12 Days of Xmas

I use a small ready made journal for my base. (You can make your own with using book board and doing the same thing only you will have to sew or use rings for your binding.)

I use vintage papers, letters, found papers, scrapbook papers (or whatever you have on hand) as my base, (You can also use handmade papers or tissue paper etc!) Glue down you paper with glue of your choice, (I use Aleene's tacky glue "Easy Flow") applying with a credit card to spread a thin even layer then apply your papers on top. Burnish them well and then apply a layer of your glue over top. Allow to dry well!! you can add some more embellishment while the glue is still a bit tacky. I then apply more layers of papers, images, transparencies etc and then add paint, inks, stamps for back grounds, pastels etc. If you would like to have a coating over the top to protect some of the work (if elements are a bit brittle, for example) I use the same glue over the top and again apply thin coat and let dry completely.

When I adhere the images I normally use my Tombow glue stick to do
that and the transfers also work well on the coated paper. You may add any embellishments you like. If you are sewing, do that to the papers first, then adhere to the top of journal cover. I normally cover the front and backs of my journals but because of the time and such I didn't with these.