almost ready to send Kathy's book.

sorry I'm running late with this one, just wanted to hop on here really quickly & say I'm almost ready to send it, hopefully early next week!  I hope u r all enjoying the cooler weather!

Kathi's book

Hello AFF's!!  Well it is July!  Just wanted to let you all know that I have been working on Kathi's book and am close to finishing.  It is a beautiful, creative book...

Will post once I have mailed on to Char...won't be for another week. 

Colleen

Just thinking about our books....

Hope all is well with you all! Summer is finally coming to MN tomorrow - we are supposed to hit our first 90 degree day (after having snow last Saturday!!)

So thought I might ask, any progress on the books? I know how busy we all get, but I'm getting ansty to get back to work on them and see the finished projects....no pressure though:)

Enjoy the sunshine!!
Denise

I need some pics from y'all

I teach jewelry making and an altered book class to kids 6-13 at the community college every summer & have been asked to prepare a display & do a demo. I'd like to make a slide show of the books we've been working on since I don't have but one altered book here. Most of the techniques I teach the kids are simplified A LOT because of their age & so don't really show the potential of the class. I would love to show some samples of what grow ups can do! If you are willing to let me show pics of your work please send me some. Thanks!!

You've got to check this out!!

Hello my AFFs!!!  Happy New Year!  You have got to check this out!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alteredbooks/photos/album/385953299/pic/list?mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&dir=asc

Following you all on your blogs and Facebook...hope you are all well.  8 inches of snow here and quilting time!  Altered books have to wait until I can open the doors and windows again for paint and glue smells...sure anxious to get these moving though!

axel

Where does the time go???

Hello my dear AFFs!!  I just today (November 16) saw Denise's post from September!  The TWO art books that have made their way to my house are sitting front and center on my work table and have been since I received them!  I am so deliquent and feel much guilt over them but I seem to do other "have tos" before I get to these wonderful books.  I am feeling that the time is near for me to finally work on them.  I can hardly wait.  They are such beautiful pieces as they are and I am anxious to add to them.  I think part of my deliquency has been fear of messing them up.  I hope that once I begin with them the fear will depart and the creative process will take over.  So, Kathi and Jody, I still have your books and will keep you posted on their progress. 

Hope life is treating you all well...I do keep up occasionally on your blogs and such. 

Happy creating!  axel

summer is winding down

Hope you all had a great summer! lots going on with moving and grand kids, weddings family,  friends and what-not - we sure are a busy group! For me it has been super (a little too hot for my liking) but good none the less. As you know, I finished school in May - what a relief that has been:) And I started my new job in July. I'm enjoying being in the working world again, but it really does take away from my creative time, sadly.

I stopped in a scrapbook store yesterday while I was out & about and it really made me think about our books and how much I love working on them. I really didn't know if it was going to be something for me or not but YES, it's a great creative outlet. I have a few books in the works & now that summer is winding down I'm hoping to get back into them again - as well as looking forward to the next book in our group.

So do tell - how was your summer??

new addy

I won't post it here but be aware I've moved.  Hope everyone is having a nice summer?  We are currently building a shed, fixing to build a fence so the horse can move in & working hard to find a new place for all my goodies, lol.

Kathi's book is on it's way....

I finished up my pages and sent it off to Axel this morning! I took pictures, but am having some issues uploading them - will work on it some more in the next few days.

It's so nice to get some crafting time in again!!

Hope you are all enjoying the summer so far!!

Denise

Happy Summertime!

How are ya'll doing? Anybody defacing altering books lately, lol? I've been chipping away at Neicy's, trying to do a 'section' is proving to be a challenge.

      I've started 3 different spreads and am working back & forth between them.  One spread is almost finished, one is barely started and the other is somewhere between the two extremes, lol. 

     On a personal note, we have serious buyers for the house!  Good timing, 'cuz Tommy starts burning accrued leave in June so he'll be free to carry boxes, lol.

Are we going to try to finish our books in time for COF?  No pressure, of course, just curious because it would be cool to see them all in person again.  It will also be cool to see all of you in person again!!

Creativity occurs in the moment, and in the moment we are timeless. (Julia Cameron)

How is everyone doing?

Hi AFFs!!  How are you all doing?  I know the main thing with everyone is...busy, busy, busy!  It is funny, you think that when your kids grow up you will have more time.  Then you think when it is winter you will have more time because you aren't outside working in yard.  Then you think when your aging parents get settled you will have more time.  Guess what???  You NEVER have more time!  It is true that once I went back to part time work my stress level and crunch of time relaxed a bit...BUT...then my kids all started having babies and I am busier than ever trying to keep up with them!  Mom has passed on but that left Dad with no partner and needing companionship.  It is still winter but my sewing room is a three season room and I can't really use it in the deep winter so all of my projects come in the house...all over the dining and living rooms!  What I am trying to say is that no matter what our circumstances, we all just have to keep trying to squeeze our creating time in and around our lives.  For people like us, it isn't a question, we NEED to create and we do just that, whenever we can. 

Just wanted to let you all know I am thinking of you all, I am feeling oh-so-much better about grieving through lots of things in my life that have kind of overshadowed me for a long time and I think I am going to work on Jody's FAB book today!  Yea!

Love you all, my AFFs.  Have a great Saturday and I hope you find time to create something today!!

axel

Denise's Book..."Time"

Hello AFFs! Finally finished up my pages for Denise...must admit, didn't go just as I had planned...ended up being a little more personal and cathartic than I had planned! You girls seem to bring out the emotions in me! Denise, I struggled a lot with the direction to take with your book and once I got into it, it kind of took on its own direction...I guess that is the joy of our group...let the art take it how it goes. Anyhoo, pix...

Finally working on Denise's book~yea!

Hello AFFs!  The New Year is off and running!  I finally had time today and the weather was warm enough (my studio is a three-season studio...not so great in the winter) that I could ponder and work on Denise's wonderful Altered Book.  Her theme is Moments/Decades/Time.  I was quite stumped for a long time...her book is a history book of Poland and I couldn't get past the seriousness of the book!  Finally decided I was over thinking it all and then couldn't decide if I should pick the decade of the 80's since that was when my kids were small or something else.  Finally, I decided to do the 50's since that was the decade when I was born and spent my early years in.  Then the question was do I do the 50's as history in the world at large to go with the history book that it was or do I do the 50's on a more personal level and what was popular in America in those times.  Finally I decided to just go through some of my stuff and see what struck me.  Yea!  I finally quit overthinking it!  Ended up doing the 50's as they pertained to me personally and things I remember from my youth.  Some of it brings back not so nice memories for me but much of it was happy and cheery.  I am finding working on this book and theme to be very cathartic for me at this time after my mother's death.  Enjoying working on it a lot...just wish I had had more time earlier to get it done sooner and keep the rotation going.  Oh well, can't control EVERYTHING in my life (like death of mother and major issues at work).  lol

My AFFs, have to say, was nervous about these altered books but am finding that when I quit over thinking them and just start playing with it I enjoy it very much!  Thank you Jody, for this genre!

Will post pictures before I mail this book on...will be several days.

Colleen

Jody's book arrived today from Minnesota...AWESOME!!

OMG!!!  Jody!  Your book is SPECTACULAR!!  I am totally awestruck by this book and how you have turned a very ordinary book into such a work of art.  Denise, your pages are just wonderful...so impressed with how you brought yourself into your pages...very, very nice.   Okay, I have 1 1/2 more weeks to work fulltime and then my life will be settling down and I will have time to FINALLY get to BOTH altered books I now have in my possession.  So sorry for being late getting Denise's book out...have my ideas and look forward to finishing it up. 

Happy New Year to you all...so fun receiving such inspiration in the mail from you very creative women!

Colleen

Happy Holidays!!

A very Merry Christmas to each of you and your families!!!

Jody's book....

Hello AFFs,
I am happy to announce that I am finished with Jody's pages! Classes ended on Tuesday so, I finally had some "me time" to put the finishing touches on it. I also got started on Kathy's book. Colleen, I will be mailing 1st thing in the morning - sorry for the delay.

Colleen's pages by Charlyn

Since Colleen's was a fairy tale book and she kind of followed that theme with her own projects I decided to do the same. After reading the stories (which I don't recommend, btw) I chose the one picture in the book with a horse on it and decided to pretty much ignore the story and just illustrate the good part of the fairy tale: where the handsome prince rescues the fair maiden from a life of drudgery and carries her off to the castle to live happily ever after. This is the little cabin in the woods where she toiled her days away...

This is the cold forbidding castle he was taking her to (but of course their love will fill it with laughter and joy(hehe))

"oh my love, I've waited for you for a life time! please take care of me and never let my dainty slipper touch the ground again" (simper, simper, coo, coo)

The whole shebang... hope you like it, Colleen!

Such Good Friends....Nicki's pages

My two page spread. Worked my style into the lace book! Nicki mentioned the beach in her book, so I had my daughter find me a vintage themed beachy greeting card. I love it! Very apropos for our RR. "such good friends" cut from an old book, that, when I actually read some of it, was a 60's sexually charged oration! Regardless, we are as cool as they are prancing the boardwalk in those suits and heels!

The backgrounds are painted with oil paints. Took a  long time to dry I learned! I incorporated lace Nicki hand dyed, vintage lace and a sheer fabric. An old game card from a relic dating game made reference to a beach question, so I sewed it to a bit of scrapbook paper and glued in place.

My first page was opposite Nicki's beautiful page so I tried to keep it in the same tone. The lace trim was layered to make the wavy, cloudy affect. I used two lace/sequined butterflies, a magazine cutout butterfly and a rhinestone butterfly off a Sally Ann's castoff sandal.

I may add a little stamped verbiage. Not sure yet. I had a blast working on these pages and trying to figure out how to do lace my way!

Sneak Peeks

Photos of Kathi's pages, updated with finished pages.

Page 1 - Keeping with Kathi's theme of using an old pattern for the background I did the same on this page, then glazed over it and added some paper and bits. The masthead from "The Saturday Evening Post" is from the month and year Kathi was born, I altered the date to the 18th. Great find at the resale shop in Wisconsin.

Page 2 - Painted and glazed this page with red and yellow. Made pockets by folding the pages and attached them with brads, added a little paper for accent. Found the old pin at the resale shop in Wisconsin, cut a little bit of a nitch and glued the pin into it. Used the "ruler" from the package that the old pattern was in. 

I love tags, made three tags for the pockets.

Page 2 with tags - Detail of the tags - just fun!!!! One tag has dictionary definition of "Vintage", one is a picture of birds, and one is a collage of paper, brad, and ink.

Thanks again to all of you for playing altered books with me.

I mailed...

Nickilee, be on the lookout, I put Colleen's book in the mail today. Are we supposed to show any peeks or anything? I'll give you a hint, Axel: I used some of your book pages and some of my paper and Sharpies and watercolors and glue and fabric and floss and scissors and tweezers and glitter and ......I think that's about all. Hope you like it!