You've Got to Know When to Fold "em" over at Frilly and Funkie

Hi everyone and welcome! It's Kathy Clement's turn to host the latest challenge over at Frilly and Funkie and she's a huge fan of folded paper! Whether it's a fancy fold card, a one sheet wonder, a rosette or other folded embellishment, folds equal fun! So the theme for her challenge is "You've Got to Know When to Fold 'em." This challenge is all about using folded paper in a way that goes beyond just folding it in half. And as in previous weeks the Design Team is featuring the amazing range of inks, stamps, stencils and more from Wendy Vecchi.

The team will choose their top four picks with the winner being invited to join us in a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie and the next three will receive badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique, so there are plenty of reasons for joining in the fun.

I thought long and hard about what to create that would include folds and settled on a notebook. This one measures 4"x 6" and is covered in the Tim Holtz 'Memoranda' paper as the base of the design. I love the patchwork of vintage stationary elements and patterns, and it very much influenced the colours that were used for the remaining parts. The paper was glued onto thick board using Matte Collage Medium to create the covers, whilst the signatures inside were cut/folded from watercolour card before being hand stitched together using coptic stitch and waxed cord.

With attention turning to the decoration of the covers I added layers of stamping with archival inks (see that fabulous chandelier and sentiment from Wendy Vecchi's 'Party Art' set) stencilling and Design Tape - all products used are listed below. I covered the finished background with more Collage Medium to make it more hard-wearing and edged it all with Walnut Stain Distress Paint.

Now for the focal point - Mr Valentine makes an appearance again! - I stamped this fella from the 'Party Art' set several times onto card and matboard, coloured him with Distress Oxides/Archival Ink (Tea Rose is great for skin) layered him up and edged him with more Walnut Stain Distress Paint. Who else can't find pens/pencils when they reach for a notebook? I figured a good way to prevent that was to attach one to the book itself; Mr Valentine now takes care of that with a firm grasp (and a hinge clip attached with a Dapper fastener!) The pencil is one of those wooden ones you get from IKEA and stains well with Fired Brick Distress Oxide. An Adornment Star balanced the design and now the book is ready for use.

Here's what the finished notebook looks like in all its glory with both covers displayed;

That's it for my DT project for the current Frilly and Funkie challenge "You've Got to Know When to Fold 'em." Do make sure you hop on over to see how my talented team mates have incorporated folds and Wendy Vecchi's range of products into their creations. And remember to link your own folded, shabby chic or vintage projects to be in with a chance of winning one of the fabulous prizes.

Before disappearing a huge thank you to everyone for your reaction to my Cityscapes step by step for Frilly and Funkie. It got quite a reaction on social media (massive thanks to Tim Holtz, Sizzix and many others sharing it with their friends) and now I've got to figure our how to follow it up!!!......

Whatever you're up to for the rest of the week take care of yourselves and have fun! Jenny xxx