Hi everyone! Today I'm sharing a spooky Halloween project that I hope puts you in the mood for fall - I know it has for me! When I saw Tim Holtz's new idea-ology release, my first thought was to make an altered book...something that looked like an old witch's spell book. I headed to the thrift store, found the perfect book to transform, and started playing.
Follow along to see how to make one of your own!
Open your book to the center (my book measures about 5.5" x 7"). Use the Gothic Gate die and the Found Relative cutout to gauge where your opening should be. Mark the corners.
Use a sharp Xacto or razor knife and a straight edge to cut your opening.
Be very careful when doing this! Make shallow cuts and remove a small amount at a time, creating an opening about 1/2" deep.
Next, glue the pages of the book together, trying to focus on only adhering the center of the pages. We'll be tucking ephemera into the edges, so you need a bit of room for that. Adhere the ledger design paper from the Materialize Paper Stash to both pages, cutting out the niche on the right hand side. Add patterned paper to the inside of the niche, and cover the edges with Materialize Design Tape. Sand and ink the edges to give a worn appearance. Add Remnant Rubs as shown and use a black Distress Crayon to darken the edges.
Die cut the word 'wicked' and bats using black Kraft Core'dinations paper. Die cut the Gothic Gate from black cardstock and emboss with silver embossing powder. When cool, sand lightly to dull the finish, then rub black Distress Crayon randomly on the gate to give an aged appearance.
Time to decorate!! Apply Remnant Rubs to a ticket from the Curiosities Ephemera pack and adhere to back of niche. Unwind a piece of orange and black jute string and use the black piece to tie two Boneyard Bones together. Adhere them to the bottom of the tag. To create the witch's hat, apply a hat Remnant Rub to a scrap of kraft cardstock and trim closely. Adhere the Found Relative woman to the niche and attach the hat. Glue the fence into place as shown. Use a strong adhesive like Beacon Quick Grip to adhere the broom and pumpkins. Tip! If you gently press the surface of the pumpkins, you'll get a cool crackle effect.
Wrap a length of orange and black jute string around the center of the book. Tie a knot around the chain of a Swivel Clasp. Attach key, cameo, spider, and token with jump rings.
To finish the left side, layer your die cut strip to a slightly wider strip of orange glitter Deco Sheet. Add a spider Remnant Rub to the center of the 'D'. Adhere strip to book as shown.
Finish the book by adding pieces of ephemera between the pages, tearing them to fit if necessary.
I've wanted to do an altered Halloween book for ages and I'm so in love with how it turned out! I can't wait until it gets closer to Halloween so I can display it. Is this week close enough? ;-)
You can find all the supplies I used at Simon Says Stamp via the links below.
Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you enjoy my tutorial and are inspired to make a witchy altered book of your own!
