That's Clever airing!

Well, after a two year+ wait, HGTV finally aired my That's Clever segment this morning. We recorded it on TIVO, on video tape, and i filmed it with my digital camera. I spent just about all day trying to upload the video to my blog, but finally gave up and uploaded it to Youtube instead. That only took 3 hours! I have never inserted a you tube clip into my blog before - so for now here is the link. Please note the quality is not great - but at least you can see the show!

Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5GEEN4B4eg&feature=channel_page

Thanks so much to all the people who have already seen it and sent me great compliments!

Here are the detailed instructions for the altered book keepsake box.

Book Prep:
· Wrap the book with wax paper to protect the front cover.
· Generously coat the sides of the book with gel medium.
· Allow to dry for several hours until the book is a solid block.
· Apply a thin coat of gesso to the cover and sides of the book.
· Paint all the edges of the book with metallic paint.

Heart:
· Use air dry clay to form a heart shape.
· Keep it organic as if you found a stone shaped like a heart.
· Stamp into the heart with a word or letter rubber stamp.
· Allow to dry for several hours.
· Paint heart with acrylic paints and glazes. Use a stippling effect to resemble stone.
· Let paint pool in the letters so that the word is clearly visible.

Niche:
· Use a metal edged ruler and pencil to mark the size of your niche. At least one ruler width in from the edges.
· Use a sharp x-acto knife to score the pencil lines – over lapping at the corners to get a good clean edge.
· Move around the niche cutting a few strokes on each side until the pages in the middle come loose.
· Keep cutting until the desired depth is reached.

Deli Paper:
· Create hand painted deli paper using acrylic paint and an old credit card.
· Deli paper is available at superstores. It is a very thin but strong paper – and is ideal for painting background papers for altered books.
· Painting directly in the book is messy and can cause the pages to pucker and warp. Using deli paper gives you a dramatic background, while preserving the book.
· Spread newspapers on your work surface
· Work with one sheet of deli paper at a time
· Squirt on three colours of acrylic craft paint, in stripes on the paper. Don’t use too much – the excess will just be removed!
· Use a credit card to blend the paint and cover the entire surface
· Allow to dry.
· Use an ink pad and rubber stamp to create patterns on top of the paint.
· Use metallic glazes to add sparkle and shine to the paper.
· Optionally, place a textured mat or stencil under the deli paper. Then use a credit card to spread the paint or glaze. You will have the pattern of the stencil on your paper.

Altered Book Background
· Prepare the cover page by gluing several pages together. Cut a hole in the page opposite the niche, slightly smaller than the niche.
· Apply a sheet of deli paper to the inside cover and facing page.
· Cut the deli paper in an X over the hole.
· Wrap the paper around and trim.
· Cut or tear a piece of mica to create a window over the hole. Punch small holes with a Japanese screw punch. Attach the mica with small brads.
· Glue the deli paper over the page with the niche.
· Use an x-acto knife to cut an X in the paper over the niche. Fill in underneath the X with the scraps. Glue the triangles down to cover the niche.
· Cut an X over the window. Fold the triangles inside and glue.

Altered Book Decoration
· Create a collage for the cover of the book using vintage papers and ephemera. Cut out a vintage image and glue to the cover. Add some flowers to the collage.
· Adhere a vintage key to the cover with sticky glue dots.
· Add a silk ribbon around the cover of the book.
· Inside the book add a few touches of collage here and there.
· Add the phrase “Only you, Have the Key to my Heart” using letter stickers or calligraphy
· Place the clay heart inside the niche with a sticky dot.
· Paint 4 wooden balls with acrylic paint. Glaze with metallic paint.
· Glue to the bottom of the box with super strong glue.

That's Clever final countdown...

Ok - so if you are interested, please check out HGTV's That's Clever on Thursday morning, January 15th, for my Altered Book Keepsake Box segment. I wrote all about it here.
Please be forwarned! They FORCE you to be cutesie for the camera. I naturally exude a cool calm demeaner, so there is no telling how embarrassing the show will be after they edit it.But i am really excited, having waited over TWO YEARS for the show to air! Here are some other examples of the project i did on the show. All the background papers are hand painted and stamped deli paper. have i mentioned it glues beautifully?

Mixed Media Monday Challenge

Here is my entry for this week's Mixed Media Monday Challenge: Friendship. Please go to the website to see the links to all the other friend related art created by bloggers around the world.

I looked through my collection of vintage pics to find a suitable couple. Instead i found three little girls with their favorite teddy.

They remind me of my neice Erica a few years ago, when her and her build-a-bear were inseparable.

Crafting Malaise....

Ok - i have definitely gotten off to a slow start in 2009. Having guests, looking for a job, and having no current projects has kept me out of the craft studio. But you know, the weather here in Northern California is beautiful - the forecast is calling for a week straight of sunny blue skies and up to 70 degrees! So there is no time to waste my life staring into the computer worrying about what's going to happen. So how do i get out of this malaise? I signed up for things! I am never one to shirk responsibility or be late for a deadline - so the more projects i have lined up, the more time i will spend being artsy. So in no particular order - this is what i have to work on in the next few weeks:
Altered book swap - i have been meeting monthly with a group for over 6 years. Participants have come and gone - but there is a core group still wanting to meet, swap altered books, and create something in a fun workshop. Not knowing if i'll even be living here next month makes it hard to get psyched up for this - but i kicked it off yesterday, so i need to start working on a new altered book.
The images here are from the book i have chosen. It i called The Gift of Life by Dean Walley - a hallmark book from 1971 i picked up at an estate sale. It is a sweet book with lovely earth tone illustrations by David Welty. Things from the 70's can be a bit dated - with their overuse of the colour "rust" or burnt orange. But this one still feels somewhat contemporary. And there are many birds, which continues to be my obsession. There is a poem throughout the book that talks about motherhood and rebirth in simple prose. It will be interesting to see how the pages are altered.

I also signed up for a few other things: a wedding themed journal round robin. I just love weddings and have some fun ideas. Including creating a flock of bridesmaids with crepe paper dresses like this one.

Next I signed up for a trashy romance novel themed fat book. For those you just do one page - but make 25 or so copies or versions. That will be fun to do. Then you get a 25 page spiral bound book filled with everyone's bodice ripping artwork.
And finally - although who knows how many other projects i'll line up, i am going to do a valentine swap - i'll mail out 15 victorian valentines, and get 15 in return. I wonder if my husband will get jealous.....? Please stay tuned to see how these projects manifest themselves. I'll continue to share my ideas and tips for creating your own paper based works of art!

Happy Creative New Year...!

When i started this blog a year ago i had several goals. I wanted an alternative to updating my altered book studio website, which was cumbersome. I wanted to keep my students engaged with the creative things i was doing, swaps i participated in, and new workshops i developed.

I wanted to provide step by step illustrations and instructions on how to create your own simple yet beautiful works of art.

And i wanted to create a voice - a place to share my thoughts on collecting, teaching, taking classes, swapping and the community of creative artists focusing on paper and mixed media collage.

I also had a personal mandate to update this blog at least every two days. I did not quite keep that up. But this is officially my 127th entry, so i did manage to post less than every three days!

We have friends visiting for the holidays, so our days are spent enjoying the sights and sounds and tastes of northern california, not so much hanging out on the computer, or in the craft room. But I'll be back in a few days to share more of my creative pursuits.

Happy New Year to all my friends and readers of this blog. I hope i kept you entertained and that you are inspired once in a while to create some art.

christmas eve tapas

Cheers!

Here are some shots of the very tasty tapas party we went to Christmas Eve at our neighbour's house. I almost never cook anymore, but this was a fun occasion and i wanted to try some new things. Having Top Chef marathon running in the background all day inspired me!

Here is Z's beautiful table:I made spicy garlic shrimpstuffed mushroomsmanchego stuffed dates wrapped in bacon spicy empanadas

and gazpacho
Z. made several tasty appetizers, like artichoke hearts with a red pepper spread and a egg and potato torta. Plus offered us an array of almonds, sevilla spiced olives, assorted spanish cheeses and grapes. And some cured ham and melted cheese bites.
And for the main course an impressive paella:

D. made a luscious bouche de noel to end the delicious meal

Merry Christmas Eve Everyone....!

As i make my way out the door to a festive gathering at a neighbour's, i wanted to share a sentiment for the holiday season: DREAM. And dream big. May all the wonderful things you hope for, for you and your family, come true. Either by Santa bringing you something special, or in my case, getting a call about the ulimate career opportunity.

Please have a magical christmas eve and christmas day!

DREAM banner and mirror mosaic bird ornament from Wendy Addison and her fanciful Theatre of Dreams workshop in Port Costa. The perfect additions to my tree.