Big Tag Notebook Holder

It is time for the new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog and Ginny is our hostess for this one.  She calls it Terrific Tags and here is how she describes it:

Add it to a gift, label a homemade tasty treat, or display it with your favorite home decor, tags are not only fun to create they also have a million uses. For this challenge create a tag that's big or small, mixed media or layered, or added to a project as a fabulous focal point. I can't wait to see your creations!

I decided to turn one of the small Etcetera tags (Tim Holtz) into a notebook holder.

I started by gluing old book pages to both sides of the tag and I gave it a coat of White Gesso (Dina Wakley). Then I inked it randomly with Forest Moss, Crushed Olive, Gathered Twigs and Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide along with Worn Lipstick and Broken China Distress Inks.  When I finished I decided it was too bright so I brushed on some watered down White Gesso to knock the colour back a bit.  Now I was happy and if you look at the tag in real life you can still see a bit of the text from the book page showing through - barely but it is there.

To add some interest I added some stenciling with a Flourish stencil (Tim Holtz) and Crackled Texture Paste (Wendy Vecchi).  Then I added a 1/4" pocket created from card stock that has an accordion gusset on either side to allow for easy removal of the notebook.  To decorate the pocket, I distressed a piece of paper from the Bloom paper pad (Graphic 45).  I topped that with a piece of card stock punched with a border punch (Martha Stewart) and inked with Picked Raspberry DI (Tim Holtz).  Next came a punched border of patterned paper and then a strip of venise lace.  The last embellishments were some paper flowers (Wild Orchid Crafts), Skeleton Leaves from a die (Tim Holtz) and some Open Leaf branches (Heartfelt Creations) that were stamped, fussy cut and inked with Forest Moss DI (Tim Holtz).


I made a little notebook to fit in the pocket by cutting a piece of card stock  5" x 8 1/4", scoring it on the long side at 4", 4 1/8" and 4 1/4" and then folding the score lines.  Tiny holes were punched 1/2" from the top and bottom and round elastic was threaded through it and tied on the inside.  I created a signature out of copy paper and sewed it with some white twine before inserting it through the elastic to create the inside of the notebook.  It wanted to pop open so I made a belly band with a strip from the patterned paper.

Once I knew how high the book would sit, it was time to decorate the tag.  I made a flower from the patterned paper and a Pinwheel Posies die (Tammy Tutterow) and added stamens to the centre that were dyed with some Picked Raspberry Reinker mixed in water.  I also dyed a paper flower from the dollar store and hung it upside down to dry.  Note:  I should have removed the dark green layer because it dripped onto the bottom of the coloured flower and stained the very outer edge.  I am going to pretend that is a vintage, aged look - my story and I am sticking to it. 

Some ephemera and postage stamps from the paper pad were added along with a Mulberry flower (Wild Orchid Crafts), some Open Leaf branches and Skeleton leaves.  A fussy cut butterfly stamped with Fern Green Archival Ink (Wendy Vecchi) from my leftovers stash was also added.  To top off the tag, I dyed some seam binding and then tied it around a pencil from the dollar store.

Supplies List with links to The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Graphic 45 - Bloom - 8x8" Paper Pad
Paper Flowers (Wild Orchid Crafts and Dollarama)
Open Leaf Stamp (Heartfelt Creations)
Border Punch (Martha Stewart)
Cream & White Card Stock (Staples)
Butterfly Stamp (Hero Arts)
Stamens
Pencil (Dollarama)

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Flourish THS032	Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Texture Paste - Crackled WVPASTECRA	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Etcetera Small Tag Thickboards	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso MDM41689	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Forest Moss TIM27133	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Forest Moss
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Crushed Olive	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Gathered Twigs	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Cracked Pistachio	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Worn Lipstick TIM21513	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Broken China	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Reinker Picked Raspberry TXR35022
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Picked Raspberry TIM34995	Tammy Tutterow Pinwheel Posies Die	Venise Lace Trim - 5/8 inch	Scor-Pal Scor-Tape 1/8" x 27 Yards	Scor-Pal Scor-Tape 1/4" x 27 Yards	Scor-Pal Scor-Tape 3/8" x 27 Yards
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 5pk - Skeleton Leaves by Tim Holtz 663094	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams IBT40965	Rayon Seam Binding	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink Pad - Fern Green AID38962