Decorated Journal

The Christmas crafting continues. Finally I am almost finished knitting my last pair of socks. Now it's time to turn my attention to other projects. One of those projects is a decorated journal for Brandon. Brandon is a free lance writer so he would probably welcome a journal to jot down his ideas. I searched every outlet that I could find for a unique journal and was about to scrap the idea when I was visited by the Muse. I found a plain cover journal for about $3 on a Black Friday sale. Brandon loves sports especially football and he is a Terps fan. He had the opportunity to cover the Gator Bowl as a reporter and has mentioned the game several times. I decided to make a journal cover centering around this theme.

Here's the finished journal. The turtle and the Terps logos were taken from a book that we had around the house. The Gator Bowl ticket was from a Maryland memorabilia book (last year's present).


Decorated Journal Directions:

5x7 inch black journal
Mod Podge and Mod Podge Sealant
Foam brush
Assorted Maryland memorabilia copied on to white computer paper
Tim Holtz Distress Ink- Rusty hinge, tea dye and vintage photo
Foam blending pads and blending tool
Tim Holtz Distress Tool
Red acrylic paint
Golden Molding Paste
Small paint brush

1.  Print the Gator Bowl ticket at 3x5 inches using a laser printer. Trim the excess paper from the edges of the ticket.

2.  Apply the distress inks with the foam blending tool to give the ticket a slightly aged look.  Use the distress tool to distress the edges of the ticket. The edges should be uneven and the ticket should look worn.  Lightly crumple the ticket into a ball and carefully unroll it. Smooth out most of the wrinkles with your hands.

3.  Brush the back of the ticket with Mod Podge and center the ticket on the journal cover.

4.  Type University of over Maryland in Microsoft Word, using a smaller font than used for Maryland. Highlight Maryland and apply Word Art, using a curved word option. Change the color to red. Print the banner with a laser printer and trim closely around the banner. Apply Mod Podge to the back of the banner and center it above the ticket.,on the journal cover.

5.  Print the turtle and the Terps logos with a laser printer, cut them out and apply Mod Podge and position on the bottom of the journal cover. Cut out a small Maryland state flag and cut the flag in half diagonally. Attach to the corner of the journal with Mod Podge.

6.  Mix red acrylic paint with molding paste and carefully apply the mixture to the Terp logo and to the M on the turtle's chest, using a small paint brush. Set aside to dry.

7.  After the molding paste has dried, apply a coat of Mod Podge. Let it dry and apply 3 more coats, letting it dry between each coat. Once the journal cover has dried apply a coat of Mod Podge sealant and let it dry.