More Falling for Faux

I can't believe that September is almost over! This month has gone flying by, faster than a speeding bullet! (Oh, that was my last post, lol.) My final September project is a gift for my good friend Melissa (stop reading Melissa!!), who is an enthusiastic knitter and makes the most wonderful things. I wanted to make her a little project keeper book. Here is the front:

Inside I made the pages out of envelopes so she can tuck patterns etc. into the pocket. Each page has a corresponding card to wrap samples of the yarn for the project around.

 

So, constructing the book. For the covers I thought of using the base tray of the Sizzix Pop 'n Cuts system without the insert. This gave me a nice rectangular shape and I just whacked the end off to make it the right length. To create the faux wood veneer look, I first used the marbled stains technique to create a base texture. This is pretty easy - just dab some Picket Fence stain on your craft sheet and then dab various brown colors around it. Swipe the cover through the stain until it is completely covered and then dry it. I also flicked water at it so the droplets would react with the stain and create a mottled look. Here is how it looked at this point:

 Next I stamped the wood grain on using Walnut Stain Distress Ink and embossed it with clear detail embossing powder. (Distress ink stays wet long enough that it can be used as an embossing ink.)

 I blended some Vintage Photo ink over everything to even out the tones a bit. As a final step, I brushed a thin layer of glossy Mod Podge over the whole thing to seal it and make it look like varnished wood. By embossing the grain stamp first though, it makes a grain texture that you can feel and really makes it pop visually. Here is the final look:

I also had some fun with Distress Paint to get the faux enamel graniteware look of the "m". I cut the letter out of chipboard and dabbed it with Mustard Seed and Wild Honey paint. I gave it a bit of spritzing with water so the colors would marble together. When it was almost dry, I used a toothbrush dipped into Picket Fence paint to flick white speckles onto it. A coating of Glossy Accents over the whole thing was the finishing touch to make it look enameled.

 The pages inside are pretty straight forward. The envelopes I hand cut to size and for the pink cards I used the Postage Stamp Frame. I was trying to think what I could do to the edges of the card to make it easy to keep yarn in place. Hmm, that scallop on the postage stamp would be perfect I thought! Conveniently, the width of the frame was exactly the height of my envelope pages. (I meant to do that, ha ha!) I cut the pages 4.5 inches wide to fit in between the crease lines and taped it in place so it wouldn't shift.

After cutting this part, I used the Brackets edge die to shape the leading edge. For binding I used my Bind-It-All machine but there are several different systems you could use with similar results.

There are two days left to enter the Inspiration Journal "Falling for Faux" challenge! You can have a chance to win $50 to spend at Inspiration Emporium (and your chances are good, there are only 10 entries so far!) Let's see what you can whip up.

Most of the supplies I've used on my project can be found at Inspiration Emporium. Follow the links below and use my code JUICE to save 10% if you go shopping.