lockets and knick knacks

The spine of my latest journal.  I worked on most of the pages first and then bound the book.  I loved working like this because I could change the order of the pages.  I found I could tell different stories depending on the order.  Everything in the book is true but the pages aren't created in liner order.  Which is how my brain works so it only seems fitting.

The book is made from scraps of fabric and art paper that I already had in my stash.  My friend gave me a bunch of random scraps and I figured out I could sew them together and use them for spines.  I used duct tape underneath to keep the fabric stiff which I'm not sure I would do again.  It is cheaper than linen tape but it has a self healing quality to it so it's a bit hard to sew though. You really have to punch a hole in the fabric and I have a lazy way of bookbinding. I usually poke the holes in the spine as I go not in the beginning.

Giant button and locket from my art stash.   The left side of the locket says the heart sees (1/2 a quote from a yogi brand tea bag) and the right is a water colored heart with an eye drawn on it.  I used Elmer's glue on both side and made a little bath of glue and let it dry for a few hours. 

Paper Milagros

 My friend has a book on Milagros and I did a little bit of reading on the meaning of the symbols and decided to make my own altar in my journal.  First I cut out the shapes and then played around with the layout on this bench.  I wanted to do something Spring oriented and i keep seeing giant patches of clover so I added the 4 clover design which looks a little bit like a clover/iris mix. 

 The second step was painting each piece with twinkling H2O watercolors.  I love being able to buy individual colors.  I have a traditional set of watercolors but I don't use it much.  If you get these write the name of the color on the bottom with permanent marker.  They are each labeled but when you get them wet the name rubs off after awhile and it will be hard to replace.  I love getting the hobby set of brushes that come 4 or 5 to a pack. Never get the white horse hair looking brushes because the bristles fall out and you just have to throw them away.  These were nice because they have a little grip and they were under $10.  I also paint pieces of paper first and cut the shapes out second but this project was a learn as you go experience.

The third step was to layer and glue the pieces. I have Elmer's glue all with me at all times. I like glue sticks but anything I glued a few years ago can easily be pulled apart which is a good and a bad trait. I also like book binders acid free glue but Elmer's washes out of your clothes and I now have quite a few pants with random rough patches. I don't have art clothes and I forget to wear my apron often. I used the Faber-Caster Pitt artist pen to add a bit of the hand hammered effect on the Milagros. This is pen number 273. I'm always looking for pens that look like pencil lead.

                  

The background is tape and I have mixed feelings about using it.  I love tape washi tape but it's really for decoration.  I prefer to use artist tape because it stays and doesn't lose it's stick.  I don't know if masking tape is made any differently than it was 15 years ago but it does disintegrate over time and leaves ghost marks on the page.  I could always redo the background with paint in the future.