Halloween and Día de Muertos

Today I have two spreads to share in two different altered books (ABs).  But first, I want to tell each of you that my keyboard and I had a meltdown yesterday.  Seems it needs batteries to make all these letters appear on the screen, and I had given all my AAA batteries (rechargeable, of course) away, except the ones in my keyboard.  So, I had to wait for these to recharge, so I could finish this post and return your kind visit.

First up is Halloween at Moo-Mania and More whose theme just happens to be Halloween.

Talk about a wimpy way to decorate an altered book. 

The beauty, however, was on the inside because this (and the next book I share), was a tip-in book.

For those of you who are wondering what a tip-in is, here is the skinny:

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 you want to learn more, I suggest you search for "tip-in" because I have information on how to tip pages into a book, and various other tips and information.

This page, however, was created directly in the altered book.   I admit, I stole this idea when I saw Deb's lovely postcard on Eileen's blog post a week ago.  Eileen's link takes you directly to the postcard Deb sent her, but you have to scroll down a bit.  Deb's is much better than mine, but I was able to use another skull napkin that Darla sent me.

While Deb probably painted the bird, I used a rubber stamp.  However, with all the other embellishments and doo dads sticking up and out in the AB, it was difficult to find a completely flat surface to stamp on.  I was just happy with the bird I got.

It's no secret I can't draw.  I tried, but I fear I fell far short of what a "spooky" spider should look like.

Materials include white and orange paint.  I've added water to the dregs of the bottle because I'm determined to get the very last of the orange acrylic.  I also used a skull I cut from the napkin, a rubber stamp, and a Micron ink pen that appears to also be on its last leg.


For the second altered book, I've chosen a spread for Elke's theme, Landscapes of the Soul at Art Journal Journey. What better way to honor the soul than with a Día de Muertos spread in my altered tip-in book with pages honoring Día de Muertos. 

I was shocked when I loaded my photos and saw I had photo bombed myself.  Yes, those are my hands, my oversized nightgown, and my camera showing in the reflection from the book.  And yes, I'm standing on a stool in order to take this photo.  Because I liked the book title and the dust jacket, I didn't try to decorate the outside of this one.

This is another tip-in book, so I can't show the various pages that were sent me.

However, I can give you an idea of the fabulous art I received for Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

As I was scrolling, I noticed all the circles on the clothing and the skulls, which also fit Try it on Tuesday, whose theme is Circles.

I was determined to use as much of Darla's napkin as possible, so this is my Día de Muertos spread.  Obviously, it is not a tip-in.  You can see the napkins Darla sent me here.

There is a great deal of respect for the dead in the Hispanic community.

There is music, singing, dancing, celebrations,

and Mariachi bands that sing and play to get people in a happy mood to welcome their deceased ancestors.

For this spread, I created a wash of green and beige watercolors made from acrylic paints that I spread on the page because I didn't want to cover the words.  I fussy cut a picture from a newspaper of a Mariachi band.   I added the two skulls to the sides of the page.   The text was computer generated and accented with purple pigment ink.

Thanks for joining me today at Moo-Mania and More, as well as Try it on Tuesday and Art Journal Journey.  I hope to see you at these three challenges.  Thanks, too for visiting me as we wind this month down.