I do...for ever and ever

Just a page in another art journal. 

I didn't have any idea where I was going with it until it all came together. 

I'm finding that I'm working more and more that way lately. 

As an aside...I'm looking at moving my blog to Wordpress to actually USE the domain Mr. G bought for me a while back. 

I'm having anxiety about making the move since I've been with Blogger for so long.

When I make the move I hope you will come visit me there....

I'll definitely keep you posted...

 

It "niche" the end.

Now I realize that title only makes a bit of sense if your pronounce as knee-sh

...not knit-ch.

Regardless of how you say it...my Nature book is complete!!



I decided to place one of the prairie dog photos I took at the MN Zoo under the niche.

 The opening of the niche was slightly larger than the photo so I recreated the sandy hill this little guy was perched upon in sand.

Worked perfect and if I hadn't told you why, you'd have just thought I was terribly clever. *wink*

I've decided not to alter the outside of the book as it lays relatively flat. This way it can sit on the shelf along side the rest and be a big surprise to anyone who pulls it out to read.

Such a good feeling to complete another project. It's been tucked away in among the rest of the UFO's for several years. 

Thanks to Elizabeth for her online class that got this book started in the first place. 

 

Another nature page

Hey I'm on a roll. 

Two pages in 2 days...amazing.

Not much room left in the book. 

I still need to figure out the niche part...what I'm going to put in it...what I'm going to put in it to be exact. 

In hindsight, I didn't really make it deep enough .

 

Beauty of nature

I was inspired to pull out the book I used for my friend Elizabeth's AB 101 class I took several years ago. 

I never did complete the class. I figure I can join back in where I left off since she's currently reteaching the class for free on her blog. 

My altered book theme is Nature.

It was so fun to play in paint and glue again. I have to keep at it since it makes me feel so carefree.

 

I'm so blue....

Well, not actually me in particular...just my book. 

I decided to put together my tip-in swap book without the final player's pages. 

It was yet another UFO in my pile that needed to be completed. It's not like I don't have another spot for those tip-ins when I eventually get them..right?!?! Right!

Thanks to Elizabeth for the handmade paper on the cover!!

My favorite part of altered books...how they look from the side. 

Wiggly, wonky pages. 

Love 'em!!

 

Cleaning inspiration

Over the weekend I started picking up my art space. Putting it back to rights after a shameful amount of time of just moving enough stuff to get a few inches to work within. 

Of course, as I was sorting through my piles of papers, I found a blank ATC background ready to use. The stamps where also within sight so...this simple ATC was born.

Next I found this raven image and knew that I already had a pre-painted page in my Playtime AB that would likely look pretty good. When I have extra paint on my palette I paint it onto a random page in a book. Waste not, want not.

Lastly I grabbed my Nature book from the AB 101 class my friend Elizabeth taught several years ago. If you are interested she is currently teaching it again

...for FREE...

on her blog.

I'm not thrilled with the outside edge. I may go back and cover the dots or make them a little more subdued. 

I'm hoping to get my art space completely cleaned up and show some "shameful" before and then clean after photos soon. I have a knitted dishcloth order to fill before I can commit anymore time to my art. Totally forgot that they were needed by next weekend!! AGH!

Quick AB page

Since I've sewing so much lately... I thought I better get back into my workspace and see if I remembered how to make altered art.

I grabbed my no theme altered book and did a quick page with stuff I had 

laying around. 

Stacks and stacks of books

When I read about Seth Apters latest collaboration idea I loved it! 

I have tons of books....both ones I've created and vintage ones.

Of course, being the procrastinator that I am...I didn't even start to gather anything until about 25 minutes ago. Boy, was I in for a surprise... I had way more books that I ever realized. 

My stack on the coffee table had to be moved to the buffet where I could use the wall to prop them up!

My book arts stack is very colorful...and fluffy.

I tend to make books that don't have a chance of
ever laying flat. 

They must sit splayed open inviting a passerby to pick it up.

 

The edges of altered board books are probably my favorite. 

With the ripped papers hanging slightly over and the different colors of paint grazed 

across the edge by happenstance.

I also use stacks of books in decorating my house. This stack currently sits on the mantle.

As a little lift for a plant to get it some much needed sun.

For some height on a shelf.

And lastly the set of books
I refuse to stack.

They are the first thing you see when walking into my house. 

I have my Grandpa's medical books and his Norwegian Seminary book, my dad's Bible plus some poetry books from the 1800's.

Thanks for stopping by today. 

Now I must set my house back to rights...geesh...what a mess I made.

Tea Time round robin theme

 

This was the last book for me to work in during our 6 player round robin. It has been so much fun! 

This last book is heading back home to  Canada, hopefully later today.

Round Robin pages

This is the second to last book in the round robin for me. The theme was "questions of love". 
I'm not exactly sure I hit what Jana was looking for in the most literal sense but I'm happy with my results.




I've titled this spread Secret Embrace

The image is from the cover of an off romance novel.
This is a tribute to Gina Wise...she did some really fun arches for last years ABC 7th anniversary swap with this same technique.

This one is titled Ecstasy

The image is from a late '60s hairdressing guide. I loved the expression, so it drove the direction of the page.
 

Book Box

I can not take any sort of credit for this box...none at all. Yes, I did technically make it but I used Kimmie's instructions to create it. 
I decided I needed something to hold notepaper. The kids keep taking my notepads but for some reason they only seem to like blank papers.
Since the end of the school year is rapidly approaching, I'm starting to clear out all those saved papers. Spelling tests, one sided worksheets, junk mail flyers..you get the picture. A seemingly endless supply of paper. I might as well write notes on them before they hit the recycle bin.

Colors swap pages

After a long delay on my part... I finally finished the first set of pages in the colors round robin.

I was so surprised at how difficult just having colors to use was for me. Without a theme, I was spinning my wheels and not able to focus on the task at hand.



The colors were chocolate brown, turquoise and ivory...we could splash black if needed.

This first page was the only one I had in my head from the beginning. This is actually the middle of a signature. These pages will be sewn into a plaster page book for a class, if I understand right.




 


These swirls are on the back of the signature. You can see the fold mark down the middle.

This next set I actually started with the back. I had the papers picked out long ago. Of course the scan isn't showing the color properly. I messed around in Photoshop a little trying to fix it but only seemed to make it worse. So imagine the colors are proper...which they are in real life. :)

This is actually the inside of that signature. I liked the poem and the color was  right.


So for all my fretting about these pages, everything just sort of fell together when I put my mind to it.
I sure hope this is what Marilyn is looking for in these pages.

Vintage Sewing pages

These were some fun pages. I'd do another but the book is getting full fast and there are still two people left in the round robin.

I hope she likes them!

Magician's secrets

This is my more traditional thought on the theme of Magic.

I really wanted the bunny to be able to come all the way out of the hat but maybe he's better this way so he doesn't just decide to hop away. :)

Tea and books

I really enjoy my tea. It's a daily ritual for me...at least until the hot weather comes.

I also love books! I'm especially drawn to old books. I love the way they look and feel.

Some I would never alter in any way and others scream at me to make them my own with paint, paper, fabric and glue.

Hop on over to Kimmies blog to see what the other girls are doing today.