Sunday 14 October 2007

Paperific and Altered book - last page


What a fabulous day we had yesterday. We went to Docklands, which is as the name suggest a dock and harbour area. It's only been developed recently and is still growing, lots of apartments, cafes and restaurants and boats, some very luxurious.
My husband spent the afternoon taking photos while I went to 'Paperific', a paper, stamp, embellishment, etc show. Needless to say I bought lots of 'stuff'. I met the great Jen Crossley and Julie from Collections, who Jen was demonstrating for. I also bumped into lovely Nicky who attends our altered book Thursday night get together. The photo shows me going through my loot while waiting for my husband to return, he snuck up on me.


As mentioned in the last post, I've come to the end of my current altered book. Lisa asked me in the previous comments post what sort of paper I use in my decorated papers. Well Lisa just about anything I can get my hands on, from good quality watercolour paper to bond sketching paper which is quite thin, this has the advantage that the image usually goes through to the other side, which is useful if I'm using it to make a journal. It's also nice and thin to add to my altered pages.

The photo above shows the first stage. I apply about four different colours of paint (acrylic, watercolour crayons, inks, again whatever I have available, but mainly acrylics) randomly to the two pages, usually keeping one until last for the highlights.



The next stage is to add strips of paper napkins, torn phone book pages or any thin paper. I peel the white backing off the paper napkins to make them more transparent. I use my hand made stamps to stamp images and patterns onto the pages.



I then add hand drawn lines or 'doodles', text, chocolate wrappers or anything that will add to the layers.



Finally I finish off with attachments, images, fabric or strips or cut outs from my decorated papers. Sometimes I give the two pages a wash of a very watery mix to tie the whole thing together. I leave the next two pages blank and work on the two after that, then I join the blank pages together, making the pages thicker. Quite often I come back later and add other things I find that might suit the page, it's a never ending story.

28 comments:

Sharon Tomlinson said...

You are so cute sitting there on that bench with your goodies. Thank you so much for the little tutorial. The part that I love love to know about is that you wait until later to join the to pages together. I am so going to do this.

Anonymous said...

ro
This is awesome. Thankyou so much for sharing your process with us. I am so jealous that you got to go to paperific. Oh well one day. Thanks again for the tutorial.
Lisa

Anonymous said...

Thanks Ro, for showing your process, it really helps to both teatch and inspire! :-)

Judy Wise said...

I'm going straight to my studio and try your process. I love it when people share. I never would have thought of approaching it this way. xoxoxoxo

kelly rae said...

you are so making me want to do an altered book. love this. love the colors. love the whole thing and esp like that you showed us the stages!

Gail said...

Hi Ro, I was at MPE on Friday and missed seeing you there, I also had a wonderful time and spent lots of money there. Especially at the Collections stand, See you on Thursday at the Altered book night.
Cheers
Gail
p.s Love you work and your blog.

Karen Cole said...

You look so adorable sitting on that bench. Wish I could have been sitting next to you peeping into your bag of goodies.

I love that you shared your process!!
Beautiful photos of beautiful work, Ro.

Janet said...

Love the photo of you sitting there going through your loot! Thank you for taking the time to do this tutorial. It always helps to know how someone else does things. Your work is amazing.

Becky Mairi Farrell said...

It's so good to see your process iwth the altered book page. I love the colours you've used too.

Judy said...

Thanks for that Ro - love reading other peoples processes too. Ciao bella.

Francesca said...

Beautiful pages, I love the way you use colour and pattern!

Kim said...

Another lovely photo of you Ro.

Luv your work!!!

Julie H said...

Ro, thank you so much for sharing your process. Your journal pages are fantastic -as always. Of course, now I am intrigued as to what is in the bag ...

sharon young said...

Hi Ro
Thank you for commenting on my blog. I was so excited to get 4 comments, the most so far!
I absolutely love your work, it's exactly to my taste, you casn clearly see your graphic design training shining through! It's very refresshing and your website is like being in a sweetie shop for me! I can't wait to go back when I have more time, love the pastels, my favourite medium, and the colours are sensational!
Debbi has tagged me and I have to tag 7 other bloggers, so may I tag you please.

Linda O'Neill said...

Really enjoyed seeing your journal process, Ro. Your pages are always eye poppingly beautiful too!:)

FARBTUPFER said...

Your new pages are fabulous!

kate said...

These are beautiful pages ... I love your use of colour. It is magical!

Night Owl Designs said...

Hi Ro! Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment! I've been a lurker here for ages, lol. Your work is lovely :-) Sephi

Steph said...

You look like a little girl on Xmas day! Beautiful pages so colorful !

Rebecca E. Parsons/Cre8Tiva said...

i love this page...it is so art centric...blessings, rebecca

carla said...

I just love reading about an artist's process, and having the pictured is always a special bonus:> I love the vibant colors you use in your work - they never fail to make me happy! That picture of you is adorable - you have the most impish look on your face... must be all the goodies you got:>

Anonymous said...

What wonderful colours and a great tutorial.
hugs Marie

katie said...

thank you for sharing your process and photos of your altered book. i'm going to try it!

and such a beautiful photo of you.
xo katie

Jen Crossley said...

So great to meet you in person Ro I could of talked all day to you
Love the altered book!!!
Jen

Elizabeth said...

I can't tell you how inspiring you are!1 Everytime I need a kick, I come to visit your colorfull world and you never fail to get my gears turning!! Thank you so much for that !! i also share you blog posts with my Mum- a fiber artist on Cape Cod MA. She is in her late 70's and just loves finding all of the wonderful art on the web- so I send her links to your work and she returns to it again and again. She is not very up on the leaving messages bit , so I am opassing it on to you , for her!!
Youa re terrific and wish that I could take one of your classes. i would love to know if you ever come over to the states for some teaching!! (HINT ! HINT!)
Again thanks for sharing your Beacon of Creativity with the rest of the world !!
Elizabeth

Anonymous said...

Ro..I absolutely LOVE the finished effect of this page! All of the layering makes the page look like it took hours to do! Thanks so much for the easy, step-by-step instructions.

girlgonethreadwild said...

Ro, how did I miss this super cute pic of you & these awesome steps of your creative process? Thanks for sharing, I would love to take a class with you... your blog is the next best step. xo, Monica :)

Gaby Bee said...

Your journal pages are absolutely thrilling eye candy. I love your use of color! Thanks for the easy step-by-step instructions. Great tutorial! I just love your art and blog. I visit quite often for inspiration :)