Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Not a Card Notebook Cover using Seth Apter's ESA34 Stamp

"Not a Card" is this week's theme for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  You know I can't get enough of nifty little notebooks, so that's what I made for my project.

I started by painting a piece of paper using watercolors, Infusions stain, acrylic paint, and even some alcohol ink.  I've done these painty backgrounds a lot and have been a fan of Infusions color stain for several years, but I hadn't thought to use watercolors and alcohol ink together.  The green dots are from Alcohol Ink Pearls (Sublime) and the white dots are from Alcohol Ink Mixative (Snow).  Credit for this intriguing idea goes to Roben Marie Smith.  She's got a great video on Youtube about her process.  Here's how my background turned out:

I cut a piece of this background that was the same size as my store-bought notebook.  Then I stamped this black archway onto it using a stamp from Seth Apter's ESA34 stamp set.  The words "Magical" and "Doorway" also came from this stamp set, though I cut them out of a text section he had and put them together in a different order.  After all, what's better (or potentially more disastrous) than a magical doorway?  I also cut some scraps, ripped some patterned paper, and painted a bit more.

After I had the base layer done, it was just a matter of gluing stuff on, which I did.  Once my cover was looking decent, I sewed it to the cover of my store-bought notebook using my sewing machine.  I added some more acrylic paint and scribbling and this little notebook was done!

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

• Seth Apter ESA34 Stamp Set
• Watercolor Paint Set
• Infusions Color Stain: Emerald Isle
• Ranger Alcohol Pearls Ink: Sublime
• Ranger Alcohol Ink Mixative: Snow
• Dina Wakley Round Brush Set
• Dina Wakley Acrylic Paint: Raspberry, Malachite, Turquoise, Olive, White, Mustard
• Distress Watercolor Pencils: Set 3
• Distress Crayons: Salvaged Patina, Prize Ribbon, Black Soot
• Simple Stories Life in Bloom Patterned Paper

What will you make that's not a card?  We're looking forward to seeing what you come up with!  Upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.