ok, cool...but what *IS* it??!

i have no idea. which is a pity, seeing as how i'm the one who made it! it's kind of fun, though, want to see?

it all started with that cool little plastic box. leah sent it to me, it was the packaging from a cool set of paperchase magnets. as soon as i took the magnets out of it i thought, "hey! this would be a fun package for a card or...ummm...something!"

the box is about 2.5 x 1.75" and just over 1/4" deep. it was the depth that got me thinking "accordion book". i'd seen a couple of cool ones recently, including heidi swapp's glimmer misted spring banner, and this beautiful mou saha project; and those were enough to get me started.

(later, it turned out that the clasp was not strong enough to keep the box closed with the booklet inside, but lovely husband jeff thought of wrapping it with ribbon that'd been strategically fitted with a set of basic grey magnet snaps!)

i decided to play with a bunch of spray ink colors and a few masks and make my booklet double-sided. i learned two very important things during this step:

#1: use strong cardstock! (ranger glossy white is ideal b/c the glossy coating on one side really reinforces it!)

#2: use a flat sheet just slightly larger than you want your book to be...DO NOT score and fold the book first!!! (my first attempt literally fell apart at the seams as soon as the liquid seeped into the folds.)

once i had a nice rainbowy blotchy inky background (that i totally forgot to photo, sorry!) on both sides i set upon it with inks and stamps to enhance both sides even more. it turns out you can get quite a lot of dimension and interest with FLAT layers of ink! (this was crucial; once i folded & fit the book into the box i realized adding embellishments was NOT going to be an option!) finally, i was ready to move on to the highlight of the project: hand-stamping a carl sandburg quote i absolutely love:

"POETRY is the journal of the SEA animal,

living on LAND,

wanting to FLY in the AIR"

at the very end i added a little bit more stamping (those cool paisley flourishes, mostly) and the butterfly and flower to the front, and when i was finished, i sent it to leah, since the box came from her in the first place.

i still don't know exactly what it IS...but i REALLY like this thing! :)

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(~materials~ cardstock: ranger glossy white; spray inks: glimmer mist; masks: tim holtz & heidi swapp; stamps: tim holtz, pod, autumn leaves, sassafrass; alpha stamps: heidi swapp, making memories; stamping ink: india ink by stewart superior, (thanks, stef!!!) colorbox, psx, colorbox, staz-on, plus a few tombow brush markers; stickers: nature's illusions, recollections; ribbon: joanns; flower: prima; brad: marah johnson; other: sewing machine, basic grey magnetic snaps)