Today has been one of those days when the simplest of projects just kept going wrong. Decorating a boring notebook is something I’ve done many times and it’s not hard really. However, despite the challenges I faced, I’m pretty happy with the result. By the time I got to the end “Everything is figure-outable” seemed to sum it up perfectly.

SIMPLEST COVER

This notebook happens to be one I’ve been using for some time. It’s 3-1/4″ x 4-1/2″ with a black binding and was looking rather worse for wear. So I thought it needed cheering up with some pretty flowers.

I began with the floral image which I fussy-cut from one of the 3″ x 4″ cards in the Hand-Penned Memories & More Card Pack. I loved the colours of this image and turned to the Hand-Penned Designer Series Paper (DSP) for a background layer.

After some consideration I decided the Mint Macaron lined pattern coordinated well without distracting from the image. So I cut a 3-1/4″ x 4-3/4″ piece and fixed it to the front of the notebook using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow). This was actually slightly larger than I needed but it allowed me to adjust for the binding which isn’t quite straight. With the DSP in place I then trimmed off the excess with Paper Snips, using the edge of the notebook cover as a guide.

With the DSP in place I was ready to add the floral panel with more liquid glue. No problem there, but this is when this started to go slightly wrong.

INKY EDGES

You see when I originally got this notebook I used it to try out a few techniques. One of these was adding colour to the edges of the pages with a Sponge Dauber. The only problem now was the colours looked completely wrong with the new cover. First I tried changing the edges using Highland Heather ink but that didn’t really cover the original colour. So there was nothing for it but to go over it with Tuxedo Black ink.

Instead of using a Sponge Dauber to add the new ink I held the notebook closed and rubbed the ink pad over the edges. This was quick and effective, in no time at all there was no sign of the old ink. I did end up getting a little of the black ink over the edge of the new DSP but it wasn’t too horrendous. In fact it reminded me of the loosely drawn lines on the floral image, so I decided not to worry about it.

Next I cut a piece of Highland Heather 1/2″ Grosgrain Ribbon and glued it at the top on the outside of the back cover. Then I glued another piece of the striped DSP over the top to secure it in place, and trimmed off the excess as before.

EVERYTHING IS FIGURE-OUTABLE

This is when things really started to go wrong. You see as so often happens, I was in too much of a hurry. I didn’t consider that the amount of black ink I’d put on the page edges would take a while to dry. So when I flipped the notebook back over I realised I’d got a nasty black smudge just above the large flower. Oh well, I’d just have to cover it up with the sentiment.

Then I noticed I hadn’t got one black smudge, there were several! And they were on the floral panel too. Arghhhhh!

So now I really had to think. Because I planned to carry this notebook in my purse adding 3D embellishments wasn’t an option. They’d simply be knocked off. So there was only one solution, and that lay with the sentiment.

I found the “Everything is figure-outable” sentiment in the Lighthearted Lines Stamp Set. It’s actually designed over two lines but that didn’t matter for what I had in mind.

First, using Tuxedo Black ink, I stamped the sentiment into a piece of Basic White Card. Next I cut out the individual words using my Paper Snips. I was pleased to see the letters aren’t set perfectly straight so my less than perfect cutting didn’t matter at all. Then with liquid glue I stuck “everything” above the floral panel to cover up the first ink smudge. I followed this with the word “is”, glued over the second smudge.

Finally I added the “figure-outable” across the centre of the panel to hide the third smudge. But then I saw a fourth inky spot, which I must have added while fixing the other parts of the sentiment. I was thankful I’d used liquid glue, because I was still able to adjust the sentiment to cover both smudges.

By this point I felt it was time to stop and walk away. I like the finished project but I’m not touching it again for several hours. Hopefully then the ink will have dried and I can handle it without ruining it.

Have you ever had one of these challenging crafting sessions? What “figure-outable” solutions do you have for dealing with crafting mistakes?

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