Happy Halloween! - Very Simply Susan

I have a little treat I want to show you today. Most of the time I am a card maker and use only Stampin’ Up! products. That is because I love Stampin’ Up! and the projects I create with them. But, every now and then I “go rogue” and make other projects with other products. “Junk Books” are one of my diversions. These handmade books are just a jumble of everything you have hanging around and usually revolve around a theme. They are great for using up a lot of the bits and bobs of paper, trims, embellishments, etc. you have in your stash. And once you start a “Junk Book”, you can always go back and add more later! There are no rules. It is just what you want to create.

This is the cover of my Halloween “Junk Book”.

I often shop for unusual and artsy paper from a company here in St Louis called Red Lead Paperworks. The company is run by two very artistic sisters. They used to have a store in St Louis, which was a delight to shop and I often took classes there. Now, they just have an online store. But I order their “Junk Book” kits now and then and make these books. Some are big like this Halloween book and some are tiny.

The Halloween book I just “started”. You will recognize many retired Stampin’ Up papers, etc. But a lot of “stuff” came in the kit I received from Red Lead Paperworks. The best thing? I will take this book out next year and add more “stuff” until I cram it full. And then it will just stay on display as a decoration! Enjoy!

The kit from Red Lead includes a lot of their vintage photograph sheets. This one was colorized using Stampin’ Blends.

This spread also shows a “mini folder”, which was sewn with a zig zag stitch down each side. The vintage image was colorized using Stampin’ Blends. A stencil was used for the words. A wooden embellishment was colored in Pumpkin Pie using a sponge dauber.

Here is the inside of the mini book. Again, the vintage image was colorized with Stampin’ Blends. The stamp set is from Red Lead. The pumpkin is a sticker.

This spread shows the back of the mini book. And do you recognize the dictionary paper from Stampin’ Up? The ghost was created by laying down a die cut of a ghost and then dry brushing black acrylic paint over it. Then the edges of the ghost were sketched in using a white gel pen. This page was from the book Red Lead did. I loved the technique and decided to copy it for my book.

This spread has a sampler I got at one of my sampler exchanges. It was done by Cindy Williams using the Graveyard Gate set. I thought it was so neat, I saved it for my “Junk Book”.

This spread uses a lot of a retired DSP I can’t remember the name of. I always loved the paper and thought it fit my “Ode to Poe” page really well. A lot of retired stamp sets are featured as well. Sets I love I hang on to.

And that is my “Junk Book” for Halloween. I have ordered the Christmas book. One day when I need some quiet time away from the holiday hustle and bustle, I will sit down and do my Christmas book. And I don’t worry about the little episodes of “going rogue“. Anything you do makes you a better artist and expands you creativity. So, diverting a little bit never hurt anyone!

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