Travel book covers USA

Hi it's Brenda here with you today and I'm sharing the covers I made for a sketchbook to take on holiday to America, more a mini scrapbook I suppose you would call it.

I began by cutting the card to size, measuring out three stripes and edging with artist tape, then painted with phthalo blue, pyrrole red and titanium white.

This tape is quite stretchy and doesn't give a perfect straight line - but 'embrace your imperfections' and all that.

Oh and I found my red and blue sharpie markers neatened up the edges just fine.

Wanting a more aged look I dipped the panels in burnt umber watery wash, drying between each dip and when dry gave them a coat of antique decoupage.

Now to build further layers - a large text script and distress embossing powder ......

........ and embellishments - Tim' faded glory flag, triple cut in card, layered together and embossed with distress embossing powders .....

...... USA stamped from mini blueprints 2, dipped in watery phthalo blue media acrylic paint and coloured in with distress markers .....

....... die-cut stars embossed with frantage shabby white embossing powder .....

.... and the spine is a piece of jointer's drywall tape sealed with black gesso, stamped with one of Andy's toxic set stamps in titan buff then given washes of phthalo blue, pyrrole red, paynes grey and burnt umber.

I sanded the edges of the covers and blended ground espresso ink around them and put it all together with some shabby ribbon, stained with distress inks, to keep it tied and closed.

A quick shot of the back and front of the sketchbook.

Now I'm looking forward to seeing it completed, I need to get those photos printed off.

If you get a moment to pop over to Bumblebees and Butterflies you will see another two made by my granddaughters.

Don't forget we have a stencil challenge on at the moment on the challenge blog. We'd love to see you there.

Enjoy the rest of August - the months just keep rolling on by.

hugs Brenda xxx

A Fond Farewell

Hello all, it's Alison here from Words and Pictures.  I'm here today with a very fond farewell to the Country View Crafts Design Teams.  This will be my last post for both the Projects and Challenge blogs.  As most of you will know, work has taken me out of action in Craftyblogland lately, and - happily/sadly - the rest of the year is just as busy.

So I've reluctantly decided that I have to be sensible and free up some of my time by cutting back on DT work.  I've had the most wonderful time on the team here - and my thanks go to Susan, Chris and Brenda, as well as to all the fantastic designers I've served alongside here.  But I've a final project to share with you here - some journalling pages full of excitement about whatever life holds next.

I'm afraid I don't have very many making-of pictures as I got caught up in the doing... but there are a few guiding steps along the way.  I started with an old hardback book and a rough coat of gesso before stamping some of Tim Holtz's lovely watercolour hearts in Pumice Stone and Weathered Wood.  I inked the stamp and lightly spritzed with water before stamping, so you get a loose spontaneous look to the stamped image.

Then I gathered some cards from my much-loved Idea-ology Pocket Cards.  I don't use them for pockets, but there's such a variety of designs and in lots of different sizes that they are perfect for collaging.

Before sticking everything down, I roughed up the edges a bit, to give a more distressed look and add texture and dimension.

I selected my cards mainly based on colour tonality, but suddenly found I had these insistent question words dotted around, full of energy and on the look out for what's next...

Who?  What?  Where?

And there are some pieces from the Vellum Thrift Shop Ephemera Packs - both plain and vellum - too.

I did quite a lot of inky shading and painty splattering to add extra depth and extra life.

The butterflies are punched from another of the Pocket Cards, using Tim's butterfly punch - perched ready for take-off.

The woman is the wonderful Gloria Swanson - the brilliant silent film star who played an ageing silent film star, a grotesque version of herself, Norma Desmond, in Sunset Boulevard.  (One of the most famous exchanges from the film is my quote for today over at Words and Pictures, and there's a link to a clip of her in action - well worth a visit!)  You can see I used some doodled penwork to frame the picture.

And I added some of the tiny watercolour hearts, echoing the blue hearts in the background.  These are stamped in Versamark and embossed with Weathered White embossing powder...

I love the texture of this powder, so found myself trying to find more and more spots to fit them in as an accent.  See if you can spot them all!

I couldn't resist adding some metalwork...

And of course there had to be some Small Talk stickers, again full of anticipation for whatever is next - "life was meant for a great adventure. be fearless. follow your heart."

I hope you like this page spread, and although I'm very sad to be leaving the team, I think you can see there's also a positive energy about the change.

I know the team will go from strength to strength with our fantastic new members added to the mix, and I thank all of you for all your wonderful support and great feedback here.

I'll see you out there in Craftyblogland some time!

Thanks,

Alison x

Tim Holtz Cling Mounted Stamp Set - Watercolor	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Pocket Cards	Tim Holtz Distress ink pad - Pumice Stone	Tim Holtz Distress ink - Stormy sky	Tim Holtz Distress ink pad - Weathered wood
Rangers Antiquities Embossing Powder - Weathered White	Tim holtz - Idea-ology - muse tokens	Tim Holtz® Idea-ology� - Number Brads	Tim Holtz Idea-Ology - Thrift Shop Ephemera Pack	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Vellum Ephemera - Thrift Shop
DecoArt Mixed Media - White Gesso	Tim Holtz Ideology Small Talk Sticker Book	Versamark Watermark stamp pad	Sizzix paper punch - Tim Holtz - small butterfly

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London memories

When I went to meet an American friend who was spending a few days in London and a few in Paris I used Tim's Correspondence and French Industrial papers to make her a little scrapbook cum journal to keep some of her mementoes in.

The book itself is hardbound and handsewn and made in the same style as I taught at the last workshop we had in Flitwick.

I added some smaller pages and some journalling mats so that Paula could write in it if she had time. I used one of Tim's styled labels dies as it reminds me of the London underground sign.

You can see I included quite a few pages of different sizes......

.... and I used a hitch fastener and elastic to make the closure......

.... the elastic at the back of the book is hidden in the long 'pocket'.

I also added some stamping and die-cuts ......

... and I made up the underground sign myself.

One of the papers in the Correspondence set has this fabulous Union Jack on it so it fitted the theme perfectly.

I also added some chit chat stickers.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

hugs Brenda xxx

Tim Holtz Paper Stash - French Industrial Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paperie Correspondence Tim Holtz Stamper Anonymous - Classics #13 stamp set Tim Holtz Movers & shapers - Styled labels Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Words Remnant rubs Tim Holtz - idea-ology remnant rub ons - elements Tim Holtz Bigz die - Fleur de Lis & Eiffel tower Sizzix Bigz Die w/Texture Fades - Butterfly Duo by Tim Holtz

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