A subscription-based creative facebook community with a six month programme of small happy mail projects around your chosen theme. Ideal for junk and art journallers, collage artists and those who just love messing around with pretty paper and glue and need inspo!
Choose from the Cats in Clothes, Luna Moth or Dragonfly Dream printed journal as your starting point and each month receive a box in the post containing a guided project with materials, instructions and enough collage fodder for the month’s project and to fill your printed journal as you go.
At the end of the six months you will have a full journal, and six mini accompaniments - a tag book, envelopes, folio and more that you can look through with pride at your accomplishment!
What’s the story?
I love the concept of happy mail but I wanted to create an offer that increased the recipients’ creativity too, and I was also craving the idea of a community where it would be easy for folk to share their creations, skills, wisdom and inspiration with other people who appreciate them fully!
Lately I have been doing lots of collaging into books, and as I had already developed a range of junk journal printables it got me wondering about marrying the two together to create a bigger guided project. And that was where the Messy Makerspace was born!
The idea is that you pick from one of three themed journals - there are only six spaces available for each theme to keep it manageable - Cats in Clothes for those who love feline whimsy; Luna Moth for those who love ethereal beauty and torn page effects; and Dragonfly Dream for those who love a more watery theme and the idea of transformation.
The first month’s subscription includes the printed journal (usually £12 plus postage). This is your foundation piece which will be at the heart of the mini projects. And your first box will also include the month’s mini project. Each month is priced at £18 and includes UK P&P. If you’re outside the UK and would like to participate please just send me a message and we can figure out postage!
How does it work?
The Mini Projects
Each month you will receive a mailing box filled with creative goodies. This will include the elements of a specific piece to put together, plus a pretty mix of collage fodder to embellish it along with your printed journal. Think watercoloured papers, painted scraps, torn maps, printed pages, handmade stamped images, etc. A great way to add coherence to your journal and mini project pieces as well as building your own stash of materials for use in other projects and journals!
The plan is as follows:
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12 luggage style tags printed onto high quality recycled cartridge paper - ready cut by cricut so they are ready to go
joining strips to create the binding and a kraft card spine piece
variegated waxed coloured thread to sew your binding
full instructions to create the mini book
materials to embellish the blank pages to exercise your creative muscles!
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a curated mixture of designed paper pockets and envelopes and the materials to embellish and create others to add into your journal or to keep separately.
full instructions
pretty papers and materials, ephemera etc. to make things to add and keep in your pockets and envelopes.
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a curated mixture of designed elements to create a set of specimen cards - for luna moths and dragonflies this will be in the more traditional sense; for cats in clothes this might be fun little character cards!
vintage and painted materials to embellish and create others to add into your journal or to keep separately.
full instructions!
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a curated mixture of designed elements to create a themed range of hidden paperclips, snippets and clusters that you can use in your journal
vintage and painted materials to embellish your creations
full instructions
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4-6 vintage playing cards to alter with collage, cutting and a suite of designed elements following your chosen theme to use with the playing cards and/or to make your own themed journal cards to include.
vintage and painted/dyed/printed materials to embellish your creations
full instructions
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ready cut out designed pieces to make the foundation of a mini folio to fit inside your journal or keep with it.
vintage and painted/dyed/printed materials and ephemera to embellish and make it completely your own.
full instructions
A pack of designed elements to use with leftover ephemera to make a folder to keep all of your journal and mini projects in as a keepsake.
I will be making 6 boxes up for each theme per month (plus one for me so I get to play along too!) so if you were to join in January, for example, you would receive the printed journal and the kit to make the specimen cards, and then carry on in May/June with the tag book and pockets - so you won’t miss out on anything!
There is a dedicated private Facebook Group for us to hang out in - a safe space to ask questions, swap tips, and most importantly to share your awesome creations so we can all support each other as makers 🩷 you will get a link to join when your place is confirmed.
