Fun Little Joy Journal

The colors of Patty's hydrangea leaves are absolutely stunning this time of year!

As are the colors in another neighbor's hydrangea. These fall pinks...yellows and oranges make me so happy.

I decided to forge ahead on Tracie's junk joy journal and mail both pieces at the same time....so that has been my creative focus the last couple of days. 

Tracie included this heavy calendar cover (?) that was beautiful on both sides that I wanted to use for the cover of the journal.

Rather than just fold it in half and use it as is....I cut it into strips....alternated the sides....and stitch them back together using a zig zag stitch. 

I reinforced the edges and spine with fused fabric....and added a little topstitching to make sure the fused fabric stayed put on the glossy paper. 

This journal is filled with an interesting assortment of papers that Tracie sent me. She has two grandsons...Anders and Five. 

There are several references to the number Five in the book...and some of Anders' sweet artwork. There are also some vintage coloring book pages and a few other miscellaneous papers. 

Tracie included a butterfly napkin in her pile. I separated the layers and glued it onto a piece of lightweight cardstock and cut it out....and cut it in half. I glued one side on the inside cover...and the other half on the inside of the back cover. I think it looks great against the background paper.

I think it worked out pretty well.  It's a fun little joy journal...and my personal bike courier will take it to the post office tomorrow. He'll get a nice tip!

Joy is on the loose!