My second set of houses for the swap

This is my second set of houses I made for the Houses tip-in swap. I really like that they are offbeat and not shaped like houses, but have the houses embedded on the page.

The left side of the scan represents the front of the tip-ins. I began by DTPing green, pink, and yellow pigment ink to the pages. Next came the phrenology head. Isn't it clever? I love it. The "house" was made from a vintage book page which came from a 1940 "College Spelling" book. I outlined the edges with silver pigment ink, then used a silver leafing pen to outline a door and window in the door. Then I added the number and word "art" which were stickers.

For the back side, I began by cutting a mask, that in retrospect, looks a bit like an arrow. I glued repositionable glue to the back, and when dry, I DTPd pink ink to the entire page. Next I used a script stamp and black Staz-on all over the page. When that was finished, I removed the mask.

I went all over town on Christmas eve with a friend who was doing some last minute shopping. Everywhere we went, I asked for fish hooks, but kept being told they were "seasonal," and wouldn't be available again till spring. Then I called all my friends and asked them if they had fish hooks. I finally gave up and made my own, using both the silver pigment ink and the silver leafing pen. I'm not much at drawing, so you have to use your imagination on them.

I got the fish stamp at River City Rubber. I learned a lot about stamping when I did these. Even pressure is important, and having a good surface underneath the page to be stamped is important, too.

Next, I made "sinkers" using silver poly clay and metal stamps. I must have made the first ones over four or five times before I remembered that sinkers are not perfectly round or even. Originally, I was going to string them with fishing line, then opted for the tiny pink fiber.

After the sinkers were in place, I added the German text from a vintage German book (1929) for the roof. I have so little of that book left, I was afraid I wouldn't have enough to complete the pages, but I lucked out. Finally, I covered some white CS with silver leafing pen, then wrote the words "Fish Haus" using my black Zig pen. I just have to finish this side and they will be done. YEAH!!!