Journaling page tutorial & summer photos

i thought it'd be fun to take some photos of my pages as i put them together.  i love seeing how others' journal pages come together, so i thought i'd do the same. ;)   first, i start by adding washi tape to the edges of the pages to create a fun border. there's no rhyme or reason, although i tend to use darker or bolder colors to act as a kind of frame.  i also add scraps of paper to get rid of all the white space. 

paper i like to use:  old book pages, maps, tags, tissue paper (LOVE!!), scrapbook paper, etc.

i fill in smaller gaps with tinier pieces of scraps (like the ledger paper piece on the left).  then i start to add smaller images on top like decorative tags, childrens book illustrations, playing cards, and scrapbook die-cut images.

at this point, i start to add more tape.  i'll add bits of tape to some of the tags and images (to make it look like those things have been taped in).  also, i add tape to the borders of some of the paper pieces.  

then comes the "title" or a quote in large stickers and stamps.  i like to use scrapbooking letter stickers and large letter stamps.  

i also like to include the date somewhere on the page and then i'll journal all around.  or i might stamp a quote or part of a journal entry or a list in the larger areas.  well, that concludes part one!  i'll have to finish the page and show you what i came up with in the end.

meanwhile, i have been thoroughly enjoying taking photos with my android and using fun apps to alter them to look old and artistic!  above, i've used the app little photo.  and below i've used urban camera.

urban camera is so much fun.  and it's FREE!!  you can choose from 5 different "cameras" to take your photos and you get these instant, distressed images!  you can even choose from taking pictures in black and white or color on most of the cameras.

i think these make my photos look so much better! especially since the quality on my phone camera isn't the greatest.

it also saves me hours of time in photoshop or iphoto trying to get my photos to look "just right."

and it's just too much fun! :)  i'm going to print them out to see how they look.  i recently purchased a pogo portable printer (EEE!!!) and so far they print out really nice!  (i'll share my experiences with the pogo in another post soon!)

so fun and mysterious! i love it.

hope you are all enjoying this fabulous summer (or winter, if you're in the southern hemisphere!) :)  here's to another whole month and a half of warm weather, sun hats, cute bathing suits, flip flops, swimming, watermelon, and everything that is fun about summer! :)