Altered Composition Notebooks

Yep - more altered composition notebooks - you'll find A LOT of those on my blog because they are mostly used as dialogue books for couples who have gifted their marriage with a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend. This pair of notebooks is for our current Executive Couple (of the WWME Rockford/Madison/Milwaukee area). Whenever I ask people what colors they might like, the usual answer is, "Anything you make will be wonderful!" I didn't let this couple off the hook this time - and I'm so glad I didn't! I love when I am challenged to go outside my creative comfort zone, especially with color combinations - and these notebooks are no exception - I love how they turned out! Probably the most fun colors and design I've done yet. It's not that I personally don't like these brighter colors, I do - once I see them put together. It's the "putting them together" that I have an issue with. Creatures of habit - us humans - staying inside our general comfort zones.

Anywho - these notebooks use SU! Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, Apricot Appeal and Whisper White - all colors in the Rainbow Sherbet DSP (retired) that you've seen in the last three posts on the get well cards. Also used are the current Heart to Heart, 1" Circle & 1 1/4" Circle Punches, Tempting Turquoise 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon and Mini Glue Dots. Lastly, also used are the retired Apple Green 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon and Large Corner Rounder. Images come from the current SU! stamp set "Enjoy Every Moment", as well as the retired Coast to Coast stamp set.

Here's my usual WWME plug... You can find WWME Weekends all over the world. It is a weekend experience for married couples that is meant to make Good Marriages, Great Marriages! It is a wonderful gift to give your husband or wife, as well as your children (whether they are young and at home due to happier parents; or adult and married themselves), family and friends. ENJOY!

More Altered Notebooks

Here is another altered composition notebook. I made many, many of these - in pairs with different colored main layers. This one uses Basic Gray as the main layer. Other colors used (but not pictured) included Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Sahara Sand, Basic Black, and Kraft. All pairs used the same Real Red and YoYo Yellow accents. Images and sentiments used are a mix of Stampin' Up! and GinaK Designs, as well as the Worldwide Marriage Encounter stamp. I hope the recipients of these dialogue notebooks ENJOY them! Our friends had a wonderful idea for using these as gifts for their support team.

Altered Composition Notebook

This is one of a pair of my latest altered composition notebooks made for Marriage Encounter friends. I used the current set "Enjoy Every Moment", retired set "Coast to Coast" and a Marriage Encounter stamp. I used the colors Old Olive, Soft Suede, Crushed Curry and Very Vanilla. I stamped off the Old Olive "enjoy", and stamped the lighthouse in Soft Suede. To add a little tone on tone texture, I used plastic wrap tapped on the Soft Suede ink pad and then tapped onto the card stock. A few SU vintage brads add the final touch. ENJOY!

Altered Notebook - Anniversary Special

I made a pair of these altered composition notebooks for some dear friends of ours, whom we met through Worldwide Marriage Encounter. Don & Teri are celebrating their 30th Wedding Anniversary next week - woohoo! They are a beautiful witness of God's Love through their service to Him, each other and their ten children. May God continue to bless your Sacrament abundantly Don & Teri - and all of Willeville too! :)

I am lovin' my Big Shot with my Nestabilities, and am lovin the embossing capability of the Nestabilities! And what's not to love about my Copic Sketch Markers? lol

Tip: Back to School sales are going on right now - you should be able to find these composition notebooks at a reduced price so you can stock up!

Stamps: Coast to Coast & Everyday Expressions (retired SU); Hand in Hand (GinaK Designs), WWME stamp
Card Stock: SU! Ballet Blue, Brilliant Blue & Very Vanilla
Ink: SU! Brilliant Blue & Ballet Blue, Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black
Copics: YO2; C2; YR00, 14, 18, 20,21; B18, 21, 24, 32, 41
Accessories: Big Shot; Nestabilities Classic Hearts & Labels Four; SU! Paper Piercing Kit, Mini Glue Dots, Stamping Sponge, retired Corner Rounder Punch & retired Bluebird Grosgrain Ribbon; Scotch Double-Sided Tape.
ENJOY!

Altered Notebook - Lighthouse 2

Here is the last of the altered, lighthouse notebooks made for fellow presenting team for the Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME) Weekend going on in Rockford, IL this weekend. These weekends are a gift of approximately 44 hours of time that you give to your spouse - no interruptions of daily life - just you and your spouse, taking a look at your already good relationship and learning techniques to deepen your intimacy - and so much more!

Stamps: Sweet Sampler(SU!), Coast to Coast (retired SU!), WWME stamp
Card Stock: Riding Hood Red, Brilliant Blue, Naturals White
Ink: Brilliant Blue, Riding Hood Red and Versamark
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Metal Edge Tag, Circle and Corner Rounder Punches, White Signo Gel Pen ENJOY!

Altered Notebook - Lighthouse

Here is another Altered Notebook, made as a gift for one of Presenting Team we'll be with this weekend for the Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend in Rockford, IL. Lighthouses have special meaning for team couples and priests, and the "Enjoy" you see at the end of my posts comes from here also.

Stamps: Sweet Sampler (SU); Coast to Coast & Elegant Inspirations (retired SU!)
Card Stock: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip,Not Quite Navy
Ink: Versamark, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Top Note, Tangerine Tango 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Embossing Powder and Heat Tool
ENJOY!

Altered Notebook by My Hubby!

Did you catch the Title of this post? You read it correctly- my sweet man Steve altered this notebook (with just a bit of verbal input from me)! He even used my Cuttlebug (still saving for the Big Shot!) to cut the Top Notes and the Oval - Woohoo Steve! We were finishing up some of these as gifts for our fellow Presenting Team for the Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend (WWME) this weekend in Rockford, IL. This one is for Fr. Dennis.
If you think Steve did a good job - leave him some comment love and kindness, and I'll be sure to share it with him.

Stamps: A Light Unto My Path & Everyday Expressions (both retired SU!), Boston Light, MA (Stampendous) & WWME stamp
Card Stock: Night of Navy, Sage Shadow and Prestwick DSP (retired)
Ink: Basic Gray & Versamark
Accessories: Top Note, Classic Ovals Nestabilities ENJOY!

Lighthouse Dialogue Journals

This is one of two journals I recently finished for my hubby and I to use for our WWME dialoguing. I believe this is the first set of altered notebooks I have made for *us* - made several sets for others! lol Obviously my 2009 Paper-crafting Resolutions have not panned out! Still just over half a year left to give it a go though! :)

I really enjoy altered notebooks - they are pretty easy to do, and they really look nice when they are finished. These use lots of retired supplies: Cranberry Crisp and Blue Bayou card stock; Rough Texture Jumbo Wheel; SAB So Saffron poly-twill ribbon; and Coast to Coast, Everyday Expressions and Elegant Expressions stamp sets.

Current items are Not Quite Navy and So Saffron card stock and the Top Note Die, as well as Versamark pad, Gold Embossing Powder and the Heat Tool.


Dialoguing is a tool for communication of feelings that is learned on a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend (WWME). Just one of the many valuable tools for marriage relationships learned on the Weekend. I believe I have shared before that Steve & I are part of the presenting team for Weekends in the Rockford/Madison/Milwaukee areas. We'll be presenting this month - June 12-14 in Rockford! We'd love to meet you and your spouse there - just go HERE to register, there's still spots available for this WWME Weekend!

For WWME Weekend information in the United States and around the world, please go to www.wwme.org
ENJOY!

YOU Did It! - Altered Mini Notebooks

Aren't these fabulous?! Sylvia M. needed some more items for her Kindergarten prize box - so she altered some small notebooks. In the spirit of Spring cleaning - Sylvia also used up leftovers she had from SU! Simply Scrappin' Kits, double-sided paper packs, and other supplies she had on hand. I am positive the kids will adore these notebooks - heck maybe they'll even try harder just so they can get one?! ;)

Great job, Sylvia - THANKS for sharing! ENJOY!

Fifth Avenue Floral Altered Notebook

Have I told you yet that I adore this new set in the SU! Spring/Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog called Fifth Avenue Floral? And my poor Copics have been weeping from lack of use - so finally they get their chance and ooohhhh how beautiful they are!

I altered this notebook for one of my girlfriends (seriously, how would we get along without our closest girlfriends?) - who has been promised one of these for several years! Okay - so I'm darn lucky she's still my dear friend! :) We attended a Silent Retreat together this past weekend - so we met for lunch beforehand to attempt to "get each other out of our systems" LOL. (Actually, it helped a lot! We talked so much we were tired of talking <>) I surprised her with her new journal at lunch.

Collage stamping is one of my favorite, simple stamping techniques and that is what I used here on the Baja Breeze background. The rose image is tone-on-tone in Baja Breeze, with the other floral image in Certainly Celery and stamped-off Chocolate Chip. The Scripture verse is from a retired SU! set Elegant Inpsirations. You also see the Top Note (remember this will run through your Big Shot, Cuttlebug and many other popular machines), as well as the Sale-a-bration Freebie of Certainly Celery Twill Ribbon.

And now for the Rose image - I hope the scan shows the loveliness of the graduated shading of colors on the rose, as it was lovely in person to be sure. This is one of my main joys with the Copic markers - the ability to create almost seemless shading. I have been itching to use my Copics anyways, then this set was released, and the I *knew* it would be a love affair relationship between Fifth Avenue Floral and my Copic markers! The rose is stamped in Adirondack Espresso dye ink.

I get my Copics and Memento and Adirondack ink pads (which I like best for use with Copics) from CreativePlayStamps.

Stamps: Fifth Avenue Floral, Elegant Inspirations (retired) - all SU!
Card Stock: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla
Ink: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery; Adirondack Espresso
Copics: R81, R83, R85
Accessories: Top Note Die (SU Exclusive), Certainly Celery Twill Ribbon (SU! SAB Exclusive), Hobby Blade
ENJOY!

Lighthouse Altered Notebooks

These are for the same friends who will receive the Family Dialogue notebooks. They have recently returned from a second Worldwide Marriage Encounter(WWME) weekend experience that is preparing them to write talks to present on WWME Weekends. The lighthouse is a special symbol for couples who have experienced this Weekend. (You may remember from a previous post, that WWME is also where the word "ENJOY!" I use after each post originates from.)

Stamps: Sweet Sampler (SU! - Enjoy sentiment on card), Everyday Expressions(retired SU!), WWME Symbol Stamps, Lighthouse (Stampendous)
Card Stock: Sahara Sand, Certianly Celery & Chocolate Chip
Ink: Choclate Chip & Certainly Celery
Accessories: Top Note Die, 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Certainly Celery Twill Ribbon(SAB item), Vintage Brads, 1/16" Hand Punch
ENJOY!

All in the Family Altered Notebooks

These were a lot of FUN to make! FUN from the whimsical stamp sets to the bright, cheerful color combination. I've used two In Colors - Pacific Point and Tangerine Tango. The family is colored using a Blender Pen and ink pads. You cannot see it in this picture, but the background on each notebook is tone-on-tone stamping of "Happy Together" and "Love You Much" from the Family Phrases stamp set. There are three more - two that match Dad and one that matches Mom. The little one in the picture is for the family's dog, Ginger. These are composition notebooks, altered with card stock, stamps, ink and embellishments. They are a gift for Worldwide Marriage Encounter friends of ours for Family Dialogue time.

Stamps: All in the Family, Family Phrases; Retired SU!: Quirky Alphabet Upper and Rough Edges Mini Alphabet
Card Stock: Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun & Whisper White
Ink: Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Pacific Point & Tangerine Tango 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop, 1 1/4", 1 3/8", 1" & 1/2" Circle Punches, Curly Label Punch, Mini Glue Dots
ENJOY!

Altered Notebooks

I've mentioned before that my husband and I are part of the Presenting Team for Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekends in our area. This weekend we will be helping to present for our third time. I like to bring a small gift for the other Team members ( 2 more couples and a Catholic priest). For this Weekend's Team, I altered some composition notebooks into dialogue books. (Dialogue is a communication technique taught on the Weekend.) They all have lighthouses on them, as this is a special symbol for Presenting Team Sacraments. Our discerning weekend utilized the image of a lighthouse to build it's concepts - basically that as a couple, our Christian Sacrament is like a lighthouse - a place where God's light shines out from as a beacon of hope and love to other married couples and priests. See the "Enjoy" stamped in the background? All my posts end with this sentiment - now you know where I got it from! :) They also have an appropriate Scripture verse stamped on the inside cover.

If you are reading this, and are a praying person, please pray for all the Sacraments (19 in all - 18 couples and 1 priest) on our Weekend, and on Weekends throughout the world - that they will allow the Holy Spirit to work through and in them and their relationship and accept the many gifts God is offering them on this Weekend. Thanks!


THIS notebook is for the Team priest, Fr. Dennis.

Stamps: A Light Unto My Path, Everyday Expressions (retired) and non-SU Marriage Encounter stamp

Cardstock: Going Gray Textured, Pacific Point, Basic Black & Naturals White

Ink: Versamark, Pacific Point

Accessories: Pewter Jumbo Eyelets, Crop-a-dile, Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon, Corner Rounder Punch

We so enjoy getting to know the priest Team member on the Weekends we've participated in. His sharing is always amazing and inspiring, and gives good insight into the Sacrament of Holy Orders and that is lived out.


THIS notebook is one of a pair, and is for Ralph and Julie.

We met Ralph & Julie in October at a WWME Marriage Enrichment conference. We are looking forward to getting to know them through their Weekend talks also. They are not from our general area, rather they are from a bit farther south in Illinois. Hope they like their dialogue books!

Stamps: Coast to Coast & Everyday Expressions (both retired); non-SU WWME stamp

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Almost Amethyst, So Saffron & Confetti Cream

Ink: Chocolate Chip & Versamark

Accessories: Rose Red 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Ticket Corner Punch, 1/16" Hand Punch, Antique Brass Hodgepodge Brads (retired)


THIS notebook, also one of a pair, is for Garry & Arla.
We've known Garry & Arla for quite awhile now, first meeting them at a WWME Family Camp Out we attended while pregnant with our first child. Garry & Arla borrowed us a bowl and spatula so we could make our pancake breakfast! lol (Always forget *something* when camping!) They also presented on our second WWME Weekend in 2007, AND workshopped us as we wrote our first set of talks. They are a beautiful and inspirational Sacrament!
Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment & Sweet Sampler, Coast to Coast & Everyday Expressions(both retired), non-SU! WWME stamp
Cardstock: Tangerine Tango, Handsome Hunter, Not Quite Navy & Whisper White
Ink: Versamark and Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Antique Brass Jumbo Eyelets, Crop-a-dile, Word Window Punch & Tangerine Tango 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon. ENJOY!