French Country Junk Journal + Free Printables

I love how this journal turned out. There are a few ephemera pieces that were from others, but the majority are from my kit. The kit, named French Country, is available in my Etsy shop. Click HERE.

I always struggle with what to do on the covers. Here's the cover of this journal. And further below, is the digital printable for the bunting I created for the cover. 

I did one version with the word Journal (which by the way is the same word in English AND French, so it works for this French Country journal). And I did a version without letters. Enjoy.

After cutting out the individual pieces, I glued them to a piece of cream pearl cotton. 

Now, the rest of the journal.

The colors that I used throughout the kit and the journal are primarily reds and tans. And you'll see a lot of roosters, which is a common theme in French country decor. The only English that appears in the journal is on the book plate. (Of course, only after I put it into the book did I realize I should have recreated it in French. Oh well. C'est la vie.)

These two printables on the left page are from The  Graphics Fairy premium site. They fit well both because of the French theme and the colors.

The avocado dyed paper works nicely with the kit. The mini tags you'll see through the journal are added in such a way that they can be little tuck spots.

The corner pocket was fun and easy. I saw it on a Graphics 45 tutorial. It does require double-sided paper, so I simply printed four-inch squares of some of my background papers with a coordinating background paper to cover the back. After cutting the four-inch squares, simply fold down one corner and tack the corner down. The only reason for using different patterns for the squares is so that the resulting four pockets are different.

I had fun creating the lettered background paper you see on the left. I did this lighter version, as well as a darker, slightly grungier version. I watched a tutorial for how to create an offset pattern in Photoshop Elements that is easily "painted" onto the page such that multiple versions of the pattern perfectly line up with each other.

Another fun background that I designed to use as the center of signatures. I created the wall background to look like stucco. Then added the window image and the poultry image. Duplicated them and flipped them for the other side of the page. Then, left one side in color and the other side using a different blending mode. Love it!

I used a different poultry image on the envelope attached to the right page. 

There is also a color version.

This rabbit printable is from my Signs of Provence kit available HERE. But I did a slightly different version for this kit as well.

Ah, the vellum pocket. I actually made four of them that are used throughout the journal -- also a tutorial from Graphics 45. First make the vellum pocket. No need to glue the bottom edge because you'll fold a scrap of 1-1/4-inch paper in half and glue to the bottom. Then you can stuff it with ephemera and attach to the journal. Easy peasy.

Music paper works great with the French Country kit.

 Another of the Signs of Provence printables.

The kit includes three belly bands, each of them featuring roosters and/or chickens.

I threw in a little zinger by using some green in the journal. Just for some variety.

Another belly band and vellum envelope.

A little collaged embellishment -- dyed cheesecloth, a lace flower, and a handmade button (from Aliexpress).

 Another printable from Signs of Provence. This one advertising a pig farmer/butcher. The name of his store is "Pied du Chochon", or "foot of the pig", which is also the name of one of my favorite restaurants in Paris. (Some great, but pricey, French onion soup.)

Another page suitable for the center of the signature.

Ta Da! I love how this journal turned out. It is currently for sale in my Etsy shop. But if you want to make your own, the kit is a great starting place.

Thanks for stopping by.