DIY Vintage Style Accordion Book

Hi crafty friends!

For the longest time I wanted to make an altered accordion booklet. Well, last weekend I set some time aside to finally make one! Patience is required to make one of these, as a lot of prep work has to be done and the drying time between each layer takes some time. I wanted mine to have a vintage feel with soft colors and plenty of floral motifs. And as an animal lover I wanted to add animal images as well.

I pulled out a bunch of art supplies...acrylic inks, paints, stamp pads, assorted collage papers, pens, stamps and stencils. I usually decide which ones to use, while I am doing the actual crafting. That's the beauty of mixed media art!

One of the first things I did was make lots of floral ephemera. I stamped a whole bunch of floral images on white drawing paper, then I colored these in with gouache paints, and once dry I fussy cut them all out. This was quite a task, but I love how these turned out!

I started by randomly stamping a grid pattern on all the pages of the booklet. While the ink was drying I then altered a mini envelope (see top left corner). I would later add this to one of the pages. It's a fun touch and you can keep some special and personal notes in there. While this isn't a full tutorial - that would take hours - you can watch the demo below:

https://youtu.be/8VPJBnTDthk

If you are watching this on YouTube, a "like" or share would be massively appreciated ♥ Happy Friday!

Mixed Media Cards & Envelopes

Hello lovelies,

today I am sharing a fun mixed media craft - altered cards and envelopes using a variety of techniques, such as collage, stamping, mark making and painting with a brayer! You can watch the tutorial on Youtube. A full list of supplies is in the video description.

https://youtu.be/ZQdloAYA2I4

Below are some additional tips!

I have used a small rubber brayer to quickly roll the acrylic paint across the envelope, both front and back. Let the first color dry, before applying the next one. Remember to wipe excess paint off the brayer to avoid the two colors mixing. 

The end of a used wine cork is perfect for making these big dots. Simply dip it in the paint and make some random marks. I also used a black paint marker with a chisel tip to make a row of marks.

I applied a thin coat of white gesso to the front of the card, before pressing it in the diluted paint. Let the paint flow naturally and try not to move it around or manipulate it with a brush. This needs to dry completely, before adding any further layer, such as collage or embellishments.

I always have some stamped and colored embellishments ready to use. I stamped a flower motiv and used colored pencils to color it in. I also used a alphabet stamp to make the word. I fussy cut them carefully. I used a glue stick to adhere them on the card in the desired position.

I hope you enjoyed this free tutorial. If you watched the video on Youtube, a "thumbs up" would be very much appreciated :)