Stencils and Sealing Wax

Two of my all-time favorite discoveries during my time at The Ink Pad are journal keeping in a Traveler's Notebook, and the nostalgic joy of Sealing Wax. And happily, this post has BOTH of those; and right now you can discover either of them at 30% off, while the brick-and-mortar store closing sale continues.

There are still a few 2022 dated Traveler's Notebook Refills available in both Regular and Passport sizes, including the Weekly Vertical with Memo edition that I'm working in here. There are also lots of different undated refills, covers and accessories, and this is a great time to take a look at those! 

I've decorated this page and a sweet little White Glossy #2 Tag with our friend Linda Edkins Wyatt's Lemurian Garden Stencils from StencilGirl, some rich shades of Distress Oxide Inks and Blank Classic Fleur-de-Lis Wax Seals. Of course there are loads of Wax Seals with Initials and Icons, but the cool thing about the blanks (which come in round and square shapes) is that you can use them to impress tiny Pressed Dried Flowers into the wax for a really beautiful and striking effect. 

Please note that while The Ink Pad's Chelsea location will be closing mid February, The Ink Pad Online will continue for your shopping convenience!

Another New Year, Another New Journal

One of the most exciting things about the New Year for planners and journal-keepers is choosing and setting up our new book, supplies and system. Last year was my first time using a Traveler's Notebookfrom The Ink Pad (details from last January are HERE) and since my experience was 100% positive, I'll be going down that same path, using dated 2021 Traveler's Company Products.

Last year I purchased and decorated a Refill Binder, as opposed to a Leather Cover, since I knew most of my journal-keeping would take place at home. I added collage papers and stickers to the front and back covers. Since I had the intention of re-using the same cover in subsequent years, I confined my references to the year 2020 to a catalog card which slid into a library pocket. So this year, all I had to do was remove the 2020 card and my completed (and now rather fat, lol) weekly and monthly refills, archive them, and decorate a new card for 2021. I used some Pepin Vintage Fashion Stickers, MT Fab Letters Tapeand the stickers that came with my new TN. 

This year I'll be working with a 2021Weekly Vertical + Memo(which splits the year into two halves)and a 2021 Dated Monthly Diary. I treated myself to the 2021 Customizing Sticker Set(this year's theme is classic books) and a Brass Bookmark Template.

To kick off the year, I decorated the front cover of the January-June Weekly book, again with some of the stickers that came with my TN, more Pepin Vintage Fashion, beautiful White Lace Gem Tape, some letters cut from MT Fab Letters Tape, and various stickers and tapes from Pepin's Natural History, Art Forms in Natureand Classical European Tilesbooks. (There are quite a few other books in this Pepin seriesand with thirty-two 8x10" pages these are a good value as well as being both useful and beautiful!)

Since January first fell mid-week, my first layout spans the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021. I did a little hand-lettering with my Karin Decobrush pensand made a little collage featuring some vintage bookpaper, sheet music, a fabulous quote (written out on my trusty Royal typewriter)and various Pepin Stickers, some of which I fussycut.

I use my Monthly Diary not to plan forward, but record my projects and assignments once they are completed. So my month of January isn't filled in yet, but I added a little more lettering, as well as more Pepin tapes and stickers.

There are so many different ways to use a Traveler's Notebook, many of which do not involve a calendar or dated pages at all! Did you know there are Gridded Refills, Kraft, Sketchbookpages, Watercolor Refillsand more. And most of these varieties also come in the handy Passport Size (which is, as the name implies, literally the size of your passport)as well as the larger Regular Size (4x 8"ish) that I have chosen! Visit the website or better yet, the Chelsea store to see the whole selection and be sure to check out the TN Master Blog Post for an overview of the basics!

It's Been a Long, Long Time...

...since I (Lauren) have made a scrapbook layout! But my niece Maddie turned sixteen last week, and since a party (or any other social activity) was obviously out of the question, my sister came up with the rather brilliant idea of compiling a surprise scrapbook. She sent blank pages, a few supplies and postage-paid return envelopes to family and friends, and got back unbelievably beautiful and touching results. I was surprised, once I got going, not only how many ideas I had... but how many of my ideas involved Eyelet Outlet Brads! Here's maybe my favorite of the pages I made:

I love using brads to make a frame on cards, but it turns out they're even cooler around a photo! I took this picture of Maddie and her Nana (who also happens to be my mom!) when Maddie was one day old and it is still a favorite. To surround it, I chose brads and bling that either had a baby theme, or were pink, or both. I've got Heart Brads, Teddy Bears, Safety Pins, Ducks, a Colorful Lady Bug, a Butterfly,  Flower Jewels, Heart Pearls, and tiny Pearl Bling.

One of the great things about making a scrapbook for an older kid in the year 2020 is that they (and their parents) have their own social media feeds, full of pictures you know they like. So it's possible to do a bit of lurking and photo-stealing, to get shots you might not have thought to take! This beautiful selfie records the day that Madeline got her braces off. As soon as I saw that smile --and the white space above her head-- I started thinking "thought bubble". I used a combination of stickers and brads to make a little collage of a few happy things I thought she might be thinking about, like school, treats, the beach, etc. I scattered a Computer Brad, Spring Bubble, Selfie Brad, Light Bulb, Scissors, Sun and some Mini Emotion Brads around my sticker sentiment, #Sixteen.

Whether you make layouts or cards, Eyelet Outlet has the perfect embellishments for all of your projects. Check out the huge selection of Brads, Bling, Sequins, Washi Tape and more!