How About Some Paper Crafts?

It’s Easter Sunday, and I’m sure many of you have plans today. If you do not have any plans, I hope you have a relaxing day doing whatever makes you happy. We’re still on our biweekly video schedule for the time being, and it happens that this is an off week. Well, kind of (Bree is totally working on a video as I write this). Still, the next new video will be coming next week. We can’t wait to get back to weekly uploads, and hopefully that will be sooner than later. As soon as we go back to weekly uploads, I’ll certainly post about it here.

Aside from catching up with some family, I plan to get a little drawing in today. If there’s time, I would also like to spend some more time learning how to use some tech I recently purchased for a future project we have in the works. But that said, I might just catch up with the fam and do some relaxing, low stakes, sketching in my journal—it is a holiday after all. Either way, you can be sure I’ll have videos playing in the background the whole time.

If you’re like me and plan to spend some time today doing creative work with YouTube playing on the side, let me suggest a playlist. Check out our playlist of Paper Crafts and DIY videos at the link below!

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN81Ci1keJOWoTZixzUs6JsHjQzRxtu7R

News and Updates from 1134 Press

You might have noticed, depending how frequently you visit this site, that there have been some changes over the past couple days. In a previous blog post I wrote that we were working on a new look. Well, I’m still working on it. We like the cleaner look of the website, but there are still some more changes I would like to make. I’m sure it will be an ongoing project. So, when you come back next, you will likely notice some more differences—big or small.

In other news, today’s video will be coming up later tonight. Sometimes life has an annoying way of interfering with things. In the meantime, though, check out a playlist! Start with the video below. It’s an oldy but a goody! Scrapbooker on a Budget - Eco Friendly Paper Crafts

Trying a Book Kit

A book kit can be a great inroad for the beginning book maker, as well as a fun project for someone who’s been at it awhile. This week, Bree received a book kit from fellow book maker, Former Housewife. Bree had fun putting the project together, and I was impressed by the quality of the finished piece.

The kit comes with everything you need to create your own journal, as well as instructions. Learn more about Former Housewife at the link below, then watch Bree put together and review the kit in the video!

Check out Former Housewife here!

Drawing in Watercolor

We started a channel for the 1134 Comix side of things. It’s still new, and we’re still figuring it out a bit. But, I thought I would post today’s video for the other channel this time. Never fear, journaling and bookmaking videos are still going up every Wednesday and Sunday at the 1134 Press channel.

About the video:

I’m trying something a little different this week. Rather than a drawing of one of my comic characters, or something else similar to previous videos, I made a drawing in watercolor. For the drawing, I took inspiration from a short story I wrote some years ago now. If you would like to read the story that inspired my drawing, I’ll link to it below. The Story is called The Transcendental Man. I also give some more context to the drawing, and spend some time speaking about creativity, 1134 Comix, and 1134 Press in general. That’s another thing new this week—I actually put my face on camera. 

Read the story here: https://1134comix.com/2015/04/04/something-different-some-science-fiction/ 

Double Exposing Polaroid Film

Happy easter everybody! If you’re reading this right now, there’s a good chance you might be bored around the house—which is the inspiration for this video!

If you happen to have a polaroid camera on hand, and are looking for something different to do with your journals, try out this double exposure technique. In the video, Bryonna shows exactly how to manipulate the camera to create some very interesting images.

Why not makes some ghostly pictures for your junk journal?

Check it out below!

If you think this is a fun video, subscribe for more!

Why I Quit Etsy

Today’s video is something a little bit different. Rather than a Junk Journal with Me video, which usually posts on Sunday, Bryonna discusses her experience running the Etsy shop. The 1134 Press Etsy shop has been on a bit of vacation, and the reasoning behind the extended “vacation” is the focus of the video.

Note, however, that we haven’t actually, fully, 100% quit Etsy. It is very likely that we will have limited quantities of handmade books for purchase through Etsy here and there moving forward. Etsy is definitely a useful platform, depending on how you use it. To hear the story, and get a bit of insight into Etsy selling, watch the video below!

If you like this video, make sure to subscribe for more!

Happy Mail Ideas

For this week’s blog entry, I would like to look back at Wednesday’s video (note that there is a new video up today, too!) In Wednesday’s video, Bryonna shares three ideas for Happy Mail. Happy Mail is always a fun project because it means sending something to the pen pal. 

In this tutorial, Bryonna makes a Happy Mail full of stationery and ephemera. The video overviews a few great ideas for the Happy Mail: 

1)    Sending mixed papers for your pen pal to collage with!

2)    Binding mixed papers into a DIY envelope (decorated with washi, wax seal, and vintage stickers)!

3)    Making a transparent card and trifold pocket! 

Don’t worry if you don’t have a pen pal. Everything in this video tutorial can be used in your own personal junk journal. Now, check out the video linked below and get inspired to create something new!

Please, like, share, and subscribe to the channel for more paper crafting inspiration!

How to Use a Die Cutting Machine

In this week’s Junk Journal with Me video, Bryonna offers a usefully inspiring tutorial. If you are just starting out using your new die cutting machine, this video is for you. Bryonna uses a Tim Holtz and Sizzix Vagabond 2 die cut and embossing machine for this video. You do not need the exact model, though, to apply what you learn in this tutorial to your own junk journal spreads.

Check out the video below!

And don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share—it’s more helpful than you know!

While on Break

We might be taking a break from publishing videos for a couple weeks, but rest assured that we aren’t just sitting on our hands over here. Bryonna is working on new content for the YouTube channel and videos will return the week after next.

Meanwhile, I’m working on a new book of fiction that will be published later this year through 1134 Press. The hard part (the writing) is complete, the editing is also complete, and the process of laying out the book has begun. Also, new comics are still posting through 1134 Comix. Check out the latest one at the link below.

1134 Comix

While we work on some new stuff, check out our growing catalogue of bookmaking videos at our 1134 Press channel. If you’re not already a subscriber, hit that subscribe button—thanks!

1134 Press

Making a Glue Book

In our most recent video, Bryonna makes a glue book. According to her, the difference between a junk journal and a glue book is that a glue book is a more relaxed way to use your “stash.” So, have fun with this tutorial! 

Follow along with Bryonna as she creates four collages in a three ringed binder. She uses a variety of materials in this project. The materials used include various papers, cut-outs from magazines, pictures from an old book, pressed flowers, and much more. Watch the video to see everything she used and to get some creative inspiration.

Also, there is a prompt included in the tutorial to practice your design skills using a design grid layout. It’s common to get into the habit of using the same spread over and over, albeit with different materials. Let the prompt inspire you to try some new things this week. 

Check out the video below, and give us a like and subscribe—it helps more than you know! 

Three Fun and Crafty things to do from Home this Christmas

Like many, we’ve spent a lot more time at home than usual this holiday season. We have, though, managed to keep up the holiday spirit while maintaining our social distance. With Christmas only a couple days away, I’d like to share a few of the fun and crafty things we’ve done this season. The best part is, you don’t have to necessarily be very “crafty” to do these things.

1)    Make Peppermint Garlin

Bryonna discovered this one while watching a Netflix show; I believe it is called Mr. Christmas. For this craft, you need a few bags or so of peppermint and a hot glue gun. We had two bags of peppermint, which wasn’t quite enough for our tree (but I think I made it look okay with what I had). I would suggest picking up three bags of peppermint to make a string long enough to wrap a few times around a large Christmas tree. On the show they used peppermints that had the plastic wrapping twisted at the ends. Ours were flat; they still worked, but I think the twisty ended ones would have worked better. So, use the peppermints with the twisty ended wrapping if you can.

The process is simple. With your hot glue gun, put a dab of glue at the edge of the peppermint’s plastic wrapping. Then, press the edge of another peppermint’s plastic wrapping to the dab of hot glue. Create a chain of peppermints by repeating this process. The plastic wrappings tend to hold well together with the hot glue. 

2)    Make a Gingerbread House

This one could be as simple, or complicated, as you want to make it. For the real baker out there, you can probably pull this off from scratch. For the rest of us, gingerbread house kits are available at many retailers this time of year. We picked ours up from Five Below, so it only cost us $5.00. 

The gingerbread house was pretty simple to put together; which makes it a fun project (I recommend a glass of eggnog while building your gingerbread house). Once the four walls and roof are secured, it’s time to decorate the house. I find it tempting to try to follow the picture on the box, but the real fun is in coloring outside the lines. As you can see by the picture below, we went a little sloppy with the icing.

 Next year, we might make two of these!

3)    Make Christmas Cards

It might be a bit late to send out Christmas cards, if you want them to get there by Christmas that is. It doesn’t hurt to get some handmade cards ready for next year, though. Bryonna is the papercraft savant around here, so I was pretty happy with the designs she came up with. Bryonna put together a video recently about making Christmas cards. The video is linked below; use it for inspiration when making your cards. Do a few test-run cards. Get comfortable with making a basic card, then add to your designs. 

 Check out the video below for some card making inspiration!

 And Happy Holidays!