Woodland Paper Doll Altered Book Spread

 Hi everyone!  Today I am sharing something a little different with you, a little fairy tale.  This spread in my new altered book is focused around one of my woodland series of paperdolls.  They are some of my favorite work from the past year, but I haven't shared them because I wanted to create them a "home" first.  I just haven't been able to get that together, so I pulled one of my favs for this spread.  Maybe I will recreate her for that project later.  Anyway, I started collecting images in THIS Pinterest board.  I resized them in a Word document and printed them, then pieced together the parts to my fancy and colored them with inks and my Colorbox stylus.  The wings and boots are Character Constructions paperdoll stamps by Cathrine Moore.

Basically, my little fairy tale is about a group of critters who live in the woods near a park.  They spend their days watching the children's birthday parties, longing for such a grandiose event of their own.  Then one day, our girl Bertha, gathers together all of the odds and ends, discards from the humans that she's been collecting and suggests to the others a soiree of their own.  A costumerie is born...  That evening the park is transformed into a magical gathering of the most amazing friends.

For my background I played with spray inks and Glimmer Mists over a Tim Holtz burlap stencil.  I used Tim's tattered leaves dies on book pages to create the faint leaves in the background.

I hand stamped the text onto the type writer with a mini alphabet set.  Some random stamping in the background with 7Gypsies stamps and the larger butterflies are Tim's.

And here's our girl in her finery.  What fun!  I hope you'll be inspired to see paperdolls in new ways.

I'm playing with these awesome challenges:

PaperArtsy: Art Dolls

Fashionable Stamping: Butterflies

Try it on Tuesday: Nature

Our Creative Corner: Return of the Challenge - I chose What Makes You Smile (Paperdolls!)

Altered Eclectics: Anything Altered/Mixed Media

Flowers Keys and Doilies Mixed Media Layout

Today I am sharing more from my experimentation in watercolor with you from my new altered book.  I am really loving learning this medium.  For this spread I covered my pages with an old ledger page and some sort of holey paper.  Then I added the lace, all with matte Mod Podge.

I really love the pools in the lace.  I go back and dry brush gesso over the lace to further accent the pattern.

I let the ink drip this way and that.  Notice the ledger peeking through.

Next I started building my layers with Prima texture stamps.  I stamped some in red and then decided to emboss in white to add contrast.  I love the flexibility of using unmounteds on a textured surface. I don't put them on a block, just use my hands to press them down into the cracks.

I added some washi tape and rub-ons, then stamped the Prima script in black.

I added this grungy love sentiment and outlined it with black marker, which I smeared with my finger.

I used Prima scrapbook paper to create the focal points in my design.  This paper is so awesome!  I could kick myself for only buying one sheet!

And another close up of this awesome sentiment and ledger.  And the entire layout below.  I truly love this Prima doily stamp and how beautifully it incorporates as both pattern and contrast.

I'm sharing with these fabulous challenges:

Prima: February PPP Moodboard

SSS: Recycle/Upcycle Style (altered book, ledger page, and holey paper are upcycled)

Frilly & Funkie: Love is in the Air

Emerald Creek Dares: Bloggers Scramble

Love to Create: Anything Goes w/Medium

Anything But Cute: Grungy Love

Mixed Media World: Love is in the Air

That Craft Place: Anything Goes

Stamped Vintage Floral Mini Album

This stamped vintage style floral mini album is one of my favorite projects to date and I am so happy to be sharing it with you.  I decided to do a book with all of my favorite flower stamps and dug through scraps of paper and piled up a rather unusual collection of neutrals and greens, but somehow they all ended up working together and I couldn't be any happier with the finished album.

The binding is a simple ring binding and the pages were all created envelope style.  The details for cutting and scoring can be found HERE.  There are instructions about a different binding in the document, but disregard that if you wish to do a simple ring binding as I've done.  I created five envelope style pages, each with an insert.  The covers are made from covered mat board.

One of the coolest parts of this album is the stem on this lovely purchased flower.  I took a long piece of wire and folded it in half several times, then twisted the layers together.  Then I wrapped washi tape around the wires at an angle all the way up, making sure the ends were completely covered.  I love the way it looks!  I created the "tape" to hold it down with pieces of scrapbook paper that I wrinkled and distressed.

Here you can see the opening page with the first insert.

Every page has layers and bits of papers, stamping, and sponging.

I used different colored green inks to bring out the variety found in the random papers.

This is my favorite page...

I did lots of wrinkling and splattering.

I tried to use the flowers in the paper to make up for the lack of stamps to fill every page.

This lotus stamp has always been a favorite Stampin' Up! stamp.  I liked the little circle overlap on this layout.

Besides, stamps, paper, string, and brads, I really didn't use a lot of "stuff" in this book, yet it is rich with texture.  It was fun to break out stamps I haven't used in ages to fill in the little empty spaces.

Another favorite page with totally different stamps combined to make one focal image.  Most of the text bits are by 7Gypsies.  The one that goes up the page and the crosshatch on the page before are by Stampington & Co.

I used the clipola on the front and back of this page.

I made this pocket from a bit of paper.

I tried to think of unique layouts, so some are offset.

And the last page.  I started and ended with this simple script paper.

And here are the pullouts.

Some staples as embellishment.  This green paper is over 10 years old and was one of my first Basic Grey paper pads!  :)

The yellows are from a new Authentique pad.

I fussy cut this flower.

On some pages I punched the pull out circles on the top or bottom to add interest and reduce bulk.

So what do you do with a stamp?  You put it with one, or two, or three, or forty others and join in the Use a Stamp STAMPtember Celebration at Simon Says Stamp!  I'm linking this mini to SSS Wednesday for the Use a Stamp challenge HERE and to Allsorts for their Lots of Layers challenge #327 HERE and to Craft Stamper Magazine for their Take a Stamp challenge HERE and to Word Art Wednesday for their 200th post celebration HERE.  Let me know what you think.  I so appreciate your comments. <3

Be Glorified Oh God Journal Page

This journal page was preconceived, the idea just came to me, which is unusual for me because I usually just sit down with no concept of what I will do and just pour paint directly onto my page without any rhyme or reason.  But I had an idea for this bright green page with all of this growth pouring out in a cluster and this is what I came up with in the process.

I painted the green and added some white and hellow highlights and lettering in with a black sharpie.  I added some stamping and mod podged a group of leafy die cuts below the hand drawn scallops.  I wanted the bottom half to be softer, so I dry brushed some gesso over it.  I added very little journaling to this page, just wanted to illustrate the point.  I really love this 7Gypsies arrow stamp and used it here with the idea that no matter what, I want to lift God up.  Even when it is hardest, I want to glorify Him in my actions.

 My daughter took this amazing photo while we were on a boat at Table Rock, SC.  "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.  Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.  Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world."  The earth literally reveals God's glory, we are compelled to join and declare His mighty works.

Thanks for visiting today, take a moment today and absorb the beauty surrounding you.  I'm linking up to Simon Says Anything Goes HERE and Balzer Designs Journal Every Day HERE.

Hope Maketh Not Ashamed Journal Page

I am in journal mode after spending the weekend making cardboard crush journals, so I wanted to share this page, "Hope Maketh Not Ashamed" with you.  This page was inspired by the Documented Life challenge of using your "inky papers".

 

I cut a big 'ole circle out of my newsprint pad, which I journal over, and glued it right in the middle of my page.  I actually use my newsprint pad as a palette when needed, but usually pour paint directly onto my pages.  I layered the promise sticker over the cutout.

 

I added little torn bits of paper and washi, lots of doodling and stamping.

Used some pale paint with a new stencil and some rub-ons.

 

Everyone asked why I made the little girl off centered.  I guess it was figurative in my mind of not being on top of the world, but leaning a little to the left...

 

I love using rub-ons, a technique learned from Christy Tomlinson's old videos.

 

Some actual journaling here and a lovely label reminding me to "read instructions before cutting" which is so funny to me.  I always jump into things head first and think later - "I should have thought that through!"

Again, my pages are part of my spiritual process of really taking things I am learning full circle.  Our promise in Christ is certain, regardless of conditions as this definition says.  He will not change and this is what gives us the kind of hope that makes us unashamed.  There have been so many times in life that I hoped for things that let me down so deeply and the feeling of disappointment again and again imparts a certain shame in the soul.  But THIS hope, this heavenly hope, this hope that is certain makes us not ashamed!  I am so thankful...

So this is my upcycled journal page repurposed from file folders.  I'm really digging it!  If you haven't signed up for the Documented Life Project, go now!  Click HERE.