How to make an album cover from a table placemat

Hi, Friends! I'm back with my as-promised tutorial of last week's Mini Album made from the New Eileen Hull Folio die. I will be breaking this tutorial into segments this time around. The entire project was just way too long to cram into a single tutorial. In today's segment, we will be covering how I made the outside cover of my album using a plastic table mat. Let's get started!

Supplies Used

Eileen Hull Folio Journal (Sizzix)

Eileen Hull Mandala  (Sizzix)

Big Shot Foldaway  (Sizzix)

Chrome Precision Base Plate (Sizzix)

Magnetic Platform (Sizzix)

Mat Board (Sizzix)

Luster Wax- Silver (Sizzix)

Creative Station (Xyron)

Vinyl Table Mat

Black Gesso (Golden)

Red Peonies (I Am Roses)

Red Rose Buds (I Am Roses)

White Achillea Cottage Flowers (I Am Roses)

Daisy Leaves (I Am Roses)

Red Crinkle Ribbon

Paint Brush

Kitchen Shears

Ruler

Fine Tip Permanent Pen

These are the two Eileen Hulls I used in today's tutorial...

The Folio Journal and...

The Mandala die.

I started with a plastic table mat I bought at my local dollar store. It was highly detailed with a lace-like pattern. But it was 1) plastic and 2) gilded gold and blindingly ugly (to me- seriously not my taste but I'm not knocking it if it's yours-seriously. To each his own).

I really loved the pattern and could easily envision it toned down and believed it would make a gorgeous cover.

I started by laying my mat board onto my mat and using it as a guide to cut the table mat into long enough strips to cover the back and front of my cover. I used a permanent pen to trace a thin line and then hand-cut the strips with kitchen shears. This material is somewhat thick and would have been too difficult for my crafting scissors to go through without overworking my hands. The serrated edges of kitchen shears, on the other hand, cut through the mat like butter.

I made sure to get the flowers all along the top edge onto one strip and the latticework all on the other.

Since both my mat and my mat board materials are on the thick side, I decided to die-cut them separately as to not overstress my machine. If the material you're cutting is too thick you could potentially break your machine if you force it. 

Before die-cutting, I ran my mat board through my Xyron Creative Station. I covered both the back and front of 2 whole pieces of Sizzix mat board. I left the protective film on, then die cut my mat board piece with the Folio Album die. Then Die-cut the plastic mat strips, with the gold side down facing the die.

Once die-cut, you'll see the lined impressions left by the crease blades. I used a pen and ruler to enhance all these lines so I could see them better. Then used my kitchen shears once again and snipped apart my mat.

I only needed one spine of each side (pattern). I will be gluing the spines together so I needed full contact free of the mat in this section.

Then I removed the protective film off the mat board and individually added my mat pieces onto it.

The top row pictures below show the inside of the folio cover. The next row is for the front cover. Take notice the gap of bare matboard in the last picture, that is where the spines overlap and connect. Remember, the entire matboard is cover in adhesive already so all I have to do is press the pieces together and adhere the spine.

Once both the back and fronts were adhered to the mat board, I applied and completely covered it with black gesso. I waited until one side was dried before proceeding to the next side.

At this point, I'm very pleased. The cover looks tons better already just covered in black!

But I did want to accentuate that gorgeous detail. I used Sizzix's new Luster wax over the raised edges. I simply dipped my finger into the wax pot, dabbed or scraped off the excess, and rubbed the raised details of the table mat. I continued this until both the back and front were completely covered.

For the outside of the front cover, I die-cut a mandala from heavyweight cardstock. Because this is a heavily detailed die I made sure to line my cardstock with adhesive first before die-cutting and also die-cut it using a Sizzix Chrome Precision Plate.

I adhered it to a piece of patterned paper that I had previously used on another part of this project (it will come into play in another follow-up segment). Then cut it out with my craft scissors. Cutting a background helps to ground the mandala. I'll be adding this to my from cover and I didn't want the intricate details of the mandala fighting with the lacey details of the mat. Matting the mandala focuses your attention on the mandala and brings it to the forefront.

Up till this point, the cover has been very monochromatic. I wanted to give it a pop of color. and added a splash of RED with peonies and rosebuds. Then surrounded it with daisy leaves and sprinkled in tiny white flowers. I attached the flowers using Quik Grab adhesive, a heavy-duty glue that grabs almost immediately.

Then finished off my cover by adding a crinkle ribbon in a matching red color.

Here is my finished album cover...

I love how this turned out! The details of the mat are accentuated beautifully with that gorgeous luster wax!

I think that red color is striking against the black, don't you?!!

Well, that's it for this portion of the tutorial! I hope you enjoyed how I transformed my dollar store mat into a beautiful album cover!!

Stay tuned for the next installment of this tutorial! We will be diving into the GUTS of this folio album and working on all the inside pieces- POCKETS, TUCKS, PAGES, & MORE!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

And until next time...

HAPPY CRAFTING!

~Mitsyana

 

Eileen Hull Release- Foolish Mortals Pocket Notebook

Pocket Notebook Release Party

Welcome to the Pocket Notebook Release Party! This is Eileen Hull’s newest book die with

Sizzix. On the die, you get all of the pieces you need to make an entire book- the cover, pages,

latch and pen loop! The Pocket Notebook measures 6 3/4” x 4 1/2” with a spine that can

adjust from 3/8” to almost 2”!

String it with elastic, hemp, ribbon or twine. So many options for this fun die! Eileen’s Inspiration and Educator teams have combined options to show us their amazing

Pocket Notebook ideas.

Please follow the Blog Hop to see all of the fabulous projects, techniques, and videos! There are also two GIVEAWAYS- the Pocket Notebook die and a gift certificate for Eileen’s

Etsy store.

To,  enter to win, leave a comment on each of the posts. Winners will be announced

on Tuesday, October 8 on Eileen’s Facebook Live show.

**The Full BLOG HOP LINE-UP will be listed below**

Thanks for hopping along with us today!

Let me start off by saying... I am a Halloween JUNKY!! It is absolutely my most favorite holiday EVER!! So I love any and everything Halloween-y! And that includes all the creepy-crawly things that go bump in the night, like SKELETONS & BUGS!

So with that in mind, I created this ghoulishly delightful piece...

If this tickles your Halloween fancy, let me show you how I created it...

Supplies Used

Eileen Hull Designs Pocket Notebook Die (Sizzix)

Eileen Hull Designs Gift Card Folder & Label (Sizzix)

Big Shot Plus (Sizzix)

Mat Board (Sizzix)

Creative Station (Xyron)

Burlap (DCWV)

Cheesecloth/ Gauze

2"x3" Ornate Picture Frame (Recollections)

Skeleton Toy

Pegasus Pony toy 

Black Chalkboard Paint (Prima Marketing)

Gilding Wax (Pebeo)

Crown Charm

Tim Holtz Idea-ology -Adornments- Wicked (Advantus)

Tim Holtz Idea-ology -Adornments- Typed Tokens- Halloween (Avantus)

Tim Holtz Idea-ology -Word  Bands- Incantations (Avantus)

Metal Brads

Beaded Garland

Jump Rings

Quickgrip (Beacon)

Black Twine

Black Mat Board (Grafix)

110lb Black Cardstock (Recollections)

Jewelry Making Tools

Button Shank Remover (Buttons Galore)

Nail File or Fine Grit Sandpaper

2mm Black Elastic Cord

Long Reach Stapler

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret... I love toys... shhh, don't tell anyone! But more importantly, I love to incorporate toys into my creations. So I love to keep them in my crafting arsenal. But you don't need to spend big bucks to get an amazing project, I found these cool items at the dollar store! 

It's Halloween and you can find skeletons aplenty everywhere! I picked this skelly garland up and untied one from his noose. 

And... what little girl doesn't love pretty ponies?? Well, this girl is no exception... so, this pretty little thang is going on my project too!! Or should I say,  just her wings?? Yup, I ripped those suckers off and now she's wingless- Oh no, that's so sad... ok, I'm over it. LOL

I'll start on first prepping my boney friend...

I had some really cool charms my amazing friend, Eileen Hull, had sent me. In the batch, I found this cool crown charm. It had two rings on each end that I didn't need, so I cut them off using a button shank remover. Then I filed down the jagged edges with a nail file.

Once the edges were smooth, I glue the crown to the skeleton's forehead.

I laid him face down till the glue hardened. Then severed his pelvis from his spine using kitchen shears... Wow, sounds kind of gruesome! 

I set his pelvis and legs aside- I'll incorporate them later. They're in perfect condition... I don't want to waste a perfectly good pelvis!

Now, we bring in the wings...

I painted both the upper torso and pegasus wings with black chalkboard paint.

 I removed the backing of the ornate frame to get rid of bulk and painted that too with chalkboard paint then set all the pieces to the side to dry.

Now onto the main part... building my pocket notebook.

I die-cut white Mat Board using Eileen Hull's Pocket Notebook Die using a Big Shot Plus machine.

Then ran sheets of burlap through my Xyron Creative Station and attached them onto my notebook panels.

I made sure to burnish the burlap with a bone folding tool for maximum adhesion.

I added clear drying liquid glue to the spines and connected the spines together and used a couple of clothespins to hold my spines together till the glue set and dried.

Then, ran some cheesecloth through my Xyron Creative Station too and attached it to the front panel.

I added glue to the back of the frame an attached it onto the cheesecloth.

Then, glued the painted wings and skeleton onto the frame.

Next, I took a little spider adornment and cut off the little charm shank and filed down the sharp edges and attached it to my skelly's chest.

Then, I painted the entire notebook (back, front, and the reverse) with more chalkboard paint.

Once the paint was dried, I attached a word band with brads onto the cover.

Then, using my finger, rubbed gilding wax over the surface of the brads, band, and all the raised surfaces of the entire notebook cover.

I finally got back to my pelvis and dangly legs...

Using a piercing tool, I poked a tiny hole through my tailbone. And painted the lower body with more chalkboard paint. Then, rubbed gilding wax over the raised surfaces. And hooked a tiny jump ring through the hole.

For the inside of the notebook...

I decided I wanted a pocket on the inside front cover, so I die cut one from black chipboard using Eileen Hull's Gift Card Folder & Label. I folded the mat board along the creases and glue the overlapping edges together. Again, I used a clothespin to hold it in place till they dried.

For the cards, I found some cool Halloween cobweb paper in my stash. When I die-cut the pocket from the black chipboard, I also die-cut cards out of it too. I covered the fronts of the cars with the cobweb paper and attached a small spider to the top of each along with bows made from black twine.

Then placed my cards in the inside pocket. 

My Inserts were nothing fancy just pieces of folded 110lb black cardstock die-cut using the Pocket Notebook Die that I stapled together with a long-reach stapler.

And here is my finished Notebook... 

I also decorated the spine by stringing this gorgeous beaded garland down the side. I attached charms more to the ends.

I also strung some nylon cording from the jumpring I attached to the tailbone and tied it to the top center hole in the book spine to use the skelly legs as a bookmark/ place keeper.

I absolutely LOVE how this turned out... It's so CREEPY COOL that it's AWESOME!!

I hope you enjoyed my project & tutorial!

CREEP IT REAL, GUYS & GHOULS!!

~Mitsyana

AND...

Don't forget to visit my amazingly talented crafty sisters for more amazing Pocket Notebook projects and leave a comment on each blog to be entered into the GIVEAWAY!!

**BLOG HOP LINEUP DESIGNERS**

Eileen Hull

Susie Bentz

Pam Bray

Julia Aston

Annette Green

Kathy Clement

Cheryl Waters

Ginger Ropp

Mitsyana Wright (YOU ARE HERE)

Debbie Bankston

Anita Houston

Maggi Harding

Anne Redfern

Jenny Marples

Betsy Skagen

Anna-Karin Evaldsson

Tonya Trantham

Madeline Arendt

Lisa Hoel

Karen Bearse

Sue Eldred
Nicole Wright

Elizabeth Robinson

Just a hint of Spring - Matted Wrap Journal

Hi, Crafty Friends!!

Spring is here... It has been playing mean tricks on people but it's here!! Well, at least in my area it's here! And my lawn is growing like crazy and my backyard is in need of some major trimming!! But with all this growth comes all the beautiful wildflowers. I love wildflowers so that's a major plus!

Speaking of plus... I've been meaning to make another matted journal! I didn't forget, I promise just ridiculously busy! Who would've known that the creative life could be so busy??!!

So, here it is, finally!! And it's a WRAP AROUND JOURNAL TOO!!

Supplies Used

Eileen Hull Wrap Journal (Sizzix)

Eileen Hull Passport Die (Sizzix)

Mat Board (Sizzix)

Creative Station Lite w/ Permanent Adhesive Refill (Xyron)

Plastic Table Mat

Black Chalkboard Paint (Prima Marketing)

Tangerine Berry Blossom (PrimaMarketing)

Beads & Chains (Prima Marketing)

Metal Flower Embellishment (Momenta)

Acrylic Heart Charms

Magnetic Discs

2 mm Black Elastic Cord

110 lb White Cardstock

I started with die-cutting a piece of Sizzix Mat Board using Eileen Hull's Wrap Journal and a Big Shot machine. This is an XL die, so you'll need extended cutting plates. The cutting area is also VERY LONG! It cuts the mat board from end to end! 

I did not die cut my plastic mat. Instead, I cut it into segmented panels. The only piece I cut to exact size was the center panel. I wanted the texture of the mat to completely cover that center piece. But the two end flaps I just made sure that scalloped edge was incorporated onto that area with a  bit of a gap to the edge.

Then, I ran the table mat through my Xyron Creative Station Lite. Then gave it a good burnishing with a bone folder before peeling it off and applying them to my mat board. 

Once it was applied to the matboard, I trimmed off any overhang with a pair of non-stick scissors.

Next, I cut my inserts and pages. I found that Eileen Hull's Passport Die's pages fit PERFECTLY!  And because it's a steel rule die, I was able to cut multiple pages at a time.  I cut a combination of white, black, cream, and patterned papers to make my inserts.

I strung them together with just a little bit of twine tied into a basic knot. Then set them aside.

I covered the front of wrap journal cover with black chalkboard paint. I heat set it to speed up the drying then flipped it over and painted the back (inside) of the cover.

Using my finger as an applicator, I rubbed Pebeo Guilding wax over top. it really made all textured details pop!

I string elastic through the spine of the journal cover. These are to hold the inserts in place. I didn't do anything fancy, no fancy weaving in and out, just a single strand through each pair of holes tied together with a basic knot.

I trimmed the excess off and slid an insert under each elastic band.

I tied some beaded charms down the spine. I used a jump ring to anchor them to the two center holes. 

Then, added a double magnet closure. This will ensure that the wrap journal stay closed and secure.

Here's a little peek at the inside of my journal.

I didn't want to take away from all the beautiful texture so I" kept the embellishment to a minimum with a just a small leaf, budded stem, and metal flower. 

And here is my finished Wrap Journal.

Mother nature is playing games this year and can't seem to make up her mind. A lot of my friends still have snowfall. That is just insane!! And the weather here,...we'll have sunshine and 80 degree temps one day and severe thunderstorms and flash flood warnings in effect for the next. Seriously, with screwy weather and temps fluctuating 40 degrees day by day (sometimes on the same day) no wonder people get sick!

This journal reminds me of this years Spring... kind of dark but a little glimpse of green! I'm hoping Spring will be here soon for EVERYONE! I love snow but there's a time when all good things come to an end. Besides, flowers are better than snowflakes any day!! Hahaha!

Hope you all enjoyed this tutorial!

Happy Spring

& HAPPY CRAFTING!!

~Mitsyana

Pretty Painted Matted Passport

Hello, Crafty Peeps. It's been a while that I did some much-needed crafting. But I'm back!! And today I'm playing with my oh-so-fun Eileen Hull Passport Die by Sizzix!! I've made passport projects before but not with this unexpected medium I used for this one.

Today, I will show you how I used a plastic TABLE MAT (from the dollar store)...

to make this detailed "faux-embossed" and hand-painted passport book.

Supplies Used

Big Shot (Sizzix)

Eileen Hull Passport Die (Sizzix)

Mat Board- White (Sizzix)

Creative Station Lite (Xyron)

White Gesso (Liquitex)

Acrylic Paint- Opal Magic Magic Pink-Blue  (Prima Marketing)

Acrylic Paint- Blue Lagoon, Turf Green, Woodland Green, Canary, Orange Sherbert, Purple Sunset (DecoArt)

Elastic Cord- 2 mm 

1" Elastic Band

Rhinestone Ribbon Slide (Dritz)

110 lb White Cardstock

Fabri Tac(Beacon)

Paintbrush

Heat Gun

Scissors

Mini Clothespins *optional*

For my project today, I decided to use the mat on the far right of the picture below, the one with the huge flowers down the center. I wanted to incorporate those beautiful and flowers as the main design of my cover.

I laid my matboard within the perimeter of the flowers to make sure that it would fit. It did with lots of room to spare! 

Instead of adding adhesive to my mat, I added it to my matboard by running it through my Xyron Creative Station Lite. Then, I peeled the protective film off the back and applied the mat board to the section of the mat I wanted to use.

The great thing I found out about using these mats is it easily removed if I didn't like the placement. Just as long as it wasn't completely tacked down. I slowly and gently peeled it back and used a rocking motion from side to side to get the last corner off. Then I was able to re-adhere back onto my mat. 

When I was finally happy with the placement, I flipped it over onto its front and gave the mat a good firm burnishing. I used my fingers to give them a good rub.

Then took scissors to trim off the excess. What was left was a gorgeously covered piece.

I took my piece of covered mat board and die cut it using my Sizzix Big Shot and Eileen Hull Passport Die. I positioned my covered mat board to only cover and spine and cover panels only. Then ran it through my Big Shot machine. Then, moved the remaining uncut piece down and die cut a second cover piece.

I folded the spine only on the outer 2 crease lines. Then attached my cover pieces flush against the folded and creased flap. I secure the covers in place with mini clothespins to help keep them in place while they dried.

Once the glue was dried, I painted over the entire front cover with white gesso. It took a couple coats for the gold not to show through. 

I used a heat gun to speed up drying time in between coats. I made sure to not keep the heat gun too long in any particular area because the mat is plastic and I didn't want it to melt or warp and distort the image. 

Once my gesso was dried,  I dry brushed over top with Opal Magic Pink Blue acrylic paint.

With a fine paintbrush, I shaded in the recessed areas to add more details.

For the inside of the passport, I just die cut 110 lb white cardstock using the same Eileen Hull Passport die. This time I only covered the pages side of the die. Each die cut creates two pages, so I die cut a total of 12 double pages.

 I did not bind my pages! Instead, I left them loose. 

There are notches at the top and bottom of the SPINE of the passport cover... I used 2 mm white elastic and tied a strand of elastic into each notch.

I grouped my pages into 3 piles (4 double pages in each) and just folded in half at the crease to create book inserts. Remeber, I did not bind them. you can if you want to but it is totally optional.

Then, I lifted each elastic and slid an insert under.

EASY PEASY!!

They fit quite snugly and don't shift. And if you plan on giving this as a gift, your recipient can take each page out and customize and embellish each because they can easily be removed and placed back in.

I didn't want to take away from all the pretty flowers and shading so I simply embellished with it with an elastic band with a rhinestone buckle to use as my closure.

And here is my finished PAINTED PASSPORT...

Here is a shot of the entire outside cover once done.

I often get asked what I do with my books and journals I create...

Well, this one is going to my friend, Eileen Hull! She loves the color TEAL and when I was creating it I instantly thought of her!

I hope she likes it!!

And I hope you all enjoyed my FIRST of my "MATTED" series of projects. Yes, I have plans to do many more! In fact, There was so much of the mat leftover from this one that I can easily do about 3 more projects... and as you can see, I bought quite a few other mats too.

Don't be afraid to use things other than their intended purpose!! You'll be surprised at all the amazing possibilities there are!!

Thanks for stopping by and be on the lookout for the next one (WINK, WINK)... it's already in the works!!

Until Next Time...

HAPPY CRAFTING!!

~ Mitsyana

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