Gift Idea #8 - Altered Journals/Composition Books

25 Days of Gifts

#8 - Altered Journals

(or Composition Books)

I am so excited about today's gift idea...these are one of my favorite things to create because you can do sooooooo much with them....Altered Journals. Some people refer to them as altered comp or composition books but it's all the same to me. Whatever you want to call them they are loads of fun.

I like to buy the cheapest books I can find because it really doesn't make a difference who makes them...they are basically all the same. I was recently working on a project for the book and had 2 Meads & a couple no-namers....once they were altered I couldn't tell the difference and I'll bet nobody else will be able to either. Usually you can purchase a package of 2 for a dollar or so at the discount/dollar tree type places.

NOW, what you do with them is only limited by your imagination! You can cover them with fabric; cardstock; pattern papers; decoupage them, stamp them, emboss, paint, cut, well, you get the picture...there are just no limits!

Another thing I really enjoy about altered journals is you can personalize them for each person as you will see below...it could be a particular thought, color scheme, favorite past time, anything really!

So here you go....these are a few of the journals I've made over the last few years. I tried to choose a variety of themes and techniques to show you what you can do with them. I have more pics around here somewhere of others I've made and if I can find the CD's they are on I'll share those as well...

Cowpoke

Made for a friend a couple years ago. The background is painted & distressed and the frame is made from Paper Perfect then distressed.

Delight

One of the first journals I made...the background is painted and when it was dry I sprayed webbing spray over the red area.

Thoughts of You

I made this for my niece when she was pregnant. Cardstock that I stamped & applied Perfect Pearls to each side.

V

I made this one recently for myself - top cardstock, bottom collaged w/3D and 2D embellishments.

Enjoy the Journey

LOVE this one...stamped & embossed with Distress EP's. One of my favorites :)

Fun huh?

Told you so :)

It's a really fun gift to make for anyone, young or old! Speaking of young...I found these cool comp books made for little kids - the top of the pages were blank and the bottom half of the page had the large lines for them to print/write on. WAY cool for really little ones on your list!

SO there you go ~ another idea to tuck into your crafty arsenal of gift ideas!

Have a Super Saturday!!