Tutorials: Reading Journal Using the Pinkfresh Bibliophile Stamp Set

This week's theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is "Summer Fun."  In case you don't know yet how nerdy I am, let me confirm it with this post!  One of my favorite parts of summer has always been reading!  When I was in school growing up, summer meant the freedom to read whatever I wanted instead of what was assigned in school.  As an adult, there's nothing better than having a good book along on a road trip or vacation.  And since I can't remember everything I read, I decided to make a Reading Journal to record and rate the books I read.

I wanted to try and make this out of an already-existing notebook, so here's how I did it.  I started out with a notebook and the Pinkfresh Bibliophile stamp set.

I tore out one of the inner pages and traced it onto a piece of thick white paper that I wanted to use for the cover. 

I glued the white paper onto a thick piece of chipboard, then used my Crop-A-Dile to punch out the holes.  Using my fingers, I smeared acrylic paint in streaks and smudges onto my cover.

While the paint dried, I stamped the book info/rating stamp (also from the Bibliophile stamp set) onto every single page.  Yep.  Every.  Single.  Page.  Monotony factor?  About 715.

Back to the cover!  I used one of my favorite go-to Tim Holtz dies, Trellis, to create a pattern in the background.  I smeared on some Distress Ink to add color pops here and there and the Trellis framework was cut out of Simon Says Stamp dictionary paper.

I created the central image by cutting a hole in a library due-date card (thanks, Mimi!!) and I added a Seth Apter Ring Around die ring around it.  I also stamped a faux-stitched black circle inside using Simon's Sparkle and Shine stamp set.  I added a circle of color back to the middle and threw in another circle embellishment from Simon's Loop die set.  I completed it with the "Carpe Librum" sentiment, also stamped with the Bibliophile set.

You know I love me some bright colors, but I was feeling like this had too much of a Christmas vibe, so I toned the whole thing down by smearing white paint over a lot of the high-color areas.

And last but not least.  How to attach the cover to an already-bound notebook?  I cut horizontal snips from the edge of the cover to each hole, then simply maneuvered it back through the spiral binding.  This is an inside view (I covered the back of the chipboard with patterned paper- the cover I made is on the other side).

Just to make extra sure that the cover would stay in place, I dabbed glue along the horizontal snips where I'd cut.  Once the glue dried, it was quite secure.  You could also just glue the whole thing on top of the existing cover, which would've been a great idea, but since the notebook I'd bought had a plastic cover, I wasn't sure how well the glue would work.  But my method filled the bill and I think the end product is solid!

For all you visual learners out there, here's a pic that shows where I used which products:

 And here are the links to the products I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Pinkfresh Bibliophile Clear Stamps	Crop A Dile	Tim Holtz Trellis Frameworks Die	Simon Vintage Dictionary Paper	Simon Says Stamp Sparkle & Shine Stamp Set	Seth Apter Spellbinders Ring Round Die Set	Sizzix Big Shot
Fiskars Large Circle Punch	Simon Says Stamp Circle Loops Die Set	Dina Wakley SKY Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley LEMON Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley Lime Acrylic Paint	Dina Wakley Evergreen Acrylic Paint	Dina Wakley TURQUOISE Heavy Body Acrylic Paints
Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad	Peacock Feathers - Distress Ink	Picked Raspberry - Distress Ink	Tim Holtz Distress Twisted Citron Ink Pad	Mustard Seed - Distress Ink	Mixed Media Sponges Bars
Fiskars Acrylic Blocks	Ranger Non Stick Craft Sheet

I'm excited to see what you do for summer fun!  Be sure to upload your projects to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $50 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Store.

My Other Creations: Pen Holder Using Seth Apter's Maze Embossing Folder

"Contain Yourself" is the theme of the week over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and it has been one of my favorites!  Include some sort of container in your project and you're good to go!  Since I am constantly losing pens (Sharpies seem to be particularly elusive), I decided to make a pen holder out of a tin can to keep those pens in check!

 I started with the background paper, which I made using Seth Apter's Maze embossing folder.  I have not yet learned how to fully utilize embossing folders, but this is my go-to technique.  I start by embossing white paper, then I go in with ink pads and rub them across the embossed pattern so that the pattern stands out.

Next I go back in with paint and rub it into the background so the background isn't so stark.  I rub the paint in with my fingers, which is messy, but quite therapeutic.

If the colors turn out too bright, I'll wait for the paint to dry and rub white paint on top of certain sections, which is what I did for this project.  Once my paper was done, I glued it to my tin can using Aleene's Turbo Tacky glue.  From there, I started embellishing it with strips of patterned paper and ruler ribbon.  I covered both the outside and the inside of the can.  I even added a little section of striped paper to the inside top of the can for a bit of oomph.

I love me some Tim Holtz Label Letters, which can spell out anything your little heart desires!

I decided to add some paint brushes to the outside of my can (heck, why not?) and used embroidery thread to replicate dripping paint.  I love buying cheap paintbrushes that I can chop, distress and use on my projects without feeling guilty for ruining nice ones.

Not only was this project pretty darn entertaining, but now I have a corral for those free-spirited pens of mine.  And I made this project with all these fabulous supplies that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Seth Apter Spellbinders Maze Embossing Folder	Sizzix Big Shot	Tim Holtz 12 x 12 Correspondence Paper Pack	Bo Bunny Believe 6x6 Paper	Echo Park Let′s Be Mermaids 12x12 Paper	Tim Holtz Idea-ology RULER RIBBON Fabric Canvas Measure	Simon Says Stamp Circle Loops Die Set
Tim Holtz Idea-ology HINGE CLIPS Nickel Metal Hardwar	Stamper′s Anonymous Tim Holtz Worn Text Stamp Set	Tim Holtz Idea-ology LABEL LETTERS	Iris Embroidery Floss Pack- Variegrated Colors	Dina Wakley LEMON Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley LIME Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley TURQUOISE Heavy Body Acrylic Paints
Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley UMBER Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Peacock Feathers - Distress Ink	Squeezed Lemonade - Distress Ink	Tim Holtz Distress Twisted Citron Ink Pad	Black Sharpie Fine Point Pen	Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad
Ranger Archival Aquamarine Ink Pad	Aleene′s Turbo Dry Glue	Fiskars Acrylic Blocks	Ranger Non Stick Craft Sheet

I am especially excited this week to see what you come up with to contain...something that needs containing!  Be sure to upload your works of genius to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $50 gift voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!