Tiny Tome 03

 I took a meat cleaver to the piece of paper on the left to give it some texture.  I love the simplicity of this spread….a little bit of paper; some fabric; and a touch of paint.

Tiny Tome 02

 

Yesterday I was working on my six tiny tomes and I created a piece to add but I could not find a good spot for the new creation in any of the six.  So I made two more tomes and now have eight.  Yes, I found a space for what I did. :-)

Tiny Tome 01

 

As I finish some of the spreads in the tiny tomes I am photographing them to share here.  In the six tomes I think that nine spreads are complete as of today.  This one shows the shabby chicness of the tiny journals.  I love the irregularity of each of the pages in the book.  There is a pocket in this one with a string attached to the pullout.  I will share the little surprise when I do the video of this little tome.  The actual size of the tiny tome is the size of a credit card when the spread is open.

Tiny Tomes

I have been taking an online workshop with Beatriz Helton which I highly recommend.    I am in the process of making six tiny tomes.  The photos below show the work in process.  I did a little video so that you can get the idea of what the tomes will look like when complete.  That will be in a long time as one may never finish but they will be more complete as the weeks go on.  There has to be a time when one says that is it.  No more.  I am not there yet.

I am making a box to house the tiny tomes.  This particular box won't be big enough for the completed six tomes but it gives the idea of how they will be kept together once I make the correct size box.

I might align the box vertically.  What do you think?  I alternated the tomes in this image versus the image below where they are stacked more like one would find them on a shelf.

Here is the video showing the insides of a tome. 

 

December 2021 APC no. 2

 I made two different APCs for December so that I was ready when the mailing list comes out soon.  I like the one I posted yesterday the most.  So this is the only version of this December APC.

December 2021 APC

 This is one of the December 2021 APCs.  I am trying to get them done today.  Happy Thanksgiving to all of you will visit this blog. :-)

Recent Postcards

 

I have been so busy with the tiny tomes, six volumes, I have not done much else.  However, while at the cabin this past weekend I did two postcards. Basically the only difference is the backgrounds which I have had for quite awhile.

SNOW!

 

I am home from the cabin for Thanksgiving but this is what happened the night after I left.  SNOW!  I wish I was there to see it myself although I did see snow once already about two weeks ago.  I am going back on Saturday so I hope the road is plowed.  I have been assured it will have been.  I hope there is still snow, too.  Thanks to my cabin landlord, Ned,  for sending me the photos.

A September Caterpillar Stitched Book

 

    

I am so pleased that I found these vintage Japanese calendars.  I like the look of having the numerals, a vintage image, and the stitching together.

Oh No! Another Caterpillar Stitched Book

 Yup!  Another caterpillar stitched book.  Now back to my tiny tomes.

Tiny Houses

When the Creative Gents were in Manzanita, Oregon last month on our art retreat, Terry Garrett showed ups how to create tiny paper houses.  What a blast!  One of the fun things about it is that Terry brought a huge stash of ephemera.  It is always fun to get one’s hands on new ephemera. 

Yet Another Caterpillar Stitched Journal

 

I am slowing down a little on the caterpillar stitched journals.  Why you ask?  Well, the tiny tomes have taken over my life and I will be showing them soon.  I am working on six of them simultaneously.  Beatriz Helton mentioned that she works on several at a time.  It is nice to have several going at once because the wet ephemera has time to dry by the time one makes the round of six journals.

 

You have seen this same calendar cover previously but this journal is the one that I bled on and had to figure out what to do.  Notice the light area by the word October.  I took a wipe to it and it took some of the ink off the page including the blood.  Darn!  So my solution was to just caterpillar stitch across the “mistake” in the hopes that it would disguise the problem area.  I think it did a pretty good job of taking care of the problem.

Another caterpillar Stitched Book

 

I finished three more caterpillar stitched books in the last two days.  If you see a light greenish tinge on the top images that happened while I printed the paper on my printer.  I guess the ink is running out.  I love that it happened because it looks cool and I also had waxed linen thread to use for the caterpillar stitch.  I love happy accidents.

Caterpillar Stitched Book- November 2021

 I finished another caterpillar stitched journal this morning that uses the same paper as I had used previously, an October paper.  However, yesterday when I was working on it I pricked my finger with the needle and got blood on it.  I did not notice right away and the blood dried.  I tried a handi-wipe to remove it but the ink from the paper smeared, too.  How to solve the problem.  I just stitched another caterpillar over that part of the paper and voila, it looks just fine!  Problem solved. :-)

November 2021 Caterpillar Stitched Book

 This is the first time I have collage on one of the caterpillar books.  I felt that the space in the upper left needed something.  So I found a tree to add into the composition.

November 2021 - Caterpillar Stitched Book

I am at the cabin in the mountains that I have rented for the weekend.  My weekend for this month seems to be Thursday through Monday.  The river is swollen with all the rain we are having.  There were kayakers yesterday.  I cannot even image getting into a kayak during the winter or even late fall.  The water is ice cold.  One would not want to turn over in the treacherous water.

I am taking an online class with Beatriz Helton.  It is called Tiny Tomes.  What a blast I am having making the tiny books the size of a “folded” credit card.  I have always like creating tiny and so I am in seventh heaven with the project.  I am not just making one tiny tome but am making six.  It works really well because after I work on a page or two in one I can move onto a dry second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth tome.

November 2021 - Caterpillar Stitched Book

 The cover paper is a Paris street map.  I am so into maps and when I found this paper I had to use it for a book.

November 2021 - Caterpillar Stitched Book

 

I decided to share the spines of the six most recent caterpillar stitched books that I have made.  I probably keep saying this one is my favorite but I think it just might be at least my favorite for today. :-)

November 2021 APC

We are almost mid-November and I am just getting my APCs for the month out in the mail.  I started the background in October and then they sat because I was not sure what I was going to add.  Then Tuesday I found just the right focal point, the geisha.  She was on a matchbox cover which also had a greenish tinge in the background.  That spurred my memory of a tree that I had that had this same color and now the cards are done and mailed.  The background is Japanese ledger paper which is also vintage.  I burned holes with a stick of burning incense which worked perfectly.

 

November 2021 - Caterpillar Stitched Book

 I hope you are not getting bored by all of my caterpillar stitched books.  I am in the process of doing twelve of them.  Six are done and six just need the sewing.  So this weekend I will be busy.

Caterpillar Stitched Book- October 2021

 My obsession continues.  I particularly like this book.  It has a sturdy feel to it.

Caterpillar Stitched Book - October 2021

 Ever since I learned this book binding stitch I have been obsessed.  Over the last weekend I made twelve more caterpillar bound books…..well, prepared twelve and finished four to the point of putting in the endpapers.  I can only really sew during the day at the cabin because of the light and my eyes.  No matter, I have plenty of them to do and plenty of time to do them, too.

Eco-dying at the Ocean

We had a terrific time eco-dying at the ocean during the Creative Gents retreat.  We soaked both paper and muslin in soy milk, our mordant, before beginning the dying process. Once the papers and muslin dried we added vegetation on each page and on the long twelve inch wide muslin.  For the muslin part of the project we rolled the cloth and vegetation on copper pipes which were tied tight with twine.  

For the paper, we stacked paper and vegetation which were sandwiched between some book-board and tied  together to keep everything in place.  The rolled cloth and the paper sandwiches were then placed in a big pot which also had soy milk and some turmeric water.  The pot boiled for hours.  The cloth finished first.  I thought the muslin turned out OK. The papers turned out really well.  Alders leaves did a fantastic job of transferring to the paper.

We laid all the papers to dry on plastic. The result was amazing because the plastic left some marks on the dried papers.  There were also some numbers and letters on the plastic which transferred to some of the papers.  It was a fun project which I have done several times and will again.  It takes patience and one never knows how it will all turn out.

View From the Cabin in the Mountains

 I usually do not share a photo that I have taken but I could not help but post this one as my view out of the cabin in the mountains is just spectacular.  I have a desk set up facing this view.  That is where I do most of my art.  You can see the Stillaquamish River to the right of the golden trees.  I feel lucky not only to have found this cabin to rent but that I got this photo on a sunny day.  It has rained ever since.  No matter I still love working in this special place.  You might notice the snow on the mountains in the background.  This mountain is known as The Old Man.  He is resting.  See his head to the right and the rest of his prone body.  I get to look at him everyday this month, too.  Well unless he is socked in or it is snowing.  Guess what?  Today and tomorrow we are suppose to have snow!

Rubbings ATC 07 and 08

Rubbings ATC 07

Rubbings ATC 08

 These are the last two of the rubbings.  I definitely want to make more rubbings.  Too much fun to do them! :-)