Unveiling the “Flower Show Junk Journal”: A Vintage-Inspired Fabric Masterpiece

Hello fellow creators and vintage enthusiasts! We are absolutely thrilled to once again showcase the exceptional talent of one of our beloved returning Junk Journal Design Team Members, the incredibly gifted Lynne Morgado of Mockingbird & Main. Lynne consistently brings unparalleled artistry to our community, and this week is no exception as she unveils her breathtaking Flower Show Junk Journal. Prepare to be utterly captivated by a project that beautifully marries the charm of bygone eras with innovative crafting techniques.

Every week, we dedicate this space to spotlighting another magnificent Mixed Media project, meticulously crafted by one of the amazing designers on our team. Our designers are tasked with the delightful challenge of using premium images from our exclusive Premium Membership Site to ignite your imagination and provide abundant inspiration for your own creative endeavors. We encourage you to immerse yourself in Lynne’s work, especially her insightful Show and Tell Video, which you’ll find linked further down this post. Trust us, you’ll want to scroll to the very end – be prepared for a profound dose of inspiration that will undoubtedly spark your next project!

Meet the Artist: Lynne Morgado of Mockingbird & Main

It’s an absolute pleasure to welcome Lynne back to The Graphics Fairy Design Team for the Fall/Winter 2021 season. Her presence is a true gift to our creative collective. Lynne, with her distinctive style and profound understanding of vintage aesthetics, stands as a constant beacon of inspiration among an already amazing group of creators. Her ability to weave intricate stories through her journals is truly remarkable, and we are privileged to share her artistic journey with you.

“Annie Visits the Flower Show”: A Journey Through Time and Textiles

For her September project, Lynne introduces us to a captivating narrative encapsulated within her latest creation: “Annie Visits the Flower Show.” This journal is not just a collection of pages; it’s a living testament to a character’s cherished memories. Annie, a fictional yet deeply relatable figure, first experienced the magic of the Chelsea Flower Show as a child in the mid-1800s. From that moment, a tradition was born, and she has returned every year since, her heart brimming with anticipation. Despite having little spare money for luxuries, Annie meticulously saves throughout the year, ensuring she can afford that one precious day’s journey to London for the annual spectacle. Now working as a ladies’ maid, her close relationship with the lady of the house ensures she always has the day off to indulge in her beloved floral pilgrimage. This rich backstory infuses the journal with a profound sense of history, personal connection, and enduring passion.

We invite you to enjoy this exclusive peek into Annie’s cherished journal, a collection she has lovingly maintained for many years. The profound inspiration for this particular journal blossomed from our popular Chelsea Flower Show Inspired Bundle. Driven by a desire to challenge herself and explore new frontiers in junk journaling, Lynne embarked on an ambitious project: to create an entire fabric journal, with every single page meticulously crafted from an assortment of textiles. While she nearly achieved a pure textile journal, the allure of tea-dyed mixed media paper proved irresistible, adding a few such pages. These additions not only provide crucial stability to the journal’s structure but also offer versatile surfaces for painting, collaging, writing, sketching, and more. With a lifetime’s collection of assorted textiles at her fingertips (a sentiment many crafters can deeply relate to!), Lynne was eager to integrate more of these treasured materials into her projects, giving them new life within this stunning journal.

The Art of the Fabric Journal: Texture, Story, and Technique

Imagine Annie, in her role as a ladies’ maid, carefully preserving delicate bits and pieces of her favorite fabrics, perhaps remnants from clothing alterations or linen repairs, tucking them safely within the pages of her journal. This beautiful concept is reflected in Lynne’s design, where loose buttons, decorative pins, and tiny charms can find a secure and meaningful home on the fabric pages. This feature adds another layer of tactile beauty and personal storytelling to the journal.

Lynne found immense joy and satisfaction in the thoughtful process of planning and constructing each fabric page. It allowed for a wonderful deceleration of pace, encouraging deep consideration of each page’s design and how best to utilize the selected linens and fabrics to their fullest potential. For those of you who, like Lynne, have been captivated by the works of other journal creators who masterfully incorporate fabric, we wholeheartedly encourage you to give this unique style of journaling a try. Even if you don’t own a sewing machine, the art of “slow stitching” offers a meditative and equally rewarding alternative. It may be a labor of love, but the deeply personal and exquisitely tactile results are, without a doubt, immensely worthwhile.

The vibrant color palette found within our Chelsea Flower Show Inspired Bundle served as the perfect starting point for Lynne’s creative vision. She meticulously selected an array of fabrics, delicate doilies, vintage handkerchiefs, luxurious sari silk ribbon, and various seam bindings. Each choice was made to ensure bright, cheerful colors that harmonized beautifully with the chosen digital bundle, creating a cohesive and visually stunning journal.

Filling Annie’s Pockets: Curating Vintage Ephemera

Once all the intricate fabric pages were complete – each one thoughtfully designed with an abundance of pockets – it was time for the delightful task of creating and adding ephemera to fill these charming nooks and crannies. In Annie’s world, these pockets would surely hold many treasured pieces of ephemera, carefully collected over her years of attending the flower show and her London travels. The printable images and papers that The Graphics Fairy design team created for the Chelsea Flower Show bundle are truly exquisite, and Lynne, ever the maximalist, believes she may have incorporated almost every single one into this journal.

To add an extra layer of discovery, Lynne ingeniously reduced the size of some of the larger journal pages and patterned papers from the bundle. This allowed her to craft two adorable mini junk journals, perfect for tucking into the larger pockets throughout Annie’s main journal. These miniature books offer delightful surprises and additional spaces for Annie’s stories and mementos.

The ATC (Artist Trading Card) journal card sheet from the bundle is particularly enchanting! Lynne printed these beautiful cards onto sturdy cardstock, transforming them into perfect journaling cards. She then further embellished several of these cards with additional textiles and delicate sari ruffles, enhancing their texture and visual appeal. Our delightful seed envelope printables were also brought to life, filled with smaller journaling cards, ready for Annie’s observations about her favorite blooms.

Adding to the authenticity of Annie’s travels, Lynne incorporated a delightful collection of authentic vintage tickets into the journal – mementos Annie would have carefully saved from her various journeys. To further enrich this theme, Lynne ingeniously drew from The Graphics Fairy’s London Detective Bundle, utilizing its vintage tickets and a charming luggage claim printable, which perfectly complemented the narrative of Annie’s annual London excursions.

No vintage-inspired flower show journal would be complete without a touch of garden elegance. Lynne revisited one of her enduring favorites, the captivating Garden Party Bundle. The striking formal garden image from this collection proved to be the ideal focal point for a refined journaling card. Additionally, the ornate gate image and the charming gazebo printable from the same bundle were expertly used for some digital stamping, a technique Lynne beautifully demonstrates in her detailed flip-through video.

We extend our sincerest gratitude for taking the time to delve into Lynne’s remarkable Design Team project. We know you’re eager to see every intricate detail of this fabric junk journal, and Lynne’s comprehensive flip-through video is the perfect way to do just that. We warmly invite you to join us over on The Graphics Fairy YouTube channel, where Lynne will guide you through Annie’s incredible collection of memories and reveal all the hidden treasures within.

Flower Show Junk Journal: Watch the Show and Tell Video!

Discover More from Lynne Morgado:

If you’ve fallen in love with Lynne’s unique artistic style, you’ll be pleased to know that her exquisite journals are often available for purchase. Explore her beautiful creations and perhaps find your own treasure in her official Etsy shop.

For those who crave more in-depth insights into junk journaling techniques, behind-the-scenes glimpses of her creative process, or simply wish to craft along with an expert, be sure to stop by Lynne’s captivating YouTube channel. Her “craft with me” videos are a wonderful resource for learning and inspiration.

Stay connected and immerse yourself further in Lynne’s artistic world by following her on Instagram: @mockingbirdandmain. You’ll find a steady stream of gorgeous imagery and updates on her latest projects.

Thank you once again for joining us in celebrating Lynne’s incredible September project. We sincerely hope that Annie’s Flower Show Junk Journal has filled you with renewed enthusiasm and provided a rich source of inspiration for your own creative journey. Happy creating, and take care!

Lynne Morgado

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