TRULY Inspired...

Hey, everyone!

Jessica here again and I am SO, so excited about my project today...thanks for letting me share it with you.  Several weeks ago, Tracy challenged us during a Helmar Project Spotlight to create an Inspiration Journal.  You can read about the challenge and watch the video in which she creates the cover for hers HERE.

I was so inspired and excited by this project I couldn't WAIT to get started, but then something happened.  I came down with good ol' case of 'stagefright'.  Stagefright, you ask?  Let me explain.  Anyone who knows me knows that quotes and inspirational sentiments really strike a chord w/ me.  I love being inspired by the great words of so many that I couldn't wait to let this book really speak for itself...and in turn, speak to ME, and anyone else who may read it.  The cover....the cover was going to have to be AMAZING.  It was going to have to reflect me.  What I love.  Who I am.  For as much as I craft, this was still a daunting task, to incorporate so many important elements into a cover, front and back.

Best advice I got? From Tracy herself, and also my girl Emily from Stamping Bella.  QUIT over-thinking and just JUMP.  I did, and I have to say I'm pretty darn excited about the results:

 
I will back up and take you through the process so you can create your OWN journal and participate in our challenge!  I started by cutting some watercolor paper for the inside pages and distressing them using my Zutter Distrezz it all:

 
I then took some old dictionary pages and glued them down to some canvas panels using Helmar's ACID FREE GLUE, painting over them to create the first part of my cover: 

I love this color blue, and wanted a sky/grass scene so I took some Basic Grey paper (Sweet Threads) and also some My Mind's Eye paper in the "Good Day sunshine" line to cut out some of those cute townhouses, adhering them with more ACID FREE GLUE and then painting around them to make them look like a single row of homes on a hill.

Next it was time to do the front cover.  I stamped a bunch of Stamping Bella art stamps (bubble wrap, script, and mesh stamps) around the borders of my cover and then pulled out some HELMAR PREMIUM CRAFT GLUE to adhere some embellishments.  There were SO many I contemplated having on the cover, but I chose to go with an adorable flower made from fabric and paper from the Sweet Threads line (Basic Grey) and then of course had to glue on this gorgeous butterfly as well:

Last but not least I added one of my FAVORITE quotes and some new resin flowers from Prima that areDonna Downey inspired!  Donna is a HUGE fan of Helmar products and uses them on quite a few of her projects- so inspirational!  On the back cover, I stamped one of my favorite Ketto images from Stamping Bella and a sentiment from one of Donna's stamp sets for Unity Stamp Co.   I really love this little scene as she flies over the houses so whimsically...hope you love it, too!

This book is so special to me.  I'm thrilled to be done with the cover and have it really scream 'me' so that I can dive into the inside pages and really make it a special keepsake.  What do you guys think?  Before I sign off, I'll share the inside cover and a few of my pages that I've done:

I used more Sweet Threads patterned paper for my inside cover and then started out with the amazing quote above.  Last but not least, one of my fave quotes:

 
I used ACID FREE GLUE and brushed it across the page when I was done to help it stick together and form a semi-glossy sheen over it.  I love how it stiffens the page Thank you SO much for stopping by and enjoying my project right along with me.  It means even more to me to know I can share it with you guys!

"...and above ALL,

watch with GLITTERING EYES the WHOLE WORLD around you, because the

GREATEST SECRETS are always hidden in the most unlikely places.

Those who don't BELIEVE in MAGIC will NEVER find it..."

~Road Dahl