Take the first step

Well another week and another project.  This is the second project for Imagine If/Fix Designs NZ.  This project also uses one of their clever 3D shoes, only this time we had a boot to use sent a boot to use in a project.  The boot is actually three pieces that can be made into one 3D boot however I chose to split it up so that I could use the pieces to represent two boots on my project.  Here is the front of the finished project. This is in fact an art journal made from a recycled Readers digest encylopaedia. Don’t you just love the boots.

To begin the project I found an old Readers Digest Encyclopaedia at the local second hand store.  I took the pages out of the middle of the book leaving the spine and covers in one piece.  I then covered the covers and spine with reflective paper which began life as a gift bag.  I simply pulled the bag apart and then glued it to the book Covers.  Once I had covered the book with the paper bag I taped grey duct tape over the spine piece. There are several good video tutorials on You Tube showing how to deconstruct and recover the book with paper and how to create and bind signatures into the book.

 

Once the outside of the book was covered I cut a piece of thick cardboard slightly smaller than the cover and painted it black.  Taking a second piece of card  I measured the card and divided it into sections which I marked on the front and back of the card.  I then put the boots on the card in the position that I wanted them in for the final look and drew around the boots so I could see where to put the chipboard. Once I had done this I glued several of the Imagine If/Fix Design NZ chipboard shapes onto the card around the outline of the boots and in the areas that the boots would not cover.  Once the glue had dried I covered the whole piece with aluminium tape and using an embossing tool I went around all of the shapes under the tape.

 

 

After embossing the shapes I painted the whole piece with black paint and then rubbed it off with a paper towel.  This gives the effect of embossed metal. I then cut the piece of card into nine tiles.  I painted the edge of the tiles with black paint and glued them to the first piece of painted card with a small gap between each of the tiles and the side and top of the black card.

 

 

 

Using the same embossed metal technique I cut four round scallop circles using the Spellbinder circle dies.  I painted them black and used these to make faux metal corners for the front and back corners of the covers.  Fold the circle in half.  Open it out again and put glue on the whole circle . With the glued side up place the corner of the book (cover side up) onto the circle.  Fold the other half of the circle on top, fold the sides around and glue to the inside of the book covers.  I then glued the tile piece on to the front cover and added black and silver letter brads down the side. 

 

 

 

I then added gold brads to the corners of the tiles, except where they would be covered by the boots. On top of the gold brads I put a dot of glossy Accents black enamel paint. On the back of the cover I used strips of metal embossed card, strips of red card and metal word brads.  I punched a hole in the middle of the back cover and used a black eyelet to make an opening for the hair tie closure.

 

 

The next part was to jazz up the boots. 

I glued tissue paper to both pieces of the boots and then once it was dry I painted it with red paint.  Once the red paint was dry I drybrushed then with black paint.   You will notice that one boot does not have a heel. That is because it was designed to sit on top of the boot with the heel to create the 3D effect, but as the heel will not show on the finished project it is fine as it is. Once the paint was dry I embossed the boots using a Craft Concepts Flower embossing folder   and then covered them with a coat of modge podge.  On the boot with the heel I made a cut from the top of the boot down to the ankle and I glued a piece of black card between the two cut sides.

 

I glued a piece of white crochet doily around the ankles of each boot, then I glued a piece of black lace over the top of the doily.  I glued a row of gemstones onto the black card I had glued on earlier and added a leather flower from an old belt.  I painted the heel on the shoe black and I also painted the heel piece black.  I glued the heel piece to the boot and put a layer of glossy accents on to the heel piece. I then glued the boots to the front cover. I then added the words and a wooden knob to wrap the hairband closure around.  (Again there are some good tutorials on You tube on how to make these kind of closures.)

 

 

 

To finish the album I covered the inside of the book with black card.  I made six signatures using manila folders and white watercolour paper which I bound into the book using a pamphlet stitch.  I also used scraps of the silver embossed paper and red card to make beads which I incorporated onto the stitching on the spine.  I then painted two of the boot minis with red paint, added brads on each side and glued them together.  I then put a layer of Glossy Accents on each side. Once the Glossy Accents was dry I punched a hole in the top, added a swivel and attached it to the spine of the album.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Products used:

Imagine If/Fix Design NZ  Products

Gemstones

Boot

Boot Mini

Card Cutouts Birds

Card Cutouts Bird Cage Pair

Card Cutouts Art Nouveau Set

Card Cutouts Flowers Stencil

Card Cutouts Monarchs

Card Cutouts Keys

Tim Holtz Chip Block Letter Die

Craft Concepts Embossing Folder

Gold Brads

Letter Brads

Crochet Doily

Black Lace

Wooden Knob

Black card

Heavy cardboard

Silver Aluminium Tape

Tissue paper

Black and Red Acryclic Paint

Waxed Twine

Manilla Folders

Watercolour paper

Black Hair Tie

Black eyelet

Glue/Gel Medium/Glossy Accents

Silver Duct Tape

Fishing swivel

Silver Brads

 

Although this project seems quite complicated it was in fact easy to make and I think it showcases the neat Imagine If/Fix Design NZ boots beautifully.  Plus it is functional as well as gorgeous.  I hope you enjoyed seeing this project as much as I enjoyed making it.  Please leave a comment or ask questions.  See you for the next project.