affirmation accordion

Life is full of ups and downs and twists and turns; oftentimes, the unknown can lead to doubts and questioning. For my project today, I created a small affirmation accordion journal. Something little that can make a big impact in turning your thoughts around, just by opening it. A friend of mine had sent me a stamped saying a while back that really struck a chord with me. I have had it on the corner of my work table so that I could see it every time I went in to create. It is amazing how such a small reminder can make a difference. This was the inspiration behind my affirmation accordion.

Sometimes journals can be oversized and intimidating, I thought for this piece I would work with Gypsy Soul laser Cuts ATC sized ticket journals. These are a lot of fun to work with and their size is perfect to pop into a pocket or bag and carry with you. I begin with two sets of the ATC ticket journal, knowing that I will be adhering the first and last "tickets" onto my own covers, I want the inside to have more interior pages than the one piece will provide. Each piece contains a strip of five tickets.

To create the cover and back panel that the "tickets" will be attached to, I measure the size of the ticket journal when it is folded up, then add 1/8" all around so that the ticket journal will nestle snugly inside. The exposed side of each of the these cover pieces is faced with faux wood that I created using a 3D embossing folder. I love how it looks like real wood, yet is actually paper that has been embossed, painted and inked. On the interior faces of these pieces, I cut patterned paper to fit and ink around the edges. The first and last "ticket" will be attached onto these papers so I chose something that is appropriate for a background, yet adds interest.

My accordion will be secured by means of a ribbon that wraps around the outside and ties. This ribbon is kept in place by being thread through two eyelet holes in the back cover. The eyelets are set and piece of ribbon is pulled through before I adhere the last ticket to the back cover. When attaching this piece, I make sure to only adhere around the edges so that the ribbon is allowed to move freely.

Once I have prepared the covers, I set about creating the pages that will form the inside. The seasons are changing, the weather may be warm, but fall is in the air. I love the beautiful colors that nature presents to us in this time of change and decide to use this as inspiration for my color choices. I choose some favorite papers from my stash in coordinating patterns, as well as some collage tissue, solid pieces and possible embellishments. The papers are cut to fit each ticket face. This step requires a bit of planning as I want each page to work well with the one it is adjacent to, yet retain its own individual presence with in the accordion. It helps to visualize the interaction of sides by folding the accordion during this planning stage.

When considering interior pages, I decide to incorporate some pieces from the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts honeycomb and bees small set. I think the pieces will complement the paper patterns really well. I cut some areas of the honeycomb apart to fit how I envision them on the tickets. Each of the pieces is coated with vintage beeswax embossing powder. My accordion uses one and a half GSLC ticket journal pieces, the remaining tickets can be set aside for another project. The tickets that will be secured to the covers are coated in gesso, allowed to dry and then collaged with vintage collage medium and floral collage tissue. I also create a couple extra tickets in this same manner to be used throughout.

Before adhering any of the paper pieces, I attach strips of linen binding tape to each external (mountain) fold. This will reinforce the folded edge, which will help prevent tearing. The strips are inked with distress ink so they blend into the design. All of the internal (valley) folds are covered with pieces of coordinating design tape. Since these are the inside edges of the reinforced folds, it is really more for decorative purpose. Most often when I begin to assemble the pieces, I tend to re-arrange a bit, since I have some extra pieces, it is easy to make adjustments to backgrounds. I attach the papers to the ticket bases with double sided adhesive tape. Some of the collage pieces are attached with collage medium. The front cover is attached along with all of the interior pieces; I wait to attach the back cover until the inside pages are complete. This way the ribbon does not get in the way or covered with glue. I color the seam binding ribbon with distress oxide inks to coordinate.

The final step in creating the accordion is embellishing each of the pages. I apologize for the lack of process photos during the assembly, I seem to have gotten caught up in the arrangement of pieces.

 Following are close ups of the finished pages with some description for materials:

The cover contains a quote token that has been colored with alcohol inks and edged with burnt copper leaves embossing powder. Distress crayon is rubbed into the text impressions.

The collage paper covered ticket is attached to the inside of the cover and a few metallic quote stickers are added. The adjacent page is a layering of die cut papers, the central portion cut from worn wallpaper and adorned with a few simple stitches and a rub-on "wish".

Next are a couple of my favorite pages, the inspirational piece (the stamped sentiment on a tea bag) is flanked by two lengths of inked lace trim and another metallic quote sticker. The honeycomb piece is coated with vintage beeswax embossing powder and attached to the stamped paper background. Some of the cells are filled with beeswax embossing powder and melted, remnant rub words complete this page.

Flowers are die cut from text pages and colored with distress ink, then coated with vintage beeswax embossing powder. These are tied together into a bouquet with craft thread and attached to the center of the framed ticket. On the right, a reminder to be true to yourself. It is not always easy to rise above the general flow, but it is what makes each of us important as individuals. The background paper is inked and stencilled. Golden highlights are added around the quote stickers. A hinged ticket reveals the words "be true."

Always seek wisdom, it helps us to learn and grow. The word SEEK is die cut from the base paper revealing colored paper below. Another piece of beeswax-embossed honeycomb contains open cells which include positive thoughts. The embossed bee is from the GSLC set. Another collage paper covered ticket is attached inside the back cover and contains one of my favorite sayings.

Turning the accordion over to reveal the back sides of the interior pages:

A single stem from the bouquet is attached to the ticket with the words "listen to your heart."

A framed piece of worn wallpaper displays a shadowed "love" die cut and a small ticket with a mirrored heart and clippings sticker. When we let our hearts guide us, we are destined for good.

One of the additional collage paper covered tickets is located in the center of the accordion, with a metallic quote sticker. Some craft thread with glass beads creates a page holder.  A collage frame leaves some open space to include future thoughts.

Four brads secure the band which holds tickets made of the various papers used to create the pages. These will be used to include positive thoughts and memorable sayings or events. The last ticket page is simply a beautiful layered composition.

I really enjoyed creating this affirmation accordion with the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts ATC ticket journal pieces. I hope that you are inspired to create something beautiful. Thank you so much for taking the time to visit today. 

A little kindness can make a world of difference.

~Ann 

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts used:
ATC ticket journal
honeycomb and bees small

Halloween ATC Ticket Journal

Hello everyone, my turn to show a fun project for the awesome Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts!
At this time of year I am all about Halloween.
Well, most of the year I am all about Halloween, but this time of year is full throttle and I transform into a Halloween locomotive, whistle blowing cheerfully and whooshing along.
Today, I've got a little Alice inspired ATC Ticket Journal to show you.
I really like this fun little thing. It's like an accordion book and I do love making books.

Here we go....
I started out with the ATC Ticket Journal.

I cut ten 2x3 inch pieces of scrapbook paper in colors I like and made a little template on graph paper from the curve on the corners of the Ticket Journal, traced them on to my scrapbook paper, cut them out and set them aside.

 I reinforced the fold lines of the Journal with linen hinging tape (you don't have to do this if you choose not to) and painted the whole thing front and back, black.

I glued my papers on the Journal, being mindful about making sure they are centered.

Working on the 'back' of the piece first, I cut a strip of ribbon about 18 inches, drew a bead of glue across the center of the end panel (on the left.... that folds naturally so that it is on top when the journal is completely folded).

I centered the ribbon, so that an equal length is on both sides and glued it down, let it dry a bit and then glued down my chosen image on top of it.

I continued gluing down my images on each panel of the back side......

I kept the design simple and clean, let it dry and started working on the front panels,
repeating the process of gluing the images on to each panel, but I added more detail, like strips of pattern and Dresden trim before attaching the actual images on top.
You can see some of the layering in these detail shots.....

And of course, after everything was dry, I went back and added dots for a bit more detail!

SUPPLIES:
ATC Ticket Journal

Graphic 45 Halloween In Wonderland
Bo Bunny Double Dot Vintage Paper in Orange Citrus, Shadow and Bright Green.
Dresden Black Zig Zag Trim (you can get it HERE)
Sharpie White Poster Paint Marker
Black Acrylic paint
Ribbon
Linen Hinging Tape

Thank you for stopping by!

 

Double, double toil and trouble

Hi Everyone,
 Jess here today with an award for the best witch.

Start by embossing your Small Swirl Medallion using Oil Rubbed Bronze embossing powder from Emerald Creek.

For the base of the ribbon I took a bright green ribbon and sprayed it with Distress Spray stain in Picket Fence to give it a good base coat.  Once the Stain was dry I used various stains and paints to get the color I wanted.  This is the center of the ribbon that I popped off, but you can see the base colors.  

Assemble your Tiny Shadowbox House.  I always paint and paper my house before gluing it together.  I painted all of the edges black and stippled on gold, bronze, and green paint.  The inside of the house has patterned paper that I inked up a bit.  

The roof of the house was made using a 3d impresslit and some gold paper.  Once the paper was embossed I colored it using alcohol inks. 

I added a teeny bit of moss to the floor. 

To make the ribbon tails I used muslin. 

Using archival inks I stamped the muslin and added color using spray stains.  The edges got a bit of Distress Crayon and metallic paint.  Once they were dry I just glued them to the back of the ribbon. 

Glue the Small Swirl Medallion to the center of the ribbon.   Then glue the Tiny Shadowbox House to the center of the medallion.  

Your ribbon is finished and ready to wear.  

Happy crafting,

Jess

Give Thanks Greeting Card

Hello there friends and crafty peeps! Ginny here dropping in to share a card I created for the first day of my series of revisit and remake. I'm taking some of my favorite designs from the past and giving them a major upgrade by including gorgeous chippies from GSL and some of my new fave paper collections and embellishments.

 For this card I'm using the Floral Lace Panel which is like the biggest and best doily, and the Faux Metal Number Plate which is so vintagy!!!!

The Panel reminds me of tatted lace. You know the ones you have to starch and pin to set the design in place? It's very country....yet very chic!

Since it's a county inspired look I'm going for I added very casual flowers with twine and a plaid bow. What's more country than plaid????

Actual vintage buttons are just the right accent here. I picked up a great supply of them at the antique warehouse market last weekend.

More flowers here with some bronzy colored keys and clip finish off this card with old fashioned charm.

I chose the chippies I wanted to use for this project then wiped them down to prepare them for altering.

I finished the  Floral Lace Panel and label with flat white acrylic paint.

I adhered the number plate to the label  then added coordinating brads for a nice finished look.

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Supplies~ Floral Lace Panel, Faux Metal Number Plate, Punch Elements Deco

Wishing everyone a happy and productive day : ) Ginny

Victorian Superstitions Shadowbox

Happy Saturday, everyone! The GSL Deco Front Shadowbox was just calling out to me to be lined in red and turned into something mysterious. After doing a little bit of research on Victorian era superstitions, I knew what I was going to do with it...

The shadowbox come in 6 pieces and is easy to assemble. After painting the ornate frame and exterior surfaces with black acrylic paint, I cut some Paper Studio red vellum paper to fit the box's interior surfaces. After outlining the joints in red sharpie (just to make sure the seams wouldn't show), I glued the paper in place. 

The box was assembled using tacky glue. I held everything together with rubber bands while the glue dried. 

The labels were printed onto a parchment colored sheet of Tim Holtz Idea-ology paper, then cut to size and distressed with a Ranger Ink pad in Vintage Photo. 

The mourning pendant was made from a snippet of doll's hair held in place with a ribbon, a small metal tin with a clear lid and a scrap of pretty scrapbook paper.

The bat is one of GSL's Creepy Critters that I painted with black acrylic paint. The eyes are bits from the inside of a glow in the dark garden stake that I took apart. These little things glow super bright! You could also use a dot of glow in the dark paint instead.

Here is a close up of the interior. The vapours are just a tiny bit of wool roving inside a glass bottle. The 'corpse eye coins' are video arcade tokens. The frog is a toy plastic one and the iron nails came from my husband's toolbox. 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Gypsy Soul Items Used

Deco Front Shadowbox

Creepy Critters

Other Items Used

Tacky glue

Acrylic paint

Red Sharpie marker

Paper Studio red vellum paper

Tim Holtz Idea-ology paper

Glow in the dark bits

Metal tin

Ribbon

Doll hair

Miniature glass bottle

Roving

Arcade coins

Toy frog

Iron nails