Small Altered Composition Books

These are those small composition books that you can pick up at one of the Dollar Stores for twenty nine cents or four for a dollar. When I see them I usually pick up a bunch. They are so much fun to alter and you can use scraps or leftovers from other projects to create little books to keep in your car or purse.

I always make some to put next to my bed and all the comfortable chairs I like to read in. That way when I need to make a list or have an idea I can jot them down in these little books. They are way cheaper than moleskins and they are really just" list" books for me. To fancy them up I use a gold krylon pen to edge the pages. Just hold the book closed tightly and run the krylon pen along the edges. It gives the book a nice finished look.

The top two books I used some more of that teak wood from my house as a raised panel on each book. I like the dimension it gives the book. The third book has a metal top from a Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls icing container. I stuck in my outdoor fireplace when I was burning and got that lovely patina. If you have a fireplace or chiminea then take advantage of it.

Place the metal in the bottom of your fireplace or chiminea, surrounded by ashes and burn your logs, papers, etc.. After everything has cooled you can pull out your metal pieces. They will have lovely patina to them. I like this technique more than rusting for certain projects.

So these three books will be the new "lists" an "idea" books for 2009. I am really looking forward to filling them up with fabulous new things to do and places to go ....