Example of a tip-in

I know there are a few people in the altered arts world who have heard the word, but don't know what a tip-in is. Here is my explanation of a tip-in:

A tip-in is a page you make out of any medium (pages from a book,cardstock, fabric, cork, etc.) that is then added to a book of your choice. It is usually 5 1/2 X 8 1/2 so you can get two out of one piece of cardstock. You can add embellishments, fibers, ephemera,charms, or anything your heART desires to a tip-in page.

A couple of things to remember when making a tip-in are that the gutter side of the tip-in will be to the LEFT of the front of your tip-in and will be to the RIGHT of the back of your tip-in. You should leave about 1/2" or so blank along the LENGTH of the page(gutter side), which will be the area you (and others) will use to attach the page to the book.

If that only confused you further, let me be a bit more specific.Take a piece of CS and place it in front of you. Put an imaginary(or real) line down the length of the left side about 1/2" in from the left edge. Now turn the CS over and do the same, this time making the line along the right side. If you did it correctly, the line will run the length of the same edge. You do NOT decorate in that area, since that's where you tip your page into a book.

I made two examples of how to handle the gutter edge of your tip-in. These are both examples of the FRONT side of a tip-in because the gutter edge is on the LEFT. It's easy to tell because the RIGHT long edge has decorations and will go toward the outside edge of the book. The left side will be inserted into two little 3/8" to 1/2" flaps that run the length of a book page that you cut or tear from two adjacent pages in your book, then insert the tip-in in between them.

Hope that helps at least one person understand the gutter aspect of tip-ins. Unlike scrapbook pages or ATCs, you don't "center" your design on the page, but "center" it by taking the gutter side into consideration.

Incidentally, I began with card stock to which I glued on a jacket pattern using glue stick. I randomly applied orange and red glazes using a credit card. I then added the houses and leaves using gel medium. Click on the photo if you want to see a larger image.