My Newest Altered Book

I have been working on a new altered book over the summer and have gone in directions that I never have before. My Marie group, The Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group, had a fantastic swap hosted by the amazing Terri from Designs by Terri Gordon (OMG I love this woman)! In this swap each participant was set up with two partners. I was with the talented Holly from Paper Pieces of Me and Cathy from Cathy Bluteau's Page. We all exchanged different types of ephemera with one another such as x amount of tags, Marie images, buttons, lace, trim, etc. Then, we were to each use these items to create an altered book. This project has been one of the best swaps EVER and here is what I have done thus far. You can click on any of the pictures to make them larger.



Here is the cover of my book.



I love how the green flower from Cathy seemed to be meant for this spot.



I became obsessed with sewing by hand on this book and added lots of bead work all over. For the cover I used these fresh water pearls and some vintage crocheted pieces.




I also tore some fabric, dyed it with coffee and stamped it with Marie themed stamps to create a tie for my book. It's stuffed!





I sewed a lot of details onto this first page and the Marie crest and skirt is stuffed with cotton. The pink flower is one of my favorites and it was made by Holly. I can't wait until I can create a flower like that!


I "spoiled" this page with lots of paper flowers and vintage bling.



Above you can see the pockets that my book contains. It was a book made to hold National Geographic maps but I altered it with some paint and vintage sheet music. Now, the pockets hold tags that Holly and Cathy made for me as well as other ephemera that I plan to add. I still have about six blank pages.





I love the pink pocket on this page from Cathy. I added it to this page to hold some vintage postcards from Versailles.






I think this spread is my favorite.



This page literally took about five minutes to make. It was great having new items to use that were all ready to be worked with. The tag above was made by Holly and I just added it to some patterned paper, a collage sheet and some trim.



This page is my favorite. I love the stained, shabby pages and work that other artist do. I hand sewed a lot of the elements onto this page.




The bow tie I have had for a few months now and I love it how my work just comes together like it was meant to be.


There are also two more flowers from Holly and some of the fabric that she gave me.




I had to have this page blend with it's opposite page. I worked hard on the theater. On this page there is a tag and an Eiffel Tower from my friend Rhonda at A Little Bit French. She is my lost French sister with the same name and interests. I am obsessed with her Etsy shop ParisGal56. Her work is beautiful and looks like something I would make in a dream. I can't wait to show you some of the goodies I purchased from her. Wow!




So, within the pocket behind my 3D theater is a bag. Guess what it contains?




It contains my double sided puppets. I am really proud of how they turned out. They are decorated with vintage glass glitter and have stamped images on their painted sticks.




I giggle at this one because it looks like Angelina Jolie.



These are the final two pages I have done with more tags and goodies from Holly and Cathy.




I still have more to create, and will share it with you after I complete it. This swap has been fabulous and I could never thank Terri, Holly and Cathy enough for all they did to make it such a huge success! Thanks girls!



Here is what my book looked like before. The pics aren't the best, but I forgot to take pictures until after I started to alter it. I was covered in paint and had already started the project when I realized what I had done.




I hope that you have enjoyed looking at my book. I have certainly enjoyed putting it all together and look forward to working on it more. Remember to always try those projects that you don't think you can do. You might just surprise yourself! If you want to see more books from this swap, be sure to check out Terri, Holly and Cathy's blogs. You will see something you love for sure!