Summerbound!

Morning! Howdy! Buenos Dias and Bonjour! Or... "Ugh. Monday." Just in case anyone is feeling delicate or chronologically challenged. This week Simon Says Stamp & Show is looking sunny with a Summer Holidays theme. I love inky fabrics as much as inky paper...

 so I thought I'd create a canvas cover for my Art journal and indulge in bright summery colours. Who knows what the summer will bring but with baby-day just a few weeks away, I'm sure there'll be something to write home about!

l came across this wonderful blog and tutorial and was inspired to create my own take on things... My journal is a different size to that in the tutorial so and I knew that 4 panels would be enough as I wanted to use canvas which is quite thick. As well as normal seam allowances, the outer piece basically needs to be long enough to wrap around your journal when closed, adding on an extra 4 inches at each end to create the 'cover holders'. I also allowed 4 extra inches in the width to allow me to sew the cut and sew the strips together.

Firstly I created my fabric Masterboard. I liberally misted my fabric with water to help the colour soak in. Sometimes I'll prime canvas with gesso, but this time I wanted that natural colour in the background. I used Wild Plum and Sunset Orange Color Wash with the flower template and stencil waste, blotted the excess (very lightly!) and heat set.

I added random patches of Lettuce and Stream for more contrast, dried and then used old pot lids to add the circles, using Gesso and more Color Wash. I dried it thoroughly and then heat set it all with my iron using an old towel to protect the surface (and hubby's shirts!)

I then cut it into four strips and swapped them around to mix up the design. Other wise it's too predictable and even. When happy I stitched them together and ironed open the seams to allow it to lie flatter. At this point I added some random zig-zag stitching with my machine.

I stamped random words with Peg Stamps using Monarch Orange Archival Ink. Then it was onto the inside piece which I also inked up but left as one piece and the rest of the sewing. I went for a simple tie fastening using Distress Stained lace, ribbon and string. I sewed them to the back and used a shabby Tim button to help hold them in place.

Here's a close-up of the inside flap. If you're not a sewing type maybe you can ink up your fabric and then ask a stitchy friend to help with the rest! Except for the random zig-zag bit - it's all straight stitch. Or why not just play around with the same idea on paper to create fun backgrounds?

Here's the back which is as yummy as the front  - I like the panelled look a lot and the variation in colours and pattern. I fancy making a really wild one now! By the way, when I'm working on preparing my journal pages, I do take my journal out of it's lovely home! I hope the inky splashes and colours will brighten up your day... What mood springs to mind when you think of summer holidays?

I really hope you'll join in with this weeks challenge, and possibly win this generous $50 prize! Hop over to the Design Team Blog to enjoy more fabulous summery love!

Have a really good week, thanks for being here and... until the next time! Sarah.