Wicked Halloween Altered Book

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.

RESERVE Tim Holtz Sizzix GOTHIC GATE Thinlits Die 661586 RESERVE Tim Holtz Sizzix HALLOWEEN WORDS THIN Thinlits Die 661587 Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Stash MATERIALIZE 8 x 8 Cardstock Pack TH93303 Tim Holtz Idea-ology CURIOSITIES Ephemera TH93306 Tim Holtz Idea-ology BROOMSTICKS TH93318* Tim Holtz Idea-ology RESIN BONEYARD BONES Findings TH93304* Tim Holtz Idea-ology HALLOWEEN Metal Typed Tokens TH93310 Tim Holtz Idea-ology PUMPKIN PIECES Findings TH93312* Tim Holtz Idea-ology WICKED Metal Adornments TH93305 Tim Holtz Idea-ology CRYPT CAMEOS Findings TH93309 Tim Holtz Idea-ology REMNANT RUB TOOL Stylus TH93211 Tim Holtz Idea-ology GOTHIC Remnant Rubs TH93308 Tim Holtz Idea-ology ORANGE AND BLACK Jute String TH93315 Tim Holtz Idea-ology FOUND RELATIVES Portraits TH93121 Tim Holtz Idea-ology MATERIALIZE Design Tape TH93316 Tim Holtz Idea-ology HALLOWEEN Deco Sheets TH93314 Tim Holtz Idea-ology METAL WORD KEYS TH93319 Tim Holtz Idea-ology SWIVEL CLASPS Hardware Metal Jewelry TH92677 Tim Holtz Idea-ology SANDING GRIP Block Tool Sand TH92482 Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad GROUND ESPRESSO Ranger TIM43270 Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad BRUSHED CORDUROY Ranger TIM21421 Tim Holtz Distress COLLAGE BRUSH SET TDA50896 Ranger Embossing Powder SILVER EPJ37361

InLinkz.com

Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you enjoy my tutorial and are inspired to make a witchy altered book of your own!