Saturday 22 February 2014

Notebook Inspiration

Hello everyone and so lovely to have you visiting. I am sharing an altered notebook with you for today's post.
Recently I was hugely inspired by the stunning faux leather makes of my two crafty friends, mother and daughter Rita and Annie. They shared a link to a tutorial on this technique and I simply had to give it a go.

This little notebook started life as a cheap little notebook with an ugly cover (well to my eyes anyway). Of course being me I forgot to take a "before" photo, but here is a picture of the inside covers, that will give you an idea of what the outside looked like:
So the faux leather technique is very simply achieved with some Kraftcard, a little glicerine mixed with water and an embossing folder. I used a Sizzix one.
I made a front and back panel and a separate piece for the spine.
Here are some close ups:

The central embellishment is a Tim Holtz Ornate Plate, altered with various Distress Paints. For the inside of the plate I used some old book paper and some of the little word stickers.

A Kraftcard die cut ruler, a gift from my lovely friend Zuzu, altered in the same way. I also added some sprays and some Golden Turquoise paint to get a bit of a Verdigris look on the front cover.

I used the same embossing folder for the back, to give the note book a unified look and sealed everything with two coats of glossy Glue and Seal and some Decoart Traditions Multi-surface sealer.

Of course I had to cover the inside covers too, so this is what they now look like
Vintage Photo, Bundled Sage and Peacock Feathers spritz and flick,a little spritz of Dylusions White Linen and some over-stamping with Picket Fence Distress Paint.
Same on the back and as you can see I finished it all with some Tissue Tape.

The paper inside the notebook is dead thin, so it can't really be used for journaling, but as I will have to take a lot of notes for work in the next few days, I needed a note book anyway, and this will be a lot more fun to use than your ordinary shop bought note book.


Hope you like it... I am definitely going to use this technique again as it is so easy and loads of fun to do.
HERE is a link to the original tutorial, in case you want to give it a go yourself.

Thanks for visiting like always and I hope you will make some time for creativity yourself!

50 comments:

maria's knutselplezier said...

Your book looks fantastic!!! And you know what , I will go today to a workshop to make such a book in laether look, so next week I will show you my book on my blog too, and lucky you , you found this on internet , and it looks amazing!!!

Greetings
Maria

massofhair said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
massofhair said...

Loving your version of fleather Astrid, stunning touches like the hint of turquoise really adds something to the finished look.

Experimented with the glycerine on both 350gsm & 80gsm card & paper which was not turned into fleather but resulted in making very soft pages for further embellishing.

Love your notebook cover:-) xxx

Redanne said...

It really is the most fun technique ever isn't it and the result look so professional, I really love it too. Your little notebook is fabulous Astrid, that touch of the verdigris is such a clever idea and really gives the 'leather' a lovely finish. Anne xx

Brenda Brown said...

Beautifully grunged and vintaged effects Astrid, the finished look with the ruler and bookplate is magnificent and your clever use of colour has introduced the oxidised and patinas that make this look so authentic. Love it xx

Paula Whittaker said...

loving your take on the technique...wonderful creation.

annes paperfun said...

Awesome! Love it !!!

brenda said...

What a wonderful transformation Astrid, fabulous colours and techniques.

Hope you have a good weekend.

B x

chrissie said...

This is amazing Astrid. Off to follow the links

Love Chrissie x

Rita said...

What a fabulous transformation to a plain notebook Astrid. In fact I think this technique could be used to enhance lots of different projects. Have a lovely day. Hugs Rita xxxxx

rachel said...

this looks fabulous - love this technique and you've used it so very well xx

Evelyn Walter said...

I´ve seen this technique in www and you made it really professional as usual! Very great transformation of a simple notebook.
Have a nice weekend!
xxx Evelyn

Silvia(Barnie) said...

A wonderful altered notebook. Texture and colors are fabulous.

Meggymay said...

Fantastic transformation, its a super faux leather look, I'm going to try this soon.
Yvonne

froebelsternchen said...

This notebook has changed into an stunningly awesome artpiece Astrid!
This is another sensational masterpiece of you to which I lost my heart Astrid!

xxx
Susi
Happy weekend!

Words and Pictures said...

Fabulous faux leather - and the whole thing is just beautiful, inside and out!
Alison x

Maryann Laursen said...

WAUW I sure must say that mission completed to perfection Astrid. It is so gorgeous and perfect made, and it looks fabulous. Youjust are a wizard with these things.

Maryanne said...

Gorgeous, Astrid! I saw Annie's and Rita's post about this technique and I want to give it a try. Your little note book is fabulous! The Tim embellishment fits in perfectly. You will certainly have fun using this now.

Caroline said...

We have an English artist/crafter here who has bn doing demos for this look. It is amazing & your note book is incredibly created (as always). Sorry to repeat myself but my how I wish I had yr talent!! Tfs :))

Adelaide Mesquita said...

It's amazing! I like it very much.
Kiss
Milai

Annie said...

Hi Astrid x I adore your gorgeous notebook and the faux Leather look. It's so easy and I love the painted elements.
Fabulous work inside and out

Crafty hugs Annie x

Claudia N. said...

What a stunning and utterly brilliant transformation, Astrid!

Your book looks as if it had been forgotten for centuries!

And the book plate is so beautifully "embedded"!
Honestly I do not even want to imagine how the cover looked like before *lol

Hugs,
Claudia x

May said...

Fabulous work Astrid... I will be doing one of these...they look fun to make...Rita's & Annie's are brilliant too...Thank you ladies for the inspiration... Hugs May x x x

Jann said...

Wow-fantastic!

artwolf2009 said...

another wonderful artpiece your have created. Love all the texture you have added to make this Piece a Piece of art

Anonymous said...

I liken this to the Ugly Duckling which transformed into the beautiful swan because this notebook is amazing, it looks so authentic in the way you created the texture.
Wishes
Lynne

Anonymous said...

Isn't this technique great?? I've been having a go last night & today & I love it.
Your altered book is stunning, the texture really does look like worn leather.

Netty said...

Have been greatly impressed with these faux leather notebooks in blogland, love your touch of turquoise which really lifts it.
Annette x

http://nettysartadventures.blogspot.co.uk/

Terry said...

I have to agree that the after is much preferred! What a gorgeous transformation of this little notebook using the faux leather technique! Love this! Hugs!

Sandy said...

The cover of this little book went through quite a transformation I would say. You sure do have a good eye for detail and design. Beautifully done and the inside is gorgeous - I like the color!!
sandy xx

Scrumplescrunch said...

Hello Astrid,
Well what can I add that everyone else has already said regarding this book cover. It is perfect and looks wonderful. Gosh you do inspire with your creations no doubt about that.
A fabulous note book cover.
Smiles:)
Sue

Anonymous said...

Fantastic Astrid. Loving all this wonderful texture. Karen.x

Valerie-Jael said...

This has turned into a vintage treasure, just fantastic, what a wonderful makeover! Valerie

Bettina Breiding Hansen said...

It is so beautiful - fantastic work and so inspirationally!!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic altered book Astrid ! Love the effect of the faux leather! Sue C x

Unknown said...

Brilliantly done! Must try this! Thank you for sharing.

Carol said...

Just had to come and see some more pics ..... stunning, it will certainly make those notes you need to make a lot more interesting and easier........ I think I'd be spending most of my time stroking the notebook and looking at it rather than opening it for the notes xx

Anonymous said...

How gorgeous. Love all the effects and colours.

Moira xx

Ros Crawford said...

Now that's amazing!! What a transformation ... I'm going to bookmark it and read up on the tutorial when I can ... TFS

Margaret Mifsud said...

This looks so cool Astrid!!! What a brilliant technique!! I've just had a look at the tutorial and it seems so easy too ... wonderful!!! I love your cover ... such fabulous texture
and gorgeous colour. A little book like this would make a fabulous gift!! Love it!! ox

Laurart said...

WOW! Wonderful leather effects here Astrid and I adore the verdigris look - You have certainly inspired me to give it a go! I LOVE it so much! Thanks so much for sharing - Love from Laura xxx

Martina said...

How incredibly gorgeous this book is, I love the whole design! It looks totally gorgeous, Astrid!

Paula J Atkinson said...

Beautifully done. I like the embossing folder you used to add imagery as well as texture.

AngelicaS said...

Fantastic transformation, love it!
Must check out the tutorial for this one!

Heather Jacob said...

Brilliant and remarkable .. I want to run my fingers over the texture xoxo

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

What a crazy wonderful transformation! I LOVE your book! The cover itself is amazing!

Studio Susanne said...

THANK YOU sooo much Astrid for sharing your beautiful altered notebook project - it is amazing. Thank you too for sharing the link to Sheena's you tube (which is wonderful too). You note book looks like a real antique leather note book, similar to something from the 'Golden Compass' and I really love the Ornate metal plate attached to the front cover.
I was delighted to find two small bottles of glycerine left over from making royal icing for the Christmas cake, so will be able to give this a try. Sadly I don't have any of Glue and Seal and some Decoart Traditions Multi-surface sealer I do have a deco patch glossy varnish which I hope will work instead.
Warmest best wishes,
Susanne

Dianne said...

Oh Miss Astrid this book is just stunning, I love that technique too the cover is fabulous and I love the inside page too, you just want to touch it :), thanks for sharing..

Jools Robertson said...

So so beautiful, just love this embossing folder
But you have just tranformed it with the colours effects
It really does look like leather and oxidised copper

Love it!

x

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

I just love this technique and you have definitely made it your own with these gorgeous extra touches of colour.
Angela x

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

One World One Heart

Photo

FEEDJIT Live Traffic Feed

Birthday Card

Birthday Card
Just got a whole lot of new stamps from a brilliant place called the Stamp Smith. This is the image that I first saw on Docraft and really liked. I asked the friend who has used it in an ATC, where she got it. Well she borrowed it from a friend who got it from ebay as a one off. But.... it had a title. I googled the title, and hey presto found the site. They have great stamps and offer a really friendly fast service. I highly recommend them!

Gothic Arch Trifold inside

Gothic Arch Trifold inside

Back of Gothic Arch Trifold

Back of Gothic Arch Trifold

Gothic Arch Within the Heart

Gothic Arch Within the Heart

Gothic Arch, the Key

Gothic Arch, the Key