Design Team Throwdown #9 Entry- Metal Mania

Hello once again everyone, welcome to my blog! Today I'll be posting the Smeared Ink Team entry for the 9th Design Team Throwdown Challenge. Voting for this challenge begins Friday September 27 and ends Sunday September 29 at midnight. Please be sure to swing by the DT Throwdown Blog and cast your vote for your fave team projects, of course after you check out all the outstanding entries presented by the participants. We'd LOVE if you vote for us, but we encourage you to vote for the projects (team) that you think are the best!

This month the theme was picked by our Challenge #8 Champs, Delicious Doodles. Their challenge pick was "Metal Mania", which was left to each team's interpretation. Thanks for a great challenge, Delicious Doodles Gals! 

If you've been to my blog before, you probably know I LOVE me some metal, so I played again on the Smeared Ink Team. You'll see my project last. 

Here are the entries for the Smeared Ink Team: 

 #1 Our first entry comes to you from Leigh. She created an astonishing altered birdhouse piece featuring Smeared Ink's Beyond digi stamp. Be sure to visit her BLOG to get all of the details on her outstanding work.

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 #2 Our second entry is from Tori. She created a stunning steampunk themed book using two not-yet released images from Smeared Ink: Toxic Ballerina and Toxic Twins. These images will be available soon! For more information on Tori's book, please visit her BLOG. 

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 #3 Our final entry is from Terra (me). I created an art journal that features all sorts of metal bits. My details are picture heavy once again, so please bear with me.

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The cover is made of plaster, which is one of my new-ish favorite mediums to play with, and chicken wire (metal bit #1), and covered in layers and layers of paint. It's attached to handles made of bolts and nuts (metal bit #2) that are wrapped with wire (metal bit #3). The cover also has hanging baubles that I made from quartz crystals and bullet casings (metal bit #4). Here are close up details of the cover:

For the book closure, I used a heavy duty picture hanger on each cover that I bent to shape (metal bit #5). I added some thin silver string that I braided together to act as the closing ribbon that loops around the hooks.

Here is the spine side of the book. I did the binding by hand using the same silver string.

The pages of the book are thick coverstock, with a couple pages of watercolor paper added in for good measure. I didn't add very many stamped images, since this is an art journal the "art" part of it will be added in over time, but I did use word stamps at the bottom right corner of every page. I don't remember the company that I got these from (shame on me!) but I've had them for years and years. You can be sure it will be full of Smeared Ink images by the time I am done with it though!

And finally, here is the back cover of the book, which looks just like the front cover. I forgot to mention that I also attached little safety pins throughout the chicken wire (metal bits # 6).

Overall, I'm pretty happy with it although I now have cuts and scrapes all over my fingers from all the wire work. Just fyi, it hurts when chicken wire pokes you :) I think I need to invest in some good gloves, but I hate not having mobility in my fingers to work. Oh well.

I hope you've enjoyed taking a look at the Smeared Ink Team projects, and please come vote for us if you think ours are the best! As I mentioned before, voting will be open from Friday Sept 27 through Sunday Sept 29, so come on over to the DT Throwdown Blog, take a gander at all the amazing projects linked up, and then cast your vote! Thanks for visiting!