli plate, This is getting so much use at present that I'm seriously considering buying another, even larger, one. I use it for both paper and fabric.

The above ruffle is part of the bonus project that you get with this class. You can add it to the journal as I have done here and use it to keep some loose papers and ephemera at the ready to start journalling with.

 Here another close up.

The journal is bound with ribbon and twine. In my case I used garden twine which is a bit thicker but it seemed to suit the journal. You can't go wrong making the journal as Roben Marie's videos explain in wonderful detail each and every step. In fact, I think she produces some of the best online classes I've done.

What I also loved is that apart from the envelopes and some magnets, I already had all that is required to make this journal including, of course, a sewing machine. As I said, the second one is in hand and my only problem is that I should really be concentrating on finishing some quilts but this journal making is so very seductive!

Now I am already anxiously hoping that Robin Marie will seriously consider some more journals but in the meantime I've signed up for some other classes on her site (actually make that all of them!). There is so much I want to do and so little time to do it in but as I keep telling myself once signed up the classes are available for all time so if I find myself bored (highly unlikely!) in my eighties, I can still go back and do them! I have no idea why I should have more available time then, as I suspect I will be busily arting even then, but I keep expecting those times to arrive when I will read all the books still piled up waiting for my attention, do all the classes I'm buying now and saving for later and sit in the sunshine with the stream of magazines I am unable to resist purchasing, you guessed it, for perusing later. I'm sometimes quite taken aback about how I can fool myself in such ways. But at least I can never be accused of not making the very most of my time each and every day.