Sunday, May 31, 2026

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. 




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.

5 comments:

Christine said...

Creative

LA Paylor said...

brilliant! I love your colorful inventive work and that you clean you brayer on removed paper, then use it in another project.
so satisfying right?
and your colorful vest on the opening page, LOVE that
how do you handle time between several art forms? it's always a balancing act for me
LeeAnna at not afraid of color

DVArtist said...

OOOOOMMMMMGGGGGosh!!!!! This is soooo cool!!!!!! I really love this and thank you for explaining how you created it. Truly fabulous. Thank you for sharing with SITAR and have a great day.

Tom said...

...good for your Gene, this has too many steps for me. My attention span is short!

roentare said...

It's a simple idea that saves both time and materials while keeping a project moving between all that necessary drying time.