Chipboard Book Collaboration.

Not long ago i proposed a collaboration to my super-talented friend Barb - i had some chipboard books i picked up at Michael's for a quarter a piece and my idea was that we'd each start one, then swap books and finish what the other had begun. There were no rules aside from each of us doing 2 completed pages, 2 half-completed pages and one page left blank before sending the book to the other person. They could be done in any media and with any theme. Barb's book, in which she's already done her part and sent to me, is called The Wee Book of Big Imagination and it's awesome! Once i've done my part in that book i'll post it here, with Barb's permission.

The book i started (and have since sent to Barb for completion) is called Home Is Where the Art Is. This was a phrase i kept thinking about, and i love house imagery, so it seemed like a good theme. Following are photos of my book, pre-Barb magic.

 

 

The above page was based on a previous collage that i posted here a little while ago. Barb liked that collage, and it fit perfectly into my theme, so i did another version here. This is my favorite version yet!

This project has been a blast so far, and i look forward to working on something else with Barb in the future. 

i used lots of different supplies here and won't list them all, but mostly it was acrylic paints and mediums, watercolor pencils (Inktense by Derwent, my new favorites!), toner photocopy transfers, stamps and ink. 

Thanks for stopping by, and have an artful day!

Spell Book

At my son's request, i made a spell book for his birthday this year (back in February). He loves to pretend he's a medieval sorcerer. i struggled over ideas for months, but then a few weeks before his birthday it all came together. He was very happy with it, even said it was the best gift he'd ever received (that was a serious heart-warmer!).

The above photo shows the book with 2 little boxes filled with dried leaves, 2 potion bottles filled with colored water (a name on one bottle comes from the video game "Oblivion") and a handmade pouch containing stones and "crystals". i also added a decorative pen, not shown.


i aged all the pages to give a very weathered and time-worn feel. Thank goodness for Ranger Distress Ink!




You can't tell from the photos, but every page had some kind of embossing or dimensional adhesive for texture.

i managed to make up one pretend spell!


i used clear envelopes to hold these pressed flowers and leaves.



In the pocket is a piece of aged paper for him to write/draw on.

As you can imagine, i used a ton of different supplies putting this together, so i'm going to opt out of listing them all here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

And even though i haven't been on here much for months, i still make some kind of art almost daily...almost. i've been working quite a bit in my art journal, so maybe next post will reflect that.

Hope everyone is well! And have a fantastic day!