My celebration of "Halloween" is a little different than the average person. I call it my month of mortality and I decorate with skulls and other cemetery symbols used by the church over the centuries to remind Christians of the fleeting, shortness of life, the inevitability of death and the necessity of facing that certain end by being prepared for it. So in that light, a few years ago I started collecting hymn lyrics, Bible verses and Christian quotes that address the short, fleeting nature of life in light of eternity.
I wanted a journal to showcase these quotes and symbols, so I decided to use of the Halloween 2018 line from Tim Holtz Ideaology.
I started with a Worn Cover, Worn Wallpaper, Halloween Vignette Accents, Tombstones, Halloween Rub-ons, Halloween Ephemera, Distress Mixed Media Tag and some and some photos I took of tombstones and grave markers from graveyards in Boston and Philadelphia.
This is the beauty of a little Pumice Stone and
Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain on the Distress Mixed Media
Heavystock Tags with bits of stamping done in Pumice Stone Distress Ink.
Don’t they look old and mildewed? I love them!!
T
hen stamped on the tags in places with small
areas of Ornate and Lace stamp set from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous
and the Script background stamp from Stampers Anonymous.
For the cover I started with Worn Wallpaper on the outside and inside of the cover pages. Then I used the Halloween Rub-ons on one of the Ideaology Tombstones to say In Memory and with the skull.
This is attached to an Ideaology Baroque Frame that has been aged with
Opaque Crackle Texture Paste from Ranger Ink. I also aged the corners
from the Ideaology Vignette Accents and the Halloween Vignette Accents.
All of this was layered onto a Stacked Arch shape that has been embossed, had Opaque Texture Paste on it and then I painted over all of it with Black Soot, Vintage Collage Medium and Distress Crayons. There is also a little linen underneath and some Mummy cloth peeking out from underneath the tombstone.
For the inner pages I cut black cardstock, Idealogy Halloween Stash, and Distressed Mixed Media Heavystock to fit the worn cover and punched holes. Used some of the paper to make pockets and some to adhere back to back to make pages.
On each page I added a tab with left over pieces of the Worn Wall paper, I attached Mummy Cloth in each of the tags and added a little more stamping with the Ornate Trimmings stamp from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous. I added some of my tombstone photos, like this one of Paul Revere's grave in Boston. Then I hand journaled on each page with one of the quotes I spoke about earlier.
As you can see, sprinkled throughout this journal are bits of Halloween Ephemera, Halloween Quote Chips, Halloween Clippings, Halloween Rub Ons, Halloween Design Tape, Halloween Shape Tokens, Halloween Quote Tokens, and so on.
There are places throughout for me to add some more quotes as I find them, leaving this a work in progress.
That's all there is to this journal. I really love how it turned out and my photos just don't do it justice, I hope this little bit of information helps to inspire you to create one of your own.
3 comments:
Wow! Magnificent! I love all of the details, the papers, and colors which brought your journal to life. What a great place to to keep pictures and memories. I love the fine detail of the "ornate" stamp you used on some of the tags, just perfect! Thanks for sharing your inspiration for the journal, the creation ideas, and the journal itself. I so appreciate the "story" and ideas about how you were inspired to create it.
Very interesting journal. I work in emergency room and see life and death situations on a daily basis. The readings on your tags really are a very real depiction of the frailty and importance of the preparation of our souls. Bless you. Creative work.
I Am Standing Upon The Seashore
Beautiful poem by Henry Van Dyke, sometimes attributed to Victor Hugo. A moving funeral verse about death and the afterlife.
I Am Standing Upon The Seashore
I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white
sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until at length
she hangs like a speck of white cloud
just where the sea and sky come
to mingle with each other.
Then, someone at my side says;
"There, she is gone!"
"Gone where?"
Gone from my sight. That is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull
and spar as she was when she left my side
and she is just as able to bear her
load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.
And just at the moment when someone
at my side says, "There, she is gone!"
There are other eyes watching her coming,
and other voices ready to take up the glad shout;
"Here she comes!"
And that is dying.
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