Crickyn

Hi all

Happy Thanksgiving!

So, I can imagine y’all at the dining table sitting down to a huge meal and thinking, “How does TL put borders in her journal?” The answer is “in a variety of ways, one being not to have borders at all.” But this seemed like the cheap way out what with you so interested and junk.

Many of my regular readers know that I work in an old out-of-date map book. This book has close to 300 pages, but it usually seems like more. I looked at the back pages and there are about 50 index pages with long lists of names of towns. Not as interesting as the map pages with the variety of colors and lines. Since this is really my everyday go-to journal I decided to re-mind myself of some of the good stuff I still have to work with.  I put a bunch of them down on this page at the back. I also started a page for transfers that are easy and work for me but that is harder to do than borders and after all it is a holiday.

At the top I’ve sampled the idea of creating lines and stamping words. Words could go all around the page and perhaps that would be the only text on the page. Or one could stamp or write out a quote around the page edges. Under that I adhered a gift wrap page portion of a design by Kate Greenaway that has a linear feel to it. That can also be a neat and tidy border idea. Around the page edges I used dry cleaning labels. They are not self-sticking but they are a good size for a border and have bold words on them. Unfortunately, the words pertain to garments that need dry cleaning. Go figure. But sometimes as I review a journal page I enjoy being reminded to crease, fold and do-over. On the other page edge opposite is another dry cleaning tag, this one is number tags that are perforated. My sister used to manage a dry cleaning store and that’s how I came to be aware of these wonderful tags. Lest you think she to be of a thieving nature I assure you that I bought them myself, to the tune of about 30,000 labels. I am not making that up. Better, if you are interested, to go to your dry cleaner and ask for several for a few pages.

Going left to right, the next border is an office supply, the sort of pricing circle you get for your yard sale items. They come in lots of different colors and are probably available at the dollar store. They are self-adhesive which is so quick and easy, plus a good size. They can be used as a mask too, since the adhesive is light and they are easily removed. Next to the circles is a section of graph paper. You will notice it has bubbles and looks very amateurish for an expert like me. Sometimes I do this sort of thing so that peeps aren’t intimidated. I love graph paper! I like to fill in some of the grid to make neat patterns.

Beside the graph paper is the inside of a security envelope. I really like the patterns on the inside of these envelopes I get for free all the time in the mail. Evidently companies expect me to send payments to them on a regular basis. HA! Instead, I use their envies in my journal! That’ll learn ’em.

Now, this next border is a little tricky to describe. See the bright green paper with the black grid on it? See the black grid stamped on the map, if you skip the honeycomb pattern? This is a BOGO. I wanted to show you how to use part of a stamp for a border of any size you want, rather than a big whole stamp. So I used the green notepaper to mask the slide holder to the right, stamped, then used the mask that got stamped as well. This was such a slick move I impressed myself. The honeycomb was a stamp image I used in my toner copier. I had a little left and thought it would be a good example of a larger stamp cut down to border size. The last example on the right is a slide holder. Imagine little drawings or pix inside each frame. Not so easy to find, try thrifts or yard sales.

Beneath all those samples is a brown paper cut on one edge with a fancy scissor. Of course you could cut both sides of the brown paper with a fancy scissor, even with two different scissor patterns if you might be so bold. Brown paper is AWESOME! It takes rubber stamps really well, and paint too. Very versatile.

Our next border is old school pix of kids that I got from somewhere. Old yearbook pix are good for this, just the right size. Copy them so that you have enough to get around the page where you want them. A really bad copy can be fun. Under the kids is a border made from a tape that teachers use. I believe it is the dollar store again. I like this tape because there are not only numbers but also the number is written out in text. It is not self-adhesive.

You probably wonder what adhesive I use. I am a Mod Podge girl. Yes, I know, it is not archival. It yellows over time. But I find its benefits far outweigh the yellowing. Firstly, I buy it by the gallon and it is so much more reasonable than matte medium and gels. It also dries quickly, and acts as a barrier coat. Nothin’ gets through that stuff. So it’s a resist.

Last but not least, I left the map markers on the page. Some altered book journals have built-in borders. This is a cool thing. It gives the pages consistency if you leave the markers intact page to page.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my Journal Journey Through the Wonderful World of Borders. I know I have and that’s what matters to me. I also want to remind you that a professional blogger keeps their blog to no more than 400 words. This is to ensure that the reader doesn’t become bored and jump off the page. Obviously, I do not subscribe to this line of thinking. I think along the lines of holding you ransom. For instance, you don’t get to leave the blog post until I have wrung you dry by the end of it. I want you begging for mercy and running to put borders all over everything because you are afraid not to.

On an entirely different note, we watched Kon Tiki last night. Very enjoyable.