I have a habit of being easily distracted. Especially when I'm procrastinating!
Today's adventure began when I needed to look up a grammar question which took me to Quora [as easily a time-sink as YouTube] which took me to this:
Can Origami be used for something else?
which led to The Modern Science of Origami.
Too cool!
Red Bear's Teacher-Daughter might be inspired by this, I'm feeling tickles on the edges of my comprehension, in the olden days of complete brain function I could have had some fun with this.
Saturday, December 29, 2018
Thursday, December 13, 2018
AAJ One - Challenge Index
Altered Art Journal Number One
This is the story of our first foray into altering an old book and using it as an art journal. We've done weekly Skype Craft sessions for a few years now and this first AAJ was started just before Red Bear moved away. We did the first challenge together, she moved and then in the background of our weekly Skype Crafts was our monthly AAJ challenge.
Ugly Paper Competition - The Story
AAJ1-01 Challenge: Coffee Filter Flowers, Backyard.
AAJ1-02 Challenge: A Postcard
AAJ1-03 Challenge: A Quilt Design
AAJ1-04 Challenge: Dried Leaves and Angled Pockets
AAJ1-05 Challenge: An Ugly Paper Competition
AAJ1-06 Challenge: Fredward, Glitter, Ribbon.
AAJ1-07 Challenge: Blue Paint, "January"
AAJ1-08 Challenge: Purple, Felt, Hearts.
AAJ1-09 Challenge: Red, Ric Rac, A Bead Dangle, Stitching.
AAJ1-10 & 11 Challenge: Orange, Yellow, A Window, Fabric, A Border.
AAJ1-12 Challenge: Green, Gratitude Grid
AAJ1 The Covers
Zoo's AAJ1 on Flickr
Zoo's Flickr Albums
This is the story of our first foray into altering an old book and using it as an art journal. We've done weekly Skype Craft sessions for a few years now and this first AAJ was started just before Red Bear moved away. We did the first challenge together, she moved and then in the background of our weekly Skype Crafts was our monthly AAJ challenge.
Ugly Paper Competition - The Story
AAJ1-01 Challenge: Coffee Filter Flowers, Backyard.
AAJ1-02 Challenge: A Postcard
AAJ1-03 Challenge: A Quilt Design
AAJ1-04 Challenge: Dried Leaves and Angled Pockets
AAJ1-05 Challenge: An Ugly Paper Competition
AAJ1-06 Challenge: Fredward, Glitter, Ribbon.
AAJ1-07 Challenge: Blue Paint, "January"
AAJ1-08 Challenge: Purple, Felt, Hearts.
AAJ1-09 Challenge: Red, Ric Rac, A Bead Dangle, Stitching.
AAJ1-10 & 11 Challenge: Orange, Yellow, A Window, Fabric, A Border.
AAJ1-12 Challenge: Green, Gratitude Grid
AAJ1 The Covers
Zoo's AAJ1 on Flickr
Zoo's Flickr Albums
AAJ1 Back & Front Covers
We did this WRONG.
Learn from our mistakes.
This is what you are supposed to do and what we've done with every altered book journal since.
1. Decide if you want to have a hollowed out storage space at the back of your book, or even if you want to leave that option open.
2. Flip through the book. Every 10 pages, remove 2 or 3 pages.
Yes, this could take a long time.
If you're leaving the back third to half of the book as is to make a hollowed spot, just do the page removal process on the first half of the book.
3. Do it again until the book looks very thin and "gap-py".
4. If you're doing the hollowed out storage section, do that first. With the wear and tear of crafting in the first half of the book, you'll have a good idea how sturdy your "box" section is.
Or, ya know, don't. I can tell you that I was very uncomfortable digging out the back of my book with all my finished pages in it.
Because we did it wrong, by the time we had 12 Challenge pages done, the book was already getting too thick.
 |
| oops - guess we should have pulled some pages out |
I don't remember if we glued the pages before the hollowing or not. I think we did not. I just marked an outline of where I wanted the sides of the box to be, grabbed my craft knife and started digging. This was my least favourite part of the whole book.
I do know that I glued and double-sided taped several pages together to be the "lid" of the box.
The covers
 |
| Front Covers Left = Zoo Right = Red Bear |
I had a mask/stencil that I put on my front cover with the idea of spraying it, changed my mind, pulled off the stencil and was left with what you see. I stressed for a long time trying to figure out a way to fix it until I just decided to let it be. Lesson Learned.
 |
| Left = Zoo Right = Red Bear |
You can see that after a year of playing, the bias tape began ripping up the photo from the bottom. [left pink cover, bottom left quarter]
All of the edges of both of our books are worn. Partly because it was glossy photo paper and partly because these books spent a year bopping around our craft rooms. Getting crafted in, getting stuff piled on top of them, in my case for sure, tossed onto the floor to make room, having wax and parchment paper wrapped around them as protection from paint or other crafting processes. Red Bear's book also travelled across the country at least twice.
There is no way that just looking at a finished book will exact anywhere near the amount of wear and tear these books went through.
Do the covers last.
AAJ1 Challenge 12 - Altered Art Journal Challenge
June 2013 Challenge
Must include:
This challenge, Green Gratitude Grid, completes six challenges based on the colour wheel and is our last challenge of AAJ#1.
Obviously at the time we were photographing both our albums together I hadn't finished my page. Here is a picture of my finished page.
Must include:
- green
- grid
- what we're grateful for
 |
| Top Book = Zoo, Bottom book = Red Bear |
Obviously at the time we were photographing both our albums together I hadn't finished my page. Here is a picture of my finished page.
 |
| Zoo's finished Green Grid Page |
AAJ1 Challenge 10 & 11 - Altered Art Journal Challenge
April and May 2013 Challenge
Must include:
Red Bear had picked up some natural ephemera on one of her walks. She used one of them to paint the meandering word tracks on her left orange page and around the window on her right orange page.
I just figured out that her bird is sandwiched between two layers of translucent-something and is in fact suspended inside her window. How have I not known that all these years?
I decided to have fabric and borders on both pages. Used my Spellbinders Nestabilities Rectangle and Scalloped Oval dies. The fabric elements are the scalloped ovals under each flower page and the text frames on the window pages.
The same fabric was used for both months. April fabric was coloured with acrylic paint and fabric medium for the orange pages. This also stiffened the fabric so it went through the die cutter easily.
My April Butterflies: I wet the butterfly body and molded it around a reed. I held it in place with a binder clip while drying to give the body a cylindrical shape and to pinch in the wings against the base of the body.
The body was coloured with black and cold grey PITT pens and highlighted with GAC.
Gluing my die cut tissue paper window frames was an exercise in patience.
This was when Red Bear fell in love with spreading chalk around a Versa-mark/clear stamp inked image and rubbing the chalk into the ink and spreading it over the page. She pretty much uses this technique every chance she gets now! I think she learned this in her card class or maybe from a YouTube video.
My May Butterflies: Once glued to the page I used a Sakura Gelly Roll Black Glaze pen to define the butterfly bodies and when that was dry, covered it with GAC. [Inkadinkado Glossy Accents - Clear]
The text frame is 100% cotton fabric, pre-washed, with a fusible backing attached then die-cut with a Spellbinders rectangle die.
Gluing tissue paper frames on Flickr, orange, yellow.
Must include:
- There shall be a window between the two pages.
- April is orange with fabric.
- May is yellow with a border.
 |
| APRIL Top Book = Zoo, Bottom book = Red Bear |
I just figured out that her bird is sandwiched between two layers of translucent-something and is in fact suspended inside her window. How have I not known that all these years?
I decided to have fabric and borders on both pages. Used my Spellbinders Nestabilities Rectangle and Scalloped Oval dies. The fabric elements are the scalloped ovals under each flower page and the text frames on the window pages.
The same fabric was used for both months. April fabric was coloured with acrylic paint and fabric medium for the orange pages. This also stiffened the fabric so it went through the die cutter easily.
My April Butterflies: I wet the butterfly body and molded it around a reed. I held it in place with a binder clip while drying to give the body a cylindrical shape and to pinch in the wings against the base of the body.
The body was coloured with black and cold grey PITT pens and highlighted with GAC.
Gluing my die cut tissue paper window frames was an exercise in patience.
 |
| MAY Top Book = Zoo, Bottom book = Red Bear |
My May Butterflies: Once glued to the page I used a Sakura Gelly Roll Black Glaze pen to define the butterfly bodies and when that was dry, covered it with GAC. [Inkadinkado Glossy Accents - Clear]
The text frame is 100% cotton fabric, pre-washed, with a fusible backing attached then die-cut with a Spellbinders rectangle die.
Gluing tissue paper frames on Flickr, orange, yellow.
AAJ1 Challenge 9 - Altered Art Journal Challenge
March 2013 Challenge
Must include:
In my notes for this page I have listed "new skills learned":
how a crimp bead works
how to build a dangle on a headpin
how to clip and form a loop with a head pin.
Doing research for the phrase "In like a Lion, Out like a Lamb", I learned I had it backwards all these years.
Must include:
- Red Ric Rac
- stitching
- a bead dangle
 |
| Top Book = Zoo, Bottom book = Red Bear |
how a crimp bead works
how to build a dangle on a headpin
how to clip and form a loop with a head pin.
Doing research for the phrase "In like a Lion, Out like a Lamb", I learned I had it backwards all these years.
AAJ1 Challenge 8 - Altered Art Journal Challenge
February 2013 Challenge
Must include:
What can I say, the painted felt hearts on my page look worse in real life than in the photo. My die cut words look much cuter though!
Must include:
- red,
- purple,
- felt,
- hearts
 |
| Top Book = Zoo, Bottom book = Red Bear |
AAJ1 Challenge 7 - Altered Art Journal Challenge
January 2013 Challenge
Must include:
- Blue paint
We were learning how to use and experimenting with gel mediums. Kidlet and Red Bear noticed that I had 3 different tubes of acrylic blue paint. We each picked a blue and played with matte, iridescent and glaze mediums in our practice books. The challenge then became "do a January page with your blue".
See the evolution of my S.A.D. page on my Flickr album here.
I think this was one of the first times my propensity for planning became glaringly evident. I recall eye rolls from my daughter and perhaps an exasperated "oh just slap some paint down!' Underneath the black blob, there are a lot of different elements that you can see on Flickr.
My S.A.D. Flickr album
Must include:
- Blue paint
 |
| Top Book = Zoo, Bottom book = Red Bear |
Mine doesn't look very blue you say?
More like a black blob?
Well, yes. Yes, it does.
I think this was one of the first times my propensity for planning became glaringly evident. I recall eye rolls from my daughter and perhaps an exasperated "oh just slap some paint down!' Underneath the black blob, there are a lot of different elements that you can see on Flickr.
"Since my Dad died, and after doing two complete dark seasons in the High Arctic, January has always been a hard month for me emotionally. January is cold and dark. The only good thing about January is that it ends. There is a light at the end of the "winter tunnel", when it is over, the worst of winter is behind us."My theme became Seasonal Affective Disorder. Cold, dark with lots of snow and stars.
My S.A.D. Flickr album
AAJ1 Challenge 6 - Altered Art Journal Challenge
December 2012 Challenge
Must include:
Before Red Bear moved away, we took the pad of paper we used for the Ugly Paper Competitions and divvied them up into three portions. On the back of each piece, we numbered them so we could refer to them accurately over long distances.
You can tell my "snow glitter" was old and yellowed. No problem, I just dubbed him a "Churchill Bear". Google it, you'll see polar bears are mostly yellowed in real life.
The snow under, around and on top of my Fredward is "most of a bottle of Stickles 'Frosted Lace'", according to my notes.
Must include:
- Fredward the Bear [a stamp and die set]
- cream and #69 paper
- ribbon
 |
| Top Book = Zoo, Bottom book = Red Bear |
You can tell my "snow glitter" was old and yellowed. No problem, I just dubbed him a "Churchill Bear". Google it, you'll see polar bears are mostly yellowed in real life.
 |
| Image © SteveBloom.com |
AAJ1 Challenge 5 - Altered Art Journal Challenge
November 2012 Challenge
Must include:
My notes say: "Kidlet picked the mottled paper, Red Bear chose the purple flowers and I picked the orange drops on the yellow background. If I recall correctly, we each chose a piece of Ugly Paper independently of the others and I think we were all a little aghast when we saw the three selections together.
Apparently, this was an impromptu Ugly Paper Competition/Skype Craft. The text on my page reads:
Must include:
- a solid coloured background paper in the purple family
- 3 Ugly Papers see the bottom book for the biggest samples of each paper
My notes say: "Kidlet picked the mottled paper, Red Bear chose the purple flowers and I picked the orange drops on the yellow background. If I recall correctly, we each chose a piece of Ugly Paper independently of the others and I think we were all a little aghast when we saw the three selections together.
 |
| Top Book: Left page = Kidlet, Right Page = Zoo Bottom Book: Red Bear |
Nov. 4, 2012, Tentative Plans + a little Serendipity and it all comes together.
I advanced my alarm clock setting by an hour, but forgot it was "fall back" time change. When I caught Kidlet's phone message I was still in time, so she came to visit.
Kidlet showed me again how to Skype and how to leave a message.
We don't know why Red Bear turned her Skype on in the middle of the afternoon but we were able to have our first Skyped Ugly Paper Competition. Oh, and our first foray into the world of die-cutting and embossing.
AAJ1 Challenge 4 - Altered Art Journal Challenge
October 2012 Challenge
Must include:
We had to make four angled pockets with a sheet of 12 x 12 paper, include a tag with dried leaves in each pocket.
What has become a fall theme is using up some of my vast collection of dried leaves. Why do I have so many dried leaves you ask? -shrug- I dunno, ... reasons I guess. It's one of my "things".
Red Bear has an altered art How-To book, when she reads this she can edit in the title as I don't seem to have it marked down here.
I seem to have had some issues looking at the bottom right corner of my book, the top one.
We've both subsequently added to the original challenge. Red Bear added tassles and I added more tags.
Must include:
- Angle Pockets
- Tags with Dried Leaves
- 12 x 12 bordered paper - Ugly Paper #63
 |
| Top Book = Zoo, Bottom book = Red Bear |
What has become a fall theme is using up some of my vast collection of dried leaves. Why do I have so many dried leaves you ask? -shrug- I dunno, ... reasons I guess. It's one of my "things".
Red Bear has an altered art How-To book, when she reads this she can edit in the title as I don't seem to have it marked down here.
I seem to have had some issues looking at the bottom right corner of my book, the top one.
We've both subsequently added to the original challenge. Red Bear added tassles and I added more tags.
AAJ1 Challenge 3 - Altered Art Journal Challenge
September 2012 Challenge
Must include:
Note: these were originally part of an Ugly Paper Competition.
Text by Zoo
I found this design in one of my craft magazines but no one else was inspired by it. It took forever to figure out the dimensions because the card base was a different size from the magazine.
This would have never been finished because Red Bear and Kidlet were ready to leave and I'd barely started glueing the pieces on. Red Bear insisted that they stay until it was done. This was one of the first big lessons in "how to use double-sided glue tabs". After they left, I played with my zig-zag stitching stamps.
Fast Forward to January 2013. Red Bear is visiting and we are bringing our Journals up to date. As we were pondering what to do for a few of the months, my eyes wandered up to the "Ugly Paper Competition Display" in my craft room.
I jokingly suggested, "let's cheat" [use some previously constructed works of art]. Red Bear whipped up a matching quilt design card and also included a beautiful interior.
Note: my challenge is still in card form and the inside of the card has a chalk border. It looks like Red Bear split her card and pasted the inside of the card on her left page and the top of the card on her right page.
Must include:
- A quilt design on cream, deckle edge watercolour paper card
- The opposite page has a chalked border
Note: these were originally part of an Ugly Paper Competition.
 |
| Top book = Zoo, Bottom book = Red Bear |
Text by Zoo
I found this design in one of my craft magazines but no one else was inspired by it. It took forever to figure out the dimensions because the card base was a different size from the magazine.
This would have never been finished because Red Bear and Kidlet were ready to leave and I'd barely started glueing the pieces on. Red Bear insisted that they stay until it was done. This was one of the first big lessons in "how to use double-sided glue tabs". After they left, I played with my zig-zag stitching stamps.
Fast Forward to January 2013. Red Bear is visiting and we are bringing our Journals up to date. As we were pondering what to do for a few of the months, my eyes wandered up to the "Ugly Paper Competition Display" in my craft room.
I jokingly suggested, "let's cheat" [use some previously constructed works of art]. Red Bear whipped up a matching quilt design card and also included a beautiful interior.
Note: my challenge is still in card form and the inside of the card has a chalk border. It looks like Red Bear split her card and pasted the inside of the card on her left page and the top of the card on her right page.
AAJ1 Challenge 2 - Altered Art Journal Challenge
August 2012 Challenge
Must include:
- a postcard
 |
| Top = Zoo, Bottom = Red Bear |
"... in a land far, far away lives my friend who used to come craft with me. Now, we Skype Craft! Thank God for the internet and Canada Post.
What didn't work: Even though the paint feels dry, that doesn't mean it is dry. Wet pages stick and rip when the book is closed.
Text by Red Bear
Wah Wah Wah! I miss my crafting buddies. Wah!
AAJ1 Challenge 1 - Altered Art Journal Challenge
July 2012 Challenge
Must include:
Text:
by Zoo - none
by Red Bear
After grad and the ordeal of moving, saying goodbye to family and friends, the July crafting challenge needed a coffee filter flower and a backyard scene.
Ugly Paper Competition - The Story.
Must include:
- at least one coffee filter flower
- a backyard scene, real or imaginary
- Ugly Paper #100
Text:
by Zoo - none
by Red Bear
After grad and the ordeal of moving, saying goodbye to family and friends, the July crafting challenge needed a coffee filter flower and a backyard scene.
Ugly Paper Competition - The Story.
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