What was old is new again - Bullet Journal/Planner Cover Makeover - with Cheetarah

Hi everyone, it's Cheetarah here and I'm excited to be back on the blog to share a project I made under a new segment which is called "What is old is new again" in which the StencilGirl® Creative Team is asked to pick something up at their local thrift/ second-hand store and give it a new life.

I went to Het Warenhuis which is a thrift store where I live in Leiden, the Netherlands and browsed around when I found something that caught my eye... A discarded notebook cover what was probably used for IT-work segment course. Lately, I am slightly obsessed with notebook covers, I have a variety of those already, but saw real potential to turn this into a jazzed up cover for my Leuchtturm A5 planner. And So I bought it for 50cents(!) and went to work. 

So as you can see the cover went through quite a transformation!
I've filmed the process for you which you can see below: 

I really enjoyed giving this quite boring cover such a successful make-over.
Here are some close-up shots of the cover in use:



It currently holds my Emerald Leuchturm A 5 notebook / daily planner.

I added a transparent folder in the back for loose items and you can see the Einstein quote quite nicely through it. Also I thought it was fun to add this quote as it was a cover specifically for learning/work but now it's transformed to hold my thoughts and idea's which come forth out of my imagination :)

The front and the back of the cover, the swirl patters cane through so nicely with the help of Finnabair Opal Magic paints! And I love the depth the translucent Mettalique paints provided.

This statement on the inside pocket is such a powerful one and it reminds me to be present for all things I am doing and planning to in my life with the help of organizing it in my bullet journal& planner.

The StencilGirl® stencils I used are:

Diamond Dance by Terri Stegmiller

Pen & Ink by Leslie Riley

Uplifting Words by Carolyn Dube

Marbles 6 by Cecilia Swatton

Borderlines - StencilClub

Other products used: DecoArt Media black Gesso & Modeling Paste & Velvet Touch Sealer, Finnabair Opal Magic Paints in rose gold, violet gold, aqua rose, violet aqua, teal rose and green gold, Metalliques in Midnight Sky and Mermaid Teal, Jane Davenport Paint over pen, Permanent black fine liner, a mini foam roller, make up sponge, double sided tape and clear pocket from Avery.

Hope this inspired you to give your notebook cover a new look with the help of awesome StencilGirl® Stencils! Thanks so much for stopping and have an awesome day!

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Guest Designer Andrea Ockey Parr: Stenciled Notebooks

Hi, everyone! Andrea Ockey Parr here!

As an English major and lit nerd, I am obsessed with notebooks!

One of my favorite craft projects is to revamp the covers of store-bought notebooks to give as gifts to friends and family. By revamping just the cover, they don't take forever to make and yet they're still perfectly personalized and unique.  

I made two notebooks using Rae Missigman’s Closed Leaves and Mix and Match Scalloped Edges.

I used the stencils as templates for cutting out shapes and I used the same technique on both notebooks. 

I started the process by sticking Washi Tape on a cookbook page, then smearing paint onto the page.

Next I traced leaves from the Closed Leaves stencil onto some text paper using a black Sharpie.

I cut out the leaves and decided to use the negative space "frames" of the leaves

as a decorative element for my notebook cover.

I glued the leaf frames onto my Washi Tape background

and outlined the leaf shape on the inside with a black Sharpie.

Next I punched up the color by smearing on some acrylic paint

in shades of blue, pink, green, yellow and orange.

I cut my collage to fit on the front of a notebook.

The last step was to sew my collage onto the notebook cover using a sewing machine.

I also added some additional stitched lines to the background and added black around the edges.

Here's a close-up of the cover:

I did the second notebook the same way by tracing and cutting

scallop-shapes from the Mix and Match Scalloped Edges stencil.

I glued these onto the edge of my cover and added some paper scraps

and a "color" sentiment I found in an old book.

Here's a close-up of the cover:

To see more of Andrea's work, visit her blog.

TBT January with the Creative Team

Our Creative Team aims to instigate inspiration with this host of TBT projects.

Cindy Gilstrap's Alcohol Inked Page - Fly

Song Birds, S034, by Tracie Lyn Huskamp

Whimsical Waves, S321, by Terri Stegmiller

Stitch a Doily, S169, by Maria McGuire

Notice the subtle use if the Stitch a Doily Stencil. Don't you love it?

Debi Adams' Mixed Media Heart Painting

Urban Insiders, M057, by Seth Apter

Polka Party, L529, by Tammy Tutterow

Technique: Incorporated dried paint as an embellishment (See piece inside red paint.) while using watercolors, watercolor paper, PaperArtsy paint, Urban Insiders stencil, Post Office Stamps by S.A., Golden Paints, Vintage Photo distress ink, black permanent pen, vintage sheet music.

Sherry Canino's Divine Spirit Art Journal Page

Military Stars, S400, by June Pfaff Daley

Inky Circles, S232, by Terri Stegmiller

Imaginary Bloom Stencil & Mask, M070, by Rae Missigman

Fridge Poetry, S261, by Carolyn Dube

It's all in the details!

We Rose Up & Won by Torrie Gass

Honey Comb, L035, by Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch

How often do you think to use pen & ink over an art journal page?

Chaos is Necessary by Sandee Setliff

Journal Notes 6, S002, by Pam Carriker 

Pen and Ink, L346, by Leslie Riley

Delicate colors, sweet texture, and now we all must go practice the lettering Sandee makes look so easy!

Found Object Art by Tina Walker

You can discover the stencils Tina used and she has a tutorial on her A Dog's Life blog.

Kiala Givehand's Bullet Journal

Kiala says, "I love to use StencilGirl stencils in her bullet journal because it takes the guess work out of creative ideas for customizing and creating beautiful page spreads. I like to use the stencils that have larger openings to create unique pages for logging things like gratitude, habits, and moods."

Stencil Used: Fleuron Rieven Glyph M173 by Steven Skaggs

Stencil used:  Carolyn Dube's Mini Alphabet from StencilClub April 2014. 

You can see a flip through of Kiala's bullet journal on Kiala's YouTube channel.

Girl with Red Lips & Weird Jumper ~ Louise Nelson

Isn't it interesting how Louise incorporated the stencil Organic Roots Large L491 By Carol Wiebe? Quite imaginative!

Stencil used in jumper: Circles Circles L301 By Traci Bautista

Carol Baxter's Valentine Notebook

Carol says, "I am forever taking or making notes. Rather than cover my desk (and walls, and side of filing cabinet, and computer tower...) in post-its, I am taking a tip from a former co-worker and keeping notebooks. January's is almost full... here's February's!"

"I figure when I am done and no longer need the notes within I can tear them out and rebind something else in the composition book covers."

Home is Where the Heart Is by Andrew Borloz

Heart Striped S068 by Margaret Applin

Belen Sotelo's Grow A Little, Textured Art Journal Page

Stencil pictured above: Warped Holes 6 by Lizzie Mayne. Belen also used texture paste and Lindy's sprays on her page.

Art journaling in a vintage book with Karen Gaunt

Karen says, "I love to doodle, scribble and make marks all over my page but sometimes it can be hard to know where to put them without it becoming overwhelming. By using the gorgeous River Rocks Stencil as my base I could add some cool designs all over my spread."

The River Rocks Stencil comes in small, mini, and large sizes.

What are you most inspired to create?