Scrapbook Stamp Society Journal Challenge

I have created a journal for the Scrapbook Stamp Society challenge.  I used a free image from Karen Valentin that you can find here.  I colored the "Witchy Suzie" digi using my Crayola Colored Pencils then used my gamsol to blend the colors.  I have been using colored pencils and gamsol for a few months now and admit, I still have a long ways to go to perfect the process, but I am having a lot of fun working with the process.  Which is really what crafting is all about, isn't it?

I really struggled with the process of putting the journal together.  I knew what I wanted to do, but was not certain that the process was really what was best for this cute image.  In the end, I went a totally different direction.  

To create the front cover of my journal, I covered a standard Composition Notebook with a sheet of paper from a Halloween Paper Pack my Sister In Law sent me.  I really liked the green with the tint of orange in it, but what really caught my eye was the bottom flourish.  This was actually on all four sides of the paper, but I only wanted it on the bottom.  I carefully centered, traced then cut the paper a little larger than the trace marks so I could overlap the front cover of the notebook.   

Once I got the paper secured to the front cover, I mounted the finished digi on a black layer to help it pop off the paper.  I then glued her on the front at a slight angle.   Here is where my whole process changed for me.  I wanted to do a cascade of flowers around the digi, however, the cascade did not work with this particular image.   I opted for a single flower in the bottom left hand corner. 

I must admit though, I did not create this beautiful flower. A few past, I participated in a floral swap.  This was one of the flowers from that swap.  Thankfully, Amanda Phillips added a business card in with her flower so I could properly give credit to her.  You can check out Amanda's work by going here.   Here is a close up of the wonderful flower that Amanda sent.  It worked perfectly for my journal. 

Of course, before adding the flower, I had to finish the back of the journal and add the binding.   I wanted the back to be totally different than the front, (thankfully, because I only had one sheet of that awesome front paper.  Therefore, I used a funky black paper that has orange and purple dots and stars on it.  

I completed the process by adding a black binding on the journal. Binding is about 3" wide and I just carefully wrapped it from front to back.  It is not quite even (meaning, I did not measure to make sure I had the same amount of black on the front and back) because I knew just where I want the black to stop on the front.  I was careful not to cover up to much of the bottom flourish. 

Thank you for stopping by today and looking at my Scrapbook Stamp Society Journal Challenge.  You can take part in this journal by joining the Scrapbook Stamp Society group page here.   You will find more information about the challenges on the Scrapbook Stamp Society blog page here.