Quick Update

I showed you a new zigzag book I'm making at the beginning of the month.  Here's a quick update on how it's going.

I continued the dotted line across the whole book but once the Posca ink had dried I didn't like it.

So I went back over the dots with a white Posca.  I wrote the words of the chorus of 'We Are Australian' in a thick white Posca and added black dots.

I added some more stencilling.  I also knocked back the copper texture paint with acrylic to soften it.

 However the words looked like Dalmations trotting across the page so I went back over the words with the original white Posca pen.

I don't know whether this side is finished.  I have the other side to do and may or may not come back to this side.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

A new zigzag book

I discovered reels by Sue Bulmer on Instagram where she was making a new zigzag sketchbook using dressmaking patterns.  As I had just found a stash of patterns I thought I would have a go.

I started by tearing up the dressmaking patterns into smaller pieces and using matt medium, glued the pieces randomly onto both sides of an A2 piece of cartridge paper.  Surprisingly for me, I didn't take photographs!

I folded it into 4 in landscape format and into 3 in the portrait format.   I cut along these 3 folds to make the pages of the zigzag book.

I joined the 3 strips together with the packet the pattern came in.

I made covers from the thick card from the back of tracing paper pad and used the roll off paper from the gel printing I had done for my Australian Connections project.  The finished size is 15x14.5 cms.

I used copper coloured texture paste through stencils and sequin waste.

I used watercolour to colour the joins.  They look really yellow in the photos but matches the tissue better in reality.

Using ink pads I stencilled the Austalian plants.

I used a Posca pen to put dots to join all the pages.

I am thinking of putting the lyrics of Australian songs or possibly just random words from the songs.   I've got the lyrics for Waltzing Matilda, We are Australian, From a Land Down Under and Australia Fair.

I'm actually making it up as I go along so I have no idea what the finished book will be like!

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

What a surprise!

I have been following along with Hilary Beattie and her Saturday Sketchbooks classes.  I desperately want to call it Sketchbook Saturday!  But either way on two Saturdays each month Hilary generously shares copious amounts of information about working in sketchbooks.

In January she suggested we recycled our Christmas cards into a concertina sketchbook.  I put gesso over the cards and some acrylic paint.  I also stamped on the background with wooden blocks.

Hilary decided to make an imaginary village but I decided to make a version of Venice.  Surprise! Surprise!  

I cut out the shapes of buildings and bridges.  I also made some trees.

There are a surprising number of trees and green spaces in Venice.  Did you watch the opening episode of Monty Don's Adriatic Gardens?

I used my gelli plate to print the buildings and trees.  I had made the shapes from textured wallpaper which made fabulous designs on the prints.

I glued the various prints using both the cut out buildings and trees and the pieces of paper they were cut from.

I gessoed and painted the reverse of the zigzag book. I used different stamps

I used the left over prints and the wallpaper masks to make a different version of Venice.

Here are some closeups.

The second side definitely still needs work.  And the above end piece needs some additional pieces.

But for now I'm happy with what I have.  Colouring in windows and trees can be a pleasant activity in between other larger bits of work.

Of course, a zigzag book like this doesn't have to be about buildings and trees.  It could be jugs, vases, dancers etc.

What theme would you choose?

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Seascape collage zigzag

After Tuesday's post about Amanda Hislop's workshop I thought I would use some of the leftover papers to do collages in a zigzag sketchbook.

I started by randomly placing bits of paper.  I had also found some previously painted bondaweb backing paper which looks like water.

It occurred to me that I didn't want to do a full sketchbook so I cut it in half.

The sketchbook comes in a box

I cut the box up to make the end covers for each half of the sketchbook. I attached the covers with doublesided tape.

Then I started glueing down papers using matt gel medium.

The three photos edited together.

When I've done more pages I shall go back and make marks into the collages.  They look a bit flat at the moment.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Another Textile Book

I really like the finished bird textile book so I thought I would make another one.  I didn't think the first one was particularly mixed media so I wanted to see if I could add more.

And of course I need a theme for the book.  Can you guess what it is!

 Well, of course it's Venice.   What else would it be!!!

I started by laying out bits of fabric, paper, painted Bondaweb and book page on the calico.

Eventually it ended up like this.

I machine stitched the bottom third of the fabric but forgot to take photo.  I did some handstitching on it at our Traverse weekend.

The next step was to machine again and this is what met me when I went into the craft room aka the dining room.

I was able to put sufficient away to be able to get the machine out.  Who am I kidding?  Nothing got put away, I just moved piles of stuff to make piles of stuff somewhere else!

 I machined around the bits of fabric I had bondawebbed on and then machined the spaces.

Sorry the photos aren't very clear when I'm trying to get the whole book in.  Here's a close up.

Instead of finishing the book with the turned in edges as last time, I left the frayed edges when I added the back.  Then I folded it and pin tucked the fold to make a zigzag book.

Here it is again showing the folds.

I still don't think it's sufficiently mixed media to be called a mixed media book.  I'm going to give some more thought and maybe make another one with beads and bits of metal.  And maybe some stencilling.   What do you think?

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice