I let the strings from tying the signatures be nice and long on the book spine so I could hang little things from them. I should mention the book is about 2 and a half inches square.
Above are the little things I made. The ladies' faces are made from Shrinky Dink with the faces painted on old text, then glued to the 'dink.' I think I had to make the holes before baking the plastic. I made all these little things about 5 years ago, so some of the order of what I did has been forgotten. The button and the owl were just glued to keys with E6000, which I love, except for the smell.
Above-I glued this to the front of the wee book. I will use the wire openings for a sari ribbon tie to hold the book shut. I'll show you later when I get to that step.
These have nothing to do with the book but it's a bit of an invention that I came up with (at least I have not seen it elsewhere). I always loved the look of soldered jewelry but never wanted to have the smell of those fumes in my home. So to sort of duplicate the soldering effect, I cut skinny long strips of old text and glued them around the edges of rocks, sea glass and broken pottery. I made loops to hang them by bending a little 'u' shape in wire, then hiding that wire under the glued text. I think I used Tacky Glue but I'm not sure now.
You can see the nice possibilities for jewelry...
For larger pieces like this, I just got little blank wood pieces from a craft store and found wonderful old photos to use. I think there's a bit of mica in the background too. I coated the tops of all of these things with some kind of nice shiny stuff and I can't remember just what it was-some kind of jewelry making coating....
Above-here's the edge...
This is a small stone...
The back...
I have had the pleasure of teaching different art classes in the past-like simple print-making and painting for young kids and even an on-line class as part of a big group of other crafters. My class in that group was a bomb! I had 1 student sign up for the class!!! But I learned so much-how to put hours of instruction together and then translate that into video and all the tech stuff that went with it....Whew!!! I also wrote many magazine articles for the Stampington magazines my projects were in. All this to say-I am blessed. Every day I can go into my studio and create I am blessed. And I'm blessed if I
can't go into the studio!
God is very good to me.
***
Happy Thanksgiving!
19 comments:
All of your creations are delightful, I love every one, especially the book! Good that you feel blessed. Happy Thanksgiving! Hugs, Valerie
Nice to see your little book coming to life. Nice invention, I may have to borrow that.
Printed words and illustrations have a special vintage charm. Beautiful creative pieces.
If you ever need more material, I have plenty.
I was typing a comment when accidently touched another button. The text disappeared. Not sure if it was sent.
I'm loving your little book and how you have decorated it. Did you know you can shrink # 6 plastic and it is basically the same as Shrinky Dink material you pay a fortune for? #6 is mostly found holding baked goods.
I love how you incorporated items from around your home to embellish the book. I was also impressed with your choice of faux solder, too. I have done quite a bit of soldering in the past, but I bet, since I haven't done it for awhile, it would look like a child created it. BTW, E6000 is my adhesive of choice for heavy items, too. I never noticed (or was bothered by) the smell until a year or so ago, when it got a lot stronger. Either that, or my nose got more sensitive.
Happy Thanksgiving Debra.
:) You are having a fine time with your little books and the embellishments! Have a great Thanksgiving, Debra, with plenty of food, family, and friends!
Thank you for the tip-I didn't know about that plastic!
Got it-have a nice Thanksgiving!
Yes please do borrow. I'd love to see what you create!
I hope you have a lovely holiday. Thank you to each one who comments, and to those who just look.
Really wonderful handmade art, Debra! I do like that you've used natural materials with them. The world is full of scraps and used clothes for ex. This is the good way and a great idea to use them for beautiful things. Thank you for sharing these treasures, they are eye catchers and clever.
Have a happy time and hope there are not too cold xx
P.S. Snow here smelted away but they have forecasted more is coming...
Looking forward to how you finish your wee book! It’s very sweet. Do you plan to somehow use it on the pages?
I am playing catchup here, Debra, and enjoying your little books so much. I am taking notes, for sure. (Of course, there had to be a feather. I love that!) I hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Tell Sam hello!
So lovely and creative. I like the way your mini book is progressing!
Debra your wee book is wonderful. How you come up with so many creative ideas is amazing. Your jewelry pieces are outstanding too. Yes we are blessed to be able to create...God is so good. Hope your Thanksgiving was lovely in every way. Hugs!
I thought I should tell you that # 6 plastic has a tendency to shrink slightly smaller in one direction that the other. The first time I noticed was when I shrunk a circle and it turned out slightly oval. Not that you could tell had I not said something, but I could tell. I have several examples on my blog.
sorry I missed this post-loved seeing your little book and thee fun projects-hugs
Thank you so much! I have been eyeing plastic from stuff in my fridge-so I will give it a try!
Here's a blog post about how to identify # 6 plastic and what NOT to do when shrinking it.
I did look at your wonderful list of tutorials. When I'm feeling brave, I'll try this! I hope it works in an oven...
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