Sketch Book Cover {with Squiggly Ink Stamps by Elaine Wainwright}

Hi everyone. I'm Elaine, and I am thrilled to have been asked to do a guest design piece for the PaperArtsy blog. I have many styles and love to create cards and alter things. A crafter for about 9 years, I find the diversity to be relaxing and inspiring after a long week at my day job. 

Today I am altering the cover on a sketch book. 

I started with this soft backed sketch book, which as you can see has a brown/kraft coloured cover. This makes for a warm but still fairly neutral base on which to paint. 

I began by covering the front cover with Limelight Fresco Paint, as this is a translucent it adds a subtle layer of colour while allowing the brown cover to still show through. I then stencilled two of the corners using Hey Pesto. To avoid a harsh line of paint, I applied it heavier in the corner and then lighter as the stencil comes towards the centre of the cover, allowing it to fade away at the inner edge.

Next I inked up my stamps. Curls and Swirls 5 using the 'tree' image as the centre focal point. I then stamped the corner image onto the two remaining book corners. 

Finally I added some Tim Holtz 'chit chat' words with painted edges to make them blend in. 

This was a quick make that took me around 25 minutes to complete. I hope you like it and perhaps you might have a go at something similar this weekend. 

Elaine. 

A huge thank you to Elaine from PaperArtsy HQ. Those two greens work perfectly with the brown sketch book cover, complimenting the base colour while still adding a bit of 'zing' and bringing the cover to life. What a great, effective way to personalise a book cover.

If you would like to join in our weekly challenge with any of this week's guests who have blogged since Sunday night, then join in to link up your creativity HERE.You will go in the draw to win PA stamps of your choice! You need to link your entry by 17:00 (London time) Sunday January 19th 2014