WOYWW

WOO HOO!!!  Time for another weekly snoop around the globe!!  Start the snoop at the queen of desks, Julia!  She has all the info!

I want to thank you all so much for following me!  I am trying to get more prizes to giveaway and sponsors like followers.  So thank you so much!  I have a prize for next week and another prize lined up too!  I love giveaways!!  

My desk...

Blurry background for some reason, but no matter!  You can see I am preparing to ink up some of my stamps I got last week, and you can see all of my "holders".  My white "holder" has scissors and paint brushes.  My black spinning "holder" has more pens and things in it.  My badge is on the blue paper for all to see!

Thanks so much for visiting!  I will be at your desk soon!

PRETTY BOXES

I got these boxes at the Melissa Frances booth while shopping at a scrapbook convention.  I am a long time lover of her products and I think I own everything she makes!  These nesting boxes were already primed white.  I added many papers, diecuts and tags (all from Melissa Frances) and flowers, pearls and lace.

I was careful to make sure the flowers made a delicate trail all the way down the boxes.  Some buttons, pearls and ribbon were tucked in too.  Thin metal spirals and tiny butterflies finished the tower off.

This view shows the boxes separated.  Now you can see the trims I used around the boxes and the beautiful diecuts and gauze.  I could decorate these boxes all day!

How would you decorate these boxes?

Have an awesome day!!

WOYWW

Welcome to my desk!  I'm so glad you are here!!  Please visit our founder, Julia, to get the 411!

I had to go out yesterday, to run an errand with my husband.  While we were out, I stopped at the craft store.  We have NO craft stores around here and it seems no crafty people either!  I hear all of you going to crops and I am so jealous!  Anyway, after the 35 minute ride I figured I should at least get to do some shopping!  They were almost giving away stamps!  For $30 I got 18 stamp sets and 11 wood stamps! ?WHAT?

Just a sampling for you to see.  I couldn't fit everything in the picture!  But my badge is placed right on top for you to see.

I can't wait to see what's on your desk!  Thank you so much for visiting me!!  I already have a giveaway planned for the month of April, so keep becoming friends of my blog+

NOT ALL ALTERED BOOKS HAVE TO START AS "BOOKS"...

We are enjoying Altered Book Month at the Altered Arts Magazine Blog!  So many wonderful ideas and tutorials.  I hope you've visited us!

I am showing a journal I made with sponsor products, back in September.  This is an empty book that is just a book.  Wonderfully empty pages inside!  Just waiting for something to be written on them.  But books like this don't have to stay plain.  Altering the cover is a fun way to make a plain book your own.

SUPPLIES:

• Kunst & Papier Journal
• 7 Gypsies Collage Tissue
• Prima Marketing Flowers and Ink
• Canvas Corp. Tag and Rope

Gather your supplies.....

Take out just one piece of the collage tissue.  The sheets are super big and there are a lot in the pack.  Get your gel medium and a paintbrush.  Paint a thin layer of gel medium on the journal and place the tissue on top.  You can also collage the tissue onto the cover.  Either way it's a fabulous look.

After it is dry, rub the ink all over the tissue.

The ink is a subtle way of brightening the journal up.  The collage tissue is called "Life" and I circled all the "Life" words on it.  I also circled a few other words.  I added some gauze to the lower center of the journal and a piece of rope.  Then I placed the canvas tag on top, some corrugated cardboard and a little tag.  I glued the other piece of rope to the back.  Some gauze and flowers on the left, and a few paperclips on the right were the finishing touches.  I use this as a handwriting journal.

So, is this an altered book. or is it just a decorated book?  Is it good the way it was or did you hear it asking for a make over too?  

Keep visiting the Altered Arts Magazine Blog.  There are lots more Altered Book posts to come!!

WOYWW ~ WINNER

Welcome to my desk!  What a mess it is.  Many works in progress this week!

Wondering why I'm showing you my desk?  Click HERE to get to Julia's blog.  She is the Queen of the desks!

All sorts of stuff here.  Wood bits and scissors.  "Sprinkles" and pearls.  Ink, stamps and ribbons.  Some other stuff and pretty buttons.  A total mess. Believe it or not, my WOYWW Badge in there somewhere!  I don't see it though.

Finally, the winner of my giveaway, chosen by Randomizer.org is....

Krisha of Krishas Keepsakes!!!

Thanks to all who visited!  There will be another giveaway next month!  If you are new here please become a friend of my blog.  The more followers, the more prizes!  Last week, I got 10 new friends!

SPLASH INK DOODLE

I love to doodle.  And I love to tangle.  This project is definitely a doodle, but might be a tangle?  I'm calling it a deconstructed tangle, with color!

SUPPLIES:

• Niji Splash Ink
• Niji Waterbrushes
• Yasutomo Gel Xtreme Markers
• Watercolor Paper 140lb.

I got my supplies ready.  In addition to the inks, paper and markers, I got my Splash recipe card and some pots to put the ink in.

I filled a mister with a nice subtle green from the portrait section of  recipes.  I sprayed the ink all over the paper.  I love this!!  Look at the depth of color you get.  the light areas into darker, with some white spaces still there.  Let this dry.  Keep adding color until you are satisfied.

I love this part, mixing colors to get the most perfect, true shades.  A little ink, maybe a little water added with a medicine dropper, mix it up and you have magic!!

I doodled these ribbons?, squigglies?, S shapes?, with the Splash and just kept adding them.  When I felt I had enough of them I outlined them with my white Gel Xtreme marker and added dots and circles.  In the center, I wrote my word for the year, which is "Simplify".

Once again, my finished piece.  

What kind of deconstructed tangles can you make with Splash Ink?  I'd love to see them!  Visit us at the Niji/Yasutomo Blog and tell us where we can find you!

WOYWW AND A GIVEAWAY!!

Hello deskers!!  Welcome to another WOYWW!

Very short and sweet today.  Huge time crunch!

Here is my desk.

My Splash inks, scissors,cup of soapy water, brushes, pots of Splash and my badge.  The project I made  will be up on Thursday, so come back to visit!!

NOW THE PRIZE!!

A gift pack from Fancy Pants Designs.  It has several cardboard stencils, some buttons, clips, stickers, tags, envelopes and frames!  SWEET!!

Just become a follower (so I can get more prizes) and leave me a comment.  I ship internationally! Please be sure there is a way to contact you.  I have been getting a visitor that I can't get to visit because their blog won't allow access.  If you have no blog, and are visiting from Facebook, leave me a comment there. The blog posts automatically go to my Facebook page!

Good luck!  I will post the winner next WOYWW

ALTERING ART JOURNALS~

Altered Book month is just getting started!!  I'm Sharing one of my Art Journals today.  Nothing finer than a row of Art Journals, all finished.  Except maybe a new Art Journal, waiting for your next good prompt!

The journal I'm sharing is from 2010.  It has been my everything Art Journal, made from an old encyclopedia.  

I covered it with sticky paper that you would normally use with your die-cutting machine.  I used gaffers tape where the papers met, and inside on the outter edge of my pages.

So many pages.  So many thoughts!  So many colors and techniques.

Some are just black and white, others have colors and wiggly lines.

And then, there are the pages that hide my secrets.

Until it is so full, it doesn't close anymore!

Which is why you have to remove some of the pages from the book before you begin preparing your pages.  Bound books have long pieces of paper with 2 different pages on it.  It goes from front to back, like a composition notebook.  I remember being in school and trying to rip out a page from a composition notebook, only to have a page in the back fall out.  Of course, I was 6.  So when removing the pages, you need to hold a ruler close to the inside of the page and rip them out that way.  The ruler will keep the binding intact, while leaving you with room to create!  I removed a lot of pages from this poor, unloved encyclopedia from 1980 :(  It was at the Junque Store all by it's self.  The letter "E".  No other volumes were there.  

After I removed the pages (and saved them to use in other projects) I glued 5 pages to each other with a glue stick.  Then I primed them with gesso and used the gaffers tape on the outside edge.  Ready to be used at any time!

Many more Altered Book posts still to come!  You won't want to miss any of them!