Hello! Lorilei here today sharing my Painted Traveler’s Notebook cover that I made using the lovely acrylic paints and stencils from Sunny Days by Maggie Holmes! I was excited to see that Crate Paper and Maggie Holmes included co-ordinating paint colors with this collection and the stencils have some many possibilities!
I thought it would be fun to make myself a new cover for my traveler’s notebook inserts. I chose the mint and pink paints, and I used both of the stencils. I love that you can mix and match the border details of the stencils. The mint paint just happens to be the perfect shade of mint in my opinion!
I started with two pieces of plain cotton canvas cut to 8.5×11. I generously primed both pieces with white gesso, front and back to seal the canvas and make it ready for paint. I let the gesso dry overnight, and then I lightly sanded both pieces for a smoother finish. You could just use the paint on fabric, but I like to have the fabric sealed, and the gesso helps keep the paint colors brighter!
I placed the stencil in a few different configurations on the fabric and figured out that it fit perfectly if I did two squares of the main stencil design near what would be the fold of the cover. I used the mint paint for most of the stenciling, I squeezed out a puddle of paint and used a foam makeup wedge to pounce the paint through the stencil. It is better to add multiple light coats of paint so that you don’t get seepage under the stencil. I only used one application of paint for my cover.
Next, I turned the stencil and used two of the border designs for the edges of my cover. I used the pink paint for the cute flowers and more mint for the dashed line. The stencil was super easy to line up to create a continuous line. I did the same stenciling on the back of the cover as well and then let the canvas dry thoroughly.
Once it was all dry, I put my cover together. I made a “sandwich of the top stenciled piece, some thick interfacing and the second piece of canvas. I ran the sandwich through my sewing machine and stitched all around the outer edge and down the front side in between the stenciling. My elastic closure band happened to fit perfectly between the stencil spots! It’s almost like I planned it :). I added two white buttons to the center spots of the stencil design for a finishing touch! For an extra touch of fun, I made a charm for the cover and used 3 of the Sunny Days charms. They are SO cute! I love the round design and tiny little patterns. I popped a gold clip from Sunny Days into one of the notebooks and a bow clip from an older Maggie Holmes collection.
I love how my cover turned out! You could stencil and existing cover, make yourself custom papers, make old school book covers with painted papers or use the paint to stencil on a plain canvas bag or a t-shirt! Thanks so much for joining me today! Don’t forget to share your Crate Paper projects with the #createwithcrate hashtag!
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