Musical Notes

Hello all - so happy and grateful you stopped by.

I've been quite a busy bee recently creating things for other people for weddings and birthdays and so on.  So on Sunday morning I decided I was going to make something just for me... and here it is, a music book...

I've been so enjoying working with Tim Holtz's Kraft Resist techniques, and absolutely love the results.  There's one particular 12x12 paper that has always attracted me, but I've never known quite what to do with it.  On this particular morning, it suddenly became blindingly clear to me - cover a music book with it... so I did.

Since I'm entering this in the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge I can't go into details about how I treated the paper... you can find it all on page 41 of the book or you can check out the man himself in action by clicking the video link in my previous entry for the challenge.








However, even a 12x12 wasn't large enough for this book, and I didn't want to use up two sheets of my stash on one book, so on the back I created my own version of the Kraft Resist paper... and I think it's probably within the letter of the law to tell you a bit about how I did that.

I absolutely adore resist technique - something so relatively simple achieves really gorgeous results.  Essentially you create a resistance to ink, allowing you to blend and stamp as much as you want, and you can always get back to whatever you've resisted with.

I'm very happy with my bluebird... he's on the paper anyway, but I had a lovely time getting the colours right, and embossing his face.




Love his shiny beak and beady eyes!









A resist can be anything non-porous - you can use clear embossing, multi-medium or other glues, acrylic paint (once dry).  As long as it's non-porous, ink won't soak into it - that's to say it will resist the ink, and remain untouched.

Well, not necessarily untouched, but protected enough that if you wipe over afterwards with a damp cloth, the resist will be revealed again shining through whatever you've been doing over the top.



I used an embossing resist for my paper.  I stamped various images in black archival onto some kraft cardstock.  Then, I stamped my Kaisercraft manuscript music in Versamark Watermark, a clear embossing ink, and embossed using Ranger Clear embossing powder.  That provided my resist on my homemade Kraft Resist, and from there, I'm going to have to let you use your imaginations or I'll be breaking the other set of rules!

I cut down the edge of Tim's paper with some decorative scissors so as to have the boundary between the two papers be less straight and brutal.

I used Multi Medium to stick my papers to the book covers, and then used tissue tape to give the whole thing a 'finished' look.  I love tissue tape, so I was determined to have it on this "me" project!











And since I'm a WordPlayer, I had to have some wordplay on the cover, so this book will be for notes about music, songs and lyrics, but also possibly for some notation - some actual musical notes - so the title covers it both ways.





It's stamped onto some music torn out of an already-falling-apart songbook, and inked with - guess what - Vintage Photo Distress Ink... well, I wasn't going to leave that off a project that's for me!

The treble clef is the Memory Box die which I've embossed with some Vintage Photo Distress embossing powder for a rusted look.







I'm absolutely thrilled with the outcome - it not only pleases me visually, but it has lovely texture too when you hold it (another benefit of resist technique).

One of the many things I love about it is that you get very different effects at different angles of light - but that's quite hard to get over in photographs, but I hope these show you something of what I mean...










And I'm happy I made the effort to really get the papers down into the ridges either side of the spine... it wasn't easy to get it to stay put, but definitely worth it in the end.

Thanks for dropping in to Words and Pictures today.  It's always a pleasure to have some company on the journey, and your lovely comments honestly make my day.  See you again soon, I hope!




I'm entering this for the following:
Simon Says Stamp and Show are asking us to Read All About It
Our Creative Corner are daring us to Resist the Resist - I can't - and to add some Wings
Lovely Linda Ledbetter extended the Kraft Resist challenge for another week over at Studio L3
And for a hatrick on the Resist challenges, I'd like to add this to Frilly and Funkie's one too!
Crafty Cardmakers are having a challenge calling for Winged Things
Even though I forgot the 'before' picture, I'd like to enter this for the Alter It challenge at The Stampman
Gingerloft are having a challenge called Birds of a Feather for this fortnight
And I 'd like to make another entry for new challenge Anything But A Card and their Anything Goes

No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.
William Blake

Be like the bird who, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing she hath wings.
Victor Hugo