622 posts
It’s finally here!! Spring! Warm temps. Green grass. Trees budding and flowering. This is why we all stick around Minnesota through the harsh winters. We can enjoy the great outdoors in all it’s glory.
Between the sweet smell of the blossoms and the light drone of the bees, it was hard to get myself to come back inside.
If you look closely you can see all the bees busy pollinating.
I feel like I’m always behind in posting lately. Not sure why that is but it happens all too often in my opinion.
Last time at craft club, I was trying to replicate this card that I had found many years ago in my dad’s room at the nursing home. It was such a sweet card with a clever design. I knew one day I wanted to try it for myself.
I decided to use a pack of cards from Michael’s that were color-coordinated as my base.
Of course this is just a start.
I’ve also started work on a commission. I’m making a scrapbook album from a children’s board book.
I started by ripping the printed images off all the pages.
So far I’ve only gotten the outside background papers in place. I realize that I can’t force it…either I’m feeling creative or I’m not. Evidently I’m not feeling scrapbooky right now. :)
Mini-me and I were out of town this past weekend for our annual mother daughter retreat. More on that tomorrow.
After completing the cover on my last art journal, I had some scraps of stamped tissue paper laying around. I layered the lovely brown tissue on the pages. This gave my background instant texture and an even more aged feel than the original pages already have.
I really enjoy this color combo. It’s bold yet not something that makes you search for your sunglasses.
It didn’t occur to me until just now that this journal entry is very similar to a small canvas creation that adorns my livingroom.
Someone is very curious about mom’s camera…
As I was saying…before my ADD had me running up to take a photo of the livingroom wall…this color combo is obviously something I like a lot. The complementary colors work so well and the black and white accents give a nice pop.
Since it’s April and this month is Earth Month I thought I’d share a second look at a bit of upcycling from a few years ago.
Oct 6, 2013
Upcycling Projects
We all know how to recycle and I’m sure most do it daily. Newspapers, cardboard, glass and plastic are all readily recyclable in most cities, at least across the USA.
This is wonderful! But I’ve been really focused on upcycling lately. Finding a new use for something that would ordinarily be tossed out. Wine corks, bottle caps, worn out clothing, stained linens, broken plates…you get the idea.
I showed a sneak peek of these a while ago. I made a wine cork tree last year but this time I decided to change things a bit. I used a Champagne cork cut in half for the trunk. I think they turned out really cute.
I’ve also been using some scraps from previous projects such as the denim remaining after completing a quilt or two. As well as the remainder of the dress shirts that I made wine bottle gift bags from.
In addition I’ve been making a bunch more cards. I’ll show more of these last two projects at a later date. The cards have much less upcycling in it’s truest sense but I am still attempting to include elements that might otherwise be considered unusable such as tiny scraps of fabric and yarn. As well as photo trimmings. I have a cigar box full of photo trimmings…they have such vibrant colors that it’s a shame to toss them out.
It doesn’t have to be Earth Day to be a little “green”. Do a little more every day to be kind to our planet. Last time I checked…it’s the only one we have. :)
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If you’d like to see more recycling and upcycling projects please use the tag cloud on my sidebar.
For lack of a better idea for the name of this journal I opted to use the name of the book.
Especially since the title shows through the stamped tissue paper I used to cover it.
This journal was the first one that I started with the intention of it being an art journal. My original thoughts were that I would create some pages then journal on them at a later time. Of course how I actually used this changed over time.
There is everything from challenges to me just trying to work through something to experiments with new products and techniques as well as just playing around being creative.
Over the years there seems to have been a shift in the verbiage used to describe the process of taking a book of little or no use and making it into a piece of art. Or perhaps it could even be a book with great meaning to you and you want to express yourself within it. Either way…you are altering it from it’s original purpose. Hence the name altered book, right?! But the line has been blurred as mixed media and collage entered the scrapbook and paper arts world. I’m not saying this is a bad thing…more products, techniques, blogs and tutorials out there. Mixed media entered the main stream. Along with that is where the shift happened from altered books to art journals.
I’ve always felt (and still do) that explaining to outsiders what an altered book was bordered on exhausting at times. I’d, all too often, get a blank stare from the person I was talking to about my new passion. Somehow changing the way I described what I was doing as art journaling made more sense to my audience. Oh, it’s just art in journal form. Sure, if that makes it easier for you to understand…I’m cool with that.
For me, I feel as if the difference between an altered book and an art journal has a couple different facets. An altered book must first of all have been a written and published book. Secondly, for it to be an altered book, it has a theme. Such as this Vintage Fashion altered book….which happens to be the first round robin altered book swap I ever participated in. Too bad postage costs have skyrocketed since then.
After completing a few themed altered books, I began creating pages randomly with no theme. Just a place to play and be creative. Somewhere along the line I started calling my “no theme” altered books, art journals. It seemed easier or perhaps more logical way to describe them once I heard more about art journals.
For me, I feel an art journal can be comprised of any substrate. Plain or scrapbook paper, card stock, bound journal, moleskin, cardboard. You name it…it’s likely been tried…as well as, you guessed it….published books. This causes the dreaded crossover…well, is it an art journal or an altered book? I feel as if I’m talking in circles.
I think what it comes down to is personal preference. It is art after all. You can call it whatever you want. We all define what we think is art in very different ways. You aren’t going to please everyone and you shouldn’t try. Art is an expression of yourself. There are no hard and fast rules…which is why I got interested in altered art 11 years ago.
So there you have it…my opinion on the difference between an altered book and an art journal. What is your take on this subject? Do you agree or have another ideas? I’d love to hear your opinions.
Welcome to T stands for Tuesday brought to you by Elizabeth aka alteredbooklover. Pull up a chair, grab a cup and stay a while.
I missed last Tuesday due to the flu…but since then I’ve been getting back to being creative. Now that I’ve got a few journal pages under my belt, I feel as if the creativity is flowing again.
I’m on a a mission to finish this journal. I think perhaps there is space for one more spread. I hadn’t realized until I was over half way through this book turned journal, how filthy the language was in it. I had grabbed the book off a the free shelf at the library with the sole intention of making a journal. I never read any of it. 
After discovering the salty language including numerous F-bombs, I have been very careful to thoroughly cover the written words. I’d hate to have my kids pick up the journal and read something totally inappropriate.
The black tissue paper did a fantastic job with this. It also added wonderful texture. I also use a palette knife to spread some heavy gesso through a circle stencil. I think I was channeling the ’80s. Actually that’s not too far from the truth. I’d been talking about the Sadie Hawkins dance with J just before this. It had a neon theme. Very 80s meets rave party from the photos that I saw. Made me think of my first high school dance (and the photo that showed up on FB a while back…WOW!)…very typical 80s…of course, it was the 80s!!
Boy that was quite a tangent…back to the journal.
I wish I could have captured the sparkle of this page better but it’s very grey and rainy outside and the artificial light just doesn’t show it true to life.
I’m off to meet with friends this morning…it’s been so long!!
What are you doing today?
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