New Altered Book & Yard Stick Project & Workshop Coming

This past couple of weeks I've been working on an altered mini board book with the theme of vintage children's books. I love the images from the 40s and 50s. Below is a picture of the cover.

It all started with this mini child's board book - measuring 3" x 3".

I then cut the book into a house shape.

I covered each page with gesso.

Below is a close up of each page.

I collaged each page using images from vintage books and scrapbook paper from: Graphic 45 ABC Primer or Carta Bella True Friends paper.

I soldered the top of each page to give it a tin-roof look. Some images show the soldering tape before I tarnished it - once tarnished the roof looks blackened.

This weekend, I also finished my vintage yard stick shadow box. I wasn't able to take a great shot of it from my hallway - but it's big 44" x 55" and it's super heavy (about 75lbs).

Here's a few pictures of how it started. My brother-in-law, Bob, built this beautiful frame.

I painted the background with chalk board paint. I drew on it to give it a used look.

Then erased all the chalk.

Next I glued on the rulers. It was my daughter's great idea to stagger the rulers and I just love how it turned out.

The picture below was my inspiration...it was posted on One Lucky Day's blog and ever since, I was on a mission to recreate one for myself. Thank you Paula for my posting this amazing piece on your blog.

And last, but not least, I'm scheduling my first workshop of the year - Let's Make Dolls! We'll make a doll necklace, a domino doll, a mini furniture doll and a paper doll.

It's going to be held on Saturday, June 8th from 10:30 - 2:30pm - $48. Lunch will be provided. Email me if you want to sign up or want more details. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

New Altered Paper Dolls

This weekend I made some new paper dolls...

I was at a used book store and came across this book by Claudine Hellmuth, called "Collage Discovery Workshop: Beyond the Unexpected". It's a wonderful book of whimsical inspirations and I couldn't wait to make something inspired from the book.

The first doll I made was a 3-dimensional doll filled with rice to help weigh it down so it could stand by itself.

Below are some pictures of how it was created.

I covered the bodice with text paper and then painted over it with Making Memories Celery color paint.

I cut out a skirt made from black and white striped fabric.

I sewed the sides and bottom closed with turquoise embroidery thread.

I filled the skirt with rice and inserted the paper doll inside the skirt.

Finally, I drew in a collar and added a hat, flower and ribbon.

Below is a picture of the other two paper dolls I made. I used fabric for the skirts and painted text for the bodice. I love the mix of a vintage photo with acrylic coloring, doodling and fabric and the odd body proportions.

Thanks Claudine for creating such a magical book, I can't wait to make more of her projects!

Now, to share a few non-creative photos. This week we went down to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and my daughter captured some beautiful photos. My favorite exhibits were the jelly fish and the sea horses.

Then check out these sea horses. Definitely not your typical sea horse.

We then took the kids on the 17 mile drive in Carmel. It was a beautiful day and we got a wonderful shot of the famous lone cypress tree. Although, it looks a bit smaller than I remembered.

Then last but not least, I finally treated myself with some Copic Sketch markers. Thanks to my sister, Lana, for letting me borrow her extensive set of Copic markers to play with before I made the plunge to buy my own set.

I've been watching lots of YouTube videos on how to use them for blending...I'm so excited to get started with these, too. Here's one of my coloring samples using my new copic markers.

My daughter also decided to try her hand at a few drawings and coloring with copic markers

Diane from Scrapbook Territory was a big help in customizing a set for me. Love her scrapbook store in Berkeley!

I've also been working on my ruler project. If you've been following me, you know that I've been collecting vintage yard sticks to make this unique picture (inspired from a picture on Paula's blog: One Lucky Day). Here's a sneak peek...it's almost done. My brother-in-law, Bob (Pat's husband) created this beautiful frame for me. It has a glass cover (not shown). Below is a picture of me painting the background with chalkboard paint.

It was a great week, spent lots of time with the family and got to add in some shopping and crafting, too!

Vintage Photo Tags

I recently bought some $1 stamps from Joann's to make a few altered tags. Using some vintage photos, this is what I created...

These were so quick and fun to make, you're going to want to make some for yourself!

These are the $1 stamps I purchased from Joann's. They look like doodled frames - so cute.

I stamped the frames on a variety of paper. I used both a 6x6" pad from My Mind's Eye called Market, and also some vintage text and journal paper.

Afterwards, I cut them all out. 

Now for the photos. About a year ago I purchased a Dover book/CD of Old-Fashion Children's Photos. The photos were originally in black and white, but using a software tool I was able to change the color to a sepia tone.

After you cut all the images out, they look so much more dimensional and seem to come to life.

I added the photos to the tags using some dimensional double stick tape to add some depth. Then I embellished the photos with hats, numbers, words and flowers. I love these number stamps too, I purchased them from a stationary store in SF Japantown, but you could also buy them online. I bought them in several sizes as well, and I love the wooden box it comes in!

I think I'll be using these images more often, they're adorable!

Hope you enjoyed this post, and have a great weekend!

Holiday Crafts

I was recently asked if I had any holiday crafts to submit for publication. I thought about it and looked around my home, but didn't really have anything that would be a good fit, so I was off creating something new these past couple of weeks. It's so odd creating for Xmas in the spring time, but this is what I came up with.

These are my match box ornaments. Below are the some of the steps to make these...

Open up the outside cover of the matchboxes.

Cover one side with silver paint.

I used a punch on one side of the box to create a window.

I covered the other side with vintage text paper.

I decorated the inside boxes with 3D images.

I applied glitter to the covers.

Then I glued & embellished! Below is a close-up of one of them.

Next, I made some Valentine fabric cards/pictures.

I started with some valentine cards and copied them onto fabric.

I sandwiched the image with batting and a piece of muslin.

Then I stitched around part of the image and added some embellishments.

That's it for my summer time holiday crafts. Have a nice weekend!