“Revisiting An Altered Book”

Hi Friends,

I am back with a spurt of mojo that I found last night….. I started altering a book. I haven’t done one in awhile, just some journals where I remove the pages completely and use the covers. The last one I did was a garden one with photos of all my roses in it. I haven’t quite decided on a theme yet but it might be a Memory book for our pets!!! I found a couple of books in an Op shop before Covid 19, hit us here in Australia and I haven’t had much time to do something with them.

When you chose a book you need to make sure it is in pretty good condition with a good spine and covers. This book measures approx 6×9″. I didn’t want it to be to big as it takes time to alter it….There are 450 pages to reduce to approx. 1/2 or it will be too big and bulky when finished.

The first thing I do is tear out and glue some pages together. I like to use a metal ruler to tear out pages. It is a nice sharp edge and I don’t have to muck around with my craft knife!!

I like to go through the book and do a bit of a plan as to what pages I want to remove, any images that are good to keep and where/if I want to create any pockets. As this book was glued and not sewn I didn’t tear right at the page edge. This is because I needed a bit of it there to stop it from falling out.

I then add white glue or what ever your preferred glue is to one side then I close the book and press down on it too get a good stick! I find that closing the book lets the pages naturally fall straight, and you get less warping.

As you can see, you remove pages, but you make new pages also. This is why you have to do a bit of work altering your book before the play begins!

I just randomly added some side pockets by gluing around the three edges and leaving the opening unstuck on the side of the book.

These were quick to make by just folding down a corner and gluing to the page underneath. These give you extra space for journaling, photos, tags, embellishments etc.

My book has the pages out of it, some glued and some torn out. I have created some side and corner pockets for extra space and it is half the size it originally was!!

There are lots of ideas for using your Altered Books….. Memory books, Art Journals, just to play in. Collage, Glue Book, Technique Book, Personal Journal, About Me, Art, Butterflies, Astronomy, Gardening, Mixed Media, Art Journaling, or anything you can think of, or want to use it for……………..

I did a bit of research on You Tube to refresh my memory on how to create one as its been awhile. I used this video from Karla @ Caged Fish here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhuYxymrbc8 There are lots of great ideas on You Tube and Pinterest. You just need to find what suits your style and the purpose of your book. Now once it’s all dry, I can start decorating the pages and cover for my theme.

Stay Tuned as I am going to start the Embellishment process next and you will want to see how the book gets transformed!!

Happy Crafting

Hugz Kerri x

“A New Journal”

Hi my friends,

I hope you are having a lovely week and keeping well. I have had a busy one and looking forward to the weekend and seeing my son.  We all hang out together for the day and have some catch up time. With us all doing shift work, time together these days is very precious to me.

This journal came about as I went to our local second hand trader looking for a cupboard and came home with free books to make journals with. Sometimes, journals I make end up not being what I want, but I use them for other things. This happened with the one I made for my Dyalog inserts from  “THIS POST”

If you don’t know, I love re-using old books and bringing them back to life!!  As you can see this book was cancelled from a library. I don’t destroy precious books, I only use discarded, unloved ones that probably don’t have any real value, but to a person like me that loves making journals. I cut the page block away from the spine carefully and then I adhered a piece of chipboard to it for more strength. 

I pulled some papers out of an arty collection I have and cut them to the size of the covers. I was going to use the fabric down the spine but I changed my mind!!!

As I will be creating in this journal quite a lot I wanted it to be strong so I added blue book tape to the edges. I buy this at Bunnings and it is great tape for making journals and binding pages. I have used it quite a lot and is the only one I use now.

The paper has all the hard work done for me with some cute arty prints. I just sorted out what I wanted on the in and outside and cut them to size. I rarely measure anything with a ruler. Who has time for that!!!!! I then decided to cut put some elements on one of the papers and used the hearts and some sketchy flowers on the front. I couldn’t resist the kitty on the bottom. I added some stitching on the hearts for some texture. I have my sewing machine set up ready to go and I love using it in my papercraft!!

To finish off the front I just added a bit of text to it, that I thought was good for me at the moment. I am an original and no one else is like me. I need to remember that and to just be me. I am trying to find balance in my life where I am not over worked and I have time for my family and some me time. We all need balance in our busy lives, even more so with what is going on in our world at the moment……..

As you can see, this book fits my Dyalog journal inserts very well and it is a lot sturdier for constant use. I can take one out the one I want to work in. or just open it up in the book as it will lay flat.

I was going to punch holes and put eyelets in the spine but, as I had some elastics and I decided they were funky and to use them instead to bind the inserts in.

Thanks for stopping by and having a peek into my arty journal. I hope you may be inspired to make one yourself! I am wanting to do some more craft of some sort over the weekend and share it with you also.

I hope you have a lovely end to your week and lovely weekend.

Hugz Kerri x

“Gorgeous Posies”

Hi Friends,

I hope you are all going well and keeping safe! I have been busy at work and not much time for craft this week. I was going to join in an online event yesterday but didn’t make it. I decided today I was going to have a play with my new Gorgeous Posies Card Kit!

Also, I had to move my craft stuff out to have our new blinds installed so I decided to move my desk over to the lovely bright window, that I can look out and see the garden. It was great to do some creating today……………………

The kit above comes in the gorgeous box. The stamp set I added for more options to decorate and for the Greetings. It made 16 standard size cards with a few things let over to use on other cards. You also get great instructions for the beginner to get creating straight away with minimal supplies. I mainly used my Tombow glue, the foam dots, scissors, a stamp block, few ink colours and the stamp set.

You can see above the lovely card fronts included to add to the bases, plus the great instructions booklet is easy to follow.

There are lots of pop out die cuts and some sentiment strips all ready to use. It also comes with some gorgeous ribbon and twine. I layered these with our Dimensional foam dots so they sit higher on the cards. and give a layered effect.

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As you can see you can make them as simple or intricate as you like. It is a great kit for all skill levels. I really enjoyed putting these cards together and now I have 16 finished cards to use for friends and family ready to go. I hope you have enjoyed seeing this kit from Stampin’ Up! If you would like any information about the Gorgeous Posies Kit or you would like to purchase one, please feel free to contact me @ kerrismith455@gmail.com or leave me a comment and I can reply to you.

Stay Tuned as I hope to have some more crafty projects on the go during this next week.

Have a great evening, and be safe.

Hugz Kerri x