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Friday 1 June 2018

Mini Album Makers - June Challenge

Hello Friends

The first of the month brings a new challenge over at Mini Album Makers.  It would be lovely if you could join us there, the rules are simple -

Any Handmade Book goes.  Enter any form of handmade mini album, scrapbook, journal or book art.  Our focus is on completed works, so no layouts or journal spreads that are not part of a complete handmade book project.  See here for full details.
I wanted to make a watercolour notebook in a handy size to carry around, and to try my hand at coptic stitching/binding, so I combined both. 
I started with heavy black card and used Dina Wakley Media Acrylic paint in Turquoise along with a Stencil Girl stencil - 'Squared on 6' by Mary Beth Shaw, which you can find HERE.  I placed the paint on my mat and brayered it through the stencil.
I used a piece of cut a dry foam to add a bit more depth of colour.  I do love the contrast between the turquoise and black!

I cut two pieces of black card to 5.3/4" x 4.1/4".  I then cut 4 pieces of the stencilled card to 5.1/2" x 4" and added one to each of the covers, attaching one both inside and out, for strength.
I made four signatures, with two sheets of watercolour for each signature.  These measure 5.3/4" x 4.1/4" each.  Now it was time to put the little watercolour album together.

I punched five holes in each cover, measuring carefully so that both covers have identical holes, approx 1/4" from the edge.

The signatures each have five holes punched through the spine to correspond with the covers.

As this was my first attempt at Coptic stitching/binding, I followed an excellent video tutorial by Sea Lemon, which you can find HERE (it is much easier to follow than me writing out each step). I found the video very easy to follow and my first result was not too bad!
The real beauty of this type of binding is that your book will lie flat, no matter where you open it!
Next, I wanted to create a label for the front, one that would also lie flat and not impede my watercolouring on the inside pages.

I die cut the letters and used Lindy's Stamp Gang (another of our lovely Sponsors) Magical Shakers in Guten Teal Tag and Cuckoo Clock Cardinal to colour the letters.  Once dry I gave the letters a coat of Glossy Crackle Accent.  The letters were added to card coloured with the same paint as before and matted with plain black card.
So, there we have it, a nice compact little album that fits nicely into my handbag/purse.

Tip:  I used watercolour paper and constantly putting the needle in and out of the paper made it 'pill' slightly, which I don't mind but I think it would probably work better with mixed media type paper.

Our generous Sponsor this month is Stencil Girl who are offering a $25 Gift Certificate to one lucky winner.

Website - http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/
Blog - http://www.stencilgirltalk.com/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/StencilGirlProducts

It would be lovely if you could take a trip over to Mini Album Makers to see the wonderful and inspiring projects by my lovely team mates (we have a couple of new designers joining us this month too).

Thanks so much for your visit and I hope to see you again soon!

Hugs, Anne xxx

29 comments:

  1. I adore this little beautiful album Anne especially the black and turquoise colours and particularly the Coptic stitching. I have just been practising that binding technique too. This is perfect for the watercolour pages you have added xxx

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  2. Wow, that blue really glows against the bold black, and your crackled ART letters are gorgeous. Your Coptic binding looks amazing. Thank you for the link - when I got there, I discovered it was already saved in my How To folder! Ah well, one day I'll have time to actually follow the instructions...
    Alison x

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  3. I adore the turquoise and black together - so striking - and the letters look so cool! It's brilliant the way the book folds flat - a fab way to bind. This will be a pleasure to carry with you to work in - stunning! Hugs xxxxxxx

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  4. A fantastic album Anne, and wow what a great first attempt at coptic stitching! I will definitely check out the video, - thanks for the link!!
    I love the covers too, great use of those stencils and a wonderful, bold colour combo!!

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  5. WOW! This looks amazing. The blue really pops against the black .... Love it! xx

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  6. Wow this is gorgeous Anne, the lettering is so striking and those touches of colour peeking through are fantastic. Adore the stencilling and the contrast of the turquoise and black. Love . Tracy ❤️

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  7. Fab little album once again. The turquoise really stands out on the black and the ART just finishes it off nicely. Great binding too. Elaine xx

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  8. So clever...the stenciled cover (LOVE), the binding, and the colorful ART...wonderful!

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  9. amazing cover to this album anne - this is brilliant! You are so very clever! Hugs Rachel x

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  10. what a superb album Anne x Fabulous details on the cover and I will certainly check out the video re stitching xx

    TFS and best wishes
    Annie xx

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  11. Hi Anne, I'm going to have to make the effort to join in again. I love this album and will have to pop back tomorrow for a better look as I am far too late tonight. Midnight crafting again Lol! Have a great weekend, Angela xxx

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  12. Oh my goodness, this is spectacular, Anne!! Wow!! I love the way you decorated the cover!! The colors are gorgeous!! The art letters look amazing!! This is so stunning, my friend!! I love, love it!! Have a great weekend!! Big hugs :)

    Lisa
    A Mermaid's Crafts

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  13. A fantastic album Anne! The covers are stunning and I love how you have used the stencil to such great effect. And those crackled letters!!! Gorgeous! I am new to this type of binding so thank you for the link - it looks very impressive. Jennie x

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  14. another stunning album Anne, love the black and turquoise stencilled cover and those crackled letter and your coptic binding looks perfect, hugs kath xxx

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  15. So striking Anne the black against the turquoise makes it pop so much. That stencil leaves amazing results. Your design reminds me of a very high end handmade book but with that xtra love and attention, what a treat for us all.
    Hugs for a super weekend Tracey xx 😘

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  16. Just popped back to say you were right, the canvas was created with Summer Holiday in mind lol. Xxx

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  17. This is gorgeous Anne! Love the deep turquoise colours withe the crackled letters against it. Beautifully made too ! Xx

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  18. What a gorgeous book Anne. The turquoise works beautifully with the black, and with the pop of colour on the letters - wow. I really like your style of binding, I will have to give this a try. Have a very happy week, Sue xx

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  19. I love your album Anne and am lucky enough to have seen it in person...and it looked even more spectacular...the colours are amazing....hugs Jo. X

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  20. Hi Anne, hope you had a grand time while you were away for a bit. You always have the neatest products to make your fab projects, and know just the right way to use them. This one is amazing (as always). Has quite an Asian feel to me (guess it's the geometric design of the stencil) The colors are stunning...and I have no clue as to what this new stitching is either. But the end result is just beautiful! TFS & Hugs

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  21. Good job with the binding, Annie! The colors are beautiful and I love the way you used the magicals for your title! They are perfect for a book about watercoloring!! Hugs, Darnell xxoo

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  22. This is way cool Anne! I just love the stenciled front and you have convinced me I need more Lindy's shakers! lol Beautiful stitching too! You rock Anne!
    Jackie xo

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  23. Swoooooon! This is absolutely stunning Anne and as you already know from my social media comment if I saw this was in a store to purchase it would have fell in to my basket and been checked out without hesitation . My kinda 'must have' !
    hugs x

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  24. A fabulous watercolour book Anne - what a super make. Love the colour.
    Toni xx

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  25. Oh! Wow! Speechless, again! Love this bold stenciling and your perfectly finished binding! Great tutorial to go along with a fabulous journal! Hugs!

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  26. Oh Anne! I can't believe this is your first attempt at coptic binding! I tried once on a much labored on star book and it went wonky. :( I've never tried again but have been wanting to so badly. I truly appreciate the video link and have saved it. I love your stenciled cover and the gorgeous contrast! It's really beautiful and inspiring. Hugs, Autumn

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  27. What striking bold design, really modern and yet lovely rich depth to it. great book, thanks for sharing. x Amanda

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  28. You've outdone yourself with this oh so striking cover Anne. Amazing design. The binding looks immaculately done too. You are so so talented! Superb make and thank-you for link to tutorial too. Nicola x

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