Just be Me

This is going to take awhile to get posted properly. There are more pictures and a lot of text coming, but I wanted to get this part at least up. This little mini album featuring Lily Bee paper has been my project of the last few days. This was HARD! I do not know why blogger keeps flipping my images either...
I can't seem to get these rotated the right way and it's driving me crackers. But I do love the book itself. If you click on the individual pictures, you can see the pages in larger detail. I used paper from both the French Couture and the Three Little Birds paper lines. My original intent had been to cover the binding tape as well, but then I loved the look of the tape with the paper so I left it exposed in places.

The one photo of me was taken many years ago (one of two I have left from before the hurricane) and it is one of my favorite pictures of me. The whole series was wonderful but this is the only one I still have. I played around with some different techniques as well as some different media on this project and really had a blast. The last page (the one with the polka dots and feathers) is my favourite bit of journaling in the book but the page itself was a little too stark. So I added the feathers and then thinned out some paint and mixed in some PearlEx powder and misted the page. It tinted the feathers just a little and aged the page with a little shimmer. While the page was still wet, I let the book close so the feathers would stamp onto the opposing page. I really like how that came out. The monogram and frame stamps are from Scrappy Cat and I used a variety of inks throughout the book. Distress Inks in Vintage Linen, Peeled Paint and Faded Denim, and Worn Lipstick, Tsukineko Dew Drop brilliance inks in Cosmic Copper and Galaxy Gold and ColorBox Liquid chalk inks in Chestnut Roan, Dark Brown and Creamy Brown. My favourite journaling pens are Micron and Kon I Noor both of which I used here. The copper wire for the bird on a wire page is from Wild Wire, the mirror pendant from Manor House and the Journey pendant is from Lost and Found. Ribbon and wired twine were just scraps I had in my collection. I did the paper mounting with Tombow mono adhesive, poop dots for the bird on a wire, and Glossy Accents for all the metal. The book base is from K and Company. I truly love making books.
I love paper... all kinds of paper. I love patterns and textures and the weight of it. I have to say that this is the first time I've worked with Lily Bee papers and the quality is excellent! Double sided cardstock with a perfect weight for shapind and sanding. I'm glad I didn't use all of the paper for this project and I'll definitely be getting more. I was able to find Lily Bee papers at a reasonable price for both the paper and the shipping at www.paperhouse.com .

Finishing the project has left me with that crafter afterglow... can't believe how good it felt, can't believe it's over...
On another note, I took pictures of the shoebox I craft in in all it's towering piles of glory. I'm hoping that it will motivate me to post before and after pictures as I clean out my space and get it set up so that I can really work in the space. I'll keep you posted.