Mixed Media Altered notebook.....Shabby steampunk? lol

 Hello Friends!
  I did a little project last night that is starting to grow on me lol. When I first finished I just wasn't that thrilled with it....but now I think I like it!

 I started out this project with the thought "I think I'll try my hand at mixed media!" When I think about it now it makes me laugh...because I think if you go by the wikipedia definition, all of my projects are "mixed media". However, I rarely use paint and had never used gesso (which I found out was just a fancy name for primer, but I will continue to call it "Gesso" because it makes me feel like a real artist!)

 First I painted Gesso all over the front cover. I actually did 2 coats although I'm not sure that was needed. Then I finger painted on the darker Bronze metallic Paint. As I mentioned before, I am totally in love with this stuff! It' a Martha Stewart Living product that I bought from Home Depot for $5.50 for 10 oz. It will take me forever to go through all of this shimmery goodness! Anyway, while this coat was still wet, I finger painted on some of the Golden Pearl metallic paint.

 I used my heat gun to dry it quicker....the heat made the thicker patches of paint bubble up. I actually liked the effect and just pushed the bubbles down. It really added some texture. Once that was dry, I used a Prima template thing-y to do the designs in the corners. I just slopped the gesso on and squished it around the "template thing-y" As you can see the result was less than a crisp image lol...but I like the result! Then I rubbed Vintage photo distress ink over the Gesso and sealed it with Mat Medium from Ranger. To me it looked like embossed leather.

 I covered the back with design paper and added a different design paper binding.

 The frames are made from chipboard, rubbed Vintage photo ink all over them and then sealed them with the same mat medium that I sealed the cover with. The chipboard letters were painted with the metallic paints and then highlighted a little with black paint. (The frames have a touch of the black paint as well) The images are from my store and were distressed with the above mentioned distress ink.

 The flower was painted with a Metallic Glaze from the same Martha Stewart line. I really love how it came out. It is topped with a piece of old vintage jewelry. I believe it was an old earring. I love to use old broken jewelry, it Makes your project truly unique!

 Finally I added the metal clock hands and the brown braided leather trim which are now available in my shop. I'll have links to the store items under the pictures.

 Thanks for looking and I would love any feedback you may have. (If you hate it, please try to find a nice way to say it lol. My hubby will think I'm crazy if I start crying at the computer)

Chipboard Frames:  http://www.zibbet.com/shabbybeautiful/artwork?artworkId=955388

Clock hands: http://www.zibbet.com/shabbybeautiful/artwork?artworkId=952513

Trim: http://www.zibbet.com/shabbybeautiful/artwork?artworkId=885471

Images: http://www.zibbet.com/shabbybeautiful/section/digital-collage-sheets