Altered Composition Notebook

Can you believe that this notebook once looked like this...?

I'm going to walk you through my process step by step. Are you ready!?! Be prepared for lots of pictures!

I started by putting Duct Tape over the entire cover of the notebook. I even partially covered the inside with tape. Then I used my hot glue gun to put little beads of glue on the tape. 

Once I was done putting beads of glue where I wanted them I took as much of the little fly aways you get when using hot glue off. Then I used my heat tool to take care of the rest. 

Be careful not to leave your heat tool pointed in one spot too long. It could bubble and burn the tape. 

Next I put a layer of Gesso on the outside cover and let it dry. (You can speed up the drying process a little by using your heat tool) After it was dry I put another layer on and let it dry.

I used a foam brush to paint the Gesso on so I couldn't see brush strokes. 

While the Gesso was drying I printed off this little Steam Punk My Bestie. 

Isn't she the cutest!?! These Besties are my new favorite thing! I used the Print and Cut feature on my Cricut Explore to cut her out. I seriously love that function! 

I colored her skin with watercolor pencils and the rest of her with my Spectrum Noir markers.

Jumping back to the notebook cover...when the second layer of Gesso was dry I decided I wanted to add a little a little more texture to it. I did this by placing a stencil on the cover and spreading Matte Gel over the stencil with a gift card. Then carefully lifted the stencil off the cover. 

More drying time...

So while that was drying I created a tag for My Bestie. 

I also added texture to the tag using the same process as above except this time I used my heat tool to speed up the drying. The Matte Gel dries clear. I used a tiny bit of copper paint to give the tag a little more color.

When the cover was dry I painted it copper and let it dry.

Next I sprayed it with Graphite colored Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. 

I let the Glitter Mist sit for about 10 minutes and then used my heat tool to help it set. I then carefully dabbed the cover with a paper towel soaking up any excess Mist. 

Voila!!! An ordinary cover turned into metal. 

I placed the tag on the cover using hot glue. I left chain on the back of the tag which lifted it up off the cover giving it dimension. The flowers are adhered with hot glue also. 

The gears and knobs are Tim Holtz embellishments that I purchased at Joann's. I painted the knobs copper and sprayed them with the Glimmer Mist before attaching them. All the metal embellishments are attached to the cover with E6000 Adhesive. That stuff is awesome!  

Here's the inside of the cover. The paper is from a DCWV pack called Tattered Time. 

I think this just might be my favorite project EVER! I will be using it to keep track of my craft to-do list, swaps and crafty challenges. 

Whew! You made it to the end!

Thank you for stopping by! Happy Crafting!

Supply list

My Bestie Digi Stamp

Duct Tape

Gesso

Matte Gel

Tim Holtz Stencil 

Copper Paint

Chain

Tim Holtz Gears and Knobs 

Hot Glue and Gun

Embossing Heat Tool

E6000

DCWV Card Stock

Flowers

Washi Tape

Spectrum Noir Markers

Stamping Up Watercolor Pencils

Graphite colored Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist

Challenges Entered 

Addicted To Stamps Challenge - Use a tag on your creation 

Scrapbook Stamp Society  - Anything Goes +option

The Crafting Cave  Anything Goes With Clear It Out Challenge #60

Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Crafting From The Heart - Challenge 41 Anything Goes 

Tuesday Taggers  - My Favorite Things (My Bestie Digi Stamps)

Party Time Tuesday #194 - Anything Goes 

My Besties Aussie Challenge - Tags, Bags and Boxes