Whimsical Autumn Acorn Owl

Hello friends!  Back to my new obsession today... art journaling.  When I first got hooked it was all the fabulous splashes of color and the let-your-hair-down kind of whimsy that most appealed to me.  You know how I love flowers and critters and all the beautiful things of nature... but there's a lot of quirky, make-believe fun to be had with this art, too, and I'm ready to indulge.

While I'm still working on the mini-art journal which I made from envelopes and have dedicated to the beautiful flora and fauna of nature, I have now also started a new book which will be dedicated to whimsy.  My first page features this Cottage Cutz Acorn Owl.  I love him!

This book is made the same as the envelope book (link to instructions), but I figured I could do it with cardstock just as well.  The only difference in making it with envelopes is that you can have ready-made pockets if you so desire.  I did not desire.  Maybe later.  I'll decorate the cover later, too.

Rather than ribbon ties, I braided three strands of gold elastic cord which can be slipped off and on.

There are 14 A2-size pages to decorate (4 1/4" x 5 1/2"), just like a card.  I'm baby stepping my way up to larger pages.  I made the cover of cardboard so it's just like an honest to goodness real book.  I've also bookmarked several other videos for making different style books.  Have I mentioned it's as much fun to make the books as it is to decorate the pages?

The background is blended Distress Oxide inks -- Peacock Feathers, Rusty Hinge, and Pine Needles.  I splattered with water, stamped some script, and stenciled with an unnamed Amazon-find stencil and Ranger Distress Opaque White texture paste.   I love how the paste picked up the ink colors.  Funny how much yellow it produced.  All the better!

The owl is dotted with white Nuvo Crystal drops, and he's grounded with a leaf border over burlap.  I have a pad of burlap paper and found that I could easily separate the burlap from its paper backing -- yay!

I've got circles punched from designer paper and coated with glossy glaze.  The letters are AALL & Create Spell it Out.  The "O Happy Day" is an old Power Poppy sentiment.

My toybox is full of stamps and dies that will be perfect for this book and it will be fun to wander from one style to the next.  There's so much more to do!

I'll be sharing in Darnell's NBUS Challenge #92 --  My never before used schtuffs are the Acorn Owl, the stencil, the texture paste, and the letter dies.

I hope you enjoyed, and I thank you for sharing your time with me.  Take care, and have a delightful day!