Recently my sister-in-law had a serious surgery. Luckily she's home and recovering, but stuck in bed, in pain and bored...boy, do I know what that's like! My answer to that situation is scrap-therapy. That's what I do...I find the act of creativity often helps to get my mind off of the pain. So I decided to make her an art-journal that she could use to create in! I decided to make one for myself too so we could work on the project of filling up our art-journals together!
I took two hardback books and I covered the outsides with 12x12 patterned paper from the Maggie Holmes Bloom collection. I thought the collection would be perfect for this surprise for Jen. It's totally her style with it's vintage, cute vibe! I layered flowers on the front covers of the books along with a different transparency word for each book, and a vintage button. I also added a cute denim and lace ribbon, tied in a bow as a finishing detail that would help hide the edge of the pattern paper covering the books.
I covered the inside covers of the books with patterned paper too. On the left of the inside cover, I adhered a Maggie Holmes library pocket from the Confetti collection and I filled the pockets in each book with tons of cute tags and things. On the front of the pockets, I added a little layered and stitched heart that would pop up and allow for some nice dimension.
For each book, I painted some of the pages with white gesso and tan paint to create some backgrounds for art journaling. I also created a pocket out of one of the inner pages in both books and decorated and filled them with goodies.
I love the finished books and when I surprised Jen with hers and said we could work on filling them up together, she was so excited! I love my sister and I'm so happy that I made her something that she enjoys and that might help her (even in a small way) while she is on the mend! Hope I inspired you to make an altered art-journal for you and/or someone you love!
Maggie Holmes Bloom Ephemera Pack (680434), Maggie Holmes Bloom Sticker Accents (680435), Maggie Holmes Bloom Foiled Clear Stickers (680443), Maggie Holmes Bloom Emily Paper (680411), Maggie Holmes Bloom Blissful Paper (680424), Maggie Holmes Bloom Adore Paper (680410), Maggie Holmes Bloom Delighted Paper (680424), Maggie Holmes Bloom Flourish Paper (680414), Maggie Holmes Bloom Garden Party Paper (680406), Wonder Brave Paper (680218), Wonder Foiled Transparency Cut-apart Sheet (680220), Maggie Holmes Confetti Festival Paper (683685), Maggie Holmes Confetti Library Pockets (683712)