With a couple of sneak peeks under our belt it’s time for a change. The previous two projects focused on new stamp sets from the January to April 2023 Mini Catalogue, so today I wanted to bring you some new paper. The Ready to Ride 12” x 12” Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP) is simply gorgeous. It coordinates with other products in the Ready To Ride Suite, but works well without them. With its motoring theme I decided this paper would be the perfect decoration for my 2023 travel notebook.

READY IN A JIFFY

I began with a 4″ x 5-1/2″ spiral bound lined notebook I’d found In Dollarama but any notebook would do. Having checked the actual size I opened up the Ready To Ride DSP pack.

First I cut a 3-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ piece of the road sign pattern. Then using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I attached it to the front cover of the notebook. For a finished look I cut a 1/8″ x 5-1/2″ strip of Basic Black Card and glued it up against the left-hand edge of the DSP.

Next I found a sheet with 11 individual blocks that are designed to be cut apart. The road scene caught my eye although at 3″ x 5″ it was a little larger than I wanted. So having cut the block from the sheet I trimmed 1/4″ off the top and bottom. With that done I glued the panel onto the front of my notebook.

Of course the Ready To Ride DSP is a ‘specialty’ paper and that is reflected on the reverse side of each sheet. Here the designs all have a glossy black background and faux heat embossed feel. I chose a sheet covered in gorgeous flowers and using Paper Snips cut one of the floral sprays from an edge. Then I cut a second smaller spray from one of the corners.

Using liquid glue I attached the larger of the two floral pieces along the bottom edge of the front cover. But as I was about to attach the second piece I noticed a printed ‘banner’ in the top right corner of the scene panel. That gave me an idea and I so I cut a 1-5/8″ piece of Sahara Sand 3/8″ Twill Ribbon from the combo pack. Then using Tear & Tape Adhesive I fixed the ribbon over the printed ‘banner’. With that done I used liquid glue to add the remaining floral piece in the top right-hand corner of the notebook cover.

TYRE TREAD

That just left the back of the notebook to do and for that I I went back to the road sign paper. Once again I cut a 3-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ piece but as I was preparing to attach it to the book I had new idea.

So from the Ready To Ride DSP I found another of the glossy patterns, this time of motorcycle tyre tracks. From this sheet I cut a 5/8″ x 4″ strip along one of the wider tyre tracks. Then I wrapped it around a small pen and glued the ends of the loop to the back cover of the notebook.

With the pen, attached I covered the back of the notebook with the road sign paper I’d cut a few minutes earlier. Finally I added a 1/8″ x 5-1/2″ strip of Basic Black Card along the left edge of the DSP to match the front. At last my project was complete.

Oh my goodness, I love this paper even though I haven’t bought the stamp set and dies from the suite (yet). It’s a great pack that isn’t just for masculine projects as I’ll show you in future blog posts.

Here’s a sneak peek at the full ‘panel’ pattern from the Ready To Ride Specialty DSP pack. There’s two of these sheets in the pack, and this also has a glossy pattern on the back.

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