Artistic Etchings & With All My Heart Journal

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  You Don't Have To Reinvent The Wheel

Every time I sit down at the craft table I see the blank card, canvas, project staring back at me.  Sometimes I feel the pressure to be brilliant, brand new, inventive - to create something somehow that has never been done before.  What I am finding, is that sometimes it's nice to reinvent what you have already made - to build upon it or change it - to make it into something new.  This journal was my way of not reinventing the wheel.  I looked at a journal I had made in the past - one that I really liked from a design standpoint - and I decided to remake one using a similar layout, but different stamps and colors.
For this journal I used the Artistic Etchings stamp set for the design elements and the sentiment from With All Your Heart.  I used a combination of Bravo Burgundy and Soft Suede ink and card stock, with some striped Early Espresso ribbon thrown in.  I also did some sewing with metallic gold thread.  Here is how things look on the inside:

I added some beads and a few self-adhesive rhinestones for a bit of bling...and then I mailed the journal off to a very special person :)  Remember, you don't have to reinvent the wheel.  Using pieces that you've created as a launching point for a new project may take you in the exact right direction!