Heartfelt Creations June Alumni Blog Hop

Welcome to the June Heartfelt Creations Alumni Blog Hop! Each month, on the last Friday of the month, the Heartfelt Creations Alumni Team participates in a Blog Hop! The June Hop starts 8am EST on Friday, June 29th and closes Monday July 2nd at midnight. 

Be sure to visit each blog on the hop, and leave a comment, because one fortunate Blogger will be chosen to receive a $25 gift card to Heartfelt Creations! The winner will be announced on the Heartfelt Creations Blog and Facebook Page on Wednesday, July 4th. The winner should contact Heartfelt Creations at socialmedia@heartfeltcreations.us with "Winner of the June Alumni Hop" in the subject line.

This hop is now closed. We have a winner for the June Hop! Random Generator selected Amarilys Doria as the blogger and comment #6 is the winner! Bren Price, please contact Heartfelt Creations to claim your prize!

You should be coming to my blog from Amarilys Doria's Blog. After visiting me, head on over to Vicki Dutcher's Blog. For a list of the Alumni Blogs, see the end of the post.

I have not joined the blog hop for a few months, so it is nice to "see" all of you again! I decided to create another travel journal, but with a bit of a twist this time. (If you wish to see my other travel journals, see this post HERE for a cooking themed journal, or see THIS post for a Paris themed journal. To see a waterfall style journal click HERE for a Heartfelt Creations Farmer's Market version or  HERE for a baby themed version.)

I created a standard-size traveler's notebook that is 9" tall by 4 1/2" wide. However, this style has TWO spines, each measuring 3/4" wide. I thought it would be fun to combine the Heartfelt Creations Under the Sea Collection with the Young at Heart Collection for my journal! The themes are very different, but the color palettes are very similar. Plus, it is always fun to combine things that are not supposed to "go together"!

The front of the album is very simple, mostly because I ran out of time to make eleventy-billion hand-made flowers! The simple ribbon tie closure is...well simple. 

Every time I look at this sweet turtle riding in the truck, I get the giggles! It is so whimsical and cute! I simply die cut the truck from the Young at Heart patterned paper with the Simply Classic Die, then I used a craft knife to cut out the window. I fussy cut the little turtle from the Under the Sea printed paper and glued him in place. (There is a die available to cut out the turtle, Under the Sea Coral Die, but I do not have that particular die in my stash.) 

When you open the front cover of the journal, there is a large pocket on the inside cover. I used magnets to keep the flap closed. Again, I used die cuts and fussy cutting to add the shapes to my design. It was fun to create a journal that could be used to document a trip to the beach. 

The inside cover flap is just decorated with paper. You could add a few photos or some small pockets to this page, if you wish. I covered this panel with the shell paper. 

When the album is open fully, you can see the waterfall element in the center. There is space for 15 photos, 4" x 4" in size! This is the perfect place to put your Instagram photos from your trip!

The inside back cover holds three little notebook signatures. I added a little band to keep the notebooks from flopping around inside the album. You could add lots of things to these notebooks, but mine are just plain paper with cute covers! 

If you want to see a walk-through of the journal, take a look at the video below!

If you wish to make your own notebook, here are some basic instructions.

First, cut three pieces of lightweight chipboard to 9" x 4 1/2" Cut two pieces of chipboard to 9" x 3/4". 

You need black cardstock measuring 11" x 18" in order to wrap your chipboard covers. I do not have paper that is that width so, I needed to splice two pieces of cardstock together.I cut one piece to 11" x 12" and the second piece to 11" x 7". I overlapped the pieces by one inch to create a piece 11" tall by 18" wide. 

Place your chipboard onto the cardstock as shown, making sure to keep a 1/8" space on both sides of the two spine pieces. (See the photo above.) Trim the corners and wrap the cardstock around the covers.  

Gently fold the right side cover into the center as shown above. 

Fold the left side cover over to create the front cover. The journal is 9" x 4 1/2" x 3/4" with a spine on both sides.

Open the journal so that the inside is facing up. Trim black cardstock to 8 7/8" x 8" and attach the panels to the inside covers. Gently score and fold again. 

Open the journal and place it on the work surface with the front cover facing up and to the far right. Trim decorative paper for the covers and spines. 

This is what mine looked like after this step. You can decorate the cover in any way you wish. I always save my cover for last. 

Flip the journal over so you are working on the inside, with the front cover to the far left.

We will make a large pocket for the inside front cover. Trim black cardstock for the pocket flap to 8 7/8" x 2 1/2". Score at 1" on one long side.  Round the two corners opposite the score line. Place the flap so that the score line is at the left-most edge of the album cover. 

Trim printed paper for the inside cover panel and attach. To make the pocket, cut black cardstock to 9 7/8" x 4 1/2". Score at 1/2" on three sides. Angle the corners and add double-sided adhesive to the tabs. Attach the tabs to the inside front cover to form the pocket. Add the other half of the magnet to the pocket.

Decorate the pocket and flap as desired. This is the perfect place to store memorabilia or extra photos. 

We will be adding notebook signatures to the inside back cover section. Use a punch to create holes in the second spine for your elastic cord. I placed two holes at 1/2" from the bottom edge and two more holes at 1/2" from the top edge. I also placed one hole 4 1/2" from the top edge in line with the left-most holes. I threaded the holes with a dark gray elastic cord.

 Before I tied the cord knots, I added some beads to the outside of the spine. 

You may slip notebook signatures over the threaded elastic. I have added two 3 5/8" x 4 1/2" notebooks and one 7 5/8" x 4 1/2" notebooks to my signatures. I have added a band and magnets to hold the notebooks together. 

To create the waterfall section in the center, first, place a small magnet in the center, approximately 2 1/4" from the bottom edge of the panel. Then, cover the center panel with printed paper. 

For each waterfall panel, cut black cardstock to 4 3/4" x 4 1/4". Score on the longer side at 1/2". Round the corners opposite your score lines. Cut seven to ten panels. (I used seven panels because I wanted the "Moments With You" to show, so I did not add panels to go to the very bottom of the center.)

Fold on the score lines and place double-sided adhesive onto the resulting flaps. Start at the top edge of the center cover and add your panels. Place a magnet on the back of the last panel, to line up with the one you placed onto the main, center panel. This will keep your waterfall from flopping around. 

Cut a strip of cardstock to 6" x 1 1/4" and wrap it from the lowest panel up to the top panel. Add a magnet to the strip and to the top panel. This will also help your waterfall to stay neat and tidy. (To see how this works, view the video posted above.)  

Thanks for hopping by! Hop on over to  Vicki Dutcher's Blog next. DON'T FORGET...POST A COMMENT FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A $25 GIFT CARD TO HEARTFELT CREATIONS!

March Heartfelt Creations Alumni Blog Hop List:
Kathy Clement
Amarilys Doria
Gloria Stengel - YOU ARE HERE!
Vicki Dutcher
Pam Korte
Martine Smith
Susan Smit
Alissa Wells

Heartfelt Creations Products:
Under the Sea Paper Collection
Under the Sea Die
Young at Heart Paper Collection
Simply Classic Die
Young at Heart Die
Circle Basics Large Die
Eyelet Circle and Basics Small Die
Luggage and Tags Die

Other Products:
Cardstock: black, natural
Ribbon: Really Reasonable Ribbon Tropic Taffeta
Enamel dots: Whimsy Stamps
Elastic cord: Club House Crafts
Chipboard: WorldWin Papers
Beads: jewelry supply
Magnets: Basic Grey
Corner rounder: Kadomaru Pro
Adhesive: ATG tape, foam tape, tacky glue, Scor-tape