The inspirations for this book was a sewing manual that I came across from the 1940’s. I just fell in love with the illustrations and couldn’t wait to use them in a junk journal. Then I found this awesome Readers Digest book and fell in love with the print- it reminded me of the WWII era so it seemed like a good fit. I tried to find digital image kits that tied with the theme of sewing and thrift, but everything I was finding was too Victorian.

I ended up working with the Cottage Garden kit from Ephemera’s Vintage Garden. I just love Debbie-Ann’s designs and there was a lot about this kit that reminded me of a thrifty lady during WWII saving seed packets in her journal so that’s how things ended up! Kind of inconsistent, but more like real life which is what I like in a junk journal- I like to pretend that it’s a real keepsake that someone owned in the past and assembled with little treasures.

The total journal ended up being very layered with a lot of color and a lot of ephemera which I think makes it very fun!

See that line drawing above from the book? Isn’t that darling?

Some Victorian elements did creep in, but just like my own sewing box, I imagined that my pretend thrifty housewife had items from her mother and grandmother that she treasured.

I really like how it ended up and I think the right home is out there ready to treasure it. It’s listed now on etsy. Happy making, friends!