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Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Dies, Stencils and Stamps Blog Hop

Hello everyone! This week Eileen Hull's Inspiration Team and Stencil Girl are having a fun blog hop. Lots of inspiration! This is the second day of the hop and it is time for my post.
 
 
I made a bird mini-book, and this is a tutorial too.

If you follow my blog, you probably already know that I love birds, and the Speckled Bird stencil was calling out to be the star of a mini album cover. This is just the sweetest bird. The album was made with Eileen's Sizzix Mini Album die, which is a favourite of mine since it is so versatile. You can make the album in two sizes, here I did the chunkier version with a wider spine. I like to take photos of birds, and I am going to fill this book with those photos, both photos I've already taken and future ones. You can see another tutorial for a similar album here.
 
Start by die cutting the album from mat board. This is an XL die, so you need the Extended Cutting Pads. I didn't use the closure flap. Here you can see the scorelines for the spine. If you make a thinner album, you only use the centre piece for your spine. I used all three.

Cover the album with old dictionary paper using multi medium.  
 
Smear gesso over the paper, but let some of the text show through.

Paint the covers with brown shades of Distress Paint. I used Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap and Walnut Stain. Leave to dry.

Mix Salty Ocean and Broken China into one blob of White Embossing Paste and mix Peacock Feathers into another blob. I like to use a piece of plastic packaging as my palette. Carefully smear through the Speckled Bird stencil, varying the two shades of paste.

Mix some Walnut Stain into white paste and add dots with a dot texture stencil.
 
When the paste is dry, add some dry-brushing with Walnut Stain paint.

I cut twelve pages from smooth watercolour paper, making them slightly smaller than the covers. Smear Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs, Salty Ocean and Peacock Feathers Distress Ink on your craft sheet, mist with water and press the pages into the ink (I forgot to take a photo of this step). Repeat for all the pages, both sides. When the ink was dry, I added more stencilling to the pages, for example, using the Three Crows stencil and the dot stencil.

When the paste is dry, I stamped the pages here and there using stamps from Eileen's great Craffiti Picket Fence stamp set. The wooden window and fence were stamped with Potting Soil ink. The background stamps were stamped with Salty Ocean and Gathered Twigs, misting the stamp with water before stamping.

Layer the pages two together into six signatures. Poke two holes into each page and thread a thin piece of twine through the holes.

Cut a piece of natural sticky-back canvas for the spine and glue it in place with multi medium. Poke holes at three intervals and thread the twine through - two signatures into each hole. Tie a tight knot. I added a Tim Holtz Heart Charm to the spine. 

The textures of the text background, paint and embossing paste are real nice and makes you want to reach out and touch the book. I gave the bird a pearl for an eye.

I also used one of my favourite quotes on the cover.

Just a quick look at some of the inside pages. Here I used the Bird in Window stencil.

Some of the pages only have stamping and no paste.

 All the edges were inked with Gathered Twigs.

I like having an album ready, so that I can just adhere the photos once I develop them.

The back of the album looks like this. You could also add more stencilling here.
 
There is a great prize package to be won. All comments left for the entire week August 18th - August 22nd on all blogs in the hop will be eligible for the giveaway. So the more blogs you comment on, the larger your chance is to win. Comments close Sunday, August 24th @ 11:59PM Central Time. Winner will be announced on Tuesday, August 26th.
 
These are the stops on the blog hop for today:
Anna-Karin Evaldsson (you are here)
 
And don't miss all the inspiration posted yesterday, and during the remainder of the week.

Thank you so much for stopping by here today! Next stop is the wonderful Michelle Zerull.
 
Happy crafting!!
 
Anna-Karin
 
Supplies:
Surfaces: Sizzix Little Sizzles White Mat Board; Canson Multi-Technique papers; Ranger Natural Sticky-Back Canvas; old dictionary pages
Dies: Sizzix: Mini Album 
Stamps: Eileen Hull Craffiti: Picket Fence
Ink: ranger Archival Ink: Potting Soil; Distress Ink: Gathered Twigs, Antique Linen, Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers
Paint: Distress Paint: Antique Linen, Walnut Stain, Frayed Burlap, Salty Ocean, Broken China, Peacock Feathers
Medium: Ranger Multi Medium Matte; Stamper's Anonymous Wendy Vecchi: White Embossing Paste
Embellishments: Tim Holtz idea-ology: Heart Charms, Trinket Pins; Prima: Engraver Alphabet Stickers

77 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness Anna-Karin... this is so pretty. I love birds too. I think my favorite s the front cover- really like that you colored the texture paste in a couple of shades- also love the depth of the layers with newsprint, paste, inks, and stencils. Amazing as always!

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  2. This album is just so beautiful Anna-Karin, I love the earthy brown and the soft blues, the textures and of course, the gorgeous birds. I also like the way you add your signatures, it gives the album a very rustic feel. Beautiful!

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  3. I love everything about this and, as I just bought a new die-cut machine, I might need that die ;-) Thank you for the inspiration.

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  4. What a stunning book!!
    Love your color combination and layering of the dictionary pages and walnut ink!
    Wonderful quote, too!

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  5. Anna, Your book is incredibly gorgeous!!! I love everything about it's design and perfect colors! Stunning!!

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  6. Awesome work as always Anna-Karin
    TFS!

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  7. I love your bird book! I want to hold the book in my hands and feel the texture! The colors are soft and beautiful! Well done.

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  8. Gorgeous album Anna-Karin, I adore the bird, in fact I have just used him for a magazine article. Great texture and colours too. So many wonderful layers of interest. Tracy x

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  9. So funny Anna-Karin we have the same taste! we picked the same stencils and I used the mini album too lol. Greet minds x x x

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  10. This is just beautiful! I love all the birds, and the texture you've got with the stamps and the paste is awesome. Wonderful project!

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  11. Oh my word AK! This mini album is stunning! I'm loving the colored embossing paste...now on my to do list!

    Amy*

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  12. The mini is great. Love the embossing paste with the bird stencil on the cover. I just ordered that stencil. Now, I already have a project idea for it.

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  13. Beautiful. All of the birds are amazing and so pretty.
    thanks for the detailed instructions on making this album.

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  14. Love your project and use of the stencils. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  15. What a beautiful mini-album! I, too, love to photograph birds and this would be a great album to display them. Thanks for sharing how you created yours!

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  16. Birds are my favorite and I just love what you did with this book! Fantastic!

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  17. Oh my gosh, I love everything about this - the textures, the color combinations, the birds, the book pages, absolutely all of it. I am inspired to try something similar. Wow!

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  18. You've done it again, my friend! I am always so inspired by your combo of images and sentiments and this is no exception. I adore all the techniques and really appreciated all the great pics of how you made this masterpiece. Thanks for another inspiring post!

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  19. Love it. The stencils with paste makes the book so dimensional.

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  20. loved the textures on the mini album and the color combo. inspiring

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  21. The textured cover is wonderful! And the blue / green splashes throughout make an interesting background on which to craft.

    Noreen
    Crafty Journal

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  22. Newsprint, birds and the blue-green Distress colors... All of my favorites in one project! I love it. Thanks for the tutorial.

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  23. Fabulous - I love everything about this !!

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  24. Great album, Anna-Karin. You do such amazing work. Love your color choices too. Thanks much for the inspiration!

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  25. I love how you did the signatures and binding!

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  26. That's the loveliest book. You've chosen perfect colours and I LOVE birds, so it's just my cup of tea. Thanks for all the info.

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  27. this is stunning, amazing, there is so much detail its breathtaking. great project.

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  28. As usual, you made another beautiful art project! I love the birds .

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  29. Great album :) I didn't realise that the die was so versatile! Really liking the backgrounds you created for the cover.

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  30. Love the blue and brown. The embossed birds are gorgeous

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  31. Wow! What a beautiful mixed media book. I love your bird theme and the colors you chose. Just beautiful!

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  32. Wow, so beautiful. Love the texture, the colors, the way you paired everything up. Well done!! Thanks for using our stencils :)

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  33. Beautiful book. You used dies and papers from size is that I hadn't known about. The book looks like one that will be passed down through generations. The colors are my favorite colors. And the way you bound your book was simple and suited the book. I like learning things from you artists! Superb work as usual. You are so talented and do amazing work. The bird on the cover is beautiful and beautifully done.

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  34. Oh what a great book. I have the stencils, I need the die cut. Love this and your book with your colors is just beautiful

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  35. This a beautiful book and has given me another great gift idea for the granddaughters. Thanks for sharing ♥

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  36. WOW Anna-Karin!! I think I start a lot of my comments to you like that :) This is such a wonderful book--and you made it for yourself!! YAY!! I love birds, too and I take photos of them regularly...this is such a GREAT idea! I want one for myself!! I know where I'll be shopping-soon! :) Fabulous tutorial and fabulous inspiration! You've worked your artistic magic on me :) XOXO-Shari T.

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  37. Love your bird mini book! Great textures and colors! Love the bird on the cover!

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  38. Your bird book is absolutely stunning! I love the Speckled Bird stencil!

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  39. Anna-Karin your mini album is stunning! You really used some great colors and textures!
    Love it!

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  40. Love at first sight! The bird on the cover got me. Then the rest of it!

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  41. Simply stunning!!! LOVE the textures and the use of the stencils! And those colors!

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  42. I don't have words to describe how beautiful and awesome is you mini, i love all!!! is perfect! i thinks this is my favorite projects of all hop!

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  43. I loved your mini book, it's so rich in texture, it's just beautiful!

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  44. Anna, What a gorgeous album you have created for your bird photos. Love the color pallet you have chosen and all the texture from the stencils, paste and stamps. I can only imagine how pretty it will be once you add all your photos and journaling. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  45. All I can say is WOW! I love it. Everything about it. I especially love that there is so much texture to it. It makes me want to look and touch. Can't wait to give all your techniques a try. Thanks for sharing this with us!

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  46. I love this amazing mini album. I also love what you plan on doing with it! What a great idea! Such fabulous creativity as always! Thanks for sharing!

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  47. What a gorgeous project! Do you know if Eileen's Picket Fence stamp set can be bought in Europe? The online store did not have other shipping options than the U.S. I totally love the window stamp that you used in your book!

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  48. Love this! I'm on my way out to see if I can find that die. If not, I'll order it online.

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  49. I just took a class from Mary Beth at CREATE and now I'm even more addicted to stencils than before! I even bought some of these. Thanks for the wonderful inspiration!

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  50. I absolutely LOVE IT! Thank you so much for sharing how you did it!!!

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  51. first time visiting your blog - love this album - thanks for sharing how you did it! now going back to see more of you beautiful art!

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  52. what a good looking mini!! thanks for the tutorial! and for sharing :)

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  53. This is such a great book! I love the earthy look of it and the bird stencil is very cool. Thanks for sharing.

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  54. What a fabulous mini album Anna-Karin! Oh how wonderfully you give the birds a touch of personality! Love all the details you added. Really love the binding it adds such a classy finish! As always your sharing of the details is appreciated!

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  55. How beautiful, I love the colours you mixed and used. What great stencils. Jan

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  56. This is gorgeous Anna-Karin and perfect for bird photos. I also love to take pics of birds. Love that stencil too.

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  57. Your album is amazing! I enjoy the birds around our home. The stencils you have used are so pretty. The one on the cover with it's shiny black pearl eye is perfect and how awesome is the one in the window. As I write this the crows are calling each other while flying over the hay field and the doves are swooping around to check out the feeder.
    Great tutorial for the fun techniques you have used. Thank you for sharing your beautiful work! Always a treat to stop by and see what you are up to next. :)

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  58. Stunning- your texture, your colors, your pages!

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  59. Love your album.I am so amazed at your creativity.So many details but everything looks just right.Loving the bird stencil and thanks for always sharing your tips and techniques.Big fan of yours.:-)

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  60. Oh Michelle! How unique. I am in awe of the gorgeous pages created and the variety of the birds, such a masterpiece! LOVE.

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  61. OMG, so much inspiration here. WOW, this ROCKS.

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  62. A die cut for journals, you really rocked it

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  63. I love this book. So many possibilities using your thorough instructions. Very nice.

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  64. Always love your techniques, Anna-Karin! Will definitely try your version on my next die cut album! :)

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  65. I think your album is amazing! I love how you mixed colors with the texture paste to stencil the bird on the cover!

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  66. Your mini book is so rich in textures and colors; it's just beautiful! I like the binding technique and the hanging charm on the spine. Great job!

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  67. What a marvelous book Anna-Karin! LOVE the embossing paste stenciling on the cover (what a GREAT BIRD!) and on all of your pages - what a perfect place to keep photos of birds! LOVE it!!

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  68. I am so glad I found this blog!! My cart is getting full at Stencil Girl!

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  69. Oh, this is soooo beautiful!!!

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  70. What a gorgeous book! Such awesome textures. thanks for sharing the how-tos!

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Thank you so much for leaving a comment! Happy Crafting!