Jess and I traveled to Paris in mid March 2009 for a trade show.  While we were there we kept all of the ephemera - ticket stubs, cafe receipts, the metro map, our airline boarding pass stubs, even the "your bag has been searched" document from TSA that inevitably lands in my suitcase - from our travels and sightseeing.  You name it, if it passed through our hands we saved it!  Of course I took photos too and they, along with the flotsam and jetsam we accumulated, became fodder for this journal.
 

This is a shot of the finished journal  Because some of the stuff I put in it's bulky, doesn't close fully and won't lay flat.  I don't mind at all however as it really is a compendium of our trip.

I started with a 7 Gypsies Double Page Album #11007.  According to the information from 7 Gypsies, the pages can be used for larger, panoramic photos, though that's not what I decided to do.  Instead, I took the entire book apart and used Yes glue to adhere the two sections together.  I wanted sturdy pages to handle the photos and ephemera and by gluing them together that's exactly what I got.  I used an old credit card to spread the glue and remove the excess so I ended up with a nice thin layer and then put the two sections together. 

Yes glue contains very little water which means it tends to cause less buckling of the paper you apply it to.  What I also like, a lot, is that it dries fairly flexible, so even though the pages bent a bit as they were drying, I was able to gently bend them back to being flat. 
 

The impetus for this entire project was the 7 Gypsies #19322 Lei flocked paper that I used to cover the front and back covers of the book.  The moment it arrived I fell head over heels in love.  What you don't see from the photo is the very subtle color changes on the paper.  It looks beige here, but there are pale, pale rose and green colors that morph and blend over the surface.  Since I'm an overachieving perfectionist, I traced the outline of the cover on the back of the flocked paper and also traced the square holes where the wire binding coils pass through them. It was fun the first couple of times, but by the time I was done with all of the pages I was pretty sick of cutting those square holes.  I see a lot of journals where the paper is cut to cover just up to the edge of the binding/coils and now thoroughly understand why some sensible people elect to do that rather than continually cut out little square holes!  Do whatever pleases you.  I like both looks and suspect the next time I may take a pass on cutting all of those holes.

Because my background is as a quilter, I tend to use tools that aren't necessarily what you'd expect for paper art.  Once I'd traced the outline and holes I used a rotary cutter, 6" ruler, and a mat to cut the paper to the size and shape of the covers.  Because I was working at the warehouse the first cutting implement I put my hands on when it was time to cut out the square holes was a utility knife.  It worked of course since the blade was new, but lets just say an Xacto knife would probably have been a better choice!  More Yes glue applied to the front and back covers, align the flocked paper, and press it down.  I mounted a photo of the Eiffel Tower on a piece of SEI black velvet paper and them used photo corners to mount the photo and paper to the front of the journal.

I used SEI black velvet paper for the inside of both the front and back covers and prepped it the same as for the outside papers.  It matched the flocking on the 7 Gypsies paper perfectly and I loved the finished look.  Right about the time I started this book was when our 7 Gypsies order from CHA arrived.  The cool edge you see on the cover are some of the metal page edges that arrived.  They're available in several different styles and colors, but the black was a no brainer since it coordinated so well with the papers I'd used.  I liked the scalloped edges and so went with them.

The photo is of the Seine River that I took while Jess and I were walking across a bridge.  I opened a package of the 7 Gypsies #17816 Gypsy tag assortment.  There are 20 of them in a pack and I used a number of them in the journal.  What you don't see in this photo is that I covered the back of the tag with another of the flocked papers, #19324 Tobar.  I liked the style and felt that the colors worked with the overall look.

By now all of the double pages that I glued together had long since dried.  Once the covers were done the next question was what to do with the inside pages.  I tried painting one and didn't like the look at all.  There were some extra sheets of the new Gypsy line of paper hanging around the cutting table and so I availed myself of them.... using them to cover both sides of the inside pages for the book.

The paper covering this page is #19311 Rye and here I also used one of the metal page edges.  They come 3 to a pack and I had one leftover from the covers and decided to use it.  This page is a tribute to the TSA Agency.  On virtually every trip I take they decide to hand search my suitcase.  When we arrived at the hotel in Paris and I unpacked my suitcase was not terribly surprised to see that they'd once again given my bag a thorough going over!  The "CDG" marked paper is the routing tag that was attached to the handle of my suitcase.  It's tucked inside of a 7 Gypsies pocket that I covered with a leftover scrap of the Lei paper from the front and back covers..  I used both the 97% Complete #17349 Tag Pockets and the #10076 Naked Pockets

The left page of this spread is the other side of the TSA page and on the right is a photo I took of a stone monument.. 

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I used the #19312 Saige paper to cover this page and added a photo of Jess standing on the same bridge over the Seine River.

I took photos of two monuments that stood guard over the entrance road to... something I can't remember the name of!  Deciding that the photo looked kind of lonely on the page I tried to find something to perk it up a bit.  Eventually I decided on a Making Memories Vintage Hip Frame #26264 dots.  They begin an ivory color, but that was much too stark against the paper and photo. 

The frames are metal and having had the new alcohol inks roll into the warehouse a week or so before, they were fresh enough in my mind that I didn't have to wonder too long about what to do with the frame.  A couple of colors along with some copper metallic mixative applied to one of the felt applicator pads and I was done.  On non-porous surfaces the inks dry in less than 10 seconds, so I was ready to mount the frame almost immediately.

I had taken some photos of a garden located in the intersection of a couple of roads and decided I liked them enough to include them in a page spread.

The looked kind of lonely so I added the tags with the silk ribbon tied to the holes.  I used #5 manila tags that I sliced a piece off of, again with the rotary cutter since that's what I find the easiest.  I know some people like paper cutters, but I find them awkward.  I'm a rotary cutter fan from way back!  Like the metal frame, the tags needed color.  I tested spraying Adirondack color wash on them, but though it was a little intense for the look I was aiming for.  I wanted something softer, more like watercolors so I ran them both under water (of course they immediately curled up like a snail in a shell!) and laid them on some scrap paper.  I spritzed the color wash sprays again and this time the colors bled and ran which was exactly what I wanted.  I blotted the extra water and color off and let them dry before I used a Sharpie to write the "winter flowers" words.

This photo was taken from the observation deck on the top of the Arc de Triomphe.  I can't even begin to describe the views, though "magnificent" is a reasonably good start!  The sun was beginning to set and had lowered itself behind a cloud.  It was a pretty view and so I snapped several photos.  I used another of the Gypsy tags and tucked it inside a pocket that I covered with a scrap of the Tobar paper.

If you can believe it, this is a street mime posing as a statue.  He was very, very convincing and about the only way you can tell he's not a statue was the funky bands that he was wearing on his wrists.  I cut him out of the photo and glued him to the page - this one used the #19310 Moe paper too.  The journal is complete except for this page.  I know I want the mime to be reaching for something, I just haven't figured out what that something is.  Eventually it'll make itself evident and I'll finish the page.

The photo on the left side of this spread is the second of the horse monuments I took.  To develop a bit of continuity I decided to use a Making Memories metal frame here too.  This one is the #26269 scroll style. 

This time I used a dry brush technique with the copper metallic mixative and the ink applicator.  I wanted to add color to the background and leave some of the scrolls lighter so they'd stand out a bit. 

This page is the other side of the spread.  We used the Metro system to get everywhere from the hotel to the airport to the heart of the city.  We got to know the inside of the Gare de Nord quite well.  One afternoon while we were heading back to the hotel this man serenaded us as we sat on the train.  It made for a pleasant interlude at the end of an exhausting day.  I used the metro map to cover both sides of this page.  Jess aged it with Distress Inks as it was very stark white paper that looked a bit out of place with the Gypsy papers.  Another of the 97% Distressed Pockets, also aged with Distress Ink, but this time I cut out the square holes so it could be bound with the pages.  I mounted the photo on a piece of leftover SEI black velvet paper so it would stand out from the map. 

This is the last page and the back cover of the journal.  The page on the left is the backside of the one above that I covered with the Metro map.  The map portion is under the photo and what you see are some of the advertisements that were printed around the perimeter.

This photo is one I took standing at the base of the Eiffel Tower and looking straight up.  I can't even begin to describe how tall it is.  Unlike a skyscraper which you expect to be soar above you, the Tower is open metal work and has all kinds of nooks and crannies from the base to the top.  It's an imposing structure, and not only because it's so tall.

The inside back cover.  You can see the black velvet paper as well as the black scalloped metal page edge.  Another pocket that I covered with the Tobar paper holds cafe receipts and other bits of paper.  There's also a pocket covered with the Lei flocked paper that's bound in with the pages.  It too holds receipts and metro tickets.  Our tickets to the SMAC trade show are there as are the ones from our visit to the Louvre museum.  If I told you that I cried upon walking in the first room of paintings in the museum would you think me nuts?  I couldn't help it, I was so overcome by the majesty and awed by the fact that I was actually there that I was gaped jawed with tears streaming down my face.  Photos from the museum to come at some point!

Under that loose pocket is a final tag that summarizes our trip... planes, trains, cafes, a museum, and more. This was a tip I'll never forget and one I hope to be able to take again - soon! 

SUPPLIES: I used a number of papers from the 7 Gypsies "Gypsy" paper collection as well as the flocked papers.  The two specific styles that I incorporated into this journal are #19322 Lei and #19324 Tobar.  Click here for the Lei paper and here for the Tobar.  I also used SEI black velvet paper and you can see that by clicking here.  If you want to see all of the 7 Gypsies papers you can by clicking here.  To see the entire collection of 7 Gypsies products we stock go here.

The blank album is the 7 Gypsies Double Page #11007.  Click here to see it.  Click here for the 7 Gypsies 97% Complete Gypsy tags, here for the 97% Complete Pockets and here for the Naked Pockets.  There are 6 styles of metal page edges.  You can see all 6 of them here.

I used Yes glue to adhere the pages, the papers to them, and in some cases to glue items to the pages.  When I didn't utilize Yes glue to adhere stuff to the pages I used 3M Double stick tape which you can see here.  Click here for Yes glue.  The Making Memories metal frames are available in two styles, dots and scrolls.  Click here for the dots and here for the scroll style.  Alcohol inks and the ink applicators to color the metal frames can be seen here.  #5 Manila tags can be seen here and if you want to add color with the Adirondack Color Wash sprays you'll find them here.