Better late than never...

I remembered to post that there was Sizzix Blog Hop beginning today, but I thought I was not supposed to post until next week. Boy, do I have egg on my face!

Anyway, the featured die this week is Eileen Hull's versatile Sizzix ScoreBoards XL Die - Album,one of my all-time favorite dies. This album has a cover, a pretty scalloped edge binding and a very nice nameplate. You need to make two cuts to get both covers, but this turned out to be my pushing the envelope idea.I am usually very frugal with my mat board scraps, but was in such a hurry today that I mistakenly cut the entire plate twice rather than the entire plate plus the back cover once more. The two binding edges were laying with one overlapping the other and -Bingo!- I realized I could make a wider width album just by inverting and adding the second binding.


I have been preparing class kits for some classes I will be teaching for Viva Décor at the Collins Group Fall Education and Trade Show in Houston in October, so Viva products have been on my mind a lot lately. I've been doing a lot of experimenting with Glitter Liners, Pearl Pens, Precious Metal Color and Paper Soft Color, and, since I received some fabulous stencils from Crafter's Workshop, I decided to combine the two to make an album to organize all my experimental scraps. I also dug into my treasures from the Craft Gossip Fork and Talk event in Little Rock. (Thanks again, ladies, for a wonderful event!)

Here's how I did it:

Supplies
• Sizzix Little Sizzles - 6" x 13" Mat Board Pack, 6 Assorted Sheets
• Eileen Hull's versatile Sizzix ScoreBoards XL Die - Album
• Big Shot
• Crafter's Workshop Template, Mini Love Beads
• Viva Décor Paper Soft Color, Light Carmine Red, Dark Sand,Violet and Cobalt Blue
• Viva Décor Pearl Pen, Ice White and Gold
• Viva Décor Precious Metal Color, Blue Azure and Silver
• Viva Décor Inka Gold, Gold
• Deutica Lettering Arts Studio, Mandolyn Font
• Round Sponge Dauber (Viva Décor)
• Allene's Original White Tacky Glue
• Brenda Walton Adhesive Borders, Flora & Fauna from K&Company
• Organdy ribbon scraps
• Violet Satin Ribbon, 1/8" Offray
• Cardstock, Blue, Violet and Pink, 12" x 4" folded to 6" x 4"
• Red Liner Tape

Directions:
1. Make two sets of die cuts using the Sizzix mat board pack.

2. Tape cover and binding pieces with easy-release double stick tape. Place the stencil over each item, add masking tape to secure it in place and swirl on the Paper Soft Color, blending the colors where they meet. Move the stencil as needed to cover the whole book. Remove the stencil and add Violet Paper Soft Color randomly.


3. Fold the scalloped edges in on each binding. With straight edges facing, lay one over the other and secure with Tacky Glue. Use clothes pins or binder clips to hold the binding in place while it dries.

4. Assemble the book, adhering one scalloped binding to the front cover and the other to the back cover

5. Tint Flora and Fauna swirls with Cobalt Blue Paper Soft Color. Apply one piece to the binding, overlapping on the front and back if necessary.
allowing the blue to show through in some areas. This creates a hammered metal effect.

6. Paint the nameplate with Blue Azure Precious Metal Color and set aside to dry. When dry, use your paint brush to tamp the Silver Precious Metal Color onto the Blue Azure,

7. Glue the book title in the nameplate and the " A few of my" tag above. Tint with Paper Soft Color if desired. Glue the swirl and nameplate to the front cover. Place a dot of Pearl Pen-Gold on each side of the nameplate for faux brads.

8. Dot the Ice White Pearl Pen along the swirl.

Note: After I finished this and it had dried for about 10 minutes, I decided the white was too harsh and ran over the dots with a little Inka Gold in Gold. I liked it so much that I hit some other highlights with it as well all over the book.

9. Using 1/8" ribbon, tie three-three page signatures into the book, turning the knots to the inside. Gather the 1/8" ribbon on the spine and tie together with organdy scraps.

Now, I can go back and gather up all those little scraps of experimental art and put them in my new book. I just hope I remember how I did them!

Now, go make something for someone you love.

FAQ about the Fresh Vintage Blog Hop:
How do I hop around to see ideas using the current featured die?
Every Tuesday and Thursday between September 27-November 3, 2011 there will be a new Sizzix Fresh Vintage die featured on 6-10 of the 75 participating designers' blogs. The navigation buttons for "Hop Back" and "Hop Forward" will allow you to easily hop around and see projects featuring whatever the current die is, since those buttons are programmed to navigate only to the blogs that are participating for that die. On the next Tuesday/Thursday, the buttons will automatically reprogram themselves to navigate to the blogs that are signed up for the next featured die.

What if I start at a designer's blog that isn't one of the 6-10 signed up for that die?
No problem! Simply hit either the "Hop Forward" or "Hop Back" button on the Fresh Vintage navigation widget from any blog's sidebar and you'll automatically advance to one of the participating blogs.

Can I go back and view the ideas for a previously featured die?
Of course! Go to the "Blog Hops" link at the top of the page. It will bring up all of the blog posts where you'll find direct links to each participating blog along with a thumbnail image of the project.

Where can I buy the Sizzix Fresh Vintage dies, by Eileen Hull?
You can visit Sizzix.com to find a local and online retailers for Sizzix products. Also be sure to visit Oh My Crafts, one of this blog hop's sponsors, (between the dates of September 27-November 3, 2011) and enter for a chance to win a Flower Layers #9 die!

The Blog Hop has ended and the navigation widget is no longer in the sidebar. How can I see the ideas?
Go to the "Blog Hops" link at the top of the page. It will bring up blog posts where you'll find direct links to each participating blog along with a thumbnail image of the project.





Note: I received product from Sizzix, Crafter's Workshop, Viva Décor and K & Company.