Second on the 2nd

I've been thinking about Chinese New Year because of a spread I created this past week.  It led me to remember a post from September, 2008, when I created a book to hold my Chinese New Year swaps.  Originally, the handmade book held swaps from 2005 through 2007, but I've added to it since then.

Here are pictures from September 16, 2008.  I've revised the wording a bit, mostly with thoughts I added in parentheses.

This is a book I created to hold my Chinese New Year swaps from 2005 through 2007.

I began by creating the covers using two layers of thin cardboard. For this side, I applied gesso with a brush, but added some butterscotch color wash to the gesso before I spread it around.

When the gesso was dry, I collaged papers and cancelled postage stamps on the outside covers. I created (scanned and printed) the letters from a set I was given, but had to make four copies because I needed four "Es."   I decided to use my postage cut decorative scissors because I had never used them before to cut alphabet letters (Ironically, I have not used them since).

I used a Chinese restaurant place mat to decorate the inside. I ran a gold leafing pen around the outside to give the pages a finished look (As an aside, I'm sure we've all seen these place mats if we ever visited Chinese restaurants).
 

You can see from this angle that the number of tip-ins are just the right amount for this book, but there is also room to add more in case I have more to add in the years to come.

Although it's a bit dark, this is the completed book's front and back covers after assembly. I added fibers and beads around the rings, which open for easy insertions of additional tip-ins.

I pondered what to do with this handmade book, then remembered this box, which was originally purchased by my dear friend Kathy, who thought we could keep our completed Asian altered books we were both working on, in them.   (As an aside, we were both working in each other's AB, too).  However, when we finished our books, they were far too large (and thick) to store in these containers. They were, however, very nice to cart our books back and forth when they were still in progress.

Kathy must have had deja vu when she purchased our boxes.  I was thrilled because this book of swaps fits perfectly inside this container. What a pleasant surprise it will be when someone opens it to find all the wonderful swap tip-in pages bound and placed in this very appropriate container. 

I've shown you mine, now please share your Second on the 2nd.  The rules are simple.  This is a second look back on a post you are especially proud of, or one you created before anyone knew your blog existed.  Anything you want to share is acceptable. Be sure to link below, because, unlike last month, I have decided to only keep this link open for five days.