Going grungy with pan pastels ... plus a tutorial

This week over on PAB Pan Pastels challenges we have been asked to go all grungy and have to say, this actually stumped me a little. Recently I seem to have gone all shabby chic with my projects and was a little worried about what to make. After a quick rummage through my drawer of things I want to alter, an idea sprung to my head.

I am also on a mission at the moment to use lots of my stash up that I have decided (for one reason or another) needs to either be cherished or alternatively is still too useful to throw away (and that includes papers I just don't know what to do with) .... so, with that in mind, I have altered a notebook.

Now ... this is the time I urge you to get a huge mug of coffee (or tea) as I have written a tutorial about how my project evolved and more importantly, I used up some of my "precious bits" ...... here we go ......

I have had this paper for eons and it is a good weight paper so that is the reason I have probably kept it but honestly, it does nothing for me .... sorry! So I have covered the front of my notebook with it using a wet glue. I should add that i did take my note book apart first.

Now I have seen something similar to this on Pinterest where people have used die cut alphabets but I have quite a few alphabet sticker sheets left over from projects and sometimes there are not enough letters to make the words/description I want but I still keep them (just in case). I have randomly selected letters and numbers to fill the front on the note book.

Next using Maimeri white gesso, I have covered everything. Don't panic if you can still see the paper or letters as they will soon be covered. My handy hint is that I always work on wax paper, you know the paper you use with your dies, as nothing ever sticks to it and it saves having to keep cleaning up my glass mat or craft mat.

Now the fun part ... I go around the edges with raw umber pan pastel making the very edges darker.

Next it's on to the metallic copper .... yum! I wipe my sponge clean on the wax paper (which I will use later).

and the final colour (for now) magenta pan pastel. You can now see all the letters and numbers again.

Taking the "Hearts flowers" stencil, I ink through it with a red brown versamark ink pad.

I then cover all in the ink with clear detail embossing powder and heat. It creates another textural element without making it too bulky.

I didn't waste the ink on the stencil either. I covered the rest of the stencil and ran it through my big shot, embossed with clear detail powder and it was ready for another project (which I have used on here)

After embossing the cover, i went over lightly again with metallic copper pan pastel which highlighted all the embossing powder.

Using various Studio 12 stamp sets, I stamped down one side of my cover with black Adirondack.

I said earlier that I wipe my sponges clean on my wax paper and this leaves me with a gorgeous translucent background. I have stamped Shabby Roses stamps from Studio 12 on the wax paper using black Adirondack ink pad. I then cut them out.

Using Maimeri matt gel, I stuck the roses down along the bottom edge of the cover and then liberally covered the whole front with the gel.

Before adding embellishment, I re-punched the holes so I knew what space I have left to further play with. I've used my Big Bit but any robust hole punch would do.

Although I randomly placed the letters and numbers, I also added a word to the mix and I chose "ME". This could be anything you wanted including your name. I have used a white GraphIt shaker pen and carefully went around the letter edges so that the "ME" really stood out.

Now adding all those yummy extras. I have used a selection of Dutch Doobadoo products covered with Perfect Medium, then pan pastels, Perfect Medium again and embossed with clear detail powder. I have added some Rusty Pickle embellishments to my embellishments. I should add that I found a huge bag full of Rusty Pickle metal embellishments that I had totally forgotten about .... that won't happen again, I assure you !!!

For the wings/feathers (from Dutch Doobadoo), I did the same treatment as above but added a Rusty Pickle page edger, secured with an eyelet. I adore how this has turned out and must do this again ...

I added the arrows, key and stars to the bottom of the cover and further embellished with Doodle Dewdrops, ribbon, elastic and Rusty Pickle embellies. On the "ME" I added some feather wings, buttons and Doodle Dewdrops (because I can ... hee, hee, hee). I did use my glue gun to glue these in place as did not want them falling off.

On the side of my notebook cover, I added a Dutch Doobadoo lock and surrounded it in a Rusty Pickle frame securing only one end with an eyelet. I used my glue gun to put this in place. In the other hole I have used the same gold elastic and hung my feather wings, the large star and a Rusty pickle letter "L". A sneaky little bit of ribbon to hid all my knots.

Phew, that's it folks and many thanks if you have read to the very end. Although this project seems labour intensive, I can say that it came together very quickly. As one thing was drying, I worked on another and so on and so on. The longest part was faffing about with the embellishments and where to put them!

I'm now going for a long lie down as my fingers desperately need a break. Have a great Sunday everyone and can't wait to see your grunge project.

Lou
x x x

Products I used:
Rusty Pickle embellishments - tags, frames, edgers, eyelets   GraphIt white shake pen   Adirondak black ink pad   Versamark red/brown ink pad   Perfect Medium ink pad  Recycled kraft notebook

         

     
I am entering my notebook in to the following challenges:
Chalk N Stock - use chalk (I have used pan pastels)
Dream it Up! - what inspires you
Miriam's Crafting blog - use texture
Sweet Stampin' - lots of layers
We Do Doobadoo - embellish it
Crafty Catz - B is for .... book,
The Artisitic Stamper - embossing and texture