Sweet Little "Recycled" Journals

The redheads and I created these fun little journals with some techniques learned from the always-inspiring Roben-Marie Smith. We shared the basic process with the moms and daughters at Mermaids and Mamas, and it was so fun to see each and every one take her own spin on the book.

Kelly's Front Cover

Kelly's Back Cover

Kelly's Interior

I created mine (above) using my painted newsprint underpapers as Roben-Marie did in her tutorial (click on photos to see larger versions in Flickr). Saving those underpapers to use in other projects is a technique I learned from Roben-Marie several years ago! These pieces are actually photographed on one of those underpapers that still has lots of room for more juicy goodness! Essentially, you use a piece of newsprint to protect your work surface while you are working on a project (or many projects). After a while you end up with a beautiful piece of newsprint with all sorts of random yumminess all over it.

Olivia's Front Cover

Olivia's Back Cover

Olivia took a completely different tack (above). Instead of using underpapers, she actually painted her own! She took a sheet of newsprint and then just painted these beautifully random colors all over it. I think hers was actually my favorite out of all I saw. I liked it more than I liked mine!

Sarah's Front Cover

Sarah's Back Cover

Sarah oriented hers vertically and added quite a bit of embellishing to it (above). Instead of using underpapers, she used some of her stencil and spray paint pieces. I love how both my girls really made the project their own. It truly shows their personalities. If you ever have an opportunity to take a class with Roben-Marie, I highly recommend it! She is so generous in sharing her knowledge and her talent, and her classes are just wonderful. Just like she is!