Spring: A Time of Renewal and Re-organization...

Hello PEEPS!  Today I am sharing with you some of my thoughts on Spring!!  What is it about Spring that makes us want to CLEAN Everything?!  Is it the renewal of life making us want everything bright and new again?  Or (more likely for me) is it all that lovely bright sunshine streaming through the winter-dirty windows lighting up all the dust and cobwebs in the corners of my rooms?  Whatever it is Spring is a time of year when I am filled with a huge energy and desire to clean and re-organize EVERYTHING... Which brings me to this lovely little project that I created for my next-to-last post for the Susank K. Weckesser design team, It's a book for all my small stencils which I made from two 10"x10" pieces of cardboard and two binder rings.

Here's the front cover: I mod podged a few torn pages from an old book onto the cardboard, sprayed it with my Dylusions sprays and cut and pasted from Susan K. Weckesser's Live in Color paper line and her digital stamp version of "Purpose of ART" stamp set ...Which is NOW availabe in the UK at Polka Doodles (which I just ordered!)

As always, I popped a few of the elements for interest, doodled in my title and around a few other elements as the mood struck me, and then I accented everything with stickles and liquid pearl...

Here's the back:  I used up some old chipboard shapes that I have had lying around forever.  I'ts amazing how something changes when you cover it with gesso and paint it in the colors you want it to be, I Love gesso.

I created the stems for these flowers using a bright green hemp cord from May Arts that I have been saving for something really special, I also punched holes into the top bottom of my front cover and threaded the green cord through... I just love the texture it created and I cannot stop touching it (grin).

Here are the front and back covers all layed out... I didn't really have a plan for this book, I just let it evolve and take me where it would.  I am discovering that when I take all the pressure off myself to "make it perfect" how perfectly something will evolve.  And because this was only a cardboard book for my stencils there was no pressure or need to "be perfect" at all and just look at how fantastic it is...Grin.

After the covers were completed and dry I punched in holes using my Crop-a-Dial and I used some old 8"x8" plastic page sleeves from an old scrapbook album to slide stencils into (I can fit four to a sleeve) but then I ran out of 8x8 sleeves...

So then I punched holes right into the side of the plastic ziplock bags that other of my stencils came in, putting two in each bag and "voila"... all my small stencils are now in one place (happy Grin). Note: the inside cover of my book was created by mod podging my inky paper towels (used to blot when I spray) to the inside cover... cool huh?

Another tip, collect up all the supplies you think you want to use and then just use them... don't think about it, just DO IT, you never know what will happen!

So now I feel just so organized that I think I need to make another of these books for my large stencils using 12x12 cardboard and 12x12 scrapbook page sleeves... what do you think?
Thanks for popping by today to see what I am up to, and PLEASE leave me a comment if you are liking what you see, especially if this post leads you to make one of these books too! (smile)

Susan K. Weckesser Design Team Member
Scrapbook Lynne Mizera

PS:  Inspiration for this project was provided by Kelly S. and her video link that was posted to facebook in April (and who I am now following on YOU Tube - she's AWESOME!)
See Kelly's Video HERE:

Products used to create this Project:
Susan K. Weckesser's Live in Color paper line
Susan K. Weckesser "Purpose of ART" digital stamp
May Arts Fiber
Ranger's Stickles & Liquid Pearls
Plaid Mod Podge for Paper
CTMH Liquid Glass
Golden Fluid Acrylic Paint
Golden Gesso
Zig Black Vellum Liner
Sharpies