Paperclay Book

Good morning friends

Today I want to share a project that I am extremely proud of.  As most of you know, I am also a designer over at Creative Paperclay.  I love working with it for embellishments for my scrapbooking and cardmaking, but recently I experimented a little with it for something brand new to me...bookmaking.  So, now I am not going to start a business in making books , but I might make a few gifts.  This was extremely easy and so much fun to make.

Here are my step by step instructions, kinda picture heavy.

First I rolled out my paperclay and layed my cuddlebug folder
right on top of it and cut around it with my craft knife.
This will be the size of my book.

Then I layed the cuddlebug folder (open) ontop of
the paperclay and gently pressed it into the clay.
Don't press too hard or it will distort the clay.
I let the paperclay dry for about 6 hours so that it was still pliable.

Then I inserted it into my zutter machine and punched the holes.
That worked so slick.  I then painted the cover and back
with some white acrylic paint.

After the white paint was completely dry, I added a green wash
over the top.  I mixed some green paint with alot of water.

I did that to both the front and back cover.

Then I did the same thing with a blue paint and water mix.

Using a paper towel I "dried" off some of the color to give
it more of an antique look.  The pictures really don't do it justice.

Then I cut all my pages 1/4 inch smaller than my book and
put them in my zutter to punch the holes.

They are all punched.

See how perfectly they are aligned.
Pretty proud of myself.

Now I had to bind it together.  Make sure that you
follow the instructions when binding.  You MUST
rotate your back cover over your front cover.
Do not just place the back cover ontop.

Standing tall

And it's finished.  Now it may not be perfect,
paperclay does shrink and warp a bit, but I love it.
I wish you could feel the way it feels.
 It has a leathery feel and look to it.

Isn't it just gorgeous?  Well, I think so anyway.  Every year we go on a trip to Northern Minnesota, near the Canadian border and I take a journal with me so I can keep a detailed diary of our trip and then I make a scrapbook with it.  This will be my journal this year.  It will fit nicely in my day pack and will be handy to keep my every thought in, wait I might need to make a bigger one...just kidding.  I hope you liked my Creative Paperclay project today and I will see you again in about 2 weeks for another project.  I hope I've inspired you to create your own journal using some Creative Paperclay.  You can purchase Creative Paperclay here or you can even get it at Hobby Lobby or Michaels.