My First Altered Book Junk Journal/Mistakes and how to avoid them!

[@nildam.bonilla5849]

I love it. I bought a book when I went to Spain (about 12 years ago) and when I opened it the insides where upside down. I loved reading it in the common room at the place where I was staying while waiting for the cafeteria to open just to see people's faces thinking I was reading the book that way, made me feel like I was in Wonderland to be honest.

[@austenspapertree8429]

Genial! And the best evidence therefore that it is all a question of approach.... So Thank you Nilda M. Bonilla. Now I have to make such a "wonder book" ;)...

[@grenaesjournals2726]

I love your quirky upside-down-pages journal 😆! Having so much fun watching your older videos. Learning from others’ “mistakes” is so helpful. When I make a mistake, I tell myself, “Well for crying out loud, it’s a JUNK journal!” 😂

[@49dragonflies]

Grenae Thompson haha, thank you! I like your attitude! 😊❤️

[@susanmorales8675]

I very much enjoyed seeing one of your earlier journals. I always learn from you. Your mistakes were not so bad really. I thought that your work was beautiful. Thank you Barbara for always being so transparent.

[@Pipian7]

Your journal is really lovely and I love the music as well! Thank you for sharing XX

[@jaceywhitehead2551]

If you line up the bottoms of 2 envelopes and run washi tape or glue paper or fabric along the edges then you can sew in between the envelopes and you will have 2 envelopes with the openings facing outwards.

[@49dragonflies]

Jacey Whitehead Thank you Jacey! ❤️

[@womensarmycorpsveteran2904]

Your journal is lovely. Mistake #1, try a syringe with glue and squirt in gap that didn’t stick, for the envelopes, I would close it up with some score tape and cut the bottom like you said. In the pages that bother you that are upside down, you can use gesso or cover them with a collage or glue a new piece of paper a little bit smaller so the original paper frames it. Remember they are all happy mistakes cuz you learn so much from them.

[@49dragonflies]

Cathy Ferrari Thanks for you tips Cathy! ❤️

[@NolaTheAlamoChiliQueen]

I'm working on my first altered book and so this vid was really helpful. That's the most beautiful cover! The papers you backed the cover with are perfect, too.

[@49dragonflies]

Thanks so much Nola! 🥰

[@rochestermanagementservice6082]

Thanks for sharing your learning processes, Barbara. Very helpful! Still, gorgeous cover with beautiful colors throughout! TFS from Cheryl in AZ, USA.

[@LoriFahy]

to sew the envelopes in, I sew a piece of material to two bottom ends of the envelopes, so they are joined facing the bottom. I put them in so that the material is in the spine of the signature. The opening then will be facing the outside edge.

[@49dragonflies]

TheLoriFiles Thanks so much for that advice! ❤️

[@LoriFahy]

@@49dragonflies if you use a longer type envelope, you can just sew it in thru the middle, so you have half on one side of the signature, and the other half is opposite, with the opening pointing upwards. you may just need to snip the seal flap down the middle so the pages can sit down the middle. I hope that makes sense. I loved your journal by the way, the cover was a great find!

[@49dragonflies]

TheLoriFiles I appreciate your tips! Thank you, I will keep those in mind! The book was a lucky find and I loved working in it.

[@emmkaa2099]

I really love what just rounding the corners does. Crazy simple but what an impact! Love you girl. 😘😘 Muah muah ❤🌞🌵

[@lindafriend9392]

I’m a recent subbie and I’m working my way through your videos. I just wanted to say, even with the upside papers this is beautiful. The blend of colours, pictures, book pages and papers are stunning. Tfs 💖

[@49dragonflies]

Linda Friend Thank you so much Linda and welcome to my channel! ❤️

[@carolmikolj5134]

It is a beautiful journal and you should be very proud of it. I recently made a huge chunky monkey of a journal out of a cereal box and strengthened the spine with Tyvek, which can be bought from Amazon, and I painted it the colour I wanted with acrylic paint. I put in the signatures on elastic, travellers notebook style, so it's easy to slip pages in or out. I used long envelopes decorated with scrapbook paper and folded in half width ways so there was a small pocket with a top opening on each side. My junk journal is enormous but I absolutely love it.

[@49dragonflies]

Thank you Carol! Your huge chunky monkey journal sounds lovely! 😃❤️

[@danutashayler34]

This is a very cute altered book. Love the upside down plants and month of October. That was a great idea re: month of first altered book. Wish I watched this one months ago. I love it!

[@kimmarshall5005]

Oh this is stunning! Your paper choices and colors are SO my taste! Lol - the upside down - what are you gonna do? Gotta laugh, right? I love the hidden binding and will try it. Thanks so much for sharing!

[@49dragonflies]

kim marshall Hi Kim and thanks so much for your kind comment! I actually left it as it was and it makes me laugh 😂.

[@julieglazer]

I have an idea for mistake #3, the envelope opening...why not just cut away a big of the opening, making it lower on the page so you can access it? That way you can access it better? Make it with a flap, not cut away the paper so you have another fun aspect of the envelope. Having it open to the center allows for the contents to not fall out of the book. Thanks for sharing your mistakes and your lovely book-love the textures you add to the book by using the doilies!

[@49dragonflies]

Thanks for your kind feedback and tip, Julie! 👍🏻😃

[@virtuallycolleen]

Great video! Love hearing your German, too. About the envelope , Why not take a scissors or cutting edge right now and trim off a bit of the outside length? You can tuck larger tags or inserts, If you wanted to, you could cover the inside with a strip of washi.

[@mauricepowers3804]

Beautiful journal!!! I have sewn in upside down as well!!🥰 There's a way to fix those little gaps.... if you'll take some Fabritac glue and put it on a small sliver of card stock and slip the card stock into the slit with glue on it. And then hold it with your finger when you take the card stock out. I hope that makes sense. Love your journal!! The inside papers look vintage💖💖💖💖💖

[@49dragonflies]

Thank you Maurice! Great tip! ❤️

[@mswiddleone]

Just found you as I am looking into making my first junk journal. I can’t wait to start it looks so fun and your work is just gorgeous! I was just thinking since I’m assuming the journal is just for you; you could flip it over and work with the pages the “right” way or enjoy the upside down🥰 Either way you inspired me as I’m planning on throwing a few in upside down too!

[@49dragonflies]

mswiddleone Thanks so much! I’m so happy my videos inspired you to make your own, even with upside down pages! 😃👍🏻❤️

[@diamondbricks2933]

I loved the musical introduction...

[@hatribouwer6114]

Beautiful journal! I have sewn in an envelope in the middle of the signature while it is still totally open. After sewing in the signature, I glued the envelope, covering the sewing. The opening is then on the outside and it is like an extra page in the middle.

[@49dragonflies]

Thank you for your tip! ❤️

[@differenttakethanmost]

Of course you can glue those loose spots on the spine without taking it apart: it’s the perfect use of that metal tip that comes with Art Glitter Glue. Or there are small bottles with long syringe tips (used to be called “oiler boilers” (???) - squirt some glue down in there so the rest doesn’t loosen 👍🏼 There’s Always a way 😉 PS- if you’re fine with sideways pages (seems everyone but me is perfectly content with sideways pages/sideways text/sideways images in their journals) what’s the difference of upside down stuff?

[@ArtWars314]

Hi Barbara! 13:10 is actually Chinese :) I love how transparent & humble you are & you never take yourself too seriously, which sets you apart from other . Also it's a junk journal, is upside down or right side up, it really doesn't matter :) As usual your work & your personality is such a joy! Look how far you've come in your journal making journey! Keep up the good work!♥♥ & happy pre Christmas to you ☻☺The ZOO loves your too♥♥ !🐦🐤🐧🦜🐓🥀🦉😂🐥🐣🦆🦆🦆

[@49dragonflies]

Aaaw, thank you for your very kind words, Vikki! I’m having too much fun crafting to take myself too seriously 😃. And yes, I have come a long way since this journal! 😊❤️

[@LilyLightOne]

I often write in journals from both the front and the back, usually relaying dreams in the back. You could do the same with this journal (although I'm sure you have already used it by now...) using the upside down pages from the back or for a different style of writing. Particularly as it has Japanese pages this is even more appropriate (maybe?!) since they write from right to left.

[@staceycorteville6756]

You can cover the upside down pages, with another paper same size, make it a sied pocket! If it bothers you....😋

[@lauracerezo7623]

Beautiful book! I made the sewn in upside down signatures mistake a couple time too 🙄 I would tend to deconstruct the junk journal to fix it but that’s my way. This book is adorable and I’m curious if you ever filled it up?

[@49dragonflies]

Thank you Laura. Actually I’m. It even sure where this journal landed 🤔. Could be that I fixed it and gave it to someone 😊

[@zajournals]

OMG his literally made me *laugh out loud* 😁 thanks for sharing.

[@lunadog71]

I would really appreciate any tips to avoid making the first mistake - the suggestions for how to make up for the mistake are great but I'd rather avoid the mistake in the first place.

[@little_bundle_of_art]

Still a lovely journal... you could maybe add some gesso to some music or bookpages that are upside down. You will still see that it's a music page but it won't stand out too much that it's upside down.

[@49dragonflies]

Thanks! Of I made this today, I would know what to do, but I was a newbie back then 😊

[@little_bundle_of_art]

@@49dragonflies yes of course, we all learn through making mistakes!

[@megancampbell3914]

This was helpful and I subscribed.

[@49dragonflies]

Thanks Megan and welcome to my channel! 😃

[@sharonwatson4085]

Fun! Any page that is upside you can just paste over the areas with similar materials and cover the images over. Use Un Du and release the glue on the envelopes to open them up and insert a flip up booklet inside so it appears to belong! Errors are almost always fixable! TFS!

[@melissafancelli-cox9313]

Obviously this is old but sometime I will attempt making one too. Did you end up possibly pasting a piece of paper over the most annoying ones that were upside down? Or maybe a collage, I know it is done. I am just guessing what I'd do. I love them upside down, but I am sure if there was say an image of a person that may bother you more than say flowers? I love it, also the material used for the spine is neat. I love the pencil case too. Have you ever saw people use that paper that has fibers in it. Some large envelopes are made with it. It is un tearble too. I know Cathy Orta king uses it. She does a hidden hinge technique with no sewing but glue. Also there is stack the deck spine for those that can't sew. But hers are mainly scrap books. Very perfect new papers and clean. No used ephemera. But the spine she created is neat. TFS

[@49dragonflies]

Thank you Melissa! I ended up leaving those upside down pages in 😃. What you referring to is tyvek, it’s what some envelopes are made out of. I have been using that in my more recent journals, it’s great. I have tried all kinds of binding in the past, but currently my favorite is the no-sew one where you can remove and add pages easily and dangle charms on the spine of the book.

[@mccrackenshuskies333]

I just sewed my signatures in my first book last night. It is not as easy as it looks! My pages hung over my cover. Ugh! I trimmed them up but they definitely went in wonky. 😂

[@49dragonflies]

As everything this also takes a bit of practice. Next time it will be better! 😃❤️

[@bonniec.2786]

If you want to sew the envelope into the centre of a signature, you need to carefully take it apart. Sew the bottom of the envelope into the signature, then glue the envelope back together. If you use your envelope punch board, it is easier...fold on the creases, then sew in before gluing it together.

[@patovaleria30]

Love it ! And de músic always !!!!!

[@randyebastian8186]

Beautiful book even if some of the pages were upside down!

[@djwarrior1421]

So funny. Cute how you can laugh at your own happy accidents.

[@sashaphantastik2938]

Hallo, ich nehme die Umschläge öfter ausseinander, dann kannst du sie so reinnähen, dass die Öffnung in die richtige Richtung schaut und klebst sie danach wieder zusammen. Dafür muss der Umschlag in der Mitte der Signature sein. Ein sehr schönes Junk Journal!

[@49dragonflies]

Hallo Sasha! Vielen Dank für den Tipp! Es wäre super das mal zu sehen, denn ich bin mir nicht sicher, wie ich den Umschlag richtig auseinander nehmen und wieder zusammen kleben soll :).

[@sashaphantastik2938]

@@49dragonflies Ich habe dir eine Mail geschickt ;)

[@Joanili80]

@@49dragonflies Jetzt weißt du das mittlerweile bestimmt schon selbst, aber hast du erstmal einen auseinander genommen, dh. vorsichtig geöffnet, hast du ja die Form für andere Umschläge, also eine Vorlage, so kannst du dir dann auch Umschläge aus allen möglichen Papieren zaubern und die sind dann ja immer schon offen und du klebst sie erst nach dem Nähen zusammen. :) Ich habe das zb. mir einen Atlas gemacht, weil das Papier da groß genug ist. Die Umschläge sehen super aus. :) LG

[@49dragonflies]

Joani Liebe Joani, vielen Dank für deinen Tipp! Ja, das hab ich inzwischen gelernt hihi. Danke trotzdem! 😘❤️

[@bettylongshore9594]

I worked and worked and worked on my first hidden spine journal. I kept checking to make sure things were the right way up. Three signatures.... First two upside down and last one was right. Now here's the crazy part. I looked at it and it was fine. I showed it off and bragged about the hidden spine. It all went together just great. No one said a word about the pages being upside down. I even showed it to my husband who usually notices things like an upside down page!!!!!! A few days later I was going to start embellishing it. I could not believe the pages. I kept going through like WHAT HAPPENED?????? BIZARRE!!!!

[@49dragonflies]

Haha love your story! I guess once the pages are embellished you can’t see it anyway...cool that nobody noticed though ☺️

[@AngelikaSchlager]

Oh, das sieht ja schön aus! Du kannst es schon rausschneiden und drehen und einkleben, aber nimm nie double sided tape, das klebt nie lang. Kuverts kannst zwei auseinadernehmen und verkehrt rum kleben, dann in die Mitte oder du nähst Stoff dran, dann geht's auch! Oder öffnung zukleben und an Außenseite aufschneiden. Alle Wege führen nach Rom! 😁superschön! 💖

[@49dragonflies]

Liebe Angi, ich danke dir! Das sind super Ideen für die Umschläge! Ich glaub ich lass es verkehrt drin - das bringt mich zum Lachen und erinnert mich daran, dass es mein erstes ist :))). Mit was klebst du deine Signatures rein? Mit glue gun? Danke, Barbara

[@AngelikaSchlager]

49dragonflies hahaaaaa, ja das ist lustig! Wer weiß, vielleicht ein neuer Trend? Also für die beiden Deckel nehme ich planatol elasto, das ist ein buchkleber, der hält, obwohl man es hunderte male öffnet. Und hinten am Rücken klebe ich Mullbinde drauf. Bis jetzt hielten die. Die Bücher oder anderes was mit doppelklebeband war, hat nach ein bis zwei Jahren nimmer geklebt. Meine klobücher etwa. Ich denke aber, dass flüssigkleber auch genügen kann! Treffen uns eh wegerm Schiller! 💞

[@49dragonflies]

@@AngelikaSchlager haha neuer Trend, ja sicher! :))) Aha, ein Buchkleber, das klingt gut. ich schau mal ob's den bei amazon gibt. Ich möchte schon etwas, das lange hält! Wegen Schiller schick ich dir eine Email :). xoxo

[@carolpatsleffel1006]

If I start on an altered book and you make a mistake on your first time, can you still go one and keep going on it

[@49dragonflies]

Of course! There is always a way to fix it! 😊

[@redd4poetry]

Why not just use it the right way up? Then only the cover will be in the back.

[@Joanili80]

Hallo :) Ich schau nur noch diese Videos die letzten Tage ^.^" Könnte ich bitte bitte erfahren, welche Art Zange für das Loch verwendet wurde (für den Verschluss)? Ich habe Sorge, so ein Crop a dile oder so zu bestellen und dann zu merken, dass so ein Buchdeckel zu dick dafür ist. LG

[@49dragonflies]

Joani Hallo Joani, das hab ich mit dem crop-a-dile gemacht. Geht ganz leicht durch Buchdeckel durch! War einer der besten Investitionen!!! Ist sein Geld wert!

[@Joanili80]

@@49dragonflies Vielen Dank für die Antwort :) Leider hab ich das nur einzeln gefunden. Welche Ösen soll ich denn dafür nehmen? :)

[@49dragonflies]

Joani 1/8 inch und 3-16 inch Ösen.

[@ruthtaylor9709]

I know this comment is probably waaay too late but I think it would be worth the extra hassle to cut out the signatures and put them back in right side up.

[@debbietanton6798]

Envelope... Put a piece of washi tape over the opening to close it. Then very carefully cut a slither off to 'bottom' of the envelope so that the opening is on the outside!!!

[@anastasiarose9003]

This is a beautiful journal. Just pretend you planned it that way. ;)

[@paulapayne592]

♥️

[@matildaenlund6679]

😍