Work in Progress

I have a friend who I used to work with when I was teaching in school and she now has a little girl who I love dearly.  Every school holiday the three of us go out for the day and I just love it.  Last week they went on holiday and the day after I got an envelope with the message on the back "just so you don't forget me whilst I am away" - it was from my little sweetheart (via her mum of course as she is only two).  As if I could.

Well, this new set of photographs would not go in my current album so I decided to set to and make a new album for her photographs.  Having just got The Cinch (thanks to Jayne) it was my first venture into ring binding and so I set to and made the cover.

Now you have to use your imagination here and pretend that there are ribbons and lace pieces decorating the spiral binding - which is not there!  Not there because I want to make all my pages and decorate them before adding the back cover and binding the whole lot.

The mountboard was covered with scrumpled paper which had been treated to a good old squirt or two with Sunshine, Popsicle and Waterslide Glimmer Mists.  Then I added Milled Lavender Crackle Paint to two opposite corners but it looked so white that I tried to cover most of it with Metallic Rub-Ons in Iris and Sky Blue.

Still looking a bit white I dyed some lace with the Glimmer Mists and stuck them on one side with Glossy Accents to cover up a little.  Then I sprayed some flowers and leaves with the two colours (Popsicle and Waterslide) and stuck them on.

Trying to be clever I used my Nestability 'Fleur de Lis Die' to make a square with Grungepaper.  I know, I know, everyone says it cannot be done.  After shimming and running it back and forth I gave up but there was sufficient "cutting" to allow me to go round with a craft knife and once I started I had to continue.

This was then coloured with Dabbers - Cool Peri and Purple Twilight - and finally a squirt of the two Glimmer Mists again.  Lettering done with a Spellbinders alphabet, a few rhinestones on my flowers which had been painted with Twinkling H2o's, and that was it.   Check out the little hearts that are dotted about.

So that is my front cover - as I said - imagine it with lots of ribbons and lace on the binding when it is finished.  Now to start on the pages which are going to make up my book.  Might be a "work in progress" for a few weeks yet but I will show it to you when it is complete.