Make a junk journal with Shahrul Niza!

My guest today is the sweet Shahrul Niza of Such Pretty Canvas. If you are like me and inspired by nature and the unconventional, you would love her style of meshing unexpected elements in clever ways. Her eclectic quirky style first caught my eye when she started playing along with the challenges at LESSology and was on our design team last year. I had the opportunity to meet up with her in person earlier this year when I was in Kuala Lumpur where we bonded over tea, cakes and mixed media [see pic on right]. Today, she shares with us how to make a junk journal and is also hosting a fabulous challenge with a prize for a lucky player! :)

First, let's have a look at some of Shahrul's fave projects....

Hello friends!

My name is Shahrul, and I can't thank enough sweet Yvonne, for inviting me to be her Guest Blogger here @ Do More With Less. She has great eyes for colors, texture and blings and I'm forever loving her bold, happy artwork!.

A little about myself; I'm a geologist who self-taught mixed-media art, single and living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with 3 fluffy cats!. I love nature, photography and creating.

My style has evolved from simple & sweet paper creations into eclectic, curious, vintage altered things. I'm a HUGE fan of mini albums, art journaling & up-cycling projects. Recently, I discovered the joy of stitching on papers, fabrics, plastics and you name it. What a fun addition to my art :).

My small junk journal, measures only 6" X 4" in size.

I LOVE using different textures and materials in my projects. Today, I like to show you one way to use up your paper & fabric scraps. All the better, to rid off that junk mails and unwanted flyers :). We are making a junk journal !!. If you love to jot down stuff and maybe sketching a little like I do, this is a perfect tiny journal/jotter you could make on your own for keeps or to give away. Yes, using stuff you may already have at home :).

Junk journals are fun. Simply because there are no rules!. Anything goes into this journal. Junk or treasures alike. No symmetry. Mismatched pages. Crumpled papers or frayed fabrics. Just assemble anything that is flat enough as journal pages. 

Fold everything in half, stack them like a book and stitch in the middle (or just staple) to hold the pages together. Attach a ribbon, a leather strap or a twine for closure. You are done!. You may paint or add mediums to the pages for extra texture or leave them clean as I did. Or, add some crazy stitches for additional interest. 

I 'trapped' pressed flowers by stitching around a plastic folder to keep it in-place. 

Embellished the back cover with a pressed fern.

The back cover. Botanical specimens are beautiful against any printed pages.

I love collecting things while out walking in nature. So I made myself some pressed flowers and leaves by drying them underneath heavy old books for about two weeks. Every now and then, I use them in my art. This journal is meant for a gardening/nature notebook. Hence, I used many floral prints ripped from magazines. Lets take a peek into my journal;

Ripped pretty prints from magazines as embellishment.

Stitching on frayed fabrics make your journal looks organic.

Plastic inserts with embedded pretty things. You may add buttons or pictures in it too.

I added a pen holder, salvaged from an old diary :). Handy to take notes later.

 Add tags, postage stamps and washi tapes to beautify journal pages.

Are you ready for a challenge??. You are welcome to create any projects, but you MUST include some stitching in them. Whether it hand stitching, or machine stitching ... anyway that strikes your fancy :). Link your projects to this post and I'll let Yvonne choose a winner :). 

I'll send one lucky winner, a junk journal kit. So that you'll be able to make one for yourself :). 

Would you like to win this junk journal kit?

Come, put your creative hats on and play along!. Good Luck!. And thank you for reading my post today. Hope you'll join my challenge :). Can't wait to see your creations!. HUGS.

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Ahhhh...now you are looking forward to the junk mail in your mail box right? *LOL* 

Ready to play along with Shahrul's fabulous challenge? Please link your newly created projects featuring the use of stitching via Inklinz [located at the end of the post] by Friday June 7th, 11.59pm (GMT+8).

As always, please leave a little love for my guest Shahrul. :)