Number Fifteen!

At the end of January I launched my Joy Journal Project....and I mailed my 15th journal a few days ago. It was just the right project for me this past winter. When I was absorbed in cutting, folding and stitching, I was in a place of peace.When I was doing it for someone else, I was in a place of joy. 

I am aware of a few sets of papers that still might come....but for the first time in awhile there are none waiting in the wings. I welcome the break to focus on other things...but will also welcome more papers if and when they come.

I tweaked the original post just a bit...but the general guidelines are still there if you are interested. 

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2026/01/hidden-in-my-joy.html

You can always contact me by email with questions at joyfulputtering@gmail.com

This seems to be a good time for a sneak peak  of the covers (there are 3 layers to the cover) of journal #15....the one chocked full of Julie's joy! 

Do you see the dotted rainbow card on the left....that's where I started. Her grandson loves rainbows...and there's lots of things that honor him in the journal. The first thing I did was cut off the white around the rainbow. 

I backed the dotted rainbow with fabric. 

It seemed a little risky to stitch between the rainbow colors in black thread...but I just went for it. It gave the rainbow definition...kind of like black pen and ink would.

Phew! I liked it...so continued with black thread through the whole journal. 

The second layer is a thread spool postcard. I like how the circles of the spool image gives a nod to the circles in the fused fabric on the left. 

One of Julie's cards became a sweet little pocket in the corner.

The third cover is a collaged with Julie's cards...and a few of mine.

I lined the inside of this third cover with rainbow striped fabric and wrapped it around to the front...then covered the edges with solid aqua fabric. I outlined the collaged pieces in black stitching. 

It seemed inevitable that the part of the fabric snippet strip Julie provided would be the belly band closure. 

The bright pink daisy will make more sense when you get a glimpse of the inside. The colors of these layered covers are much more vibrant in person....I'm guessing my lighting wasn't right.

I'll share some of the inside once it's in Julie's hands. 

Cherie, Dale and the flowers got quite a few miles under their belt yesterday! They made it to the Route 66 midway point between Los Angeles and Chicago.

Their last stop last night was in Chickasha, OK to see the 40 foot high leg lamp sitting on a 10 foot box. It's a classic image from A Christmas Story. I think Cherie and Dale like quirky roadside attractions. How fun is that!