Altered Board Game Mini Album Tutorial

I'm back to share a neat tutorial for you today on converting old board games to altered book projects.  I was running out of things to alter this weekend.  I wanted to switch things up from making cards and tags.  I rummaged through my drawer of "alterables" and found two and a half Scrabble board games.  I decided they would make the perfect substrate for my collection of projects for A Vintage Journey challenges, since they are basically heavy chipboard.  Maybe by the end of the year I will have an entire collection that will form a pretty neat altered book.

Simple board games come with a board that is scored in the center and connected on top with the printed game and on bottom with cloth book binding tape.  To turn them into book pages simply break the "spine" by folding the halves backward.  You may have to do this twice, but the halves simply break in two.  Next divide the length of each panel in two to determine where to cut.  Then cut with your regular paper cutter using an old blade.  Always save an old blade - I write on mine OLD with a Sharpie.  Cut once at the desired length using the ruler on your cutter, then flip and cut again on the other side to complete the cut.  Easy peasy cutting - no fancy cutter required.

For my pages I left the ragged cloth tape as is because I was fond of the tattered look.  I am going to line all of these up as the "spine" of my book.  As I work each page, I will lightly sand the cut edges so they won't feel sharp or rough.

For these pages I layered my collages over the printed game board side and inked the Scrabble pattern with Walnut Stain so it would blend in with my designs.  Of course, you could paint or gesso the pages if you like.  But, Scrabble is actually my favorite board game and I wanted the board itself and the "Scrabble burgundy" to show.  The only reason I could bare to upcycle these game boards is  that I have a deluxe spinning board with groves to hold the tiles in place.  I know, I'm so cool!  ;0

For my girlfriends collage I cut and layered parts of the Wallflower stash by Tim Holtz.  I tattered the edges and dipped each piece in puddles of ink to further grunge them up.

I used one of my DIY paper flowers (tutorial HERE) as an embellishment.   The clock face is a Tim Holtz Rub-on.  This page reminds me that my best friend and I were two pretty little girls, but loved our grand adventures.  Bikes played such an important part in our childhood.  I know that's not the case nowadays, but I am thankful that it was for us.  Oh the fun we had.  How time flies...

For my vintage travel page I followed pretty much the same process.  This stamp is an unmounted stamp and I don't have the maker, but I have always loved it.

My friend Bonnie loaned me this cool Tim Holtz torn paper edge die, love it!

I was pretty happy with using a rub-on over the burlap panel.  It only looks whitish when you zoom in.  I really wanted to incorporate the feeling of passing time.

So there you have it, my combination of two very amazing challenge themes and a pretty cool mini album concept.  I will probably bind it with rings, but am going to get more pages completed before making that decision.

I'm playing with:
SSS Monday: Best Friends
A Vintage Journey: Vintage Travel and Luggage
The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge: Time Flies (I used clocks and a general feel of nostalgia towards my childhood)
Creative Artiste Challenge: Chipboard (my book is made from chipboard)

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