Sep 7, 2011

LESSology Challenge #1: Creative Projects of Angi Barrs and Julie Tucker-Wolek! :)


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Today we are showing you creative projects from Angi Barrs and Julie Tucker-Wolek.

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It's Angi here to say...YAY for our first LESSology Challenge!!!  I'm so happy that all of you altered art fans have supported our new venture. Now let's get to the fun...

I started out with this book about "Friendship"...
And then I turned it into this...
I've had this book for several years. Some of the pages are worn, so I decided to "re-do" some of them. Here are a few of the page makeovers. I used My Little Shoebox products for the majority of this project.

I cut out "Frienship" quotes from some of the worn pages and added them to my new pages.


On this page I even added a Bitty Bag and put a  "friendship" journal card inside.

Here's a close-up of the cover. Our first challenge is sponsored by Creative Charms. I've added one of their sparkly gradient gems to her hair. Love their products :)

Love this Prima flower and more MLS goodies.


I hope you all enjoyed my book makeover!
I can't wait to see your fun altered creations for this challenge.
 
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Hi everyone :) It's Julie!
Here is my altered book for our very first challenge :)
I started off with this old book from my daughter ... she is potty trained now, so I knew it was safe to alter it up! :)


First I used gesso to cover all the pages up :) While the gesso was still wet, I added circles to the front and back covers with a bottle cap :)
Then I painted my pages :)
And while all the paint was drying, I misted and glittered some of the alphas I knew I would be using for this project :)

Once everything was dry, I put large doilies on each page and misted each page :)
And here is my final result! :)
















I used a lot of different things from my stash on this book! :)  Some Bo Bunny, Echo Park, Prima flowers, Creative Imaginations, Websters, Making Memories, Sassafrass, flowers from Tessa's ETSY shop, a floral ribbon from a happy mail package from my friend Lena, and the BIG flower on the front cover I found on clearance at Michaels! :)
I hope you enjoyed my altered book! :)

Inspired to partake in The Altered Book Challenge? We would love to see your entries! :) Please leave some love for our designers!

Sep 6, 2011

LESSology Challenge #1: Creative Projects of Audrey Pettit, Kirsty Vittetoe and Yvonne Yam! :)


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Today we are sharing the creative projects of Audrey Pettit, Kirsty Vitteto and Yvonne Yam.

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Hi everyone! It's Audrey, excited to be here today sharing our very first challenge at LESSology. For my project, I created a nursery rhyme/ABC board book from a recycled kid's meal toy. Although cute before, this bright and happy learning book is now sure to bring a smile to any young child.
Here is how my book originally looked. Cute and sweet, buy waaaaay too young for anyone at my house. And with the fast food company logo on the front cover, not a good candidate for gift-giving, as it was. But with a little upcycling, this board book becomes a charming gift for someone with a small child.
 Since the pages were slick and glossy, the first step to altering it was giving each page a light sanding. Roughing up the surface a bit will make covering the book with patterned papers easier and more durable. Without this step, your newly glued-down papers may peel right back up.

I’ve learned that for me, it’s easier to create a cohesive mini album by coming up with a “formula” that you repeat for every page. For this album, I used papers from one collection, October Afternoon's Ducks in a Row, for a unified look. Each facing page got contrasting papers, with the right page getting the addition of a strip of scalloped paper from the left page. I mixed the papers up on each page, but repeated them throughout the album for balance.


Nursery rhyme and alphabet cards dress up each page. I added manila shipping tags behind the alphabet cards, along with upper and lower case alpha stickers. A simple and fun way to learn your ABC's.


The cover is embellished with more patterned papers, a bit of trim, and a fun kitty journaling card. Large shipping tags covered in vintage dictionary pages and washed with white paint are wrapped around the front and back covers and act as the closure for the book. The string from the back tag, wrapped around a fabric brad on the front, quickly and easily holds the pages shut.


Enjoy!
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  Hi, it's Kirsty! I am super excited and I am sure you are too, that our very first challenge at LESSology is finally here!!!
LESSology is all about recycling and upcycling, if you are "thinking green" or a thrift store junkie like me, you are going to love love love LESSolgy.
I bought this book for 0.50 at a local thrift store, I just love the color of the cover.

and I "borrowed" the lovely tulle from a birthday gift sent to me by my bloggy friend Lauren
TaDa......

here's my Paris Book....

One of my dream in this lifetime is to live in Paris for at least 6 months...
(waiting for my husband to retire)

We will be missing our friends and family by then..... and I will need lots of notecards to send to them.

cards with matching envelopes....


dream on....

now I can't wait to use my first note card from my Paris Book....

I am inviting you to join us for LESSology very first challenge, I promise, you will have more inspiration than ever to warm you up for this challenge and guess what? We have 2 prizes this round, thanks for our wonderful sponsor - Creative Charms (you should definitely check it out!!!) 


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Board book to frame

Hello friends! Yvonne here to share my altered book project. I turned an old board book into a decorated frame for a vintage photo of my parents' wedding.

Board book to frame 1

I started with an old board book (5.5 X 7.5 inches). What I did was to cut windows on the cover and inner pages (approx 4X6 inches), leaving the last page intact. I sanded on the surfaces to make it easier for elements to adhere.


Board book to frame 2

I adhered old music paper to the back page and coated it with vintage mod podge which aged the paper evenly. I covered the cover with soda can panels which I embossed with an embossing folder. Yes, don't throw out those cans! I then applied alchol ink in copper to match the tone of the music paper.

Board book to frame 3
Then I embellished with some found items around the house, inking and staining them with distress and alcohol inks. I also added crackle paint in rock candy for some subtle cracks on the base. Once I was happy with the placement of the elements, I glued the pages down for a sturdy frame.

Inspired to try out The Altered Book Challenge for yourself? We would love to see your entries! :) Please leave some comment love for our designers!

Sep 5, 2011

LESSology Challenge #1: The Altered Book



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Welcome to LESSology's Challenge #1 - The Altered Book Challenge! :) Get creative with a found book or make a book from scratch! Remember to include at least ONE upcycled item on your creation!

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We are glad to have Creative Charms as our sponsor for Challenge #1! Creative Charms is generously offering 2 prizes! :)



One for a merit winner and another, for a randomly selected player! :)

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Here are sneak peeks of our design team projects to help get you started! You will be seeing these awesome projects in their full glory as we reveal them this week! :)


Ready to play along? 
Link your creations via Inlinkz (located at the end of the post) by Sunday September 18, 11.59pm EST. Please read the challenge rules to ensure your eligibility for our prizes.


Sep 2, 2011

Today is winnerday! :)



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Thank you for your support of LESSology! Today is winnerday! :)

 
 Please join us in congratulating Linda Lapotka - the winner of our "Win a design team spot" contest and the newest member of our design team! :)





It is also time to announce the winner of our launch post giveaway! :)

 


Congratulations to Helen Tilbury! :)   
You are the randomly selected winner of the Nikki Sivils School is Cool kit!




And thank you for all the love you left for our design team members. :)



We randomly picked a winner from the design team post with the most comments.

Congratulations to Audrey Frelx! :)
You win the Gauche Alchemy Color Sampler kit!





Winners, please email your mailing details so that we can get your prizes sent out to you!

See you on Monday for our very first challenge! :)

Sep 1, 2011

Meet LESSology design team member Amy Tsuruta! :)


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Hi!  My name is Amy and I'm thrilled to be on the LESSology Design Team!  I live in the beautiful state of Washington with my 2 fabulous kids.  I'm engaged to thee best guy that supports my crazy paper crafting hobby!  I love to be creative...to inspire and to definitely be inspired...I hope that you'll join us in the LESSology journey!!!!


Have a look at Amy's sweet creations! :)