Blank Page Muse Blog: Digital Prints on Art Journal

Hello! Welcome back to the BPM blog. Blank Page Muse just released a new printable paper digital download set, the BPM Summer Citrus Digital Papers, Ephemera, Pockets & Tags Printables. For this month, I am going to use the downloads to showcase a couple of ways to encorporate this to your craft.

The images come in .png format. After downloading it, I saved it as a .jpg format so I can add the images to the Micrsoft Word. It is usually the full sheet of digital downloads that get added to MS Word. From here, you can alter the sheet of images. Make it larger, smaller or crop the image/s that you want to use. For this project, I printed the full sheet of images. I printed it on an 8.5" x 11" Hammermill Premium Color Copy Cover Stock. I resized one of the images incorrectly which you can see on the topmost sheet on the above photo. I got so focused on getting the right size for the other image on the same sheet since I plan to use it on a project for this month.

But it's alright. I was still able to use this printed image on this project. Nobody will know that it is an incomplete print out. I trimmed it to size and cut it on the middle.

I folded the digital print leaving a tab on the bottom on three of the four digital prints. I folded the fourth piece halfway since this will be flushed on the edge of the journal. You can use a bone folder to score before folding. I did not. I used the bone folder to press on the fold for a crisp look.

I inked the edges of all the digital prints after it was cut out to give it a vintage look.

I always try to add some stitching on my projects since I really love to stitch. I pulled out from my craft treasure box an old We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy Stitch Piercer to add holes on the journal paper. This tool has a newer version, in case you are interested.

I sew near the fold of the folded journal panel. I sew it to the tab of another journal panel. I used a poking tool to add holes to the tab area using the holes of the poked journal panel as a guide.

I did not have enough journal sheets printed from the collection. I used some leftover digital prints from my stash. This print is from the BPM Frosty Night Christmas Printable Papers, Ephemera Digital Download. Who said that you can only use a paper from a Holiday collection during Christmas?

I did a running stitch using 6 strands of DMC embroidery floss.

The two stitches on each end attached this journal to the tab of the journal behind it. Sort of like book binding but with a waterfall look. The rest of the stitching is just decorative stitching.

I fussy cut the tags and most of the ephemera. I was planning to use my Cricut machine to do the cutting but my printer ran out of ink.

One thing I love about tags is adding hole reinforcers. I have a die that cuts a hole reinforcer but this is very easy to make. Just die cut or punch a small circle then die cut or punch a smaller circle on the center.

Another thing I like about tags is adding ribbons or trims to it. The one I used frays. Instead of using a lighter to melt the edge, I used my heat tool. This melted the tip to stop it from fraying.

These are the tag inserts I will add to the pocket journal.

I adhered the folded journals to my art journal. I only applied adhesive to the sides so it does not interfere with the pockets.

This digital sheet includes washi tape images. To make it look like a true washi tape, I ripped the edges using a washi tape cutter.

I added some embossing to these washi tape print outs to add some interest although I wished I kept some without embossing.

I embossed one of the washi tape prints with a sentiment using an embossing folder. I inked the embossed impression to make the sentiment pop. You can stamp or write on it instead.

I fussy cut one of the prints on the sheet. I cut it leaving a slim border around it. There are some intricate parts on this image that I think it will be difficult to cut the image on the line.

I adhered some of the washi tape prints to the folds. I tucked the tags in the pocket. I also was able to tuck one of the washi tapes and the fussy cut print out on the sides of this waterfall journal.

This is how the journal pockets look when opened. It is kept closed by the tags. The one on the bottom has a tendency to open. I plan to keep it close with a decorative paper clip.