I
had a lightweight piece of folded scrap cardboard with even the little
end flap folded. I liked it and didn't want to toss it. I also had
written the word*LOVE* on a scrap of paper with the last of some glitter
paint in a squeeze bottle.
One day I thought,
This love word would fit perfectly on the front, and I could make a mini folded book. Instead of time-worn love themes, I decided on the scripture
Love thy neighbor as thyself. (Mark 12:31)
I
thought about a neighborhood design with houses made of triangles and
squares of scrap paper. I then changed the theme to the paraphrase
I love myself and my neighbors benefit!
This fitted perfectly with my belief that if we don't learn to love
ourselves first we can't truly love anyone else. I decided it would
focus on self-love and high self-esteem.
I
painted the entire piece of cardboard, back and front, with metallic
copper acrylic paint in one of the 4 oz bottles from the craft section
at Wmart. I then dry-brushed in places gold glitter paint.
I added
a flower die cut and a faceted metallic rhinestone to accent the O in
Love. I added sequins and other rhinestones to embellish the front.
I
kept gathering all types of scraps from my scavenged stash to fill out
my neighborhood and the sky above. I typed out and printed the quote and
collaged it down. The phrases
Be Happy and
Count Your Blessings are from a sheet of transparent quote stickers for scrapbooking.
I
made flower bushes by cutting up used greeting cards. I made trees by
cutting turquoise cardstock with decorative paper edger scissors and
drawing on details. My color theme evolved into mostly purple, yellow
and turquoise.
On
the back side and further playing on the neighborhood/home theme, I
designed the narrow flap to mimic a front door. The 2 strings with end
beads simulates a pull doorbell. The eye and the inkwell leads to what
is inside, a chance to write something good about
self.
Once you open the door, you can see the full invitation quote, What I love about me.
Two micro tags are attached to the door chime pulls and are not
removable. The mini tag with the colorful pony beads strung on eyelash
yarn can be removed from the heart-printed, vellum pocket. On these tags
are to be written a few individual words that describe what is
beautiful about you.
The bluebird, the fence and the flower bush was cut from greeting cards. The seagulls are clip art.
As
you can imagine, this was a very satisfying project. This sweet little
handmade book got away from me when it sold at Etsy. 🥲 Like a loved one
who has passed, I have the pics to remind me of happy times and to
share. We can try but we can never really remake one-offs. The spirit is
just not there, although something brand new and just as beautiful can
be made.
I love the creative flow of altered art. It can be
exhausting to think about creating something like this. The ease is in
receiving the inspiration and letting the flow come and then it creates
itself. It also tells you when it's finished.
