It's a work in progress!

Am in the process of changing the blog background again.  Like this one.  The only thing I want to change now is the header.  Will be working on that later today.

Found this little red velvet covered book with the gold metal clasp yesterday at a yard sale.  Couldn't pass it up!!  Take a peek inside!

It actually holds a deck of cards.  The cards slip inside that metal clasp in the middle.  I think I see a tiny altered book coming along!!

Books to alter

While doing some thrift store shopping late last week, I came across these old books. They were not priced. I had to wait until earlier this week to find out how much they wanted for either individual books or the whole set. They are all printed in German -- that lovely German font. They date from the late 1860's through the late 1890's. As you can see, they are in very poor shape. Most of the covers are loose or not attached to the spine anymore.This picture shows the covers as well as the inside. The book on the bottom right is the only one that has the mottled cover. The rest all have the same cover as the one on the bottom left. I think they are connected to the Lutheran church -- missals or some kind of teaching tool. I don't know. Can't read German and the thrift shop employees didn't know either.

Most look like this one with the browned edges and spots. A couple of the books are still in their original condition -- white pages with no stains or foxing.

This is the inside of the book with the mottled cover. As you can see, it is not in very good condition. Due their age and condition, they are not worth anything. I see altered book projects.

I see a reliquary of some kind. I have wanted to do an altered book that has a niche cut out of the pages where sacred artifacts/relics could be placed. That is a reliquary. Look it up. And, check out Judy Wilkenfeld's blog, Visual Anthologies. I am sorry now that I didn't have the money to attend one of her workshops earlier this year that Dede Warren hosted. Should have gone. Won't miss that again if Judy returns to the US.

Bingo Card Swap book is finished

I asked myself last September, after the Bingo Card Swap, just what was I going to do with all of the great bingo cards I got!? It occurred to me to put them in a book so everyone could enjoy it who comes to visit. Here is the finished book. Got this done this weekend. The theme was "When I Grow Up." The book itself is pretty good sized -- approximately 10"x8". I used a page from an old photo album for the cover. It was the right size. One of the bingo cards in the swap was nearly as large as the cover -- see the last pages below.

There were 16 of us who participated in the swap. We each did 16 cards to trade. I did two different styles. These two are mine.

I took bristol board, glued dress pattern paper to each side then stamped on the page with Antique Linen after it was dry.

Then I set about mounting the cards to each page. I used photo mounts to mount each card so that it could be removed to look at it more closely. At the bottom of each page I wrote the artist's name.

I also added background papers to compliment most of the cards. Then I did more stamping and some freehand doodles to add interest.

I think the results turned out well!

These are the last two pages. You can see why I had to make the pages at least 10"x8". The last bingo card was pretty good sized.

****HERE'S ANOTHER GIVE AWAY!!! *****

If you got this far reading today's blog, keep going. . . . .

If you would like this bingo card I made (last one I have), be the first person TODAY (December 28 only!) to leave me a comment! That's all you have to do!! I will contact you to get a mailing address and put it in the mail to you tomorrow, Monday, December 29.

Rose D'Amour Book

The Rose D'Amour Book that was published in the latest issue of Sew Somerset arrived back in my mailbox today. I promised to take picture of it for you and put them on the blog. So here goes:

Rose D'Amour was actually the name of the fabric. It was printed on the salvage edge of the piece of vintage fabric, so that is how I arrived at the name for the book. I cut out the flowers from the fabric.

This was such fun to do! Cutting out the various flowers freeform and then sewing them to the prepped canvas paper page. They make great pockets for tags and cards!

This picture shows a plastic pocket that came from a daily planner that was my DDH's. I cut up a page that would be for business cards. The smaller size was perfect for a small pocket and I really liked that you can see what is in the pocket.

This pocket is made from tulle. It, too, is transparent and you can see the contents of the pocket. Also, this picture shows you the tab details at the left. The tiny bottle is full of lavender.

The 7 Gypsies altered book is finished!

Finished the 7 Gypsies book yesterday. I had fun doing this book. Lots of stuff to add to it to junk it up -- which is my favorite thing to do. Although, I do have to be careful that I don't go overboard!

Here is the cover.

I will post the rest of the pages tomorrow.

The altered house book is finished!

Been working on this book little by little and it is finally done. Took a bunch of pictures so you can see it. The light was good in the dining room, so I got clearer, brighter, better pictures.

Remember I told you that this book suddenly turned into a flip book? Here is side one, entitled "Winter Wonderland."

I love the beaded trim that looks like icicles hanging from the eave of this house book.A real woolen mitten! Got the idea to cut out a mitten shape from felt then sew it together. And the picture of that little tiny girl all bundled up against the cold. She has her mittens on!This next little girl is all bundled up, too! Check out that wooly snow suit she has on! And it even looks like the photographer gave her a "snowball" to hold for this picture.Used some Pearl Ex here as well as Diamond Dust for the other tree.This is the flip side -- side two. I call it "For the Birds"!The background here is an old Christmas postal envelope that bears a message. You fold it up and then lick the flap to close. Add postage and the address and they are ready to send. Lots of different pictures to choose from among those postal envelopes!I love the pretty tags and post cards that Cavallini & Co. has made for the Christmas season. Lots of glitter and pretty birds. I used lots of these to finish the flip side of this altered book.

Sneak peek!

Here are some pics from a project that I have been working on through my cold-ridden, fogged-up mind. Yesterday, with a clearer head, I did more work on this altered book project and am getting closer to having it finished. I am going to offer it as a class, but first it has to be finished.

This is an altered house book. The idea for it came from the most recent issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors. I decided to do a wintertime book. As I progressed through getting the pages done, it suddenly became a "flip book" yesterday. Trying to figure out how to view the entire book and not see some of it upside down, I knew it had to flip. As in once you look at it from one side, you can flip it over and look through it again and get a totally different book.This is one of the finished pages in the altered book. I know it looks washed out, but the flash did that. If I don't use the flash, the colors wash out. Hmm! Time to get out the owners manual for the camera and do some research.

Lots of techniques used in this altered house book. Collage, fabric, plenty of gesso, plenty of sparkly things, plenty of recycled vintage things, Pearl Ex (not shown), hearts, angels. The flip side will feature more Christmas items to become a Christmas book.

Of course, I am not leaving those awful red rings on this book. It needs slightly larger, regular binder rings on it. I hope to get to Staples today to remedy this.

Altered book in the works

I am working on an altered book using old and new materials, and recycling others. It is still a work in progress, but I thought I would share a few pages with you. This is the cover. The flower and the lock plate are not fixed yet. Could change my mind on those two things.
This is one of the inside pages. I used an old "Certificate of Merit" as well as old lace. The background is several layers of different papers. This is a great collage technique to use to give the page more depth and interest.
On the wall paper background these birds look great! Love the machine stitching. Just adds interest.
This little girl is also on the page of wall paper. I have used a couple of pages of wall paper in this book. I think you will like the finished product.

Just for fun . . .

Since I have been AWOL again, I thought I would show you pics of projects I have done in the past when I first got interested in altered art and mixed media. I hope you enjoy these pictures.

I love hats, as you well know. This project is done with the beverage coasters you get in restaurants. I decided to do a hat book out of the coasters featuring the hats of these vintage ladies.It was a lot of fun to do. Especially the junking up of each page! That is my thing!This is one page from an altered book that I did using photos of my mother. They were taken in the late 1930's in Los Angeles. She left the rural farm life of Henderson, Iowa (pop. 300 give or take) and went to Los Angeles to work. Here she is with a couple of her friends -- names unknown. My mother is on the left. I just love their hats!

Last week I was contacted by email by a lady who lives in the Netherlands. She had found my blog online and wanted to know if I would trade some ATC's with her! Of course! I sent my ATC's off to her on Monday and she has sent hers off, too. I am excited about receiving her ATC's. I will post those when I receive them.

Her name is Nadia and her blog, Patch and Stitch, is intriguing! Nadia loves to do cross stitch and quilt. But her other passion is collecting ATC's. If you view her blog, you will see her lovely cross stitch and quilting projects. Also she has some nice pictures of her vacation time in Pyrenees. What is really intriguing is that she blogs in Dutch (I think??) as well as in English. Anyway, I am looking forward to receiving her ATC's. Check out her blog!

Productive weekend

I have been working all this holiday weekend on what I call a "Fashion Folio." One definition of a folio is "a case or folder for loose papers." My folio is actually an altered book that won't be bound together, but tied with a pretty ribbon to keep its contents together when it is finished.The kitchen island is where I have been most of Friday and all day on Sunday.
Plus I have been at my sewing machine and sorting through my boxes of fabrics and trims.
This little doll I had made several months ago, but she has found a place in this folio.
Here you can see I have also been collaging papers and pictures to the pages of this book. Spent most of Friday hunting up paper, wall paper, and fabrics to include in the book. I have sewn or glued them to torn pieces of manila cardstock.

These pieces here were actually taken from an old altered book I made (didn't feel bad about tearing it up!) and a transfer made in a class taken a long time ago. Just using some recycled items makes this folio more interesting. The covers are from an old Reader's Digest. More on those later!

This is a "work in progress." If you look closely you can see that most of the images are held in place with a paper clip. I am still adding things, moving things from page to page, redoing, and reworking. Got lots more to add: sequins, beads, jewelry bits, more Stickles, more coloring. Hmm! Perhaps this is a submission piece in the making??!!