Altered Ephemera Book - Page One

This is the first page for my French inspired altered book. I joined a fabulous swap with the Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group where we were given two partners. For each partner, we had to gather a box of goodies containing certain items like buttons, images of Marie, French ephemera, ribbons, charms, etc. I had so much fun putting my packages together and love the goodies I have received so far.

My husband had a business trip, so since it's summer time, I packed up the kids and my art supplies and away we went. This is the first page I created and I LOVE it! I am really proud of myself because I have never been one to sew. For this page, I hand sewed (my goal is to learn how to use my husband's sewing machine which he learned to use during three months of bed rest after leg surgery) many of the elements to my page including the fabric Marie and crest which are both stuffed with cotton, as well as the sewn on beads.



These brads which spell out M A R I E, I just happened to throw in my bag at the last minute. I love it when things fall into place and seem to be meant for one another.







Some vintage lace, trims and a gorgeous handmade flower from Holly. Be sure to visit her to see some of her pages as well.



And the above image helps to show the "puff" of the stuffing.



I found these great fabric sheets while browsing through my local art store a couple of weeks ago. I was so excited. I just made a collage of the images I wanted for fabric from my stash of digital collage images, printed it out and it was ready to go. I love using as many different mediums as possible in one piece of art work. I seem to be on a sewing kick now, which is a good thing. My grandmother would be proud. Now to learn how to use the sewing machine and not be intimidated by it. Then she and I will both be really proud.

Hope you enjoyed my first page. Now go out and tackle something new!