Regular Composition Books turned Beautiful Journal Books!

Hello Everybody!  Happy Friday!

I hope everybody got their composition book!  Now are you ready to play?

First get out your paints!

Here is my plain o' book...

Now I am applying paint.  This is the first time I used white.  I used a tan color before.

Time for a 2nd coat!

I didn't like the way the white turn out in its entirety.  So I could have put a 3rd coat on...but really I am ready to decorate!  So here is what my book looks like now.

This is the best part!  Decorating!  I used Mod Podge.  I tried to used regular Elmer's (as you see in the background), and it was just a little thick.  The Mod Podge comes out sorta fast, and I wasn't waiting!  I applied the Mod Podge with a foam makeup applicator.  I think they are cheaper than other applicators.  I have put chalk on projects with them as well.  Depending on what you are working on, you can also cut them in half to make them go a little further.

K&C Company--this is one of my favorites--die cut pieces are pictured below.  If you want the specific line, email or leave a comment because I would need to look it up.  These are definitely going on my book!

I don't care for how the paint turned out.  But it needed to be painted either way.  I also painted the edges.  Here I started putting the papers down.  I am going for a shabby chic theme so I don't know how this may finish.  I went to my scrap box and pulled papers that reflected the theme I wanted. 

What is so fun about this project is that if you want it to be Halloween..get out the orange and black.  If you want different kinds of butterflies, go for it!  You are only restricted by your creativity!

I cut the pink paper with decorative edged scissors but in the end it didn't matter.  How you lay down your papers does matter.  If I really wanted the edge to show, I would've need to lay it down last.  Also, if you use a vellum or handmade paper it can show what paper is overlapping.  You may not want that.

The watering can is floating around because I love it!  And don't want to lose it :)

So I added the grey and white which is Making Memories.  Then I added the light green at the top.  There is a yellow piece and then the silver hearted handmade paper.  If you look close you can see the green and grey papers peaking from behind the white handmade paper.    It's ok.  But next time I will be a little more thoughtful and probably put that underneath the heavier papers.

I added a square above the MM grey and white paper.  And I added a saying from the K&C Company die cuts at the bottom.

I am liking how this is starting to come together.  I paint the edges white.  I didn't bring the paper to the edge.  I don't know why, I just didn't.  By painting the edge white, you don't notice where the paper stops, and it looks finished.

So what kinds of things are you going to put on your book?  I started with this Jenni Bowlin rub-on.  I used my bone folder to apply the rub-on.  Many times they come with popsicle sticks, and those are great to use, too.

Then I was in the zone and didn't take any more photos until I was done.  But here is what I did:

Stamped a brown bird case that says "fly" on a light brown patterned paper and put it over the decorative square. 

Took 2 birds from the die-cut collection and put them above the bird house.

Added the butterfly on the left using pop dots so it is hovering.

Wrote 2011 on a pink ticket and placed it on the right corner.

Added 3 felt buttons in the middle.

Added a saying along the grey and white paper.

Added a velvetish flower at the bottom of the handmade paper.

Glued down my vintage watering can.

Glued down a few circle die-cuts.

Basically, the front cover is done.

I painted the back outside panel.  I may or may not embellish it further.  And I will paint both insides of the book.

Unfortunately, I was a little sloppy when I painted the front cover of my book.  I got paint on the first page.  So I trimmed off the painted part (luckily just along the edge) with decorative scissors.

I used a pink ink pad to highlight the cut and the edge of the first page.  It makes a nice gentle decoration.  If you are giving this to someone, this is a great dedication page to them.  You could put in a picture of the two of you and write a sweet message.  Sign your art work also!  And don't forget the date!

Here are a couple of other books I have done.  These both have corresponding inside pages that were done.  I didn't do the back pages probably because I was keeping them.  So I'm sorry I don't have finished images of that.  But you could paint it, put one piece of paper that fits and write "The End" on it (or use stamps, stickers, die-cuts, etc.) 

This is my creative journal.  I use it a good bit.  There is the occasional grocery list in there too.  The green trim is beat up because of my cat :)

The inside.  This is just one sheet of paper.  They are not different recipes, but you could do that if you wanted!

This is a question book and our answers.  When we go on long trips we have questions like, "If you could live anywhere--where would it be?"  And we put our name, date and answer down. 

The inside.  The owl is a stamped image cut out.

 I hope that you have enjoyed this project!  Until next time!

Tidbit Tuesday--School Supplies!

Hello Everybody!

If you need school supplies--now is the time to stock up on pens and folders!  At Wal-mart (prices may vary by location) they have Composition books on sale for .40.  Forty CENTS! 

When decorated they make great journals or great gifts for people who like to journal.  I have a decorated one that I use as a creative journal.  Stop back on Friday, and I will show you how I like to decorate these books! 

Get out your paints and fun embellishments!

As a side note--2 of these 3 books are made in the USA.  I think it's great when I can buy stuff made here in the States.  If you go looking for these books, just look on the back to see where they are made.  The blue and green ones were made in the USA.  Until next time!

Remember that fabric? An autumn card...

Hello Everybody!

Remember this cool fabric I got at the thrift store a few weeks ago?  I made a great card with it, and I will show you how!

Normally, I like to use the 5.5 X 4 inch cards from Michaels.  But I wanted to make sure my fabric would have show up so I used the 6.5 X 5 inch card instead. 
So I cut a burnt orange piece of Bazzill cardstock to fit my card.

Then I glue it on the front of my card.

I cut a yellow piece of cardstock out.  I picked colors based on my material and what I felt looked good.  Measurements are not something that I am particularly good at.  I am that person that "eyeballs it."  So I cut the yellow piece to be 5 3/4 X 4 1/4. 

Then I adhered a strip of my fabulous material (about an inch wide) to the yellow paper.  I used regular tape to stick it to the back of the yellow piece.

Using glue dots, I adhered the yellow block to my orange card.  I centered it on top of the orange. 

A year or two ago I got these felt leaves from Joann's.  They have this great little section before you check out with $1 stamps and things.  They usually put the out early--so if you see something that catches your eye, you better get it.  It might not be there later!

These leaves have adhesive on the back already, but I like to reinforce them with some more glue.

I lined the leaves along the inside fabric boarder.  I could've omitted the leaves, but it's so much more fun to add stuff!  Plus, your recipient gets to experience texture, and I think that is fun.

Here I add my sentiment.  I have had these letters for a couple of years, and unfortunately, I can't remember what brand the stickers are.  If you know, let me know, and I will post it.  You may can still get them (I can't remember how long I have had them).

This is my finished card.  I love it!  But what if you chose to decorate the leaves...

I added some glitter glue (Tim Holtz/Ranger Ink Distress Stickles Antique Linen).  Let it dry for a while!

Looks nice, but I like the leaves in their pure state.  So my decorated leaf will come up somewhere else, I'm sure!  Thanks for stopping by!  Until next time...

Tidbit Tuesday--Creativity Beyond Paper

Hello Everybody!

I've had a busy week!  And my Tuesday Tidbit is that sometimes you have to put down the scissors and glue, and go do something else!

Yesterday was my wonderful husband's birthday.  Earlier this year he discovered that he has gluten intolerance or Celiac's disease.  Thankfully, there are a great many products on the market that are free of gluten so my husband can still enjoy things like Birthday Cake!

So I went to Michael's in search of a creative way to do his cake since I would be baking it.  There were so many different cake pans!  Talk about overwhelming!  So I see a pan to make "cake pops."  This is perfect.  My hubby likes frosting more than cake anyway--what a perfect solution.  But how would I display this?

So somehow I figure it out in the store along with some jungle themed decorations.  And here is how my cake turned out...

Cake pops that I dipped into candy sprinkles that transformed into trees.  Green candy sprinkles to make the grass more lively.  Everyone enjoyed the cake.  I am very proud of how it turned out.  Sometimes your creativity takes you to new places :)  Until next time...

Ink and Metal

Hello Everybody!

Creativity is hard work!  I am working on a Christmas page, but it isn't done yet.  You'll get to see it soon...but until then get out your alcohol inks and aluminum foil!

So I was getting out my metal embellishments from Making Memorials from years ago, and I realized that I had alcohol inks to color them.  I didn't have the inks when I bought them.  These light weight metal shapes have been hanging out in my container for awhile! 

You can see below the different shapes.  Nevermind that reindeer, that's a brad, but I can't find his red nose at the moment.

You can get alcohol inks at you chain craft stores, online, and some scrapbook stores.  I also have the blending solution which helps the inks blend into each other.  The inks work best on glossy paper, metal or plastic (like the Tim Holtz fragments).  I use photo paper when I use the inks on glossy paper.  Transperancies are great also!

I chose the ornaments. 

I directly applied the ink to the metal piece.  This is a messy process.  I have a craft mat underneath. 



I want a vibrant color so I applied only the alochol ink and swirl it around to cover the silver metal.

I did the orange background the same way--applied orange alochol ink and swirled it around.  If you wanted to lighten the color you would add alchol ink and swirl around.  This is not an exact process--which is what is nice about it.  You can play with it until you get the desired effect.

 All done!  And then when I am ready for it to go on my page I will connect the 2 metal pieces with either a brad or ribbon.

Since I don't have a finished project, and I had the inks out--I couldn't just stop at the Christmas ornament.  Pictured below is regular household aluminum foil.

Foil is awesome because it's maleable.  Here I emboss it.

Here is the finished embossed piece of foil.  It has stress lines though.  This can be good or bad depending on what you are doing.  For me--right now it's bad.  I wanted a clean emboss.  So I take a different piece of foil and emboss it using a different embossing folder.

*Side note-I did emboss this piece in a different folder to see if the stress lines would come out.  They were faint along with the swirls.  Pretty cool.  So try re-embossing to see what different combinations of effects you can do!

This is cool all by itself.  But let's add some color!  I just put the alchol ink on directly.

Swirl!

Here I add a few drops of alocohol blending solution.  This is a large area to cover, so the solution will help spread it.

Now I am adding green to the piece.

The darker places are where the ink is gathering.  I have a foam applicator by Ranger Inks to help distribute the ink.

I can now cut out Merci and use it on a card or project.  The ink dries nicely.  Since it is foil, you do need to use caution when applying it to your project because it can bend or tear easily.

I wanted to illustrate the foam brush a little better here.  The "Gr" is silver.

I apply the ink directly to my foam applicator.

Blot.

Here you can see the green ink applied.  Beautiful!

Thanks for stopping by!  Until next time...