Everything New is Old Again

The good folks at Simon Says Stamp issued a wonderful CHALLENGE this week: incorporate some metal into your project. I love working with metallic foil, and have a storage case full of Ten Seconds Studio metal foil stashed away in the Closet of Shame. Since another of my goals for 2013 is to use items from said closet, I decided to join in the challenge. After some thought, I decided to alter a standard composition notebook using metal foil, Metallic Distress Inks, Tim Holtz idea-ology and some other wonderful metal pieces purchased from The Funkie Junkie Boutique. I am also entering this album in The Funkie Junkie Sunday Share.

Making the Medallion

Once I had decided to make an altered journal, I knew I wanted to make a big, bold medallion for the cover. I selected Ten Seconds Studio Big Daddy 10 mold and a piece of gorgeous chocolate colored metal. Before there were embossing folders, there was Ten Seconds Studios, and I find there are still things that I can do with one of their molds, some metal, a paper stump and their awesome array of tools that you can’t achieve with a die cut machine. Besides, I feel really artsy as I push that lovely soft metal into the mold and watch the image appear. I used their tool sets to add detail and to antique the image. Once I was happy with that, I used a combination of Espresso, Pesto and Copper alcohol inks to stain the metal and achieve a vintage look. I love the depth of the embossing, and the way you can make art metal look really vintage with these tools.

Making the Cover: The Details Make the Difference!

I used papers from Graphic 45’s Renaissance Faire collection to cover the notebook, but before I added it, I sanded around the edges and then hit them with some Bronze Distress Stain. I also used Copper Alcohol Ink to color the black spine of the notebook. After stitching around the perimeter of the paper three times, I used a distressing tool to tear and rough up the edges. The paper was glued down and the embellishments were added. The cover was inked, stamped, embossed and I added metal hinges, using my Alterations Hardward Findings die. These were adhered with Glossy Accents. The large medallion was adhered with red line tape, which seems to work best on metal. You can see that I took the time to distress each embellishment. It’s the details that make the difference!

It’s What’s Inside that Counts!

I really like to carry the whole vintage vibe on the interior of the notebook. Both the front and the back pages were decorated and embellished. As you can see, pockets were added for photos, souvenirs or other ephemera. These make wonderful travel journals, too!

The back of the notebook is also decorated, covered with vintage map paper. I aged this with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and stitched around the perimeter.

Challenge YOURSELF!

There’s still time for you to enter either of the above challenges. You don’t have to do anything as involved or elaborate as I’ve done here. You can use metal buttons, or metallic embossing powder or even metallic pens to qualify for the Simon Says Stamp challenge. I just like playing with art metal. I’d love to hear about your experiences working in this medium, and if you have any questions, be sure to ask. I may not have the answers, but we can explore the topic together. That’s what it’s all about: sharing and learning and growing in our creativity.

Thanks again for reading my little blog. I hope you will take the time to leave me a comment. Your comments make me happy, right down to the tips of my crafty little fingers.