Andy Skinner book of secrets 'feminine' version

Okay, not exactly 'girly' but I made this version of the book of secrets using swirls and a butterfly as an alternative to the original version with cogs which had an industrial feel. I have aimed to achieve the look of aged copper patina (its difficult to get a true reflection of the colour here). I'm pretty happy with it. So I now have a pair of these boxes. What I think I will do with them is make 2 mini books to fit the drawers. These mini books will contain old family photos and identify the different people, who they are, perhaps basic info like their date of birth, occupation etc. I'm going to use the original box for the men and the new 'feminine' box for the ladies. That's the idea in my head anyway. We will see what happens. :-)

Butterfly birthday cards

I made these cards for a couple of February birthdays. The stamps are by Indigo Blu - (Wild Meadow and Aloysius - Happy Birthday) and they are coloured using distress inks. I usually just swipe my pads on my craft mat, spritz with water and use a paintbrush, love that technique, so simple.

Felted notebook cover

Last post I talked about making a piece of felt using the techniques described by Moy Mackay in her fabulous book. This is what I turned the piece into - a notebook cover decorated with free machine embroidery and beading for Mum's birthday present. I used ribbon stitched to the back cover to make a tie closure. (The whole process, felting and making the book cover, was done the same day as despite being quite thick the felt dried quickly on a radiator). 

 

 

Detail of the machine embroidery and beading

 

Moy's method starts with a base layer of white fibres and I loved the look and feel of the reverse so much that I decided not to back the felt on anything so you can see the stitching.

 

 

For the notebook pages I cut some cartridge paper to size, folded it and pierced holes through and then stitched the pages in.