March's ARC

Darcy, our gracious host at Art and Sole, is once again kind enough to add my link to this month's Artful Readers Club list.  For some reason, I keep hoping I'll somehow be able to see the links, but that has not happened.

This month I'm reviewing

• ISBN-13: 9781600611889
• Publisher: F+W Media, Inc.
• Publication date: 11/26/2009
• Edition description: Original
• Pages: 128
• Product dimensions: 8.20 (w) x 10.80 (h) x 0.60 (d) 

This is what the book looks like on my workbench.

In fact, after my friend Kathy left me a bunch of books and magazines a couple of weeks ago, I now have two of them.  Although the cover colors are a bit different, the contents are the same.  And one of them could be yours!

Even though  the images on the front are beautiful, the back was what drew me in.  Those of you who visit my blog regularly know that as a rule, I never cut my fabric.  Any time I can tear fabric, I'm a happy camper.  That's why I've always said I am not a seamstress, but a crude sewer, who tries never to measure anything.  So I knew this book was for me when I saw the words "tear, burn, stitch."

As with most books of this type, the author, Ruth Rae, begins with a table of contents.

She then explains the types of tools and supplies you will need in order to make the projects in this book.  I'm glad I know what most things are, because there are no photos to aid you.

One of the things Rae recommends is to buy either white or natural colored muslin by the bolt.  I suggest you save your money and buy old cotton bed sheets at thrift stores.  They work just as well for any project in this book.  And they can be painted, dyed, stenciled, etc., just like muslin without the high price.  I should caution though that it is difficult to know the thread count of thrift store bed sheets, and some can be quite thread bare when you buy them.   So be sure to feel the sheets before buying.  Stains don't matter, but thread count does.

Rae begins by showing how to make a card from scraps of fabric and stitches.

Next, she shows an art doll and doll dresses.

You might think this would be my inspiration piece, but I assure you, I have no desire to make doll dresses.

That is because I participated in a monthly Dress Up project in 2010, and you can see each month's entry by scrolling down a bit in Previous Collaborations, one of the categories found at the top of my blog.

I was enthralled by this ancestry album, but I need a lot more time to find just the right images and ephemera before I tackle anything this intense.

One of the things you will see is me making gift mailers sometime in April when I focus on repurposed/recycled products and projects.  I have no idea what masking paper is, but I will use red rosin paper.  In fact, it will be the same paper that is protecting my work surface below this book and craft sheet at this very moment.

 It looks like an easy project, but at the moment, I have nothing I need to wrap.

 Although I don't wear jewelry, I liked the idea of a wrist cuff, something I must try one of these days when I figure out a way to add the enclosures without using hand stitching, something I am simply incapable of doing.  (As an aside, I was born with a rare form of arthritis, and am unable to grip a needle)

 

I saw this darling gift cone and thought it would make an excellent gift for my dear friend Sally.  I can make it, put it on her door on May Day, and surprise her with something sweet or flowery from my garden.

I've burned felt and transparencies, and even overheated tyvek before, so this was not a new concept to me.  

One thing I look forward to is working with a piece of plexiglass, since I have some in my garage.

I enjoyed reading about how to make this wall hanging,

and may create a few banners for my friends who live far away.  Of course, if they live in the UK, I will make them a bunting (which, my dear non-British friends, is the same thing)!  It looks like a project that would be light enough weight to mail without breaking anyone's bank.   I can also see it as a collaboration project, with all the letters created in different sizes and fonts.

The book concludes with several pages of templates, including a dress pattern.

Did I enjoy the book?  It took me twice through before I felt comfortable reading Rae's instructions.  Although they were clear, I thought she left out a few steps, or didn't explain things I read the first time around.  However, I can look at most photos and know what I'm supposed to do.  I love to read the written word, but I'm also a visual learner when it comes to art.  So, the second time around I appreciated the book far more.

I didn't have to look far to find inspiration, either.  Although this book was a journal made with blank pages,

and Rae hand sewed all the stitching, you can tell I was happy to see this beauty.

As I said before, although Rae used only white blank pages in her journal, I began mine by sewing red, white, and pink pages with minutia and scraps, and turned two signatures into 96 pages once the 24 originals were folded in half.

Next I found an old, old tyvek envelope (which was free from the US post office) and decided to color it

using various shades of pink and red distress reinkers.

I decided to add a bit of blue to make purple after all the red was on the page.

Next, I made the spine using a piece of fabric I used throughout the cover.  I was quite impressed with this, since I have no feed dogs and no free motion ability on my machine.

When the tyvek was dry, I cut it to size for the inside cover.  I added two pockets, one of which is a used hand wipe I got free at the grocery store. I colored it in a watered down pink wash.  It is large enough to hold minutia, bits of ephemera, and notes.  The other pocket will hold pens or pencils.

Next I created the outside cover.  In all truthfulness, this is the second one I've made.  Remember how I said I don't like to measure?  I also don't like to cut, but you MUST cut felt, because there is no way to tear it.  The first cover was big enough for an elephant to live in, so I had to save it for a different project.

The original white felt turned pink was made using pink fluid acrylic and water, a recipe Rae provided.  I also used the left over paint to color another piece of tyvek that I cut into hearts.  Originally I planned to burn the hearts, but decided that didn't exactly fit with the LOVE theme.  For the back, I added more fabric and a dictionary definition of "Lover."

Next, I sewed the two signatures into the book.

 

Back in January, I made another one of these books, and several people asked how I attached the signatures.  You can see I sewed them into the book using my sewing machine and a zipper foot.  I simply DO NOT sew by hand!!  I realize this is not the best photo, but the page you are seeing is a thin sheet of vellum, over which I've added two hearts I cut from security envelopes.  The images that are barely seen are on the next page, which is pink with green ephemera.

This is a picture of the spine area and front of the scrappy journal.

And finally, a picture showing the various red, pink, and white pages I used that make up this LOVE journal.

By now, I'm sure you are bored to tears, but I didn't want to leave out any parts.  Did you remember I said YOU could win the other "Layered, tattered, and stitched?"  All you have to do is leave a comment on THIS POST anytime between now and our next ARC, which will be April 26.  I know some people don't always post the day the ARC comes out, so I want to give everyone a chance to win this book.  I would give it 4 out of 5 stars, which says a lot for me.  And before you ask, I will ship anywhere in this world.  I can't ship to Mars or Venus though!  And if you win, I'll notify you by leaving a comment on your blog.

As a bit of an early tease announcement for those of you who visit or follow my blog on a regular basis, and for those of you who normally just visit here once a month, beginning Monday, April 1, I'll offer 22 days in which I show how to rethink, reduce, reuse, recycle, re-invent, recover, restore, or repurpose something in order to save it from the trash. It all leads up to Earth Day, or "bEARTHday" in my world.   

I'd also like to add another "R" word, one you don't see with the other Rs. That word is respect: respect for our planet, respect for trash as art, and respect what you as an artist can achieve. That leads me to ask you to respect other ARC members by visiting their blogs, too.  And don't forget to leave a comment on this post if you want to be included in this giveaway.