Altered Notebooks

 

About a week ago I picked up two fifty cent notebooks with the intention of altering the covers. This past Sunday I saw a blog post from Simon Says Stamp that showed an altered notebook and that's all it took for me to be inspired to try one! I went through my stash and picked things out to use. I was so inspired that I made two!

I flippin' love how both turned out! I haven't done anything to the back covers or the inside front and back covers. I'm not sure yet if I plan to or not. If I do I'll just cover them with patterned paper from one of my Tim Holtz papers. If I was giving them away I would, but if I'm going to use them I don't really need to. When the paper's gone I just have more art for my craft room!

 

I've posted photos below of my progress along the way creating both of these notebooks. 

It takes awhile with all the drying time. 

 

I added gesso to both covers. 

 

I went through my stash and added patterned paper, dictionary paper and ephemera using distress collage medium.

 

After the collage medium dried, I added some white paint. 

 

After the paint dried, I used stencils to add distress grit-paste. 

 

When all was dry, I added several different acrylic paint colors. 

I spritzed a lot of water to move the paint around and dried in between the colors. 

 

After all the paint dried I added some distress crayon with my finger in vintage photo with my finger. 

 

For the second notebook, I added gesso first and then die cut some leaves using a die from Simon Says Stamp and added acrylic paint. After the paint dried, I added the leaves using collage medium. 

 

Once the paint dried, I added more paint drying in between layers. 

 

When all paint layers were dry, I smudged some distress crayon in places with my finger. 

Below are the products I used. I missed adding a few products in the photos, but I've listed all the names below. 

 

 

 

I thought I had lost the dictionary pictured above! I would have been so sad if I hadn't been able to find it! I use dictionary paper for a lot of projects.

I cleaned my craft room a few months ago and put things where I thought they should go. Three times now I have been looking for a particular item and haven't been able to find them. When I clean I purge a lot and I'm always thinking I've gotten rid of something that I want to use. Thankfully, I have had to rip my room apart on several occasions but I have found the items that I've been looking for!

Thanks for stopping by!

Products used:

These were the products not pictured:

Simon Says Stamp: Clustered Leaves die

Tim Holtz Distress Paint - Vintage Photo

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink - Vintage Photo

Products that were pictured:

Tim Holtz Distress products:

Crayons - Vintage Photo

Grit-Paste

Collage Medium

Paint - Picket Fence

Paint - Vintage Photo

Tim Holtz Idea-ology products:

Quote Chips

Hardware Heads

Fragments

Ephemera Pack - Snippets

Layers - Collector

Layer - Remnants

Paper Stash

Design Tape: Butterfly

Design Tape: Postal

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Layering Stencils:

Gradient Hex

Grid Dot

Linen

Gradient Square

Gradient Dot

ARTplorations Stencil: Happy Flowers

Master's Touch Acrylic Paint:

Scarlet

Virdian

Permanent Black

Violet

Yellow Med

Titanium White

Phthalocyanine Blue

Ranger Glossy Accents 

Mini Junk Passport Book

 

I have been collecting ephemera for making junk journals for years.

When I lived in Wisconsin I used to wander around the Antique stores looking for anything that could be used in a junk journal, even though I hadn't really started making them yet. 

In 2012 when I was visiting relatives in Kentucky we went to the Milton Flea Market in Milton, West Virginia. We had first gone there in 2007 and loved it! I picked up quite a few old books that I've kept stashed away in my craft room. I take pages out of the books every now and then to use in projects. My plan is to take all the pages out of each book and makes signatures to add inside and then embellish the books. I'm going to be visiting that Flea Market very soon!

When I moved back to Minnesota after my husband passed away in 2013, I went to Junk Bonanza. I found a dealer that was selling ephemera packs. I was thrilled! I picked up five of them. They've been sitting in a drawer patiently waiting to be used in junk journals.

I've also been collecting ephemera from Tim Holtz and I've got some in my stash from 7Gypsies. Actually I collect anything that looks like it will fit in my idea of what should go in a junk journal. 

I started this book about a week and a half ago. I took a break from crafting for a few days and just finished it last night. For this little junk journal I used the Sizzix Scoreboards XL die by Eileen Hull called Passport Book. I have two other journal dies by Eileen that I'll be using soon. I've had these dies for awhile because I've been collecting! I did buy some Sizzix Little Sizzles Mat Board, but for this project I just used chipboard. 

I used the Engraver collection by Prima for this book. I have all the embellishments for the collection but I only have the 6x6 paper pad which means whatever I create has to be a small project. I didn't use much for this book so I have plenty of paper left to use. This collection has been retired but can easily be interchangeable with paper from Tim Holtz. You can tell I've had it for awhile since it's retired!

For my cover I used embellishments from the Prima collection and filled in with a quote chip from Tim Holtz, some steampunk buttons (not sure where they came from), and a key that I have a small bag filled full of. Inside the decorative frame, I used some of the package backing. I just cut out the part I wanted and adhered it to the back. 

 

The charm on the spine of the book is one of the Vintage Trinkets from Prima.

The brown seam binding I used for the closure and on the spine came out of one of the ephemera  packs I have. 

 

 

There are three signatures inside this book. 

Inside each signature there are pages that I have covered with patterned paper and I've added papers from some of the ephemera packs. I've also added deli paper. Not all the pages have patterned paper added. I've added a pocked here and there using mini paper bags. I've stapled a few items to some of the pages. It's really pretty random. I also used some Tim Holtz washi tape to adhere some tickets to the pages. 

I used several layering stencils from the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holz collection throughout the book with Ranger vintage photo distress ink. I also inked all the edges with this ink. 

The signatures were attached using round electric cord.  

I used several clear and rubber stamp sets that I have in my stash from Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz. I stamped on several of the pages and on the covers of each of the signatures. 

Because I couldn't get the pages to lay flat for photos, below I have added a few so that you have an idea of what the inside looks like. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just love little junkie books so much! 

If you're wondering what you would use these for, they can be used to add photos & journaling. You could also add bits and pieces of memorabilia. 

I have another one that I'm working on, but I haven't decided what I'm going to use for a closure so I've just set it aside for now. I've got about eight projects going on right now! I know that would make some people crazy, but I get bored or my creative process stops and it seems like if I have something else to work on it helps me when I go back to another project. I'm also in the process cutting all the cardstock for two gatefold books. I always get everything done! 

What I'm really enjoying is that I have TIME to finally do things that I enjoy and that's all that matters to me!

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Cards 2018

Christmas cards are one of the occasions that I love to create cards for. 

I've downsized my card list considerably. I used to attempt to make every card I sent out different. This year I decided to do something different for me. I created a small amount of one card design and then moved on to another design. 

I created these wreaths but changed up the background paper for each card. I didn't purchase any new Christmas cardstock this year. I just used what I had on hand. All of the cards shown below with the exception of the snowflake cards use Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Stash Tidings cardstock. I've had it for awhile and I love it. It's pretty much used up. I'll have to see if I can find another pad of it or see what other Christmas cardstock Tim Holtz has available. I love his products because they are so vintage. 

For my wreaths I die cut circles using the Double Stitched Circles from Our Daily Bread. All of the greenery was die cut using Sizzix Thinlits products. I used Tim Holtz Alterations Retro Merry Christmas, Holiday Words: Script - Christmas and Garden Greens. I used some miscellaneous poinsettia's that I picked up last year at Hobby Lobby. 

I did make my own poinsettia's using a Sizzix die. After I had them all together and I had sprinkled some Papericious Frosting Powder on them, I didn't like them. I just set them aside for another project. 

I used glitter cardstock for the sentiments. 

After the wreaths had been assembled I splattered them with Perfect Pearls. This card was my favorite!

For the next card I used the same paper. 

I heat embossed the sentiments using Hero Arts Gold and Silver embossing powder. 

All of the sentiments are from the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Mini Doodle Greetings stamp set.

I bought this set and the larger set last year and this is the first time I've used them!

I added a strip of Tim Holtz Idea-ology gold deco tape to each card. 

For the greenery on my cards I used Concord and 9th's Take A Bough Die. 

I used Rangers Tim Holtz Distress collage medium that I spread on with a brush and then sprinkled on frosting powder from Papericious. I first saw this stuff at a stamp show I went to this past summer at the Heartfelt Creations booth. The poinsettia is from Hobby Lobby. 

This card again uses the same paper as the two cards shown above.

For the sentiment I diecut Merry Christmas using the Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Retro Christmas die. The greenery is Holiday Greens and Garden Greenery. The same dies I used above on the wreath card. For both cards I added Ranger Ruby Red Liquid Pearls to the Kraft colored cardstock. I again spritzed perfect pearls over the greenery. 

For my snowflake cards I heat embossed snowflakes using the Simon Says Stamp Lots of Snowflakes stamp set. I stamped them with Distress Oxide ink in evergreen bough and then used Hero Arts clear embossing powder. 

I cut a strip of patterned cardstock from a paper pad by The Paper Studio called Old World Winter.

I added a strip of Tim Holtz Idea-ology gold deco tape.

The stamp and die are from WPlus9 called Hand Lettered Holiday. 

I cut three Merry die cuts. Using one I added VersaMark several times and kept heat embossing it with Hero Arts gold embossing powder until I was satisfied with how it looked. I then adhered three die cuts together. I then stamped the Christmas sentiment and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. 

I happened to be up in Plymouth last Saturday so I popped into Anchor Paper.

I found this die from Hero Arts called Snowflakes & Ornaments Fancy Die. 

There's another piece to the die so that you can make the snowflake look like an ornament.

I chose not to use that piece for this card. 

I watercolored two pieces of cardstock. One with Distress ink in candied apple and one in mowed lawn for each card. I die cut the circle snowflake out of the candied apple cardstock and then adhered it to the mowed lawn cardstock. 

I then die cut three circles for each card using white cardstock and the double stitched circles die from Our Daily Bread. After adhering them together I added them to the front of the card piece around the snowflakes.

I added a few silver sequins to the front of each card and they were done!

I still have a few cards that I'm working on but this is the majority of the cards I made this year. 

I'll post any others I send out in another post. 

Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Craft Stamper Magazine Challenge: Anything Goes

My card today is for the Anything Goes challenge over on the Craft Stamper Magazine Blog. While I love sketch and color challenges, anything goes challenges rate pretty high with me. Sometimes I never know what direction I'm going in or what I'm doing until my project is almost finished.

I had the random rectangle of card stock that I had die cut while working on another card and not wanting to waste it, I started inking and adding different stenciled bits to it. That's how this card evolved.

 

I used five different stencils on my panel. Four from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous and one from TCW. Three Distress Oxide inks were blended together on my card panel. I used black to highlight. I took the extra ink left on my craft mat and splattered it onto the card base. All product names are listed below. 

After die cutting my bicycle image and stamping the sentiment, I added foam tape to my panel before adding the panel to my card to give it some dimension. 

Supplies:

Cardstock

Stamp - Unity Stamp Co - For The Guys

Versafine Onyx Black Ink
Distress Oxide Ink: peacock feathers, fozzilized amber, black soot, seedless preserves

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Stencils: Dot Fade, Latticwork, Gothic, Burlap
TCW Stencil: Mini Well Rounded
Dies: Our Daily Bread Designs: Double Stitched Rectangles, Ellentina Cutting Dies: Bicycle

Thanks for stopping by!

Floral Thank You

I created today's card using one of the layering stencils from Tim Holtz. I used distress oxide ink over the stencil and then decided to use it on the strip of cardstock that I added on the side. When you don't have paper to match the color of the ink you're using, applying it to cardstock is a good way to match your project. I then added my sentiment on the side. Added a little bling and it's done! This was a very quick card to make using only three products.

I've linked this card to the Flickr Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge #76.

Supplies used on this card:

Ranger Distress Ink: peeled paint

Doodlebug Design Inc: beetle black assortment

Simon Says Stamp: Handwritten Borders

Hero Arts: Clear embossing powder
Ink: versafine - onyx black

Thanks for stopping by!

Spread Kindness

I took the extra panel that I had leftover after creating this card and used it to diecut the flower image for this card. After I diecut the flowers the ink seemed a little light. I added more ink to my craft mat and ran the diecut through the ink to get it darker. For the background I used the same inks with a Tim Holtz layering stencil. I'm constantly losing things in my craft room! After looking for my PITT pen and not being able to find it, I took a Tim Holtz distress marker went around the stenciled image to make dashes. All supplies are listed below.

These cards are linking up to the challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More ATSM - Anything Goes, Stamping Sensations: July - Anything with Flowers! and the Simon Says Flicker challenge SSSflickrchallenge#76 Anything Goes.

I love that I've had time to participate in a few challenges the last few days. I hope to keep it up. It really keeps the creative juices flowing when surrounded by so much inspiration!

This card is linked to these challenges:
Addicted to Stamps and More: Anything Goes
Stamping Sensations: July - Anything with Flowers
Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge: SSSflickrchallenge#76

Supplies used on this card:

Ranger Distress Oxide Ink: twisted citron, fossilized amber, peacock feathers

Recollections : Pearl bling

Simon Says Stamp Stamp Set: Uplifting Thoughts
Memory Box Die: Splendid Clarkia
Stampers Anonymous Layering Stencil: Grid Dot
Ranger Distress Marker: black soot

Hero Arts: Clear embossing powder
Ink: versafine - onyx black

Thanks for stopping by!

Vintage Tags

My title should actually say "Vintage Tags Plus Two Non Vintage Ones" but that would be way too long! I have included two tags at the bottom of this post that are in no way Vintage. 

I've been a little absent in my blogging lately. I've been working on projects and just haven't had much time for my blog. I haven't even been doing much baking or made any new recipes. Gosh, I didn't even participate in Mom's Crazy Cooking Challenge this month. The 7th came and went and I completely forgot about it! This month the challenge was stuffing recipes. You can check them out here. I usually set up a board and pin all the recipes and I'm behind on that too! Next month's challenge is perfect sugar cookies. My sugar cookies don't always turn out very well so I haven't yet decided if I'll join in. I will set up a board and pin the recipes though. 

These are some tags I've created with a new stamp set I picked up last weekend. We made a trip to Minnesota for a 50th Wedding Anniversary party and I was able to sneak some shopping in. This set is called Mini Holidays from Stampers Anonymous from the Tim Holz collection. 

As you can see I've used the same stamp with different inks. The sentiment below is one of my favorites!

When I saw this stamp set from Technique Tuesday I had to have it. Although the "Keep Calm and...." is a bit overused, I think some of the sayings are quite humorous. This stamp set is called Twinkle On.

All of these tags are available in my Etsy store. I've just finished tags for a swap I'm in. I'll share my tag and the ones I receive in December. Now I'm getting ready to start on a mini book for a swap I'm in. I'm pretty excited about participating in both swaps. I can't wait to see the the creativity of the others in their projects.

Thanks for stopping by!

These are the products used to create these tags:

Technique Tuesday Clear Stamps TWINKLE ON	Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps 2012 MINI HOLIDAYS 4 CMS142	Tim Holtz DISTRESS INK PAD PEELED PAINT Green Ranger	Tim Holtz Distress Ink PAD VINTAGE PHOTO Brown Ranger	Tim Holtz Barn Door Distress Ink
Tim Holtz Black Soot Distress Ink	Red Twine	PaperTreyInk Vintage Cream Cardstock

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