Beautiful New Year Moments

Hello all, and a very happy 2018 to all of you.  I hope it brings you all that you are wishing for.


The first of the month means it's time to begin a new challenge at Mini Album Makers.  As always, any handmade book is welcome, and my lovely team-mates have provided a wealth of inspiration for you.  But before you hop over there to check it out, here's my own offering.


I've made myself a journal for keeping notes and ideas in for a new word-based endeavour I'm involved in - making it perfect for Simon Says Stamp's Something New theme.  It's decorated in a simple, natural style that makes me happy.
















And those lovely leaves also put in an appearance on the inside, albeit in a slightly different way...

I started by tearing the pages of a cheap watercolour pad in half, and then cutting the end-board of the pad in half to make my front and back covers.... simple and easy so far.















I painted the outer covers with some DecoArt Chalk Paint in Enchanted and added some of the Crackle Glaze formulated for the Chalk Paints.
















While the glaze was drying, I hole-punched all the pages and gave them a light spritz of Bundled Sage Distress Spray.













The pages were then left to dry as I added the top coat of the covers.  The white DecoArt Chalk Paint is known as Everlasting.  I love the mega-crackles from that hefty application of Crackle Glaze.












I glued some pre-printed tissue paper and some torn teabags onto the crackle... all nice and translucent.















I then added a patch of seamed calico fabric (one of the unwanted curtain bands which come with a certain Swedish furniture store's cheapest calico curtains... waste not, want not!) and lots of scrunchled thread to the mix.













That all needed time to dry so I got on with something else in the meantime.













I pulled out some of the lovely chipboards by one of the Mini Album Makers' sponsors, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts.  I thought these leaves would make great decorative elements over my background textures.














Before decorating them, though, I used the leafy garland as a mask to add some more decorative detail to a few of the interior pages.  This time the spritzing was done with Peeled Paint Distress Spray.












I gesso'd the leaves and spritzed them with a combination of Bundled Sage and Peeled Paint sprays.  They looked pretty cool while they were still wet...













... but the colour faded quite a lot as they dried.  I was a bit disappointed when I came down the next morning.














In order to recapture the "wet look", I used some DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics - a mixture of Green Gold and Sap Green spritzed with water on the craft mat - and splodged the leaves down into them.
















I'm very happy with the result.












I know spring is quite a long way off yet, but the vibrant freshness of the green leaves is a promise of good things to come!













I lightly gesso'd the fabric and tissue of the front cover to knock it back a bit before adding my finished leaves.  And then I thought I'd better do the back cover too, so that the crackle would be softened in the same way as on the front.













The binding is very simply done with twine threaded through the hole-punched pages.  














But I decided I wanted a bit more natural earthiness, so I bound a twig into the twine as I tied it off.  It serves no particular purpose, I just like it!












The twig actually comes from a roll of wired twig garden edging which I'm gradually dismantling as I find a need for the twigs.













A little bit of Gathered Twigs (but of course) inking around the edges, and we're pretty much done.  














I love that there are places inside where I'll be writing over or around the masked leafy garland pattern, echoing the front cover...















... but not always.














I also really love the wild thread giving movement to the whole thing. 















The Idea-ology Quote Sticks tell you exactly what I hope to be doing throughout 2018.









I toyed for a while with the idea of spattering it with white paint in time-honoured fashion, but in the end I restrained myself.  I thought it was better left with this clean, fresh look.

So there you have it - Happy New Year!  I hope 2018 will be kind to you, and to us all.  Why not kick it off by coming to play along at Mini Album Makers?




There's lots more inspiration for you over at the challenge blog, and you could be chosen as one of our top picks or win our sponsor prize, which this month is a fantastic $25 gift voucher courtesy of the fabulous Lindy's Stamp Gang.  So do come and join in - we welcome any handmade book, and we love seeing all shapes, sizes and styles.  Hope to see you there some time during January.  Happy crafting all!




You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.
Henry David Thoreau

I'd like to play along at That's Crafty Challenges where Anything Goes
At the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge they are looking for Something New - well, not only is this my New Year's journal recording words for a new creative project, but I've also used these new (to me) Gypsy Soul laser cuts