Turn a plain, boring notebook cover into something inspiring with Mixed Media!
This is a sponsored post for DecoArt for whom I am a Core Blogger. As always, all ideas and opinions are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links.
Have you ever tried stepping outside of your crafting comfort zone? I have several times and am usually pleasantly surprised about how fun learning new techniques can be. This time I’m trying my hand at Mixed Media! With mixed media there really is no wrong way to craft. You layer, use different mediums, mix different textures, and you end up with something amazing and completely unique!
For my first mixed media project I decided to alter a simple spiral notebook cover.
I found this notebook a couple of years ago. It came with a special pen and has special paper inside. It looks like normal ruled paper, but when you write on it with the special pen it causes the ink to be different colors! It’s so fun and so creative. I use it as my “idea pad.” When I come up with craft ideas I want to try I write it in this notebook to refer to later. The only problem? The cover is COMPLETELY uninspiring!
I wanted outside of my inspiration notebook to be as creative as the things I’m writing inside! So it was the perfect candidate for a makeover.
I gathered a bunch of different Mixed Media supplies from DecoArt. I knew what color scheme I was going for and found some fun stencils that inspired by design, but other than that I was playing it completely by ear, creating as I went. So I didn’t use everything you see here, but at least I had it on hand if I needed it.
Supplies:
Americana Decor Wildflowers Stencil (18″x18″)
Andy Skinner Vogue Stencil (6″x6″)
Decou-Page
Various DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics
DecoArt Media Modeling Paste
DecoArt Media Matte Medium
DecoArt Media Crackling Glaze
Various DecoArt Media Misters
DecoArt Media Liquid Glass
Assortment of paintbrushes and spatula
The first thing I needed to do was remove the cover of the notebook. I used a binder clip to bind all of the pages except the cover to keep the holes lined up.
Next, I used pliers to bend the ends of the wire so they would allow the spiral to fit through the holes and removed it from the paper.
I traced the shape of the cover on a piece of scrapbook paper (how adorable is this pink ledger paper???), trimmed it down to size, then decoupaged it to the front cover.
Turn the new cover over to the back and used the holes in the original cover to punch holes (this Crop-A-Dile is amazing!) in the scrapbook paper.
Now it’s time to decorate!
The first thing I wanted to do was apply a background stencil. I taped off parts of the Wildflower stencil that I didn’t want to use and arranged it on the scrapbook paper. I used makeup sponge brushes to apply various colors of the Fluid Acrylics to the stencil. It doesn’t take much paint to achieve this look.
I used Yellow Green Light for the Stem and Cobalt Teal Hue and Cobalt Turquoise Hue for the flowers.
Next up I wanted to add the stencil of my pretty lady, and I wanted her to pop off the page so she needed to be added with texture. I mixed the Matte Medium with several drops of the Primary Magenta Fluid Acrylic. Since the medium is white it can be mixed with the paints to give it color. The more paint added, the more vibrant the color.
I mixed the Matte Medium and paint with a spatula until the medium was a consistent pink color. I arranged the stencil where I wanted it on the scrapbook paper and taped it in place. I loaded the bottom of the spatula with the pink medium and gently scraped it over the stencil until I was satisfied with the coverage.
Allow this step to dry before moving on. The drying process can be expedited with a hair dryer.
I used Dark Grey Value 3 Fluid Acrylic to hand paint fluffy clouds at the top of the paper. I mixed in some Gold Metallic Fluid Acrylic along the top edges and blended it into the gray. Once both of those colors were dry, I topped them with some Gold Inference Fluid Acrylic. The inference gives the clouds a pearlescent gold look when shined into the light as shown above. When looked at directly, the pearlescent look isn’t as intense.
I used a paintbrush to apply small amounts of the Crackle Glaze to the petals on the largest flower. You can see as it dried it created a crackle effect on the paint.
You can also see where I used the Liquid Glass to create small raindrops coming down from the clouds.
I also used a small, pointed paintbrush to hand write “CREATE BEAUTIFUL THINGS” at the bottom of the paper in the Primary Magenta Fluid Acrylic. Once the paint was dry, I went back over the word “CREATE” with the Liquid Glass to make it stand out.
You can see I also painted the edge of the paper and spritzed some of the Misters (Yellow Green, White, and Violet) on the paper. The white was thicker and added more dimension to the image. The violet is a shimmery color and added shine to the image.
I topped off the image with a cardboard button in the center of the big flower and added some rhinestone bling to the dress on my pretty lady.
Place the completed cover back on the rest of the notebook and add the wire back through the holes. Use pliers to re-bend the ends of the spiral back to their original positions.
I am SO pleased with how the design came up! And now the outside of the notebook is just as inspiring as the inside.
Can you see that there is really no wrong way to do mixed media? Would you want to give it a try? I’m kind of hooked now!
Linking up to Flamingo Toes, Today’s Creative Blog, Tidymom, My Repurposed Life,
Tatertots & Jello, and other great parties found on my party page.
Cathey DeRosa
Wednesday 1st of April 2020
Mixed Media projects have always interested me. I've done a few ATC cards and some decorative box tops, dominoes, tiles. Have even done a spiral notebook, but didn't remove the cover. I love your creativity. Thank you for teaching us this method.
Emily
Sunday 15th of January 2017
I love this! I've always wanted to try my hand at mixed media. Thanks for linking up with our Merry Monday party!
Hil
Sunday 15th of January 2017
That's so pretty! I wish I was so creative to make those!
Thanks for linking up at #bloggerspotlight!
angie
Saturday 14th of January 2017
love your notebook we all have talent and we all have to share it somehow come see us at http://shopannies.blogpsot.com
Akaleistar
Saturday 14th of January 2017
What a pretty notebook!