Fabric Collage Book - Anna

I am so excited to show off my first fabric collage book!  I have been inspired by the beautiful fabric collage books and creations by Nancy James of  Sugar Lump Studio for several years now but just never seemed to get up the nerve to make that first cut into the fabric to get started. I had even emailed Nancy to ask her a few questions about constructing the books. She was so gracious in her suggestions and support. Well, Nancy, I finally did it!!

The book itself is made of mostly re-purposed materials and lace. The cover fabric was a sample piece.....the kind that often ends up in the trash if not rescued.  Some of the lace has been salvaged from vintage pillow cases, dresser scarves, tablecloths and hankies.  A few pieces were made by my grandmother and mother as sample pieces to try out a new pattern. I also used a piece of fabric from my mother's wedding gown.

Front cover.

The picture on the first page is a copy of a watercolor painted of my grandmother in 1912. 

The picture on the left is of my grandmother's class at a school in Pennsylvania. The two cards in the pocket are copies of end of year gifts and achievement cards dated 1902.

Beautiful wedding picture of my maternal grandparents - 1921.

Top picture - my grandmother sporting the latest maternity fashion. Lower picture - my grandmother with her first born (my mother).
The next page is of my grandmother and her 3 children. The tags have other pictures of the children.

On the left is my grandmother wearing an unusual fur coat.
These are the only pictures that I have of my grandmother and I wanted a special treasury of these to share with my aunt for her birthday. She just turned (shhh) 84 yrs. young!

Here is the full cover - front and back. Dyed and crinkled seam binding finishes the spine.

Lovely layers of lacey goodness.

I am submitting this heartfelt creation to the following challenges:
Try it on Tuesday where the theme is recycle.
Anything But a Card where they are asking "Who are you inspired by?".

LOVE is an act of faith - mixed media story board

When I first saw the new release Vintage Collage from Red Rubber Designs, I knew that I wanted to use it to spark the imagination. I hope that you will be able to envision a story from my canvas.

I started my project with an 8 X 8 inch piece of heavy chipboard. I inked it with Distress stains and inks then added a layer of tissue paper (old dress pattern), ink and stamping. On top of that I added a piece of coffee stained canvas.  The next layer is faux parchment cardstock that has been crumpled, torn, burned, inked, spritzed and rolled.

The lovely lady is from the Vintage Collage stamp set.  Her corner of the story board includes some old lace, a flower, and a treasured love letter as well as a much used rosary.

In the lower right hand corner is the object of the lady's affection and love. He is also from the Vintage Collage stamp set and has been stamped on paper clay. In the background you will see a sailing ship from the Vintage Collage stamp set and an Ancient Map.

The lower left hand corner gives a better look at the Ancient Map  The beads of the rosary encircle the entire story board. The LOVE stamp is from the Vintage Greetings stamp set. I finished out the quote by adding is an act of faith.

I hope my little project has given you a moment to slip into the world of imagination. Thanks for looking.

I am entering this into the Try it on Tuesday Lots of Layers Challenge.

Art Swap-6 X 6 canvas

What happens when 5 friends get together (online) for an art swap? You end up with some artfully cool creations!

Here is the cover I created for safe keeping of my 6" X 6" pages. I layered several colors of Tim Holtz Distress Stains, added a few Distress Inks, Distress Embossing Powder and Perfect Pearls.
The pattern was achieved by tiling one of my favorite stamps by Invoke Arts. The "ART" embellishment was made by stamping into black and bronze UTEE and brushing with bronze Perfect Pearls.

This page is my contribution to the swap. Once again, I used several colors of the Distress Stains on embossed chipboard for the background. The lady artist stamp is from StampLand. The little boy on the canvas is from Tweety Jill. Other stamps used are from Crafty Secrets. The small brown bag holds a copy of a vintage artist's calling/business card.

This page is by Pam Upper (Scrappy Pam Designs). The color combination and use of the white embossing as well as her beautiful stamped collage work makes this a stand out piece.

The third page in my book is by Lori Hassler (I Been Thinkin'...'Bout Inkin'). Check out the glasses on the guy...aren't they cool? Love the grungy gears, too. I'll bet this gal has a little trouble brushing out those gear infested tresses!

Next we have a sweet little art angel by Louise Granlund (Kard Krazy). She has very cleverly included a mirror (the glitter edged square) on her page. It is just perfect for emphasizing the quote she used "Art is a reflection of who you are".

The 5th contributing artist is Lynn Stevens (Trash to Treasure Art). She has presented her collage on a beautiful crinkled metal background and embellished with scrabble tiles and a striking lion.

It is so much fun to have such talented friends that like to share their ability to create. Thanks gals for some fabulous work.

Another Fabric Collage

My second attempt at this "new to me" art form. Approximate size 11" X 17".

Fabric Collage

Well it looks like I barely finished one online class before going to another. The latest one for me is the KC Willis Collage Camp. I am so glad that my friend and shopping buddy Robin talked me into taking this one. I guess it's payback because I talked her into Mary Green's Gluebook Class!

This is my first attempt at fabric collage. I am pleased with the results and will hang this in my guest bath in keeping with a vintage beach theme that I have going on in there. The size is approx. 9 X 12.

I added part of a fish net that Robin and I bought at a thrift store. The sea shells are some that I picked up on a trip to Pensacola Beach, FL a few years ago. I added a few gold charms for a little bling.

And More Gluebook Pages

Here are two more pages that will be included in special keepsake booklets I am making for Christmas presents.

The frame around my grandmother's picture is from The Sum of all Crafts blog. No digital work here....all done by the snip and cut method.

I'll have to say that I cheated a little bit here and used the beautiful papers from Graphic 45's Le' Romantique collection. The photo is of my maternal grandparents and is dated 1921.

What is a gluebook? You can find out more here.

More Gluebook

This is a 2 page spread that I made using 1 large image to fulfill an exercise in the online gluebook class that I am taking. The pages are each 3 1/2 inches by 5 1/2 inches.
It's not too late to sign up for the class! Your Vintage Gluebook

Vicki's Challenge and Gluebook Class

Vicki's Challenge: My friend Vicki issued a challenge to create anything "out of the box". This was the perfect time to try a gluebook since I have always wanted to make one. The fact that Mary's online class started today worked right in with the challenge.

Mary of Green Paper creates beautiful gluebooks and is offering an online class focusing on collage.
The layout above is my first ever gluebook page that I made for today's class. The image is a copy of a 1912 watercolor of my grandmother that hangs in my dining room. The music is from one of her books. Other images and ephemera were provided by Mary.
For more info on the class click here or on the button on my sidebar.