Don't think - just do

I have a self-imposed challenge going: no buying any craft products (except gesso or adhesives) for 100 days. My time is up on 27 Jul but so far, so good! I've got so much stuff, it could be handed down for generations! So I decided to just start using my scraps and what I had on hand to make a visual journal - textures and layers that you can feel with your eyes 👀 And it's perfect for this month's Bleeding Art challenge - Add Cardboard! We added a new DT so I could focus on other things and not do monthly DT projects but I couldn't resist!

I started with this cardboard packaging piece that was already a book just waiting to happen! It's a large piece - about 10" x 10"!

From there, I started building my pages - no thinking, just doing! It was so liberating just doing without planning or scrutinizing; just start placing stuff in randomness and let it flow! It's got it's dark moments with grunge and industrial/vintage elements but also some color as well.

My favorite thing to use is paper bag pieces to give anything a worn look - it was perfect for this project and didn't disappoint!  

Inside, the pages are all different. But they all possess texture of some sort. Embossing, stenciling, fibers and fabric, plastic, tears and rips, distressing... And I made my own primitive hinges inside using cardboard to hold the rings. There are lots of pics to highlight the textures, layers, and eclectic look which I've laid out in eclectic style - you'll be here awhile! 

  

                          

Each page tells a different story...

  

   

                  

Do you have a favorite so far? Here's the rest!

          

              

                 

                  

          

     

This a fab way to get your creative juices flowing and get rid of those scraps! It's really therapeutic to sit and create with no rules and no guidelines - I highly recommend it!

I'm entering this at Frilly & Funkie and Snip Art!

Grungy Chipboard Album

I've got a really cool chipboard album for you today, courtesy of A Vintage Girl!

This Steampunk Dreams album is large - 11" x 8.5"! 

I only used half of it because I liked the skinny look. I've still got a corrugated page, the dress form page, and the full back page. That will make a nice little album as well - or use the pieces separately! 

For the 1st gear page, I used DecoArt Metallic Lustre waxes and added a little rust paste, Emerald Creek Charred Gold embossing powder, and watered-down black gesso .

On the backside, I used a piece of an old newspaper and grunged it up.

The 2nd gear pg is like the 1st but not as light. 

On the backside, I copied a piece of the paper from the Hometown & Main paper collection onto tissue paper. It looks fabulous! 

The next page has scraps of trims and fabrics, buttons, and threads. There's also a window frame from the Printers Tray Trinket set with some old ladies and a rusty screen.

The next page has the rest of the pic printed on tissue paper and bricks!

For the bricks, I first put down some ceramic stucco paste and pressed part of the bricks outline into it. Then I used the bricks outline itself embedded in the stucco.

Another little window!

This page is another piece of the paper copied onto thinner paper,  then brushed with oil to give it a vellum look. The chipboard underneath gives it a darker look from the original bright page. And then there's pipes that have been grunged up.

Peek-a-boo! 

The back is covered with vintage furniture fabric. I embossed the wing with the Charred Gold and the edges of the page. 

I cut out the logo and embossed it as well - you can use everything in these chipboard sets!

It's a little dark but has some color thrown in.  I just love this album and it's quality! It's sturdy, takes anything you can throw on it, and is so versatile!  You won't be disappointed in anything from A Vintage Girl! 

I'm entering this at Mini Album Makers, Frilly & Funkie, Snip Art, and SanDee & Amelie's!