Altering to make it yours

Altering is a hot thing right now. There are altered notebooks, clipboards, paint cans and picture frames to name a few. All you do is start with a basic item and embellish to your heart's content! Sounds easy, right? It is! Here, I started with a picture frame and mat...added a few pieces of chipboard, some ribbon...and viola! Art! The great thing about altering is that you decide when to stop embellishing...you may like things more on the simple side or maybe you like wild and over-crowded. It's all up to you. This mat took me about a 1/2 hour to complete.


Here's a notebook that I altered for my grandmother who travels a lot. I thought she may like to have a handmade journal to take on an adventure with her. I started with a composition notebook (you know, the black and white spotted ones?) and started layering paper, ribbons, chipboard and stamped images. I then embossed and added micro beads for texture. I also stamped every 3rd page inside to keep it jazzy throughout. I attached a ribbon bookmark to mark her place too. This project was not a quick one, it consumed the better part of a day, but what a fun day it was!

Never underestimate the basics!

Black and white are so simple that we tend to overlook them. I recently needed a lot of cards, fast, and so I wanted to do something simple but elegant. I figured I'd use it as an example for you to see how striking black and white can be with a burst of color added. I stamped my image in SU Basic Black on SU Whisper White card stock. I then colored the flower with SU Stampin Write Markers. Striking isn't it?


You could also add a cardstock layer behind the image if you want to bring it out a little more but I was happy with simplicity this day.