Prayer Journal

Good morning, friends!  I've just completed my first tutorial....phew...what a lot of work, but very rewarding.  It's being posted on the Our Daily Bread Designs Blog, but I thought I would share it here as well.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making the project!

Here it is:

The other week in my Sunday School class, one of the ladies shared how for years she has written all of her prayer requests in a journal.  She dates when she begins to pray for the need, and also records when and how the Lord answers her prayers.  As she looks back over the ways the Lord has been faithful, it encourages her, and builds her faith even more.  I was inspired to begin a prayer journal of my own, and decided to make my own by altering a chipboard album.

I began gathering papers and embellishments for covering the pages of the Chipboard Album.  The papers I will be using are from Graphics 45,  A Ladies Diary Collection...a good choice for a journal, don't you think?

The edges of the chipboard pages were painted with a Pitch Black Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber.  The little insert shows the painted edge.

The papers were cut to 6" x 6" which was the size of the chipboard, and pieces of coordinating papers were cut to 6" x 3/4" for placing along the spine  All of the pieces were sponged with distress ink and stitched together. The holes were marked on the back of the paper to match the holes on each page and punched with a hole punch. A pocket was created with papers on the last page to hold notes.

Scor-Tape was added to the back of each page along the edge and around the holes.  Double sided tape was added to the middle of the page with my ATG Gun.  Very carefully adhere the pages to the chipboard.  Once it's down it's not coming up...ask me how I know!

Brayer each page to make sure the paper is down flat and to remove any air trapped between the layers.  Sand the edges until they are smooth and sponge with Distress Ink.

Next, the pages of the journal were designed.  Very Vanilla, a layering weight card stock, was cut to 5 3/4" x 5 3/4".  The holes were marked and punched with my Crop-A-Dile. The Recipe Card Lines stamp was perfect for creating my lines which were stamped on each page in Tuxedo Black. The little corner accents were stamped in Creamy Caramel and are from the Romantic Floral Designs stamp set.  The first half of the journal is for recording prayer needs and prayer requests so the Lift Up Our Hands stamp set was used for the image and the quote.  The second half of the journal is for recording answered prayers so the Lilac stamp and the verse from the Scripture Collection 2 set were used for these pages.  I have trouble keeping things straight sometimes, so the grid paper and stamp positioner helped to keep everything lined up!  The edges of each page were sponged with a little Antique Linen Distress.  Okay...let's put the pages into the journal!

All of the pages are held inside the chipboard covers with binder rings.  I included twelve pages in each section. That way I can concentrate on different prayer needs for each month of the year.  Two of the acrylic covers included in the album kit were used in the front and the back of my prayer journal to protect the chipboard covers.

A modge podge of ribbon and lace scraps were tied around the binder rings.  Now all that remains to be done is to decorate the chipboard covers! 

This is the first page inside the cover.  The verse from Psalms is part of the Scripture Collection 10 stamp set and was stamped on a Spellbinders Floral Oval Die and lightly sponged with Fired Brick Distress Ink.  It was then mounted to an ODBD Spellbinders Antique Label & Border Die.  The border above it is also from the same die set.  Mini Fanciful Flourish dies were added around the verse.  The little wooden bird was painted with acrylic paint and when dry, coated with Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint.  I just used my finger to rub in some distress inks into the cracks and glued the bird to the page.

All the materials used on this page are the same as above except a different verse from the Scripture Collection 10 stamp set was used.  A piece of seam binding was given a shabby look with Distress Inks and was pleated and stitched down the side of the center panel.

Since I've used a bird theme throughout the journal, I decided to color the Finch Collage to be used on the cover.  The center was cut out so a sentiment from the Scripture Series 3 stamp set could be added.  The collage was mounted on a Decorative Labels Eight Die and a shabby bow added along the side.  That's it...my prayer journal is finished!

This brings my tutorial to an end.  I hope you've been inspired to try making your own journal...or, if you don't need a journal, how about a recipe book...hmmmm...now that's an idea for another time!

Thanks so much for stopping by...have a blessed day!

Hugs,
Cathymac