Altered Book Challenge

An internet group that I belong to is working on two challenges - a visual journal/sketch book, and an altered book of techniques. Here is the first technique - using texture and one kind of coloring medium. I used paintable wall paper and acrylic paints, Stewart Gill and Lumiere. Here are some scans of what I did.












I used matte medium to adhere the wall paper to the book.














Then I applied Stewart Gill acrylics in two different colors.













Finally I used Lumiere to define the texture of the wall paper.














Here is my finished two page spread.

ATC Swap

Made this ATC for a current swap with some friends. The theme was ABR (anything but rubber), in otherwords, there could be no stamping! The background was created using a napkin and I wrote "Beauty" - no stamps used. The next ATC for the group must be created using no paper!

Round Robin Pages

My "Sanctuary"

Just finished another two page spread in a current round robin board book swap with a group of friends. The theme for Pauline's book is "Sanctuary," and I chose "Books" as my theme since I am an avid reader and often lose myself in whatever book I am currently reading. And, yes, the old photo is a snapshot of me with a book when I was only one year old! Wish I could say that I was actually reading it, but that would come a few years later.

Here is a list of a few of the most recent books I have read - enjoy:

The Space Between Us (Umrigar)

Innocent Traitor (Weir)

The Painted Drum (Erdrich)

The Lizard's Bite (Hewson)

Jane Fairfax (Aiken)

Evidence of Things Unseen ( Wiggins)

These are the next on my list:

A Spot of Bother (Haddon)

Loving Frank (Horan) - Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Cheney

Teesha More Journal

Finished binding the pages for the Teesha journal. I chose a simple binding and added some ribbon and beads. One of the pages from Adrienne was perfect for the cover. Now the hard part will be to actually journal !!!!

Board Book Round Robin

I belong to a few Yahoo groups, one of which decided to create round robin board books. Last spring I purchased books for each of the eight of us and mailed them out. Sweet Pea made a "flow chart" so that we could send our books to each other in a logical fashion. Three of us live in the USA and the other five in the UK, so it was imperative that we not lose anyone's book if at all possible. I have enjoyed working on this project - each book was a challenge in a different way. The round robin is almost finished, and, of course, I can hardly wait until my book arrives home!

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For Adrienne Goodenough

The theme of Adrienne's book is color. Since I was the last one to work in the book, I took the "liberty" of creating a final page about the beauty of all colors, not just our individual favorites. And it was also a chance to use a few lines from one of my favorite songs by Harry Chapin!

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For Bren Renouf

Bren asked us create a spread about ourselves. I tried using a number of different images and quotes, but I didn't like the arrangement, so I chose one thing about myself which is important, "Love of Nature."

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Shabby Chic Gesso

This is the first version of my shabby chic gesso technique. After a discussion on Art-Ventures, I decided to add some Rub 'n Buff. I like the subtle difference in how the finished card turned out.
I guess I need to remember all the "stuff" I have stashed away and get it out!!!!

Up, up and away!

As we were eating breakfast this morning, we saw balloons floating by. It was a perfect summer morning, cool with a bright blue sky. I got my camera and snapped a couple of shots. Enjoy!