First Altered Book

Only two minutes left until Christmas day is over ... and it will be over by the time I finish this post.  

I worked on an altered book this past week.   It's a 1909 spelling primer with little stories and pictures related to the words to be memorized.  I tried to work around the pictures but I am finding out how incredibly messy I am with spray paint, powders, and glue.  I burn my fingers with the hot glue gun and open up powder jars upside down, and spray paint everything on my work table.

Working with a book is challenging because the paper is so thin.  I gesso the page lightly to build up it's strength but if I over saturate with fluids, the page can warp and tear away from the binding.  Hopefully I will get better at this.

OH ... I'm so excited about latest finding.  I've wanted to work with Adobe Photoshop for years.  I use to work with CorelDraw over a decade ago but want to learn PS but the only problem is I can't afford it ($300-600 for latest version on eBay). I went on Adobe site and found out they are moving toward monthly plan options, giving people the opportunity to try their apps, store work in their cloud, and view tutorials to learn how to use the apps, AND I can download it for free for a month. I downloaded Photoshop CC (2014), Lightbox 5, and Bridge CC.  I have a month to view training materials at the beginner's level, play with the product, and then pay $9.99/month if I want to continue. 

First challenge is to learn "layering", which would allow me to create digital collages.

Here are my first messy pages in the altered book:

Family Tags - Bill

Hi everyone!  I had to put away the paints and ephemera to deal with life and the pursuit of money to pay the bills!!!  I really missed creating something so I tried a small project - a tag.  My first tag is for my father, William Thomas Reese, Jr.  One side is about his pre-Philadelphia life in Hamlet, NC, when he was known as "Tommy".  I found a cute picture of dad in short britches.  The second picture is from his North Carolina State yearbook.  The other side of tag is an early picture of him with my mother in Fairmont Park, Philadelphia, PA, when he preferred to be called "Bill".  

The tag used is a black Inkssentials Crafts tag by Ranger, #89, 6 1/4" x 3 1/8" in size.

I actually found some "wheaties" in a jar in my closet.  The penny dates matched the two pictures, 1933 (dad's graduation) and 1936 (mom & dad's marriage year).

Stamps on eBay Now ...

I brought back a huge lot of rubber stamps to list on eBay, helping my friend Fran continue to down size her supplies ... and of course to net funds for new stuff!!!

Stamps are being listed this week on ebay and you can see them at Plotsky's Collectibles.  Here is an example of some lots currently up for auction:

October, 2014 - A Little Bit of Autumn

I want to try and express my feelings about Autumn, my favorite season.  This was 1st attempt but it doesn't quite do it for me ... I want to try again.  

Starting with a flat 8x10 canvas, I applied gesso, and after drying time, I layered on some fragments of paper stock, including the two birds in upper right corner.  Next I used Liquitex Modeling Paste on a word stencil, adding some dimension.  Flowers were added in lower right corner, and several pieces of feathered grass were glued on.  

Next came the sprayed on ink using Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Summer Glow, Pumpkin Spice, and a touch of Plain Jane Baseboard Semi Opaque Matte Mist in Red Rocks color.  

I used heat gun to dry and then applied Ranger Perfect Pearls in Perfect Bronze, Perfect Copper, and Forever Red, giving sections a sparkly glow.  I misted the whole piece with water and used heat gun again to adhere powders to the piece.  

Finally, small embellishments were added, including a stip of lace down the left side.

Finally, small embellishments were added, including a stip of lace down the left side.  The round piece is a lid to an incense box, the bee is a pin I picked up at a garage sale for 25 cents.

The 8x10 size of canvas made it easy to find a frame around the house.