It’s Wednesday Windings again, so I hope you’ll link up over on the left sidebar and share what you’ve been crafting up lately with us. Any recent artsy, crafty, or creative thinking post is welcome!

Last week I shared that I’ve enrolled in an on-line scrapbooking class to help me organize my thoughts, memories, and get a little (more) therapy while making an Album of Remembrance about my parents. I was just so moved by the instructors course description of how to go through processing the whole jumbled mess of emotional baggage (good and bad)–and then coming out with something tangible! Something valuable to share with my family and my kids! I’m excited and scared, but mostly excited.

The first thing on the “things to gather” list was a journal and pen. No fanciness required. Since I bought a bunch of extra composition books at Back-to-School time with some dress-them-up projects in mind, this seemed like the perfect time to flex my creativity a little bit.

 

I pulled out some beautiful Stampin’ Up! paper and my ModPodge and got to work. It took about 7 days between working, lambing, kids, and drying time.

 

This is the first time I’ve done anything like this and I’m pretty happy with it. I did the front, back, and both inside covers too. I wasn’t going to do the inside, but as soon as I opened it up to write something and saw the CLASS SCHEDULE on the inside cover I was convicted.

 

I would definitely change a few things. It was a learning experience. The directions on the ModPodge weren’t so great. “Apply with brush.” Well, I guess they believe in experimentation too. A friends shared their website, ModPodgeRocks, with me though and it’s pretty helpful. I definitely recommend for any newbies out there!

 

I used large and small chunks and scraps of this beautiful paper that I had, so I did a lot of peiceing. Next time I think I’ll plan the layout a little more. The ModPodge makes seams and torn edges much more prominent. Depending on your style, that’s not a bad thing. You should just be aware. Since I just kept layering and layering, I wasn’t completely happy with some of the seams at the end.

 

And next time I’ll probably cut my paper big enough to wrap the edges at least 1/2 to 1 inch around the inside, and then plan the inside to incorporate the wrapped paper so I don’t have to deal with or treat rough edges at the end.

The tie was partly decorative and partly because the book’s still a little stiff. I’ve been leaving it under a stack of books at night and it’s loosening up and flatting out. I used a scrap of pretty green ribbon for the tie and another inch or two wouldn’t have hurt anything. I dabbed a bit of ModPodge on the ends for a quick unraveling fix.

 

I folded a tab in the ribbon and punched a hole through the ribbon and the comp book with a Crop-A-Dile, then used a brad to fix them in place on the front and back covers. Overall I’m pretty happy with the result and I’m excited to open it up and starting making notes, brainstorming, sketching pages, and recording this journey I’m embarking on.

I’ve also starting going through and gathering up pictures that I might want to use. This has been a much more tearful process for me. So much happiness…so much joy…so much lost. But along the way I’m finding some more great treasures too. I’ll post some next week as I get them scanned in for this class. (Oh Cheese, you just wait!)

 

 

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