Altered Journal

I am in a "secret sister" swap on scrapbook.com. So I decided to make a little something special for my sweet sister for her final package. Her scraproom colors are pink, white and black and loves all things "Paris".  This is what I came up with.  The concept is pretty simple.  It is just an altered journal/notebook.                                                      

In order to create something like this you will need the following: 

A note book (I used one from Studio C that I found at Walgreens)

Some Ribbon (I used Celebrate It Basic-Basic Pink Ribbon)

A Sander (I used my Tim Holtz mini block sander)

Decoupage glue (Royal Coat Decoupage Finish 1401 Clear) 

Brush to apply Decoupage

Scissors

Paper Trimmer

Adhesive (ATG 714) 

Paper of your choice (I used a page from my Teresa Collins paper pad (Valentine) and plain black paper) 

Then any embellishments of your choice (I used Jolee's Botique - Paris) 

The gems were Imaginisce and I used the iRock to apply them 

So here are some simple steps to remember. 

First I sanded down the cover of my notebook to give it a rough texture feel and to take away the super smoothness. Then I used my adhesive to stick the paper on to the notebook. I went over that page with some decoupage glue. Let it dry. Then placed my next paper over the first one (again using the adhesive to attach it). Then decoupage over that. Add some embellishments and voila. Super simple, yet very cute.  

I'd like to see what you guys can come up with!

Free Giveaway

Hi everyone.  Just letting you know that there is a free giveaway on Sarah de Guzman's blog.  She is a guest blogger today for Imaginescence.  Here are the links and good luck:

Imaginescence's Blog (Click Here) 

Sarah's Blog (Click Here)

Leave comments on both of these blogs to double your chances to win!

Beginner's Tips...

I recently decided I want to brush up on my photography skills. My main hobby is scrapbooking and I will of course post projects that I have/will be working on. But in order to make my hobby more enjoyable I also want to improve my picture taking abilities. So this blog will from time to time give links to other websites with "how to" tips. Trust me...I am far from being great at taking pictures. They aren't even centered at times. So I figure if I can do it...you can too.

So to start... Here is a link from Picturecorrect that gives ten photography assignments. Our mission is to choose one of the assignments and post your results or submit a link here.

So your choices are:

1. The Park Bench
2. Evolution of Construction
3. Through the Seasons
4. Self Portrait
5. A Day in the Life of...
6. Get to Know your Neighborhood
7. Color Challenge
8. A Collection of "Somethings"
9. Pet's Eye View
10. After Dark

Trust me you don't need to have a fancy camera in order to do this challenge. I have a Cannon Powershot SD 600 and will be learning along the way with you.

Good luck and I can't wait to see your pictures!