Falling Leaves Spool Journal

It is time for the new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog and this time I am the hostess.  The challenge is called Aquamarine and here is how I describe it:

"Aquamarine, the birthstone of March, has a rich color and has long been a symbol of youth, health and hope. Its mesmerizing color ranges from pale to deep blue and are reminiscent of the sea." The challenge is to create a shabby chic or vintage project using the colour aquamarine in any of its shades along with one other colour (it could be white or brown or whatever you wish). The definition has lots of other prompts you could also use in your creation but the colour requirement is the main focus.

I wanted to make something a little different and came up with this little spool journal.  I convinced my husband to make the spool for me but if you have a vintage spool that would be so special.  The spool is just under 4" tall with a 3" space for the journal.

To prepare the spool, I covered it with a coat of White Gesso (Dina Wakley) and then a coat of Crackled Texture Paste (Wendy Vecchi).  Once it was dry, I took a soft makeup sponge and covered it with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink since I had chosen brown as my other colour.

The next step was to create the journal.  I tore strips of white card stock that were 2 7/8" wide x 11" long and inked them on both sides with Tumbled Glass and Broken China Distress Ink (Tim Holtz).  Then I joined them together on the short sides to make a long strip.

Lots of stenciling using a variety of stencils with Mermaid Lagoon and Peacock Feathers Distress Inks came next.

The Nature's Wonder stamp set (Tim Holtz) and Gathered Twigs DI were used to add the falling leaves and sentiments.  The ink was also used to make the circle markings with a spray bottle lid and to add the faux stitching from a stamp set called Seamless Experience (Tim Holtz).

Originally my vision was that the journaling would be done over the stenciling but then I thought it might be nice to add some blank "pages" as well so I tore some small pieces of card stock, inked them with Tumbled Glass DI, added faux stitching and adhered them over the seams.

A hole was punched in one end of the journal strip and some jute was threaded it through it to make a closure.  The journal was then glued to the centre post making sure that it covered the post and then when it was dry the jute was wound around and tied.

To make the spool topper I started by cutting some little leaves from Shattered Kraft Stock (Tim Holtz) using the Fall Foliage die (Tim Holtz).  Two of the leaves were attached to fishing line so they look like they are falling.  More leaves, some paper flowers and a wire twist were also added to the top.

I hope you will join us for the challenge. It runs until 11:55 pm EST on Tuesday, March 17th. One randomly chosen entry will receive a gift certificate to go shopping at The Funkie Junkie Boutique and with all the new products coming in, that would be a nice thing to have. The Design Team will choose their top four picks and the overall winner will receive an opportunity to be a Guest Designer with us at a future date.

Supplies List with links to The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso MDM41689
Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Texture Paste - Crackled WVPASTECRA
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Gathered Twigs TIM32823
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Tumbled Glass TIM27188
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Broken China
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Peacock Feathers TIM34933
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Mermaid Lagoon TIM43256
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 14PK - Fall Foliage by Tim Holtz 660955
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Nature's Wonder
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Bubble THS002
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Harlequin THS016
Scor Tape
Dylusions Staggered Brickworks Stencil
Wendy Vecchi Dots and Stripes Borders Stencil
Dollarama Zig Zag Stencil
Teresa Collins Geometric Stencil
Tim Holtz Shattered Kraft Core Paper Pad
Tim Holtz Seamless Experience Stamp Set
Artistic Wire
Fishing Line
Jute Twine
Recollections Paper Flowers
Dollarama Half Pearls
Bic Markers

Tags or Boxes at Sugar Creek Hollow

The challenge for the next two weeks at Sugar Creek Hollow is called Tags or Boxes.  All of the gals on the Design Team as well as our Guest Designer, Bonnie Garby, have made tags so I went rogue and made a box.  After all, the challenge is called Tags or Boxes.  We want to see vintage or shabby chic projects and with Christmas fast approaching both will be needed.

I decided to make a box, not only because I suspected there would be a lot of tags but also because my daughter has a birthday soon after Christmas and since I have already bought her birthday gift I know that it will fit perfectly in this Wallet Box.

Here is a look at the back and sides of this box.

I cut all the pieces for the base from some Recollections card stock and scored everything.  The base, except for the accordion sides was put together using double-sided tape.  Then I cut all the patterned paper for both the outside and inside making sure to leave a small border.  The patterned paper is digital paper that I got as a freebie from Far Far Hill.

The next step was to do some stamping over all the outside pieces, except for the piece on the closure, which matches the inside paper.  I used one of the stamps from the Tim Holtz Ultimate Grunge set as well as a Paper Artsy Mini.  Black Ranger Archival ink was used for the stamping.

Then I stenciled the leaves on using Dusty Concord Distress Ink by Ranger and a stencil called Botanical by Momenta.  The last step before gluing the patterned paper to the base was to ink all the edges with Ranger's Pumice Stone Distress Ink.

The embellishment on the closure involved cutting two scraps of card stock and taking a Martha Stewart edge punch to them.  After they were adhered to the closure, I added some pearl flourishes from Dollarama, some feathers from my stash and a deep purple rose from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Finally, I added the accordion sides and some adhesive Velcro dots to keep the closure in place.

I am going to enter this project in the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps - Anything Goes
City Crafter - Hold It

Every Possibility

It is time for another new two-week challenge at Frilly and Funkie and this time it is an easy one - ANYTHING GOES.  Of course your project must be vintage or shabby chic but you can create anything in your Frilly or Funkie style.  Don't forget though that you can only enter your project at Frilly & Funkie and four other challenges.

Now I know I am supposed to be making Frilly projects for your inspiration but I had a request to make a card for a friend to give to her minister because he is leaving her church to go to a large Toronto church.  I decided to accept her commission and kill two birds with one stone so this is my Anything Goes offering. 

Literally as this posts I am landing in Birmingham, England for a three-week vacation visiting dear friends, including Sue my teammate at Frilly and Funkie.  Since I am going to be gone for so long I had to get all my DT projects done before I left along with related blog posts so when I saw a chance to lighten my load, I have to admit I took it.

I used some Bazzill card stock for the card blank and some very old Provo Craft paper for the background.  I used some Wild Honey, Peeled Paint and Vintage Photo Distress Ink by Ranger to create one panel and then embossed a piece of Recollections card stock with a Tim Holtz Patchwork Texture Fade to create another panel.  It was also inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I used the Tim Holtz Stuff to Say stamp set to stamp the sentiment and the Steampunk set for the three dapper gentlemen using Ranger Black Archival ink.  The sentiment was cut out with a pair of Fiskars deckle scissors and then inked with the same Distress Inks.  The gentlemen were stamped onto a piece of plaid paper from my scraps and inked.  I added some burlap, a few metal pieces and a button on top of a little embossed circle.

So this certainly isn't Frilly but then it can't be when it is for a fellow and I don't really think it is Funkie so let's call this FRUNKIE - LOL.

Here are the products I have used from The Funkie Junkie Boutique - a super place to shop since everything is always discounted at least 20% from the manufacturer's suggested price - and the most awesome customer service.