WORN COVERS TUTORIAL FOR COMPENDIUM OF CURIOSITIES III CHALLENGE

Hello everyone!  Welcome to the weekend!

It's time for our 13th challenge over at Studio L3's 

Compendium of Curiosities III Challenges.

Are YOU being curious? In my first Compendium of Curiosities book, Tim Holtz autographed it by saying "Be Curious!"  That always stuck with me. I have always been curious about how different mediums work with each other and how to construct different things.  Being curious leads to creativity and as my blog is titled, "Creativity Is Contagious!"

And since these challenges are for those of us who love Tim's techniques, his products and his ability to inspire all of us .... have you seen this beautifully done video of Tim sharing  his creative journey and what inspires him?  If not, you really need to check it out! THIS is the essence of Tim and it will make you fall in love with him all over again! It's a very candid interview where Tim allows people into his personal space to gain a better understanding and I think more appreciation for who he is and what motivates him.  I loved it!

Okay...back to the current challenge! This challenge is not a technique challenge although I'm sure there will be lots of techniques used in putting your project together.  Turn to page 35 in your Compendium of Curiosities III book and check out "Worn Covers".

I love these guys!  There are several different styles ranging from The Journaler (even comes with a special Christmas Wishes cover) , The Diary, The Chronicle and the one I chose to use for my project, The Composition. 

It is a 5" x 7" cover. There are also inexpensive pocket inserts that you can purchase to hold tags, photographs, memorabilia; all sorts of things.  Or, you can make your own interior pages and attach them with Tim's Ring Binders. That is what I plan to do with my little book...add some of my own art journaling pages with my own sketches and experimentation with water color.

This is my completed Composition Worn Cover book.  Each little book is like a blank canvas.  They are way cool without doing anything to the covers.  But, when you add your own personality to the cover, you really can create some great art. I think when you add all sorts of stuff to them, they are just begging to be picked up, opened and enjoyed.

I began with just the basic Composition Worn Cover.  I put together a collage of "stuff" from several of Tim's products: Found Relatives, a #8 manila tag, pieces of ephemera from Tim's Thrift Shop and Expedition Ephemera Packages, some Filmstrip Ribbon, a File Tab, "TOGETHER" from Tim's Framed Alpha Parts, an arrow Index Label, a Journal Ticket, a Mini Paper Clip, and a pretty die cut butterfly that I cannibalized from anther art project.  It has a small Tim Light Bulb on it.  

 

I started with the #8 Manila Tag that I had torn away the outside edge and distressed it using Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.  To that, I added another piece of manila cardstock that was torn on all edges, and colored using Wild Honey and Gathered Twigs Distress Inks.  I also did Tim's Spritz and Flick method on them and added Black Soot to the edges of everything. To add more interest, I stenciled Tim's Latticework design using my Broken China Distress Marker attached to Tim's Spritzer. Then I added a Chevron strip using Black Soot Distress Ink.  I glued the distressed design on top of the tag and added a layer of lace and trim from Tim's Naturals Trimming Set. For a little more interest, I added a Journal Ticket to hang over the edge of the Worn Cover.  I used the "1" from Tim's Rubons and put it on the back side of the ticket. Then I added some black machine stitching all around the edges.  I would add a few more embellishments later on, after I started laying out the cover and see where this design wanted to go.

I love Tim's Ephemera Packs.  I used some pieces out of Thrift Shop and also Expedition on this cover. I added some Peacock Distress Ink and a light spritz of Mint Perfect Pearls Mist to the map.  I added some Treasure Gold Silver Guilding Wax to the outside edge of the clock face (because most of my metal elements are silver).  Then I began to lay everything out.

 

I glued my distressed map piece in place in the upper left side of the cover. I would build the rest of the collage from this point.

Across the top of my Worn Cover, I added a piece of Tim's Industrious Border Stickers.  They are adhesive on the back but I also added a 1/8" strip of Scor Tape just to give it a double stick.  Then I laid down my clock face and the Filmstrip Ribbon.  The piece of Filmstrip Ribbon is glued in place using Glossy Accents.  It dries clear and is perfect for adding clear elements like the Filmstrip Ribbon. 

 

 

I began adding Ideaology elements to my collaged tag.  I cut out the sweet little brother and sister from Tim's Found Relatives and went around all of the cut edges with a Black Soot Distress Marker (to hide the white paper edges).  I added some Antique Linen over them to really give them a rich, antiqued appearance.  Then I secured some twine around the bottom of the tag and glued my brother and sister in place.  I added the "memoirs" File Tab at the top of the collaged tag, adding a piece of tied twine before I stuck it in place.  The "TOGETHER" Alpha Parts piece was glued onto a piece of cardstock that had been sprayed with Dylusions Calypso Teal Spray. On top of the black Alpha Parts, I added touches of Gold Paint Dabber.  Then I glued all of that on top of a piece of tattered vintage lace and glued it in place on my collaged tag.  Another little accent that I added at this time was the Mini Paperclip on the upper left of the collaged tag.  Funny how just little things like that add so much interest! 

Then I added the collaged tag to the Worn Cover front, using 1/4" Scor Tape.  Once my cover was in place, I decided to add the dimensional butterfly.  She adds that extra touch of femininity that I wanted to bring to this cover.  I also popped the arrow Index Label with a partial sentiment from Tim's Simple Sayings stamp set on it.  The original sentiment says "Enjoy the journey".  I didn't have enough room for all of it, but I liked "the journey". 

In the upper right corner of the Worn Cover, I added one of Tim's Faucet Knobs and dangled an "INSPIRE" Philosophy Tag from it using a Jump Ring.  Now, this tag was originally an antique gold.  But I wanted it a dirty silver.  So, I simply painted over the finish with a Silver Paint Dabber and heat set it.  Then I used the Pitch Black Paint Dabber to rub over the face of the tag. Before it dried, I wiped away almost all of the black paint but leaving it in the engraved "INSPIRE 3197".  The other small amount of black paint that I left on the face gave it a wonderful distressed look. Love it! I added the Faucet Knob with Glossy Accents.  I always love projects that have moving, interactive pieces on them.

 (This photograph is shot on the interior side of the Worn Cover book. This shows the Ring Binder being held in place on the spine with Tim's Naturals ribbon.)
 

Now it was time to add the Large Ring Binder to the interior.  The Ring Binders come with brads and if you want to just pop them in place, you can do that and you're done.  But, I wanted to create something a little more fun.  So, I used some of Tim's beautiful Naturals Trimmings ribbon to add my Ring Binder.

I simply started on the outside of the Worn Covers spine and pulled my ribbon through the bottom hole, including the bottom hole of the Ring Binder.  Then I pulled the ribbon up through the Ring Binder and pulled the ribbon through the holes at the top of the binder and the spine.  Once the ribbon was back on the outside of the spine, I simply tied it into a decorative knot, added another piece of the same ribbon and a piece of a different ribbon and tied knots. You could stop here but why do that?  Time to add more "stuff" and make the book even more interesting!!

I used a small Swivel Clasp as the base for my dangling charms.  It was connected within the knots and then I simply added the charms to the chain on the Swivel Clasp using small Jump Rings.  I used two Baubles at the top, then a silver Locket Key, a silver Buckle and a silver Word Stick at the bottom.  

I added some Broken China Distress Paint to the stick to emphasize the word that is engraved into it.  I wiped away the excess paint, leaving it only on the embedded "HOPE".  I decided to add one more metal piece at the very top of the dangling charms.  I used a Pen Nib but it didn't have a hole to make it a charm.  NO PROBLEM! 

I simply used my Tim Holtz Punch to "drill" a small hole and then I could easily add it to the knots with a small Jump Ring.  

It filled up that little bare spot perfectly!  Love it!  

For now, I am going to leave my interior of the book exactly how it comes.  It's already got that distressed look and once I start adding my art journal pages, I don't want them to compete with the insides of the book.

I did this book in no time and you can, too!  Then enter our challenge over at Compendium of Curiosities III.  Be sure to follow the few simple rules when writing your blog post and you'll be on your way to maybe being one of our TWO lucky winners!  

This challenge is being sponsored by the very generous folks at ...

Can you believe it?  A $50.00 gift certificate could be yours if you are chosen the winner of this challenge by the Curiosity Crew.  But that's not all ...

Tim and Mario, those gracious guys of gratitude and all things good, have also donated really REALLY REALLY nice prizes to be given at each challenge.  So, you have TWO chances to win!  

Be sure to check out all of the amazing projects created just to inspire you by the Curiosity Crew!  And THANK YOU for all of your continued support and wonderfully uplifting comments.  They mean the world to me!

GOOD LUCK!  I can't wait to see all of the beautiful Worn Covers that will be displayed over at Compendium of Curiosities III for everyone to enjoy!