A Secret Garden Within An Altered Journal

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pretty mess birdYesterday I wrote about the pretty mess that happened in the middle of creating.

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pretty mess birdI sat for hours painting birds,


pretty mess birdnests,

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pretty mess birdand creating tags.

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pretty mess birdI added tiny glassine envelopes to house secrets only found in a secret garden.

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pretty mess birdVintage ribbons dangled from tags hidden in pockets,

Altered Journal four

pretty mess birdfound on decorative papers.

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pretty mess birdThis journal and some lovely tags were purchased in Nesting On Main,

Nesting On Main, Concord, Ma.

pretty mess birdon Sunday,


pretty mess birdand I could not wait

Altered Journal One

pretty mess birdto fill this with altered adventures.


pretty mess birdThe book has lovely papers, three rings so you can add or remove pages.  Each page has been stamped at the bottom using my custom art stamp of my Parisian Dove, and a distressed blue ink pad.



DSC07067The book has a beautiful hard-cover of sheet music and birds, which I later decorated with lovely green silk ribbons and a bow. I found beautiful silk ivy leaves from Homespun Garden in Falmouth, and it added just the right highlight to the cover.



pretty mess birdSo, I added some more favorite decorative papers and pockets everywhere.

Altered Journal three

pretty mess birdYou will find hand-painted birds sitting on top of hand-made papers.


pretty mess bird

Measuring 5 inches wide by 7 1/2 inches tall,  it contains 78 pages. The rings allow you to add or remove pages.  Allowing you to frame the hand-painted pages.

Altered Journal two

pretty mess birdI just put this Secret Garden of Bird Inspiration altered journal in my Etsy shop in the category A Scrapbook of Inspiration.








pretty mess birdBecause I love creating journals, this was surely a labor of love, the song for this post is still All About The Heart.
A Tale of Two Cities said...

Beautiful--a gift from the heart. Loved getting to listen to All About the Heart again. Can't get enough of that song....

Debi

myletterstoemily said...

gorgeous and extravagant! perfect for
a gift for someone very special.

when i get home, i will get in touch
about an order.

thank you for making such lovely
things.

love,
lea

Snap said...

Gorgeous, Karen! Reminds me of one of my first visits to your blog and the wonderful journal you were working on. I wanted to win that journal so badly! I still see it in my dreams! LOL!

Kathleen Grace said...

I adore this journal! My favorite touches are the little envelopes filled with secrets and treasures! Fantastic Karen!

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

You've taken this lovely journal and made it a work of art! Very beautiful...very tempting! ♥

Marguerite (Tina) Smith Hart said...

Karen that is some of the most beautiful artwork I have seen in a long time, you are amazing! I knew you were talented but this is way beyond anything I could have imagined. Wow!
That is priceless and you are selling it for $32!!!! If I had any extra money I would snap it right up. I hope you make more in the future!
Tina xo

Vee said...

It turned out so beautifully. I know that someone very special will come along and gather it up and either keep it or gift it to another someone very special. The song is lovely...

Mary Isabella and Kiley too! said...

You really out done your self with this beautiful craeation...m...

Draffin Bears said...

Hi Karen,

What a beautiful journal you have created, love all the beautiful touches, with the little secret envelopes and treasures.

I hope that you are having a lovely week.
Hugs
Carolyn

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

Oh dearest, this is perfect. There is something about God's little winged creatures that evokes so many emotions and calm....and embedded in your art, they are doubly charming....beautiful in every way. You should see what I did with a vintage book. It had a lovely cover, but the contents were tattered, so I tore out the contents, kept the cover, and created my own pages with handmade paper. I then made it a sort of nature book with images of birds, flora and other fauna and fairies and glittered and stamped each page. I must post it on my HOT OFF THE PRESS....it really came out nice....

I am looking forward to that fabric! YIPEEEE! Anita

Susan said...

Oh my goodness, Karen, this is absolutely beautiful. I think I fell in love. Yes, I think I did. I totally fell in love with this amazing altered art piece. What a gorgeous book. Oh wow.I love the whole thing and, oh my gosh. Okay, deep breath in, count to 100...

Wonderful work, Karen. Bravo!

Susan

JD/ Jill said...

What a beautiful book, this is something I enjoy doing too, In fact I am in the process of making a bird book for a friend, recently finished a "birthday" book for a friend...One of my favorite things to do...

D. Jean Quarles said...

So lovely. Thanks for sharing it with us.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

This to me is the perfect art journal! I've given myself a challenge to create one this year and I remembered you had made this one so I searched for it and found this post. I want a journal to write some of my thoughts, poems, quotes, etc AND to do a little sketching. If you have any advice on what I should buy to get started or what paper to use, please let me know. Thank you for the inspiration to step out and try something new! ♥ Now that I've decided....I can't wait to start!♥

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