Sneak Peek: Spellbinders™ Summer Spectacular Day Eight!!

I am so excited to be a part of the Sneak Peek: Spellbinders™ Summer Spectacular Blog Frenzy! The die reveals and artworks have been amazing, and I am always so inspired with creative energy whenever Spellbinders has Blog Frenzy.

I have created something a little different for you today. I knew I'd be wrapping up the week, and wanted to leave you with a way to take your paper crafting to a new level.  So, I created this altered book home décor piece for you.

Books are a passion of mine. I read them, store them, collect them, and yes, even love the smell of their old musty pages.  Creating a piece of art, out of a recycled book, really fascinates me, and I have always wanted to try it.

I must admit the thought of tearing up or carving into a book sounds almost sinful to me.....but then I found that my local library has a book sale of all the old, damaged, and worn out books. There might be coloring or writing in them, water stains or missing pages....now these are perfect for art projects! And that is how this project idea came to fruition.

Spellbinders Supply List:

• Spellbinders™ Grand Calibur® Machine

• S5-118 Spellbinders Venetian Accents MSRP $29.99

• S5-119 Spellbinders Venetian Motifs MSRP $29.99

• Spellbinders Premium Craft Foil - Silver

• S5-090 Romantic Rectangles

Cross Promotional Supply List:

• Tattered Angels ~ Patina Glimmer Mist; Stilletto, Tide Pool and Chandelier Glimmer Glam.

• Want2Scrap – Nina Bracket

• Bo Bunny - Enchanted Patterned Paper

• WorldWin Papers – black and teal cardstock

• Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L - 3D Foam Squares

Other Supply List:

• Metal Ruler

• Sparkle Mod Podge

• Old Book

• Box Cutters, Craft Knife

I am featuring the brand new Spellbinders Paper Arts

Venetian Accents and Venetian Motifs today!

They are so beautiful and I just adore all the details.

S5-118 Venetian Accents

• MSRP US$29.99
• Approximate Die Templates Sizes:
• Border: 9 x 1 1/8”
• Corner: 1 5/8 x 1 5/8”
• Square Accent: 1 3/8 1 3/8”
• Oblong Accent: 2 ¾ x 1 1/8”
• Mask: 3 x 2”

S5-119 Venetian Motifs

• MSRP US$29.99
• Approximate Die Templates Sizes:
• Circle: 7/8”
• Accent LG: 1 ¾ x 1 3/8”
• Accent SM: 7/8 x 1 3/8”
• Flourish: 2 x 2 5/8”
• Long Accent: 2 ½ x 7/8”
• Motif LG: 3 ¼ x 3 ¾”

 ~ INSTRUCTIONS ~

To Glue Your Book Pages:

Begin by sectioning off your book. Flip through the first few pages and open your book. Wrap the cover and those pages in a large Ziploc bag to keep them protected. Close your book and adjust the pages so that they are lined up vertically. Paint Sparkle Mod Podge on the pages you want to seal, using a foam brush. Saturate the edges of the pages so they will hold together firmly when dry. Wipe off any excess Mod Podge. Place a heavy object on your book, (I used my coffee maker) and allow to dry about an hour.  

Carving Your Book:

Use a metal edge ruler and a pen to mark where you want to cut into your book. Don't worry about the pen marks showing at this point. A small hole should be drilled in each corner using a hand drill. (My hubby made quick work of this for me using a small drill bit). This prevents you from having to cut perfect corners with a box cutter!

Use a box cutter to cut through several book pages at once. Always use the metal edge ruler each time you cut, and make sure to apply even pressure with the blade cutting straight down. (Cutting at an angle with create very jagged pages that taper down.)  Continue to cut down through the book leaving about a ¼" of pages.  I used a craft knife to cut out one of the front pages from the book, and cut/embossed a window out of it using Romantic Rectangles. I adhered this to top layer in my book to cover the pen marks and create a more finished look.

Glimmer Misting and Painting Your Book:

I traced the front and back book covers onto patterned paper, and trimmed to size.  Then I painted several coats of Stilleto Glimmer Glam on the spine of the book, and allowed it to dry. I adhered the patterned paper to the covers.

I used Patina Glimmer Mist on the front cover and inside pages. The pages on the left side of the book were adhered together and a stick pin was inserted into the top. I adhered bling on each side of the open book.

A manilla shipping tag was used as a template to trace and create a patterned paper tag. I painted Tide Pool Glimmer Glam on the tag, and allowed it to dry. You can use several coats to deepend the color. A fan brush works fabulously to pick up the extra glitter in the bottle. I like to air dry this paint, as heating with a heat tool will cause it to bubble.

Adding Venetian Accents & Venetian Motifs die cuts:

I cut/embossed the medallion out of black cardstock and silver craft foil, layered them, but off-set them slightly to create dimension.  Wax paper was placed in between the foil and the die template to help the die cut release quickly from the die template.

I also cut and embossed the border out of black cardstock and silver premium craft foil. These were layers and adhered along the front of the book cover.  

I cut and embossed the mask out of teal cardstock, then painted it with Chandelier Glimmer Glam. Once it was dry, I bent it slightly with my fingers to create a 3D mask. These were adhered to the book cover as well.

The medallion was cut/embossed out of silver craft foil in the Grand Calibur® machine, and the embellishments were added to the center, and backed with black cardstock.

The mask and swirl were cut/embossed out of black cardstock and painted with chandelier glimmer glam as well, then adhered to the top and bottom of the carved space.

I hope I've inspired you to see your Spellbinders™ die templates in a whole new way.  The variations on this book art are limitless when you change the theme & die templates.

I wanted to share a second project I created....my Paris Card.

The swirl in the Venetian Accents and Venetian Motifs is just breath taking, and I really wanted to show it off on this card.

The Venetian Accents and Venetian Motifs are perfect to use in elaborate and simpler projects alike!

The Sneak Peek: Spellbinders™ Summer Spectacular! Begins on June 21^st and will end on June 28^th, 2012. It consists of 24 individual prizes and one grand prize drawing. Enter the Sneak Peek: Spellbinders™ Summer Spectacular! by visiting the participating blogs each day.

At the end of each blog post, click on the "Enter HERE" to open the entry form. You may only enter once from each blog each day.

Spellbinders™ will randomly draw one winner from each participating blog to receive that blog’s newly revealed dies. The Grand Prize Winner will be randomly drawn from the pool of entrants who sent entry forms from each and every participating blog during the 48 hours each blog was open. For the full list of official rules please click RULES.

**Enter the contest by clicking HERE**

Please be sure to visit

 Heidi Blankenship and Christine Emberson

 and take a peek at their wonderful projects as well!

Questions? ContestQuestion@Spellbinders.us No entries will be accepted at this email address.