Friday 16 May 2014

And We're Off!

Helloooooooo!!!

Long time, no see on this poor neglected little blog!  First of all many thanks to anyone who drops by to see the first project post in a blooming long time but there you go, life gets in the way sometimes doesn't it.

Elaine liked a little book of Kate Crane's which you can see here and suggested it as inspiration for our return round of projects so today I have my version to show you.  Now confession time!  I started this several months ago and made some very basic mistakes and almost binned it but I kept it on one side and decided to have a faff last week to see if I could make it presentable.  Having learned from my mistakes I could do a much better job on another one but thought it only fair to show my gaffs, lol!

Unfortunately, I forgot to take step by step photos and because most of it was done a while ago I have almost forgotten what I did but I'll tell you what I can remember.


First of all I created a concertina 'spine' from black card.  I chose to have 3 pages plus front & back covers so needed a total of 5 valley folds.


I then cut 5 pieces of black card 4" x 8".  I decided to colour my backgrounds with PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paints so I put puddles of paint on my craft mat one colour at a time, spritzed quite liberally with water and then dragged my pieces of card through.  I dried with my heat gun between each colour and kept adding colour until I had an effect I liked and good coverage.  I then used various stencils and Fresco Finish Snowflake paint to create the next layer.
 

Next, I used a selection of PaperArtsy's JoFYstamps to stamp on each page with black Archival Ink. I also stamped the flower heads onto white card and heat embossed with clear EP before dragging out my much neglected Twinkling H2Os to colour them with.  I also added some of this colour to the stamping on the pages.


I folded each of my pages in half and stuck the blank sides together with double sided tape so that I had five 4" x 4" pages. I cut out the separate flower heads and decoupaged them onto the pages with dimensional glue.  I also decided to add a few highlights with a white Posca Pen.


Then came the assembly ...... and this was where I realised my mistake!  It's glaringly obvious now, lol, but have  you guessed it yet?  I had forgotten to allow for sticking the pages to the concertina and had stamped over the whole page and even some of the raised elements and wording ended up being slightly covered by the black 'mountain' folds. Never mind, we learn by our mistakes and I don't think I'll make that one again ;D.


I cut some strips of fairly thin black paper and used a border punch to decorate the edges before folding them in half and sticking them over each concertina fold to give a more finished appearance.  Finally I used some 7Gypsies sticky backed fabric tape to hold the spine together.


In the end my little book didn't turn out too badly I don't think.  The part I was most pleased with was the paint & stencil layers in the background.

Well, that's the end of my post for today.  I have no idea which of my lovely buddies will finish their project next or exactly when but as we all have different commitments now our posts will be as and when we can fit them in.  I do hope you'll keep an eye open for when they pop up and let us know you dropped in by leaving a comment if you have time.

Hugs
Lesley Xx


19 comments:

Helen said...

oh, despite your "omission" it looks fabulous, and I love the stamping on your painted pages. Good to see you back, will watch out for more!

Paula Whittaker said...

Stunning project...the colours are a perfect combination.

steffi said...

Hi! Great little book :o) but I have to confess that mistake (not allowing a margin for sticking down) is one that I know I would make - even now you've pointed it out!! The JOFY stamps work really well.

Unknown said...

It looks great Lesley, well done for persevering!! Xx

Aquarius said...

Good to see the quartet back in action. This is a great project and it was helpful to hear about the pitfalls along the way! Great choice of stamps and colours.

Carol Q said...

that's beautiful Lesley, your background have lots of depth and gorgeous colours.

Netty said...

ooooh so gorgeous, Annette x

Jacqui Chimes said...

It's gorgeous Lesley

Sue's Crafty Corner said...

Wow, gorgeous Lesley, and I would have to look hard for the mistakes. I love the paints you've used (something else to add to my wishlist) and the way you made the backgrounds. Great to see you back on this blog.

Sue xx

judith@poppy cottage said...

A gorgeous project Buddy, I saw this before it was completely finished, and it looked stunning then. The colours in IRL are absolutely amazing, especially with the twinkling H2Os.
It feels great to have our little blog up and running again, but yikes! I had better get a wriggle on ;) Love Judith xx

Elaine said...

Well done Lesley, so great to see our little blog back in action. Like Judith, I have seen your pages IRL when the quartet was reunited at Ally Pally and they are gorgeous. You have done a great job to work out how to retrieve the project and I love it, especially when life has been so hectic for you. I just have to decide if I am brave enough to share my version or whether I need to start again!!! Lots of love special crafty friend, Elaine xxx

Lin said...

This is beautiful Lesley!! your backbrounds are gorgeous as is the stampimg...xxx

massofhair said...

I like the bits of the pages in the spine, it's like stamping an image off the edge, gives it more of pop.

You are a very talented crafter Lesley, what an amazing project for your return to your shared blog.

Stunning ArT, can see where your Son gets gis talent from! :-) xxx

Anonymous said...

I think it's gorgeous Lesley, each page is a beauty. Great to see a post on this blog again, looking forward to more.

veronica said...

Nice to have you all back together again - it's a lovely start Lesley! Surprising how vibrant the colours are on a black card - be very interesting to see how the others treat this.

Miranda said...

Wow a lovely book Lesley! Must be even more beautiful IRL, those pages are great! xxMiranda

Jo said...

What a great book, Lesley. You have done us proud. I love the colours and the way you've finished the spine is really smart. Your project is certainly a hard act to follow. Fab work, buddy x

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

Wow gorgeous book. Love the colours and images, so beautiful. Have a great weekend, Shirleyx

Words and Pictures said...

Absolutely stunning, Lesley... I rather like the bold black binding - it adds drama. Every single inky background is delicious, and your brilliant colouring of the JOFY flowers really sings... I love this!
Alison xx