Journey into....

my world, of beads and grungeboard ,ribbons, blue, and the most wonderful paper from K& Co! As you know this is the fortnight of the BOOK here in the Theatre. I have to say thank you to all of you who have taken part so far. Absolutely FABULOUS creations! I hope to see more too!

I took a book which I found in a charity shop for 50p, and I destroyed it. Okay, well I took it apart and made a journal whch I aim to fill in the next few weeks, or more to the point, if I was honest, probably in the next six months! I had a lovely time creating it, and got use some of the Ten Seconds Studio metal, grungeboard, inks, and most of all a pad of 12 x 12 paper I had been saving for a special occasion such as this! May I present to you the Blue Awning Book!

This is the book as I bought it, which was a thick child's board book

Then I cut it up and and made the pages and bound it together with the Bind-it-all.

As there are several pages I have made a slide show

Please do try to have a go and remember to comment and let me know where your creation is.

Next Saturday is a new Theatre Production, so in the meantime dig out that paperback or child's book you have stuffed in a cupboard, and destroy it, , and make it into something wonderful, and different.

Happy Creating

Jennie

Take a leaf out of....

Welcome to our Theatre of Dreams! Thank you to all who took part in the last challenge, what amazing creations!
Tonight the BOOK is centre stage, and we have a guest designer . Welcome CRISSI! Crissi has created the most marvellous altered book,

and this what she says about it

My name is Crissi Harvey I have been crafting for a good few years now in one way or another. I got into paper crafting about 4 years ago and my crafting addictions have gone from there, I love mixed media, altered art and all things that are a little different. I co run if that's the right word, Arty Girlz challenge blog with my good friend Julie. Im married to mark and have a wonderful 13yr son Harry whom im am just so proud of.

Here Crissi tells us how she made the book

I got my book from a sale at the Library for 50p can't grumble at that can you .

Firstly I found an old photo frame and used the glass as a template to cut the front of the book out, then I covered the front of the book with Golden molding paste, to this I added crushed egg shells and let it dry.
when dry I used red yellow and gold acrylic paints on the cover over the shells and also on the back of the book. when it was dry I covered the whole front of the book with a mixture of Tetrolseal car paint (its the black tarie stuff you use on the underneath of cars to stop it rusting) and turps then used a rag to wipe it back to the paint, it gives a lovely rich colour and depth to the texture. (you can also use a cotton bud with some turps on to wipe some of the paint back on random bits of the shells for more effect if you like) oh and don't panic when you see your work has turned black LOL it will be ok LOL.
I used the card that was in the old frame to create my picture i used the same colours for the background as the book then cut out the image and glued it in place, i used a water colour crayon in black and smudged it around the image and edges I also did that around the cut opening. I then glued the picture to the front page of the book, then glued the glass in to the opening that was cut out previously just ran glue around the edge. I used an old earing for a charm,(just made a hole and used wire) and glued the charm words around the book and added an ivy rubon. Then I screwed 4 screws in to each corner which kind of binds the first inch or so of the book together.
On the inside of the book I covered the first pages with paint ready for when Iuse the book as a journal to keep techniques in.The first is going to be how i made the book!

For those of you like me, when I first altered a book, did I *blanch* at wrecking a perfectly good book! But when I saw what you could do(and there are so many books in charity shops just crying out to be altered), I realised that it was fantastic way to use a book, especially if it had sat on a shelf not sure if it was going to be read! So go find a book, a paperback, maybe a magazine, or a book you will never read, and get those creative juices flowing!
Happy Creating
Jennie

A little interim production

I have been delighted that the audience participation on this particular challenge has been fabulous! Thank you for all your gorgeous innovative creations.
Here is another one of mine using a bean tin. The instructions for it will be on my other blog tomorrow!

Please do take part, and don't forget to link the challenge too!
Happy tin creating!
Jennie

The Big Chill!

Welcome again to the theatre of your dreams! The title of this week's challenge is very apt, as here in the UK (or certainly in the south-east) we are experiencing a very cold snap of weather. Quite why we should complain is really beyond me, as it is winter! So, to explain the title, I should tell you a bit more about the performance tonight.
The main character is a TIN, any tin. It can be round,square, oblong, pink, yellow, an empty food tin, or a cigarette tin... any kind of tin you like! I used a cheese crispie tin like this one, and yes I ate them all!

I looked at the tin in all its glory, and thought of a fridge. Don't ask why, but the refrigerator is a big thing in our house...DS always goes there first when coming into the kitchen. He opens it, takes out something, closes it, then opens it again. I always know when he is the house, as I hear the beeping of the alarm, as he hunts for food! So I thought the shape of tin makes for a good fridge.

I spray painted it in white, lightly distressed it in blue, and made magnets for its front. I used grungeboard for the hinges, and hunted for a little handle for the front, and attached them all with screw brads in gold. I made a little clipboard with a TH clip, and a small chipboard tag, and distress inked the edges. The rest of the magnets are stickers and little bits and pieces I have gathered over the years. The frame around the Eiffel Tower is a very old Mizpah charm. My favourite are the mini letters just like you would have on a real refrigerator! Inside is an old advert explaining that the refrigerator is "au service de la femme moderne"!

I think that tonight the fridge should stand proud and upright on the stage!

Finally the winner of the Tim Holtz lunch tin blog candy is CRAFTYTROG. Congratulations, and please email me your address so I can send you your tin!

So, all you have to do is decorate a tin, in any way shape or form you like, and leave a comment where we can find your creation.

Happy Creating

Jennie

Time Flies....

A good friend of mine, and a member of The Artistic Stamper Creative Team, has had problems getting on the net, so asked me if I would post her tag for her, so we have a guest designer tonight- Susan.
She says of her tag

I was doing some scrapbook pages of grandson......... and there were pics of my Mum & Dad with him, also us and our son.......... and talking with someone the other day, she was amazed that I had twins of 30 years of age! It reminded me of the passing of time and the years.... and how quickly they fly by......... hence the tag......

The theatre production changes on Saturday, so hopefully you have your mojos at the ready, and are prepared to take part in our production once again!
Happy Creating
Jennie

Tag Theatre continued.....

I cannot believe that we are in 2009. It only seems like yesterday we were celebrating the Millenium! I have to say I have been lax , as the theatre has been a bit dark this Christmas *sad*, but all the festivities, and pantos, and all the eating and drinking has meant that the theatre has been very quiet. So I have decided to continue the theatre of the tags until next weekend, when we will have a new performance. Yah!
Of course you now have another week to create a tag in any shape or form you like (see Minxy's for inspiration). There is a fab tin up for grabs if you can create and show before next Saturday!

here are some of the gorgeous creations that have been made so far

Crissi

Craftytrog

Crafty Creations

Hels

Minxy

Fiona

So the challenge is to create an out of this world, never seen before humble tag! Make it your own, paint, sew, decorate, stamp, cut it out, Imagine!

Of course the star of the show, Julie, has given you food for thought, so please go create and show us yours!

Happy New Year

Jennie