Sea and Sand Journal

©Michele Emerson-Roberts 2015

Did you know that Arnold Grummer has wonderful blank books that can be used for photo albums, journals, guest books or scrapbooks? They are called “Books a' la Carte” and come with great instructions. They are easy to assemble, and make terrific gifts for any occasion. I have used the “Photo Album” set for today’s project. This will be a birthday gift for a dear friend who loves the ocean. The book will be filled with sketches, poems and saying about the sea.

Supplies:

• Any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits
• A sunny window
• Blender, cello sponges and soft towels
• Westcott™ paper trimmer & scissors
• Scraps of ivory or off white, taupe and tan paper (think junk mail, etc.)
• Dried crushed leaves or old spices
• Arnold Grummer’s #2720 “Books a' la Carte” kit
• Raffia for binding (I wanted a different thread than came with the kit)
• Large eyed needle
• Scor-Tape
• Beacon QuickGrip™ adhesive
• Tiny sea shells
• Drift wood stick
• ColorBox Chalk™ charcoal black ink pad
• Sea themed rubber stamp
• Alcohol markers: medium blue, dark red, medium brown
• Iron if you want the paper to be smooth

Instructions:

1. Follow the directions found in any of the Arnold Grummer™ paper making kits to create 3 sheets of off-white handmade paper. (I added a tiny bit of spices to the slurry to create speckles in the paper.) 
2. Create 2 sheets of tan paper, adding lots of crushed leaves and/or spices to the slurry. (I wanted these sheets of paper to look like sand.)
3. Create 2 sheets of taupe handmade paper.
4. When the off-white and taupe papers are dry, iron them to make them smooth.
5. Adhere the taupe paper to the front and back covers with Scor-tape. Trim off the excess paper.

Refer to the photo for layering and placement.

6. Cut a sheet of the off white paper to fit the cover, leaving a border, and attach the paper with Scor-tape.
7. Cut a piece of tan paper a tiny bit smaller than the off-white paper, and layer it on top of the off-white paper.
8. Cut a second piece of off-white paper leaving a tiny border and layer next.
9. Cut a second piece of tan paper and tear the bottom edge - layer and attach.
10. Cut a third piece of off-white paper and tear the bottom edge - layer and attach.
11. Stamp the sea scene onto the off-white paper with the ColorBox Chalk™ ink.
12. Use the alcohol markers to color in the sky, sea, chair and blanket.
13. Bind the book with the drift wood stick.
14. Tie several short pieces of raffia around the stick.
15. Attach the tiny sea shells with QuickGrip™ adhesive.
16. Fill the books with sketches, thoughts and quotes about the sea!