Altered book pages with ATCs

While I am still working on my first altered book,  the second one is coming along nicely also.  I am not good at waiting for things to dry, so the second one gives me  bit more time to play before I have to walk away as both of them dry. The second one started out as "Getting to Know Nature's children" (the muskrat and salmon edition.)  Mostly it was dull, there is one lovely two page photo that I may leave except for some embellishment to the photo. 

However, for today I will show you two pages that I covered with painted papers and then added some of my ATC stash onto it. It was difficult to decide which ATCs to use, but these two matched the colors nicely, I think. 

The face was done using a stamp that I carved. (it is a self portrait stamp.)  I colored it with Sharpie markers.  I still have the stamp so I can possibly add one to each altered book I make as a type of signature. 

The ATC on the facing page was just fun doodle work. (or should I say "doodle play"  hmmm?) 

You may see some bits of red on the upper side edges.  That was an "oops" when I was playing 

with acrylic inks. I have decided to leave it as an artifact of the process.

Linking up to Sunday in the Art Room.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Pens on Paper

I have been trying to fit in a little art work during the times I stay with Mom.  I have found that a sketchbook and some pens seem to work well as I can sit in the living room with her as I work.  

I have been using Micron pens and brush markers -it is purposefully limited so that I don't have a lot to corral when I need to stop.  I have both a regular sketchpad and a mixed media pad that I am using. 

Both of pieces I am showing today were made in the mixed media sketchbook. 

First up is a face - for the Friday Face Off.

I started with one of the larger nibs of the micron pens.  Then I went back

with the brush pens and added color.

If you look closely there is a lot of design in the hair area.  I do wish I had

taken a photo before adding the color.  (next time, maybe) 

Her skin with the brush pens was blotchy (more than it is now! You hush!)
At home, I used some Inktense pencil and water to smooth it out as 

best I could. 

Next up is a black and white creation.  

I didn't want to risk messing him up with color.

I may photocopy it and then play with color on it. 

He actually has a face of sorts also.  

I had no plan when I started this one, but he sort of called to me.

I did the head part first - not planning a head or ahead.  

But I saw a face and couldn't resist making it into a creature. 

I suspect Nicole will enjoy this one.

Happy Friday Folks!

                                                       Linking to the Friday Face Off.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

                                                                    

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible.

 Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. 

  Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

ATCs and an Altered Book Page

I have been playing with ideas for my altered book -errr...books since I have started a second one. 

After doodling on one page, I remembered that once upon a time I made lots of ATCs (artist trading cards.)  They had to be somewhere since I made many more than I traded.   Looking around,  there they were in an old wooden cigar box.  I missed the last FFO (Friday Face Off.)  So here is one that I found in my stack of cards. Do you see a face?

There were some cards that were larger than ATC size.  I found one that paired nicely with another standard size one.  Both were place on a page where I had glued in a "roll off sheet" - i.e. where I roll my brayer to remove paint from it.  I have been using an old training manual on Leadership as a roll off book."   I really liked how this page looked so I used it as the background. I purposefully created torn edges  before I glued it onto the page.  Then I glued the two cards onto it.  

I really like this layout. I am sure that more of my ATCs will show up in future layouts. 

Linking to SITAR - Sunday in the Art Room.

FYI,  If I am missing your posts, I apologize - The feed for blog reader is acting up.

They are not showing in my reading list. I know that others are having the same issue.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Paper Work in the Studio

This type of paper work is not the boring kind - although some may find the process boring because it is a bit repetitive.  

I was looking at various altered book techinques.  That prompted me to find a webpage where this technique was explained.  I love surprises in books, so of course I want to add some to my altered books. 

This technique involves folding, cutting and gluing the papers to created a lovely pop-up in the book.  

You have probably seen something like this in a party store or at a party or  festive restaurant. 

First I made the circle construction and left it to dry overnight. 

I glued two pages together on each side of the layout to give it a bit more structure. 

Then I gessoed the pages, but added a bit of blue to the gesso. Okay, honestly, the blue was still in the brush I used for the gesso and blended with it - Happy accident. 
(Crafty Cheapskate note:  I use foam brushes for gesso, PVA glue, and a few other things. These brushes are "disposable" but seriously - if I can use them again without washing them, I will.  So I decided to put them in separate ziploc type sandwich bags.  I spritz in a little water - they don't dry out and I can use them for the same thing again. I label the bags with what the brush was used for.)  

Once the gesso was dry, I dropped some acrylic ink on one page (mostly on one page) Then I closed the book to make an inkblot design.  I didn't put any in the very center since the "ball" was going there. 

Then when everything was dry, the ball was glued into the book. 

That one book is taking quite a while to finish because there is a lot of waiting.  I have prepped another book and started gessoing pages in it. 

Sharing with Sunday in the Art Room (SITAR) 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Altered Book Additions

My altered book has really kept my attention and given me lots of creative choices.  I am truly enjoying playing with art that isn't "precious."  

I used the flower print that I drew on with white gel pen and found a page that looked good next to it. 

I am undecided about adding something to the right hand page. I may add a quote, or just leave it as is. 

Another 2 page spread in mostly warm colors

There is a bit of cool color on each page to add interest. 

Again I may or may not add words to either of these pages.

Another fun spread that started with creating an ink blot with acrylic "ink paints" 

Then I added a "Pop Up bridge" 

First partially open

Then fully opened. 

I just love the bridge popping up. 

Finally,  here is gel print that was sitting there waiting to be glued on a page. 

But then I saw the white gel pen right there and said "Hmmmmm...." 
I sat for a minute thinking what I might draw.  Then the quilter in me grabbed the 

pen and started drawing continuous line quilting designs.  

You probably noticed that it isn't all continuous line.  I said "Hey there isn't thread to break and tie off, 

I can add "clouds" in the "sky" and add some extra circles in the bottom area. 

I can hardly wait to get this page glued into my book.

Linking to 

Sunday in the Art Room 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

A couple of Altered Book Pages

Happy Friday.  This is short because my Mom turns 90 today and I need to bake two cakes.  (one sugar-free for the diabetics among us- and one sugary one for everyone else.) 

Here are a couple of pages from the altered book I am making.  I have taken several classes on CreativeBug (affiliate link) about various ways of altering books and creating papers. 

Both of these pages use a gel-printed background that is glued to the book page. 

The car was drawn with paint pens and cut from another sheet then glued onto the background

I think this print was a bit busy, but I used it anyway. 

The photos were black and white,  I used acrylic paint pens to colorize them. 

Linking to the Friday Face Off.

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Altered Book in the Making

I have come up with a new project that fits my "caregiver" schedule.  I can work on it for a few minutes and then easily walk away.  That is always good when you sometimes only have a few minutes.  

Yesterday I had more than a few minutes.  So I did a fun thing with the back section of the book.  Using PVA glue, I created a section and glued the edges together.  Then I cut a niche in that section - and glued those edges also. 

I still need to clean up the cut edges.  Nothing like a photo so show up the flaws. 

After those edges are cleaned up, I will paint, or maybe cover the area with fabric.

Then I need to find something to put in that niche. 

Here are some other pages in the book I have altered.

This was a nice blank page to work on. 

Painted paper with a face collaged onto it.

My hands traced and echoed

Just fun mixes of color

A face on an old piece of music, and a luscious yellow/orange field of color

Fun with color and images. 

You may recognize that right hand page - I decided it was too busy and added the apple 

image to calm it down a bit. 

Linking to the Friday Face Off

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

In the Art Room

There are lots of types of art.  One that I often participate in is sewing and quilting.  

In honor of Mother's Day, I am repeating an old post - or at least part of it. Mom's Birthday is in May so even though this talks about her birthday, It was also close to Mother's Day. 

-----

Yesterday I stopped by Mom's house, as I usually do after work.  She wanted to go get some takeout, so we did.  We ate and talked.  Mom has a birthday coming up, so I asked what she wants for her birthday.  "I just want y'all kids to be happy, that's all." she said.  Hmm... I can't buy that or sew it either.  I will come up with something, I think. 
We also discussed a little retreat that she is going on with "the church ladies."   Mom is so excited about it.  She has been talking about it for weeks. She was given a list of things she needs to take with her. She has all but one of those things in a stack on the guest bed. (I told you she is excited about it.) However, she didn't have a notebook to take (she wants a nice clean new one. )  I told her I thought I had a spare one at home.

K

nowing that Mom's favorite color is yellow,  I dug into my stash and found some nice fabric from Riley Blake.   I had three fat quarters which is plenty for one of these with leftovers for something else. I also saw a strip of a yellow blender fabric so I added it also.
I sewed up the journal cover and put it on the composition book.  Then this morning I got to work early and "borrowed" one of the dogwoods in the parking lot for a photo shoot.

---- 

Mom still has this covered notebook. Although as she has dementia, she doesn't use it. 

In other news, I am working on an altered book.  I spent some happy time watching a class on various things you can do to create an altered book.  Then I did my usual "different" methods based on what I saw.  

Here are the pages I have worked on so far.

This first one is "a bit much."  I am undecided about gessoing over it.

The blue page needs something added.  It is really just a background.  I haven't decided just what it needs yet.

This page is just a background but I am tempted to leave it plain. 

I may do some small simple collage to give it content without covering up much of it. 

Linking to SITAR

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Art for Sunday

I was in a local discount store and saw  simple wooden skull shape.  It had some decoration lines on the surface.  I thought  "that could be fun to play with."  

When I got it home, I decided to use it as a "stamp" to remove paint from the gel plate surface. This would give me a print AND would put a base layer on the wood. 

I took the print after it had dried and used some paint pens to embellish it a bit. The fine surface lines didn't imprint well, so I improvised the design. 

I also had the wooden skull shape to paint on.  I used the same set of paint pens and had fun with it.

They look quite different, don't they?

I showed the base print for the one below on April 26th. 

I mentioned then, that I might use a white pen to enhance the design. 

That is exactly what I did with it. 

If I weren't "afraid" of ruining it, I would use the green paint pen to add a bit of color to the

stem and leaves.  Hmmmm.  It could still happen.

Linking to Sunday in the Art Room

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

 Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

Printing Playtime

I have been playing a LOT with the gelatin plates (One is Gelli brand, and one is Gel Press brand.) 

I have also attempted to make my own plate.  So far it has not been wildly successful, but I haven't given up just yet. 

Here are a number of prints I have pulled. Most of these are planned to be used as collage paper.  Some of them could be collaged onto a surface and have a subject painted with these as backgrounds. 

This one is interesting but I am not sure how I will ever use it. 

The black shapes are from a stencil that I cut myself. 

This one will make lovely collage paper. 

I do wish it were fabric.  I know I can have it printed on fabric, but that is quite pricey for me.

This one is just various colors of paint "mooshed" together on the plate. 

This is what is known as a ghost print. I made a print using string on a black layer of paint. That print was pulled, then the string was removed and the remaining paint left to dry. More paint is added - a thin layer and then this is pulled. The ghost print if often the better image. 

More "mooshed" paint - this should be great collage paper.

This piece was just paint that I put bubble wrap into, the bubble wrap is removed and while the paint is still wet, the print is pulled. 

This one used one of the flower stencils that I cut. I am thinking of going back in with a white pen and drawing on this one to enhance the design.

Another of my flower stencils.

I usually use a lot of color, but this neutral one  - well, I love it. 

This is another ghost print using a circle stencil and some pieces of 

cut cardstock to create the design. But you may notice lots of tiny bits of color from previous 

prints on this one. Once the ghost had dried on the plate, I put a neutral color over it and put the 

paper down.  I left it to dry for several hours (probably too long) as I forgot about it.

A few bits of the paper were left on the plate, but I got them off easily. 

Of all of thes, I think this is my favorite. 

Until Next Time,  

Stay Creative 

 Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.