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Friday 11 June 2010

Anything Goes at Bah Humbug


The lovely ladies at Bah Humbug have set an 'Anything Goes' challenge this week and for my Guest Designer creation I've made an altered book. I'd been itching to have a go at an altered book for ages and when I saw this tutorial over at Gingersnap Creations its spurred me on to have a go
Here's the outside



And the inside:



I'm a real book lover but it was easy to overcome my guilt at defacing a book when I got my paws on a pile of old books destined for the tip. I used stamps from Elusive Images, coloured with promarkers and added a little prisma glitter and clear sakura stardust highlights. For the book base. I covered the outside with papers from the Decadent Delights cd by Artylicious and I used  lots of Starburst stains, metallic rub ons and brilliance inks in shades of red and burgundy - I had loads of fun with this and made so much mess lol. I covered the spine of the book with gaffer tape, smeared some versamark ink on and embossed with some 'antiquities' EP and added a stamped holly image using the same EP. The berries are highlighted with some glossy accents and coloured with cranberry alcohol ink


 The flowers are all made from the cut out pages of the book, inked up and crumpled before being layered up and seed beads added for the centres.. I added some charcoal grey organza ribbon, a crystal buckle and some faux gems. To finish off I made a beaded tassel with size 6 and size 11 seed beads and added a right angle weave beaded chain for a 'bookmark'. I used a couple of junk earrings from the scrap store to make a little clip to attach the bookmark which can be removed from the book.

I've learnt a lot while making this book:
1. Dont try to clean your craft knife with your thumb, it hurts lol
2. Don't drop a big blob of red alcohol ink on the image you've just spent hours colouring (and if you do, remove the worst with blending solution or stazon cleaner (or both) and cover the splodge with some ribbon ;)
3.A teeny tiny pot can contain enough glitter to make you, your craft room and two german shepherds sparkle for days

I'm also entering my altered book into the Gingersnaps Colour Challenge (GC56) which is Burgundy, Ivory and Black and is inspired by the colours of old books so I thought my book would fit the theme perfectly.

I hope you find time to join us over at Bah Humbug and have  fun creating something for Christmas .... it won't be long now lol

Thanks for looking, have a good weekend
Claire xx

17 comments:

  1. Morning Clare

    Wow, what can I say but fantastic and perfect.
    I love every single detail, and thank you for the link.

    luv
    irene
    xxxx

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  2. Morning Claire,
    What a beautiful book ! You have done a fab job, it looks fantastic !
    Hugs
    susan x

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  3. Congrats on guest Dt spot Claire, your project looks amazing!
    Love as always Gina x x x

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  4. Congrats on your GDT, and oh Claire... I was roflol reading your story on what not to do while making this book.
    I have one too... don't put your glass with hot tea next to your fresh colored images and then throw it over them...
    they don't like to swim...
    LOL
    Love this work!
    xxx

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  5. This is stunning Claire, I had a good laugh at your list of things you learnt.xxx

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  6. Wow Claire, you did a great job on this, it looks mind boggling to think about all the things you did to achieve the finished product but well worth it. Shame you're not on Facebook Ivys Attic has a crafty swap going on :)

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  7. An absolutely fabulous creation Claire. I wish I could see it 'in the flesh' so to speak. I'm glad you overcame your fear of ruining books - I couldn't even bring myself to write in my Welsh tutorial books - let alone completely destroy a book. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
    Beryl xx

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  8. Oh wow this is gorgeous, love it. Don't know about the defacing of the book but as it was destined for the tip I'll let you off lol. I've got another tip, don't wipe down your craft mat and then lay your card down on it before it is dry. It is a right pain trying to peel it off without taking a layer off the back:( Debs xx

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  9. Hi Claire,
    When I saw your wonderful offering as Guest Designer for our Bah! Humbug! Challenge this week I was totally blown away! It is absolutely beautiful and the finished result is positively stunning. As a fellow book lover I have always baulked at the thought of ripping out pages and altering books, but have to confess your project has tempted me to consider having a go. I think a trip to the local charity shop might be pending to pick up some cheapies to have a play with.

    Luv'n'Stuff
    Max
    xx
    Max's Craft Creations
    Bah! Humbug! Challenges DT

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  10. Claire I am lost for words, this book is fab/gorgeous/fantastic and out of this world. Cathy xxxx

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  11. Hi Claire...this project is amazing...and absolutely GORGEOUS!! I've never made an altered book but I think you might have inspired me to have a go at one :)

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  12. Wow this is beautiful I must try this the tuturiol was brill on GC. Well done

    Maggie

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  13. Beautiful work - thank you for the link to the tutorial. This is something I have wanted to do for ages.

    Janet xx

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  14. Wow - this is a stunning piece of art! Thanks for joining us at Gingersnaps and I'm really glad you liked Elina's tutorial.

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  15. This is just beautiful! Now I need to look for an old book!! Very nice and congratultions on being a Ginger Gem!!

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  16. fabulous altered project! burgundy ivory and blacl are definitely your colors. congrats on being a ginger gem!

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Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog, all your comments are really appreciated

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