Simon Says Stamp and Show... Embrace the Old!!

For this weeks Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge I decided to alter a small wooden book. 

Here are some picture's :

The end result was an old looking book and a matching set of notes.
This picture will be my entry in the SSS&S Challenge.

I went for "The Hobbit" theme.
I love the title because we are all on our own unexpected journey.
It's called "Life".

The first step was to paint the book in a dark brown colour.
After that I embossed some grungepaper with a woodgrain /bark relief.
I've glued the grungepaper on the original canvas and distressed it with a light brown ink (unknown brand) and Pumice Stone Distress-ink from Tim Holtz.  

I covered the back of the book with a piece of clean canvas because the grungepaper was to thick  for the book to open and close smoothly.
I distressed the canvas with the same Pumice Stone Distress-ink so it would match both covers. 

After the distressing was finished I gave the whole book a coating of Clear Crackle Paint from Tim Holtz.
I love how the crackle-effect merged with the woodgrain/bark embossing.
It's really hard to see on the picture but it gives the book a lovely aged look.

Because the grungepaper wasn't wide enough to cover the book in 1 piece I used 2 pieces.
Unfortunately this gave a line all across the book which turned out pretty ugly so I decided to use a strip of rough canvas to cover it up. The original colour matched perfectly and it really turned out to be the perfect finishing-touch. 

In the end I used the Idea-ology Corners on both the front and the back corners of the book and a Idea-ology Ornate Plate for the books title.
I've used some old-looking paper to make some notes for inside the book and distressed the edges with my Paper Distresser.

One of our best friends celebrated his 20th birthday today and I decided to make this book as a present.
The first note has a special message for him and all the other notes are unwritten and can be used to make notes on. Since he is a HUGE Tolkien fan the theme came natural and matched perfect with my plans for this weeks challenge.

And lets be honest, what is more rewarding then making someone happy with your own home-made gift?