Winter Reading

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  Our hostess this time is Nancy and she is calling the challenge Winter Wishes and is asking us to make projects that remind us what we like about winter.  Don't forget your project must be vintage or shabby chic.

The winner will earn a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie, and everyone who enters will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

The guidelines for entering are simple and are shown on the challenge post at Frilly and Funkie so make sure you check them out before you enter.

Now on to the challenge and to be perfectly frank, there is nothing I like about winter.  I live in a climate where we get cold and snow usually from early November to late March and I feel every bit of it so I just want to stay indoors and cocoon.  I do read a lot and it is especially nice to read in front of the fireplace so I decided to go with a reading theme for my inspiration.  I have made a bookmark and a co-ordinating book cover.

To make the bookmark, I cut a piece of chipboard and covered both sides with papers from the Autumn Basics paper pad by Maja Design and then punched a hole in the top.  I created a sentiment on the computer and then fussy cut a woman from the paper pad and added her beside the sentiment.  Next I cut them out and inked the edges with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink.

I dyed some seam binding with more of the Tumbled Glass DI and added it along with some pink eyelash yarn through the hole in the top.  Next I added some little dew drops to a safety pin,made a bead charm and a little tag charm that was punched from some plastic packaging material, added to some of the Maja paper and topped with some pearls.

To make the book cover, I measured a book with 375 pages because this is roughly the size of all the books I get from the library.  I made sure I had enough length to wrap around the book and create 3" pockets on each side of the inside.  When I determined the width I added 1/2" on each edge so that I could sew a 1/4" seam and still have enough slack for the book to fit easily in the pockets.  The base of the cover is made from felt and is fairly thick.  Since I was going to be putting books in and out of the inside pockets, I sewed the cover to make make sure it would stay together.

Next I made the front panel.  Now I have to say up front that this is an homage to a crazy quilt and that all the stitching is wonky because I wanted it to be that way - I do know how to sew a straight line - LOL.  I also wanted all the pieces to look rough so I tore them and let them fray.  When I started to put this together I had to buy the felt and chose this happy blue felt that would co-ordinate with the Maja papers and then went to my two cupboards full of fabrics and wouldn't you know only the blue floral and polka dot fabric worked so back to the fabric store I went and the pink floral and white (actually white on white) fabrics are new.

The background is a plain pink piece of broadcloth sewn to some fleece to give it some body. Then I created fun sections and embellished them to make the plain background more interesting.  The blue floral piece at the top has some sections from venise lace added to it.  To the right is a little piece of ric rac.  The pink floral section above the closure has three fun buttons sewn on with embroidery floss.

Under the blue section on the left is a piece of twill tape to which I sewed some beads.  Under that on the polka dot fabric is a little flower I created with two layers cut from crinoline using the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die and edged with some Victorian Velvet Distress Ink.  A tiny button from my stash acts as a centre.

The white section on the bottom left has some trim that I found in my stash.  The second blue floral section has another fun button added to it and the pink section in the centre bottom has another piece cut from venise lace added to it.

The polka dot section on the bottom right has two rows of venise lace added to it back to back with a strip of satin ribbon on top and a couple of tiny flower appliques.

Once all the sections were added to the background and the whole thing added to the book cover, then I could fasten down the closure with velcro and decorate it by adding a little felt flower cut with the Tattered Florals die with a tiny button for a centre.

I am going to enter this project in the following challenges:

Crafting When We Can - Anything But A Card
Country View Challenges  - Use Something New To You (some of the fabrics, the felt and the fact that I have never made a book cover before)

The following products used in the creation of reading set can be found at The Funkie Junkie Boutique: