I'm doing today's project for a class at the end of the month hosted by my friend Debbie Groulik for some Big Sisters and their Little Sisters.
I've been wanting to do this project ever since we did one as a Make & Take at Leadership in January. It's so easy to alter the DVD cases. Just slide a piece of Designer Series Paper into the cover, or create your own Too Cool background. Plus, the hard cover is a nice way to protect your notes. (Note: currently, you can get the package of four DVD cases for $4.95, but they are going up $1 in the new catalog—get yours before June 30th!)
I'm giving the girls a choice of two different styles that they can create…this is one of them!
Emboss Resist is the bomb! I am so in love with this background, and it's even more spectacular in person because you can feel the embossed texture (even through the DVD plastic!).
Have you tried emboss resist? It's so much fun! Basically, it's creating at least three layers beginning with some ink, then some clear embossing, then more ink. The real fun comes when you experiment with sponging and randomly stamped images.
Emboss Resist Layering: To create the look I achieved here, take these steps:
- Start with a piece of 7" x 10-1/2" Whisper White that's scored along the 10-1/2" side at 5" and 5-1/2".
- Using the Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel inked in Soft Suede, roll on ink all over the background in short strokes and in every direction until you cover most of the card stock. (I stamped the inside of the cover the same way and it's pictured below).
- Next, I randomly stamped the floral flourish from Elements of Style in VersaMark and Clear Embossed it.
- Add some sponging! I randomly sponged on Baja Breeze and Crumb Cake, and Soft Suede. The more color you add, the more your embossed design will pop!
- The edges are all sponged even more with Soft Suede (even the spine edges).
Add some stamping! I used the beautifully coordinating images from Extreme Elements. The big ink spot image was stamped in Baja Breeze. The fleur de lis was stamped in Not Quite Navy, and the dots were stamped in Soft Suede. - Once all the sponging and stamping is done, be sure to wipe off the sheet with a tissue to remove any ink residue from the embossing powder and make the designs nice and bright!
The plastic that holds the cover on the DVD case is open at the top and bottom, so it's easy to wrap some Seam Binding around it. I tied on a scrap of Crumb Cake Seam Binding and Chantilly Crochet Trim (save those scraps!)
I used the soon-to-be-retiring Define Your Life stamp set to create a label for the front of my journal. I liked the idea of each girl selecting a word that best described them. (I'm gonna miss unique this set!).
I layered Not Quite Navy Decorative Label Punches behind the sentiment (see how on this post).
The flowers are punched from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack…two curled layers with a Rhinestone Jewel center.
The back of the embossed piece will show through to the inside, so make sure you decorate that, too! You can see my rolled texture here. I wanted to keep it more plain on the inside, but I did add a Favorite Thoughts (retired) sentiment, with a crown from Clearly For You (not available at the moment, but it's in the new catalog—yay!).
Notepad Info: You can purchase these 5" x 8" junior legal pads at any office supply store, many times in bulk packs. They won't fit in the DVD case as is, so they will need to be trimmed down about 1" off the bottom. Your office supply store should be able to do that for you for a reasonable price. I got 24 pads cut down for under $2.
I attached my notepad to the case with Sticky Strip, then added a small strip of coordinating designer paper to the top. TIP: if you do your emboss resist on a full sheet of paper, then trim it down to fit your case, you'll have enough coordinating scraps to cover the notepad binding.
FYI—A pencil or really skinny pen will fit inside, but the decorated RSVP pens are too bulky (too bad, I would have loved to make a matching pen). You could dress up your pen with by tying some scrap ribbons to the end.
Complete Supplies List
- Stamps—Elements of Style, Extreme Elements, Clearly For You, Favorite Thoughts (retired), Define Your Life (soon to retire!), Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel
- Ink—VersaMark, Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy, Soft Suede Classic Ink
- Paper—Whisper White, Not Quite Navy card stock Parisian Breeze DSP (retired)
- Accessories—Baja Breeze Seam Binding, Crumb Cake Seam Binding, Chantilly Crochet Trim, Rhinestone Jewels, junior legal pad (trimmed), Clear Embossing Powder
- Tools—Sponges, Heat Tool, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Decorative Label Punch, Sticky Strip, Multipurpose Glue (for flowers), SNAIL
Order the supplies to make this project at my Too Cool Online Store!
Hope the Big Sisters and Little Sisters love it as much as I do! Can't wait for the event!
June 30th Update: Check out the other DVD journal that the girls could choose to make on this later post.
Angie
Everyone will love the project – Too Cool! We have our BBBS Scrapbooking Night tonight and I’ll be sure to spread the word to any new attendees.