April Marketplace Journals

April Challenge Journals

This month’s submissions to the nevermorecreations17.com marketplace challenge fulfill the criteria outlined for entry and sale in that they contain the requisite number of specified April “digitals”.  Otherwise, they differ from the March submissions in a number of ways.  Quantity of journals, difference in spine “jewelry” and page number are a few of the variances.

The quality of the journal content remains steady as does the creativity; however, I found myself utilizing more of my recyclables and fewer purchased digitally generated page layouts in these journals.

Book and music pages, hand made envelopes utilizing eco-dyed paper and journal tags made from personal photos.

Page stenciling, tags made from collage using fiber as well as digitally generated images and brown painter’s paper for additional writing space.

Recycled flower book pages and ledger paper, more journal cards made from my photography.

Thrift store paper doilies and pages from old gardening magazines as well as hand made tabs.

So, this adventure into challenge journals has exhausted itself after two months.  I find that I have a very short attention span.  When I was operating my machine quilting business, I seldom replicated a quilting design.  The exception was when a client requested I quilt their kit quilt “just like the one you quilted for the sample in the local quilt store”…but there were still some discrepancies since I couldn’t help myself and bore easily!

I may eventually produce more general marketplace journals; but utilizing specified digital kits in more than one journal is not something I can do without loosing the creative joy I experience.  And, as a matter of practicality, to cover postage and cost of required digital downloads, submission of more than one journal for sale is required to break even at the percentage of  compensation.  For these reasons, I will not be submitting any more challenge journals for the immediate future.

The journal making will continue…it’s now an addiction!  I may have to overcome my reticence of marketing and source new distribution venues…or, I could be like the old cat ladies and simply continue to build inventory!