Under the Boardwalk, Altered Book Project

Here is a great altered book project I created, perfect for using vintage ephemera. images, mixed with modern day papers, inks, found objects and recycled items.

Under the Boardwalk was inspired by the history of boardwalk communities by the shore. It was inspired by my adventures to the Jersey Shore particularly Ocean Grove, Asbury Park, Seaside, and LBI. Vintage beauty pageants, and Victorian Seaside Splendor. By 1950's amusements and confections, candy apples, calliope music and summer nights.

If you love to recycle and use recycled items in your works, this is a great way to do that.

To make your own follow these instructions below: 

Materials:

• Sails and Shells Paper Pack, Canvas Corp.
• Seashore style ephemera, and vintage images, Lisa Kettell Designs
• Vintage or modern bingo cards,and wood bingo tokens Lisa Kettell Designs
• Chipboard style card stock, Canvas Corp.
• Basic office folders
• Paper Straws, Recollections Line, Michaels Stores
• Vintage style embellishments, 7 Gypsies
• Inks, Tattered Angels
• Found Objects: broken glass bottles, wood shapes, branches, cake balloons.
• Other: crepe paper, German glass glitter, tiny star fish, shells, muslin fabric, ribbon.cocktail honey combs stirrers,color clothes pins
• Tools/Glue: hot glue, hot glue gun, glue stick scissors, small paper hole punch, white floral wire

Directions:

1. Cut 2 pieces of the chipboard style card stock to 8 by 10 inches for the cover. Then cut out 4 pieces of basic office folders and 4 pieces of chipboard style card stock about 5 by 7 inches, for the interior pages,
2. Begin layering the cut interior pages with scrapbook paper from the Sails and Shells paper pack, Glue in place with glue stick.
3. Assemble all the pages together and punch 1 hole into the pages with a hole punch about 2 inches in from the top and another hole 2 inches from the bottom. Make sure you punch the holes 1 inch from the side. ( the side I'm referring to is the area where the book pages will have its binding.)
4. Thread each whole with white floral wire and twist around 3 small branches. This is your binding.
5. Start decorating the top cover with bingo board, scrapbook embellishments, paper straws, found objects, images, additional scrapbook paper cutouts,
6. Cut various strips of scrapbook paper from the Sails and Shells paper pack and cut fringe into them, then hot glue to the cover sides and interior sides,
7. Age ribbon, scrapbook paper and objects with inks from Tattered Angels.
8. Finally add the remaining embellishments: honey comb stirrers, ribbons, clothes pins and bingo tokens.

Tips/Tricks:

• Use old book covers or bingo boards instead of basic office folders or chipboard paper.
• Layer the whole cover with paper straws.
• Create these books with your kids or family on a rainy summer day.
• Turn this book project into a family vacation heirloom.
• Make a theme book. Example: fairies and pixies, flowerland, candyland, wizards, Santa Claus, etc.

I Hope you enjoyed this project and have fun making one of your own. If you do please post pictures and share, so we can all see the magic.  Stay tuned for more fun projects.

Thanks So Much,
Lisa :-)

Tiara Chronicles! The June Installment!It started last year, a group of 10 of us have called ourselves the Tiara Chronicles, we get together every month or so to go either artful treasure hunting, exploring artful places or gather at each's studio's or houses and create a unique project.Each of us take turns teaching, and inventing cool projects which can sometimes take us out of our comfort zones, its a challenge to keep our creative minds working and testing our abilities. If we didn't challenge ourselves we'd never evolve as artist, because when you get to comfortable with one thing, you let the other things pass you buy.
I go through artful spurts/phases, never staying on one thing for long, I have so many idea's I have to get them out of my head and onto paper and bring to life. I create projects which are for every skill level, I'm not setting out to make a difficult masterpiece that's can't be made, or something so expensive to make it takes a year to collect the pieces to do it. To me that's not what every day art is about. I recycle and re-use everything and find a new life for it, yes I love all the amazing vintage wares, but they can get costly if you don't find a good deal, so I try to re-make myself and you can too.So for this installment of the Tiara Chronicles, it was my time to pick a project and I decided on ALTERED ART DOLL BOTTLES! using recycled: A1 Steak Bottles, Mustard Bottles, Heinz 57 Bottles, Oil/Vinegar Bottles, Dollar Store Bottles, Apothecary Bottles, or whatever glass bottle you have lying around. Then we altered it and transform it using artful supplies, I brought clay and molds to make the doll heads.We all bring supplies and artful wares for everyone to share, Everyone brought broken jewelry bits, rhinestone's, pearls, ribbons, flowers, and unique oddities to play with.I gathered some artful goodies from Michelle, Suze, Patti and Linda to use in my 2nd doll bottle which is almost done, a broken flower pin and charm from Michelle are the crown on my 2nd wine glass doll, 2 crystal beads from Suze are the earrings, black pompom trim from Patti is the doll trimming, and a button from Linda is part of my doll's dress, stay tuned for this finished piece tentively called: "Bella's Soiree Doll!"This photo above is the beginning on my finished wine glass doll called: Polly The Pixie Wizard Doll! (stay tuned to the next post to see her fully finished).Besides bringing artful wares, we also much on delicious goodies and enjoy drinks, coffee, or tea.Today we were at Linda Hahola's house, she always puts out an amazing spread of hummus, breads, chips, dips and sweet goodies. On Saturday we were missing a few of the Tiara girls, who were sending joy our way. In attendance was: Linda, Suze, Patti, Bonnie, My Mom-Joan and Me, not to mention a few furry friends who are just beyond words adorable, I wanted to take them home.Here is a glimpse at the many dolls we made, the photo before this one is the full group doll photo aka The Dollie Bottle Fashion Shoot!This is my Mom's doll, she choose a more regency meets victorian style,whose doll lips I might add, were a bit split, I think it gave her more character, LOL, but once the clay and paint dried, she came back to life and her lips were normal again. My Mom painted the body w/Claudine's Paints (She is a new fan, wants all her paints now, available from Ranger Ink, gilded trims, jewels, findings and peacock feathers. Mom's dollie was further embellished at home now she is completely finished.Here is Patti's Doll, isn't she magical? Like a Fairy Goddess, Patti choose to paint the head with the
14kt Gold Paint, used a floral/berries for the head piece, wings, ephemera and jewels.Here is Linda's Beautiful piece, another fairy goddess, Linda choose to paint her doll's head brown, with jewelry bits, gold paint for the glass body mixed with flowers and other floral/earthy accents, so magical! I just love the leafy wings.This is Suze's Doll, another fairy goddess, but more of a fairy queen, complete with gold crown, gold wings, gold wire, gilded gold body with gold glitter inside, Fashionista Red Hair, and Dazzling jeweled treasures, the most regal fairy in the land.Michelle's Bottle Doll, can this get any prettier, look at that jeweled treasure crown, I wish there was one big enough to fit my head. Michelle choose a more prim, fancy, chic style doll, with hand distressing to bottle for an aged patina look, jewels, pearls and more pearls.This is the base of Michelle's Doll, I love the gilded tassel trim with the pearls.

I just loved how everyone's dolls came out, each of them are more beautiful then the next, I could stare at them for hours. I hope you enjoyed this installment of the Tiara Chronicles and the project we did. Stay tuned for our next adventure!
http://michellereneebernard.blogspot.com/
http://www.pattibehan.blogspot.com/
http://suzeweinberg.typepad.com/suzeblogz/
http://auroratique.blogspot.com/
http://www.rangerink.com/


Magic and Joy!
Lisa!