Books and Stuff

Hey - thanks for all those lovely comments, they really cheered me up. Glad you all liked the book.

Dale - I think I've already shown my best distressed wall , so I'll let you have the glory. Hope the journey home was OK.

Virobirdie - thank you (I think). My grandchildren do call me 'Granny Cool' to distinguish me from their other granny - I think this is a compliment.

Doreen G, I'm stuck for another hand word, but I'm working on it.

Pat - yes, Ian has lived in Newtown for about twelve years so we know it quite well (and I know just the shop you describe).

Yes, I know what you mean Jacqueline - it's a fine line between integration and a vanishing act. Jan Beaney has a great saying that goes something like this 'Look at a piece of work from a distance and if something is shouting 'Yoo-hoo, I'm a piece of Tyvek' then it needs working into'. I use gesso or Paper Perfect on papery surfaces and lots of stitch on fabric ones. This pic, also a book uses gesso to bed in a piece of cast paper. I did gild it with metallic wax so, although the edges bed in, the centre is quite bright.

Keep looking at the work, too. Val always used to tell me off for putting too much onto a piece of work, but was also the first one to admit that she did it, too. We would often crit each others work and that is a useful aid.

Penny - glad I'm not keeping you up at night. I can't go to sleep without reading a novel but I'm so exhausted these days that I only read about a page. Then I can't remember who the characters are and keep going backwards. My life will settle down a bit in December, I hope. Meanwhile, I think I'll keep reading the same pages, over & over again.

Hi Ann. Good to meet you. Yes, that is just what an altered book is. I had great trouble finding a book to alter as I know how much angst goes into the writing. However, my book was called 'Railways of Kent', so I thought it deserved it.

I stick the pages together until I have a really robust surface and then paint it with gesso, to cover the print. Leaving some print showing is good, too. You can carve great holes out and set things in them.

I also use board books. This is a child's story book. Again use gesso. If the pages are very shiny rub them down with sandpaper.

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Dorothy - we're all into rust dying - perhaps you've just invented mildew dying!

I am doing some Procion dying for the December Products page. I have to confess that I find dying messy and would much prefer a quick squirt of fabric paint.

We had an exciting morning as one of Grandaughter Lauren's friends was on Nickelodeon kids TV, doing a challenge. My son in law filmed him on a web-cam and he had to do all kinds of daft things - like making a hat from mashed potato and sausages. He was great and won a Wii and a camera but lost, very narrowly, in the final vote.