Become...

Hello,

Welcome on this sunny day, the summer has come out to play. Monday morning means time for the new theme over at Simon Says Stamp & Show. We say show us a word...and mine is 'Become' - a journey towards the real me. After a few intense inky weeks I really felt the need to return to paper and scissors so I created a Personal Inspiration Journal from envelopes and design papers full of pockets, tags and journalling cards stamped with heartfelt sentiments. 

'I used Wendy Vecchi's Art Parts dress form and leaves and stamps from A Form of Art and Celestial Art .  I cut chipboard covers, all sanded and edged with Rusty Hinge and the whole journal is covered and lined with a myriad of papers from Glitz and K&Company. Dive into those papers and dare to snip, I say.

Here is a side view without the tags to show you the book construction and all the pages and flaps formed by folding the envelopes. Colour, patterns and distressing galore.

I over-stamped the dress form with just the word Become from the full sentiment which fits just perfectly! The Art Parts have been inked up with Distress Inks, stamped and then sealed with Matt Medium. It's funny how a headless form can still portray many thoughts...and those gentle curves give her that subtle feminine je ne sais pas... I also added a ribbon and a small scallop piece painted and distressed with Claudine Hellmuth paints for that pop of blue.

There is something very satisfying and cathartic about making a book from scratch. I like seeing it evolve and love the feel of it getting heavier and stronger in your hands. Here you can see a pocket underneath the flap, a mini pocket and the tag pocket on the left. I went for six envelopes which soon bulks out providing plenty of journalling and photo surfaces.

The journalling cards slide into the right-hand pockets and are stamped with fabulous sentiments and stars from various Wendy Vecchi sets.

Here are the tags which echo the papers used to line the book, some of which are stamped too. Vintage dots and florals liking each others company! Everything is edged with Rusty Hinge which gives it all a welcome lift.

So there you have it. A journal ready to be filled with my thoughts and musings in life! Become was my word...what's yours? Hop over to the blog to see the other great creations by the Design Team. We're looking for three new top designs and there's also a $50 prize spree!

Thanks for visiting me - it's great to hear from you. If you have any thoughts or questions do let me know. For now, I'm signing off...over and out...

Sarah