Configuration Book - Apothecary Style!

I was honoured to be asked again to do a few projects for Tim Holtz and his CHA Summer booth.  The day my box of goodies arrived, I was out grocery shopping.  I literally dumped the bags on the counter when I saw the box on the table and immediately opened it.... forget the groceries!!  I think when I saw my little bags of his new ribbons, I actually squealed like a little kid!  Love these, pictures do not do them justice!
We were told that one of the themes for Tim's booth was an old laboratory/Apothecary shop.  So, the first project I'm going to show you is my Apothecary Configuration Book using Tim's Halloween papers, rub-ons, dies, ribbons and Idea-ology embellishments.

I wanted it to look like an old book, so I left it quite plain on the outside.

  

To get this look, I painted the sides and outside with black gesso first.  I used a bigger brush that was a bit coarse, to get the texture.  Next, I added layers of different colours of Tim Holtz Distress paint (orange, red, and browns), drying in between layers of colour.  I don't cover the entire area, just quickly and uneven.  I also wipe off excess in some areas with a damp cloth.  I used black paint at the very end, and dry brushed it on.  The frame in the middle of the book is Sizzix's Tim Holtz Ornate Frame die, which was glued on before I painted the book.  The skeleton and curiosities word are Tim's new rub-ons, which I applied to an oval piece of paper and glued on at the very end.  On the spine of the book, 

I glued on before I painted, paper die-cuts cut from Sizzix's Tim Holtz Beaded & Snowflake Garland Decorative Strip die.  The numbers are also Tim Holtz rub-ons.  Love Tim's rub-ons, they go on so easy... he needs to make more!

Here's the inside of my book.  All the papers are from Tim's new collection, Laboratorie.

These mini burlap panels are new and so fun to alter.  I painted black gesso in the middle and let dry.  Next, I glued pattern paper, tearing the edges so it's uneven.  I covered it with Rock Candy Crackle Paint and let dry.  I applied a bit of Distress Paint to parts of it.  The tissue tape, Laboratorie, is also new.  The cobweb is Sizzix's new Tim Holtz Cobwebs Decorative strip die, which I think is my favourite!  Well, one of my favourites!

I covered my bottles, first with Claudine Helmuth's Matt Medium, let dry, and then Rock Candy Crackle Paint.  Stain it a bit with alcohol ink, and apply the rub-ons.

There's an Ornate plate with a piece of oval paper behind it that was dipped in Utee, then cracked, so it looks shattered.  The little feather and inkwell are also new dies, plus the dome with the spider(a rub-on) on it.  Did you know that the little metal label that says curiosities, has a clip in the back, so it fits over the edge of the box?  How cool is that?

I embossed a square piece, the same size as my opening, of Tim Holtz Shattered cardstock with Sizzix's Poison Texture Fade.  After sanding the paper, I glued it to a thin piece of chipboard.  I attached his hinges and a gear (with a ring fastener in the middle and some of his new ribbon) to the front,  and then covered the back with patterned paper, covering the brads.  Attach the other half of the hinges to your box edge and  you have a door.  

For the inside, I cut these labels out from his paper and distressed.  I attached with a pin and one of his Halloween Muse Tokens.  For the back of the box, I embossed shattered cardstock again, but with the Bookplate Texture Fade.
I think that's everything!  As I write this, I'm sitting here thinking, on a few things, how did I do that? I did write things down on a scrap piece of paper, but that is buried beneath the ever growing pile on my desk!  Time to clean up so I can get busy making a new mess!
I'm going to save showing the other projects for another day, I didn't intend to go into such detail about everything!  Hope my book inspires you to try one!

Have a great weekend,

Jan