Make a List!

Welcome to Magpieheaven where I'm sorry to say I haven't made very much progress with my Christmas cards! In fact I'm beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed with all that remains to be done for the festive season! Our kitchen still lacks work-tops, a new sink, half the cupboards and it needs to be decorated. Delia Smith in my favourite Christmas cookbook advocates lists and more lists about this time of year, so I decided to create a special Christmas notebook to take my mind off the chaos and to help me feel organized, even if I'm not!

I should like to enter my wintry list book for 2 challenges and it's my first time entering both these!
'Arty Inklings Christmas Challenge' where anything Christmas themed is welcome!
'Simon Says Got Ink?' where a project has to use ink in some way! Both these challenges have provided lots of inspiration for those who want to get into the Christmas spirit and get inky and painty!
I made my notebook by stitching five folded 'signatures' of sketch book paper between two thin canvases. I used cream coloured wax thread and Coptic stitching. For the background of my front cover I painted with Gesso, applying it very thickly in places. I then  used Grunge Paste coloured with Fresco Finish Lake Wanaka through a Crafters' Workshop stencil. I created a lacy, frosted appearance by adding lots of frantage in Shabby blue and accenting the centres of my flowers with pearls and gems. I also used die-cut snow flakes and punched leaves to frame my central image - The Frost Frond Queen.

Now we come to the first example of how I used ink on my project. Followers of my blog will know that the other day my son unearthed some stamps a friend of mine once had made of my designs. The image above is the only one I have mounted on Ez Mount so far, so I have used her a few times now. This time I stamped my 'Leafy Princess' onto a stencilled background on an oval of card. I used black Ranger Archival Ink, which I then clear embossed. The crown, which is from a Paper Artsy Lynne Perrella plate was stamped onto card painted with Fresco Lake Wanaka and Mermaid and then stamped with Wendy Vecchi Archival ink in Cornflower and clear embossed. I used a Posca pen to add white highlights to the crown and a thin layer of Frosted Lace Stickles to the leaves in my Princess's hair along with a snowy dollop of frantage. I picked out some of the background in White Fire Treasure Gold and then went to the ink again, this time Distress Inks by Tim Holtz to edge the tips of my snowflakes and corners of my book with Walnut Stain. I stuck some white lace with a blue glitter on the inside edge of the front cover.I used the snowflake 'On the Edge' Tim Holtz die on the inside edge of the back cover, painted with Lake Wanaka and sprinkled with Shabby Blue frantage.

I Gessoed the back of my notebook, slathering lots around the sides, top and bottom to look like snow. For thisback cover I used my favourite Clear Snap stencil of winter trees and a strip of ribbon with a design of bare trees that I really love.

Here I was really pleased with the effect of using Distress Ink through a stencil I made from the card left when I had die cut the snow flakes on the front of the book. I like the 'barely there' look of the snowflakes, which are sponged Broken China Distress Ink.

Going back to the front of my book, I die-cut this shape, which I painted with Fresco Mermaid. I then stamped with Wendy Vecchi Cornflower Blue Archival, a sentiment from a Lynne Perrella Paper Artsy plate, which I clear embossed and then highlighted with a white Posca pen. I edged with Wendy Vecchi Potting Soil Archival and some more Shabby Blue frantage.

I splodged some Gesso over the stitching and highlighted in places with Treasure Gold and some Shaved Ice Mica flakes and it's all ready for some serious organization - but am I!? Thank you for stopping by today as the days grow busier. Have a wonderful day wherever you are and whatever you have to do!