I had purchased this little antique pillow shown above at an estate sale and it sat near my desk, the vibrant rich reds calling out to me and it inspired me to create this journal as an ode to autumn, my favourite season of the year. I carefully took this little gem apart and used the various elements on my cover and in my signatures. I combined these fabrics with some photos that I took from a trip back to see my family in Georgia. There's nothing like fall in the South, I always want to get cozy with a fresh gathering of textiles and stitch some memories into a journal.
Well dear readers I have also created four junk journal kits made from the materials I used to make this journal, called 'Autumn Rose', and I have finally(!) begun to post a few items in my Etsy shop called 'Cloth & Paper Shop'. This kit includes all the fabrics I used to make this fall journal, my favourite cloth was a vintage printed floral velvety upholstery material in soft warm orangy colours I used on my cover, so pretty. Here is the link to my shop where you can find this kit and other textile bundles as well.
I have an evergrowing collection of vintage and antique textiles, lace, hand crocheted trims and buttons that I have decided to make into some vintage textile kits. Some will include vintage handpicked ephemera matching the colours or theme based on colours, seasons, or holidays. These kits can be be used for so many crafts....I mostly make junk journals, but these kits would be wonderful for slow stitching, textile arts, sewing projects of all sorts - needle books (this is my next project I want to make), soft cloth bags, purses, book covers, pillows, textile collage, the possibilities are endless........ I love to buy these kits myself as they are often colour coordinated and also include trims, buttons and goodies that all together make for a pretty journal, and I know collecting all the various vintage supplies to make a junk journal can be a bit daunting. I have become quite good at spotting old forgotten but beautiful pieces of cloth at all the estate sales I go to and I love it when I find pieces that are calling out to be rescued, transformed, reused and enjoyed all over again. There is something so magical about reclaiming lovely things from the past, the stories these treasures could tell! Knowing they were well loved from someone long ago makes them even more special, and I can loose myself in all their worn and decayed beauty. I gentle launder and sort the fabrics and then create kits with enough pieces of cloth, matching ephemera, trims, doilies, sewing notions, buttons, and charms so you can start on a journal or sewing project right away. Recently I have posted some packs made up of old quilt pieces, would make for a lovely slow stitching project. I also have some nice ephemera packs that I have created from all the antique books I have collected.
