Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Started Making Christmas Ornament ATCs & Started an Altered Book

Last night after an early dinner I decided to make some ATCs. My children were also at the table. One was painting with watercolor and the other was altering a food tin with collage, to make a drum out of it. We listened to the end of an audiobook: The Horse and His Boy (in the Narnia series) by C.S. Lewis, while we made art.

I began making ATCs for Christmas ornament ATC swap. The ATC is made in the regular manner. A hole is punched at the top and it is converted into a Christmas tree ornament.

I went through last year's Christmas cards to find images to use. Yes, I saved them. Last year we used parts of other old cards I'd saved to make Christmas and Holiday cards for elderly residents of a nursing home. So I continue to save old cards for crafts.

I had trouble finding my muse so I didn't get very far. I selected cards, cut out backgrounds that was about it.

I also selected one of my children's old board books to alter. It was pure twaddle and was not a favorite of ours. I painted every surface with brown acrylic paint that I had on hand. I plan to use my grandmother's old papers to make this a vintage papers altered book. It will be a small record of the stuff that she was saving.

This morning the altered book was dry. My husband asked what it was and I explained about altered books. He was not impressed. He asked what I painted it with and I answered him. He said it looked awful and like 'a little kid did it'. I explained it is supposed to look that way. What he meant was that the paint had texture. The brush stroke lines are visible. Some are in straight lines. Some brush strokes are swirly. The paint is not flat and dark, the thickness of the paint varies. This is not unlike altered books that I have seen. Anyway this is the base. I plan to collage eon top and use many layers of glaze as well. I am not put off by his comment.

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