Altered Book - Lesson 5

Elizabeth's last AB lesson was part one of the design principles.  Now I'm not usually one to follow 'rules' and my tendency is to move stuff about until it looks right to me then glue it down.  It works most times and I guess we have a bit of a natural eye for harmony, after all we are surrounded by it in nature. Anyway I read and re-read the principles before setting to on my page and tried to apply them, harmony, unity and balance to my work.

I used the page I had tested the glues on and chose colours to harmonise with the photos I had picked and with the theme.

The unity comes through the design (I hope) with feather stamps repeatedly across the double spread and the two birds face each other and into the centre of the page in the hope this provides balance. I did find it difficult to stamp on the slightly bumpy pages so some images are a little indistinct so I need to sort that one out for the next lesson.

So, that's my homework for lesson 5 and I have a few ideas for my next set of pages - am enjoying this workshop very much - thanks to Elizabeth and my classmates who share their work

Altered Book lesson 4

Bit late getting round to this as we have had family of one shape or another for the last 10 days so I haven't been able to get my fingers mucked up until today. All gone now so time for some 'me' time and to continue with lesson 4 of Elizabeth's **FREE** on-line AB class.

Lesson 4 was glue and gesso and our homework (how long is it since I did any homework?) was to experiment with glue and that counts as special permission to get completely gunged up and inky-fingered - well it does to me.

So out with the glue stick, white glue, gel medium and gesso and get sticking.

Finished that one - four sets of pages stuck together and results duly noted.  Best were the gel medium and (a surprise to me) the gesso.  Would never have thought of gesso as an adhesive but it worked a treat.

Here are my results - not all of them that would be very boring for you but the tags peeping out down the side prove I did use all four glues.

Next bit was much more fun -  gesso  a double spread and use as a glue to add in some page elements.

I added some napkins to the wet gesso.

Then I went on to add some more gesso over the top, a bit of ink and some butterfly images cut from a poster, free in a Sunday mag, that I have been saving for a couple of years 'just in case'.
Here's the final page.

Not perfect but then I just went for it.  Lesson 5 is on Design Principles and after reading it today I realise the balance and proportion of my page are not right - I may do a similar spread for lesson 5 showing what I have learned.

Lastly I had a go at one of Elizabeth's bonuses (do anything for extra brownie points) and used gesso (my new love) as a resist.  I had a scrap of metal card left over from some butterfly die-cuts so used that as a stencil, sponged gesso through the holes and when dry sprayed mica sprays over.  The gesso resists the ink and you can wipe it off.  Have not put it in my book yet but it is stashed away with all my other bits for later.

Altered Book - lesson three

I am linking this post to Elizabeth's blog so here are all the photos from lesson 3.
Most have been on various pages of my blog these last two weeks but for ease here they are all together.

I am missing one - the reinforced page two, which I forgot about until today so that's on the agenda for tomorrow, along with the start of lesson 2.

A huge thanks to Elizabeth for the how-to and for pulling so many of us together in this wonderful project.

Inside front cover -

The niche left-hand page not quite complete) -

Closer look at my altered dragonfly - (still find it hard to believe this started out as silver-coloured metal -

So that's where I'm up to - onwards, and upwards.

Whats on Your Workspace Wednesday - 146

Wednesday again and I have a  good week with lots of little (and not so little) parcels dropping through my letterbox (swaps and buys), a few crafty days and a bit of sunshine - can't be bad.

First of all, thanks to Paula of Ephemera's Attic I 'won' and EBay auction for a stamp I really 'needed' which was a thrill as I don't do these often not having nerves of steel needed when your 'winning bid' gets wiped out in the last 3 seconds.  Then yesterday had a crafty few hours with a friend, making cards and faux porcelain roses before getting down to finishing of the niche in my AB.

The niche is covered in some gorgeous strokeable washi paper - a present that I have been saving for the right project - and in it is my altered dragonfly.  Dragonflies on the left-hand side as well, stamped on the same washi and adhered to yet another sheet of washi from my stash seen above.

The blue folder contains all the bits and pieces I have collected for my book and I managed to pick up a couple of leaflets from a local farm shop yesterday that have little bees on to match my 'wings' theme.

The knitted fish at the top is a present from Japan, made by a survivor of last year's Tsunami (see previous post for details) and the little card on the right is the swinging easel card made at a recent stamp club workshop taught by Jo of Jozart.

I am going to put all my lesson three AB photos in a separate post later so that I can add a link to Elizabeth's (Altered Book Lover) blog.

Have a great WOYWW and pop over to Julia's place to see what everyone else is up to.

Altered Book - lesson 3, inside cover

Cleaned the oven this morning, a job I hate so felt justified in having a play afterwards.  I had glued the first two pages of my book last night so got our the ink sprays and a new butterfly stencil and altered a sheet of white paper for the inside cover.  I also added iridescent powders to suggest a butterfly/dragonfly's wings but this doesn't show on the photo.

The paper wasn't quite as big as the open book so I got out that roll of tissue tape I had been saving, swiped it with a few Distress Inks and added it to the edges of the page.

So that is stage one of Elizabeth's third lesson complete - it's the niche next for me.  Just hope I don't mess it up and ruin the whole thing.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. I will, out for a walk now and then Mr B is making his signature paella for dinner/tea.

Altered book class with Elizabeth - lesson 2

I am following Elizabeth's, (Altered Book Lover)  very detailed and easy to follow lessons in her *free* on-line AB class and this week is is lesson three, preparing your book covers and end pages and making your niche, but first we are sharing our preparations.

The theme of my book is 'Winged Things'.  It was going to be Birds, Bees, Bugs and Butterflies but my book is only small and  I'm not sure the title will fit the cover ha ha.

I took my courage in both hands to remove a whole lot of pages and this is how the book looks today.

Not a lot of pages for the niche at the back but then the item I want to put in it isn't very thick.

I went through my stash of stuff and pulled out the pieces that had the right images, some used postage stamps I  got when I made some inchies years ago, a wallchart of British butterflies and a book of garden birds that came free with a Sunday paper.  Still lots to find but I'm searching through magazines and have friends doing the same.

This is what I have so far but I do have a few(???) stamps that will come in as well. and I went to a craft show yesterday and fell in love with this stamp.

I love owls and have a few stamps already but couldn't resist this one (newly released) because it is so big - must find space for this in the book, and at almost 5 inches he will look great on shrink plastic.

So that is me started and the gesso will be out tomorrow as I start to make my niche and tackle the end pages, I am really going to enjoy this.