Going over all psychedelic.....

Some days, you just need to finish something the same day you start it - and I needed a new journal cover as my current journal is almost full (I know it's a little bit nerdy to have a journal, but I have the memory keeping capability of a goldfish, so the journal works for me!).

I made one for my bff's birthday which was specific to her and her tastes (blogged earlier) but I wanted mine to be a bit more unfinished.

So, out with scraps of fabrics I'd hand dyed - especially the selvedges - and in a salute to my Scottish heritage, I wove a psychedelic tartan.  This was stitched down onto a piece of scrap wadding, using variegated thread and then the real farty stuff started:

First of all, I used some of my stamps (Extreme Elements from Stampin' Up - one of my favourite stamp sets) and with a black 'stayzon' stamp pad, stamped here and there.  Then, I remembered I could also use bleach as a stamping solution, so out with the White King and a bit more stamping - the dye came out of the fabric but not the black stamped images - guess that's why they call it 'stayzon' !  I really enjoyed this part - except for the fumes - it was amazing to actually watch the dye leach out.

Once the bleach had all dried, I got a nail brush out and vigourously scrubbed to further distress the fabric - and the result is a super soft, very distressed, psychadelic tartan.  Perfect!

I added a couple of pieces of fabric to hold the notebook, left all the edges unbound and then added a little brad on the front - I love it - it's soooooo tactile - here's hoping it inspires me to bigger and better things......

Notebook is opened out so you can see the entire piece (rotten photo - it was taken at night)

Here's a close up of the front:

It's very different to the one I made my bff, but some of the elements are the same - my hand dyed fabric, stampin', variegated thread - love, love, love how a similar set of components can provide the stimulation for ideas at either end of the spectrum.....chaos/order, rough/smooth etc etc

My bff's journal opened out - my hand dyed fabric, stamped, hand quilted, foundation pieced circular flying geese, buttons, sweetwater fabric line and a piece of ribbon taken off a beautifully packaged cake!