Gypsy diary keepsake

I've had some lovely feedback from some lovely people about my keepsaking and some of the items I've passed on.. thankyou I feel encouraged and inspired by there kind and positive comments..love and thanks to you.

I loved creating my 'boundary less gypsy diary'.The template used is so very simple.
I've used some cardstock and embellishments from K and Co's Sola range for the front but a medly of other stamps and embelishment ideas for the inner pages.



1.The cardstock template was copied by hand and cut out by hand a simple square or perhaps round shape could also be used but i chose to use a bracket album by Basic Grey as my template.I love this shape and have collected complimentary shaped journalling blocks and embellishments and used them in other albums for a more co-ordinated look.I slid tags in between the pages because i had diary comments I couldn't fit on the pages. You do not have to purchase dies cut tags it is easy to use high street clothes tags as templates to draw around and cut out or even use them if they are plain.. in the early days I simply made the shapes myself .. my buddy louise introduced my to the glorious world of die cutting later on.

2.The template is approx 6 x6 in size.I think this is a good size it is big enough to get one or two decent sized photographs on.However, I love to tell stories and express myself with my little keepsakes so I went for four of the mini photo's you can print at home (or the small ones that often come if you order triple prints)
Pretty double sided cardstock certainly makes the albums easier to decorate but single sided cardstock enable you to experiment with stamping or pigment ink sprays to build your own backgrounds if you'd like. I experimented with pigment sprays on the white side of my cardstock with this one and built up a gorgeous warm shimmering copper gold finish.Inking around the page edges is a must as it adds that fuzzy vintaged look.

3.Decorating the front of the album isn't difficult, or a precise art.Torn paper, inked die cut flowers, some diamontes and a touch of glitter are good components.I discovered that using contrasting cardstock from a simular range for a torn top and bottom looked nice.One piece covers approx to 3/4 of the front surface and a smaller contrasting piece 1/4 of the surface. A strip of ribbon with words or a printed phrase on placed along the torn edges of the two pieces also seemes to look effective.Then let your imagination free and dabble with the flowers, glitter and diamonte's.You could keep in mind balancing the weight of the embellisments on the page and giving some symmertry tends to be easier on the eye but anything goes and there are no boundaries this is owned by the person making it and can be as elaborate as desired.In the past i have used the sewing machine to stitch a wavy line of stitching across a larger piece of cardstock on which I placed diamonte flowers...


4. The album pages are held together with a jump ring through a single hole in an outer corner.Jump rings are reasonably priced and a large pack of them can be purchased from Staples for under 2.00 (I've my friend Dawn to thank for that discovery.

5. I used what i 'experienced and felt' to generate themes for the pages.For instance we were having some giggles and the pages with a PLAY theme seemed appropriate for some photographs; i remember the moments quite vividly as being 'playful'. With it being a 'nomadic gypsy diary' I used lots of word stamps to do with travel,discovery, routes and journeys were a must. Favourites are my Heidi Swapp range of stamps for this and I am a 7 gypsies range addict but there are many others available.I chose not to mount my photographs and used journalling block stamps alongside writing comments around my photographs. You can creating the same effect without fancy equipment..draw small squares with lines or journaling line dots are just as effective. Also an alternative to using stamps is to express yourself in your own words or use phrases you have seen on stamps but write or word process them onto card and cut them out.




6. The most important thing is to enjoy what your doing.This diary is not perfect..I love looking at it as it tells the story of my holiday, its purpose was to remind me of the fun and experiences and it does that every time i look at it.....enjoy.