Color Round Robin Altered Book

This will be the final Sunday I post an altered book.  Please be aware I can't leave comments on any blog that has embedded comments.  I've explained it enough in previous posts.  While waiting for paint or glue to dry yesterday, I scanned the pages I made in my Color RR AB.

Although the altered book class is officially closed (although you can still access any lesson, found on my right sidebar, you want to review), I showed some of my Color AB last week.  You should note this was only my second Round Robin, and I still had NO idea what I was doing in an altered book, especially when it came to composition.  And I had never used photos in an AB before, either. Click to enlarge scans.
 

I showed my cover during the week

and my preferences during the AB epilogue lesson.  You can see this book was sent into the world in January, 2004.  It was the first time I used photos in an AB, always relying before on various embellishments or magazine images I found along the way.

Starting with the inside cover of this AB, these are the pages I created before I sent this book to the first recipient.  The images were printed on transparencies, and I didn't have the best way to adhere them.  You can see too, I used paint chips a lot in this book.

There was a LOT of clutter in my kitchen before the remodel.  I simply HAD to get rid of a lot of the unwanted fru frus and unwanted color.

This is what my kitchen looked like before.  Not a lot of difference after the remodel, but enough that I was happy.

Although the copper is hard to see and read, it shows the kitchen from the front door.  Also, this page was a stop gap in case my AB got lost in the mail.

This was my sign-in sheet that showed what I created before I sent the book out in the world.  It also is where I placed the Krylon copper pen for others to add their names, etc.

Here's where it all began after I got the book back.

Note to self: NEVER EVER clean items until the project is completed.  It's a waste of time and effort.

The top two photos show my friend Joseph removing the soffet above the sink.  It made the room look more colonial than craftsman, so it had to come down.  Thankfully Joseph was a very good sport because I took a LOT of photos during this project.

The bottom two photos show the mess I had in the dining room.  The boxes and bags sat among the Christmas decorations.

This and the next page go together.  This book was so large, I could only scan one page at a time.  I used a small paper bag and sticker letters.

Many, many bags and boxes filled the house.  I packed after I cleaned each piece.  What a waste of time and effort, but by the end of day 3, everything was out of the kitchen and into bags and boxes.  Except the coffee pot, I should add!!

To liven up the project list I printed on the computer, I backed it with some lovely wallpaper, then edged in copper paint.  Finally, I added a bit of wire for detail.

I should add that the primary color of this kitchen was white.  The secondary color was copper, and the tertiary or accent color was cobalt blue.  All other items were removed and sent to the thrift store.

I took photos of Joseph removing the popcorn ceiling and printed the information on blue paper.  I then colored the blue paper with copper paint, backed the "tags," and added the photos.  I then added the holes and ribbon.

Next came the sanding.

Although we closed as many doors as possible, and placed a plastic drop cloth over the door to the dining/living room, there was still a big mess.  And that is sand paper on this page, as well as some on the page above.

It helped to take a break from the project and add a bit of art to the AB.  A flower painted with copper paint didn't hurt, either.

I fell in love with this old wallpaper we discovered while sanding.

Next came painting. I am not sure where I found this paint brush, but I used pop dots to raise it away from the book.  By this time, the coffee pot had gone to the office, which is up the stairs and barely visible in the photo.

We painted and painted and painted for days.  The paint didn't seem to soak in, even though we used the best paint I could buy: Behr brand.  In desperation, I finally went to Home Depot and bought some primer.  I should have thought of that in the beginning, because it really ate into my budget.

I spray painted the knobs, electrical outlets, and floor grates copper.

I created the background for this page using an ad from a home improvement store.  Since the meat section had not been completely filled in by other players, it was fun covering the recipes.  Yes, I'm a vegetarian.

My friend Kathy let me use her die cutting machine one time, and I had enough of these little tags to spell out the words.  I added the ribbon using copper staples.

This is a piece of the anaglyptus wallpaper we used on the ceiling.  This is not the piece we used, because that piece was covered in copper paint

when we finished.  Can you feel the frustration?

This is the way the ceiling looked on Christmas eve.  In the circle, I lamented how hard it was to get a decent photo of the ceiling.

I assure you, the ceiling didn't look like that.  But the kitchen table did!!

This is one of two extended pages.  Thankfully, I could get enough of these pages that I didn't need to take individual scans.  These were the instructions for painting the sink.

The next two extended pages were not as easy to get, though.  This page is all about the sink.  You can see the copper counter has been installed in the bottom photo, too.

Two days before Christmas I was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Was it time to take a break and celebrate Santa?  A few bits of collage fodder made this piece possible.

I entertained five people: Joseph, Scott, Sally, her son and his partner, and I made six.  And yes, I fixed a full blown Christmas bash, including a turkey and all the trimmings for my non-vegetarian guests.

However, it was now time to get back on task.  The bill for the copper sheeting.  We couldn't touch it for twice that price, now.  Note how I used tiny bits of copper as embellishments on this page and the next.

I was very impressed with this counter.  And it was much cheaper than any other counter I could have installed.

Some of my leftovers and instructions.  Some asked about the Krylon copper leafing pen I used, and you can see part of it in the above scan.

When I scanned this, I didn't realize the glove had folded over, but I was glad it had so I could show what was behind it.

Here it is laid flat.

One more setback.  The little light actually worked when I added it to the page.  I didn't check it when I scanned the page, but somehow I doubt it still works.  That used to be our light company, too.

This and the next page were two I made before the book left my house in January, 2004.  We were now in January, 2005, and this project was finally taking shape.

However, none of the upgrades I thought I would make on the cabinet fronts or window were feasible once I had a budget in place.

I ended up spending $148.24 for the project.  That included three gift cards I had, too.  If I had to do this project over again, I would buy primer and that would save a lot of money on paint.  However, I would lose those savings buying copper.

As you can see, although I purchased glass paint, I didn't use it.  Instead, I hung a copper pipe over the window to hang a few pots.  That's why I called it Version 2.0.

It was also time to create another piece of art.  After all, all work and no play is no fun! 

And of course, then it was time for the big reveal.

While working on the book (and the reveal), my friend Scott came by.  I love how he scribbles.  His handwriting reminds me of graffiti.  I had two napkins and wanted to use them before I revealed the completed project, but didn't know how, since they didn't match anything I was doing.  Scott encouraged me to add them to the page, then he wrote the following: "Right Color, Wrong Design"

and "Getting Closer, W/Copper."  Then it was time for the real reveal.

I used a broken copper (although it doesn't look copper in this scan) bracelet as the embellishment.  I'm not sure what was on the scanner, but there was nothing white on the table.

I could not have been more pleased with the finished project.  It looked equally good at night as during the day.  The irony is, the book on top of the stove was this one.  For embellishments, I used two gifted spoon earrings, especially since most people know I don't wear jewelry.

I can't draw and I can't even cut birds.  But, I was one happy camper.

I included this in the inside back of the book before I sent it out.  The frame was made using coffee stirrer sticks I stained.

I added these after the book was returned.  You can tell it's gotten a lot of use, though.  It was my most popular AB when people dropped by in 2005.