
It's been a while since we shared some altered projects, hasn't it? Well, today we have a few fun ideas to share with you. We have an altered idea binder, an altered pencil/art carrier and clipboard, and a pair of altered wooden boxes.

Altered Idea Binder, by Jennifer Edwardson.
I've always been one of those girls that would see something in a magazine and have to rip it out and tuck it away for later. Once I got married and had children, the types of things I tear out have changed to house plans and decorating ideas, etc. I've had this fun 'russel & hazel' binder for a few months now and I decided it was the perfect way to collect all my magazine pages, cut outs and layout/project ideas too!

The binding was perfectly me already; black & white, so I just needed to embellish the plain kraft cover and make a little color magic happen inside.

I used two different Bella papers on the front but left a space in between to make a word border. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Quattrofina and High Five alphas, and the smallest letters were perfect to add some of my favorite words to the cover. I added 12" border stickers horizontally and one running top to bottom along the left edge to pull it all together.

Once I had the base in place, I wrapped some twine close to the spine and added a crochet flower and a couple of flags to finish it off.

I had a few different idea sections that I wanted to use this binder for so using a few more patterned papers, I created page dividers and added Chip Essentials for the tabs.


For times when I'm on the go and just want to add bits that I've taken from magazines for later, I added envelopes to the face of the page dividers so I can keep them safe until I have time to add them to a page permanently. Of course I had to pretty these up as well so I used Designer Tape, cardstock stickers, Ciao Chip and alphas too.

Supplies:
Mr. Boy: Heros, Hyper Stripe; Family Dynamix: Quadrants, Ciao Chip; Sunshine & Happiness: Alphas+Bits, Ciao Chip; Baby Boy: Baby Blue, Alphas+Bits; Too Cute to Spook: Itsy Bitsy Spider; Making The Team: Quadrants; Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Oyster; Flags: Girl, Summer; Crochet Flowers: Juniper; Ciao Chip Essentials: Asparagus & Pickle Juice, Ice & Chlorine, Oyster & Oreo; Quattrofina: Spinach & Pickle Juice, Salt Water & Pacific, Milk & Oreo; High Five Alphabets: Green, Blue, Black & White; Designer Tape: Teal Stripe, Pickle Juice Dot, Jail Bird

Altered Coloring Station, by Marie-Josée Hamel.
Summer is coming and given that I have six weeks off, I will surely work on a few scrapbooking projects. However, since the best thing about summer is the nice, warm and sunny weather, I don’t want to stay inside. So I had this idea of creating a small portable coloring station that I can bring outside, on the pool deck, while I watch my daughter.

It is very easy to carry and holds all the supplies I need to color a few stamped images using Prismacolor pencils and taltin. All I have to do is clip the pre-stamped image on my tiny clipboard and I am ready to start coloring.

I started by painting the pen holder and the tiny clipboard with acrylic paint, and then adhered paper to all surfaces to add a bit of color. I finished both with a coat of Mod Podge. When I was done, I also added a few embellishments. I am now ready to go outside to do some coloring.

Supplies:
Spring Fling and Easter Things: A Tisket A Tasket, Cute Cuts, Sunny Sunday, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Chipboard Icons

"Baby" altered wooden box, by Laura Vegas.
One of my favorite items to alter are wooden and paper mache boxes. They are so easy to cover with whatever pattern papers you like to fit your needs, and they're even more fun to fill up with memorabilia. I altered two wooden boxes, using the Baby Boy collection. These boxes would be perfect for storing little keepsakes from baby's first year. This first box is about 8 inches square, and was purchased at a craft and fabric store.

I started off by taking off the hinges from the box, and then I painted the box with white acrylic paint. I never sand my boxes, but that's a personal preference. Then I measure out the top of the lid, and the sides of the box, and cut my patterned papers to size. I used Mod Podge, and decoupage them to the box. I added another layer of Mod Podge on top of the papers as well, to give the box a nice shiny finish.

When it came to embellishing the box, I kept it pretty simple. I didn't want anything to bulky on the top of the box, since at some point, I'm sure this would end up tucked away somewhere. I cut a few banner shaped pieces from patterned paper, and added them to the top of the box. I wanted to keep a bit of dimension, so I did not decoupage those pieces, and instead just used lots of glue dots.

For once, I got smart and I made sure the hinges were on the sides of the box. This way, the box can sit on a shelf nicely. I used lots of chipboard pieces from the Chipboard Icons to embellish the top of the box. Love how one package of embellishments added so much to the project.

Supplies:
Baby Boy: Wild About You, Heaven Sent, On The Go, Borders, Chipboard Icons, Alpha+Bits Stickers

"Baby Love" altered wooden box, by Laura Vegas.
For my second wooden box, I choose a smaller version of the first box. This box is about 5 inches square, and I thought the inset area on the top of the box added a nice touch.

I covered this box the same way I did on the first box. Painting the box with white paint, measuring and cutting my patterned papers to fit, and decoupaging them onto the box using Mod Podge. The "Baby Love" sticker from the Just Write Journaling sticker sheet was the perfect size for the inside area on the top of the box. I adhered the sticker to cardstock first, and cut around it, and then adhered it using pop dots for just a touch of dimension.

Supplies:
Baby Boy: Momma's Boy, Heaven Sent, Just Write Journaling Stickers
