Technique Tuesday - Altered Notebook/Journal Gifts

Don't let the word "altered" scare you off.  These notebook gifts started out as a simple composition book and a Dollar Store 5 x 7 notebook.  To "alter" them, I simply added some papers, stamped images, embellishments, and inking.  Here's a step-by-step on each of these gifts I made:

This Christmas journal, a gift for my sister-in-law for her birthday this week, started out as a black and white composition book, costing about $1!!  Here's how it is done:
-Paint the spine binding with copper Lumiere paint, which has a really pretty copper shimmer to it (not so evident in the picture).
-After the spine was dry, apply white glue to the front cover and adhered the poinsettia paper.  I pressed the paper into the glue onto the composition book firmly and thoroughly.
-Repeat for the back cover.
-Next, trim all the edges where the paper overlapped the edges of the book, using an exacto knife.
-Repeat for inside cover panels - I used a copper shimmery paper I had on hand.
- Distress the edges of the notebook covers with Ranger distress ink.
- Embellish/decorate as desired.  I created some die cuts with my Cuttlebug and Nestabilities dies and layered them on the book cover with foam tape.  On the top die, I stamped the Penny Black poinsettia, and word background, then sponge/distressed it before layering it on.  I added pearls for accent, and the bow was made using last week's technique.  I didn't have a coppery/red brad, so I took a gold one and used permanent markers to color it!
I stamped a couple of scriptures on the inside covers, layering them up.
That's it!!  How easy is that. 
Next, I made this 5 x 7 journal for my 12 year old niece, Sierra, and she absolutely loved it!! Lots of bling, and her favorite color (which also happens to be mine)! Here it is:

This started as a $1 journal, with a slightly stiff paper cover.  I wrapped the green dotted scrapbook paper around the cover, adhering with glue. Next, I added the striped panel, then the purple paper on the bottom.  I hot-glued the large flower (got all colors of these when they were on sale at Michael's a while ago for just such a project).  Lastly, I added the purple swirl crystals, and her name with letter rhinestones.  I made these purple with a permanent marker.  Sierra loved having her name in rhinestones on her journal!

Hope you will try these.  Plain and even patterned notebooks, paper pads, and journals are available everywhere, from dollar stores, to discount stores, to office supply stores, just begging to be covered and transformed into beautiful keepsake journals.  It's easy to make some pretty gift journals with a little glue, some paper, and a few embellishments. Add a pen, and they make wonderful, treasured gifts.
Enjoy these last three weeks of gift/card making before Christmas!

lynda