What's on the Work Table.....

"Creativity is a lot like looking at the world through a kaleidoscope. You look at a set of elements, the same ones everyone else sees, but then reassemble those floating bits and pieces into an enticing new possibility."

~Rosabeth Moss Kanter~

I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at what is on my work table at the moment. Books, birds, and babies oh my! These are a few of my favorite things and I thought I would share these works in progress.

The book project below had been an ongoing project for a few months now and I am so excited that it is so close to done! Because it is a gift and the recipient might see it I can't show the whole project but can give you a little look as well as show you how to make the really cool leather look cover. Click on the photos to enlarge for better viewing.

You will need:
Brown Postal Wrap (the heavy paper bag type), brown paper bags can be a substitute
Matte Gel Medium
Brush for brushing on gel medium
Water

Technique #1 , this will look like a smoother leather: (The book shown below is an altered art journal I began playing with over a year ago. You can visit here and here to see a few of the pages.)*Cut a piece of brown postal wrap about one inch larger than your project, paper will shrink a bit during the drying process.
*Dip the paper in water until pliable.
*Wad the paper up into a tight ball, squeezing out all the water.
*Gently unfold the wadded paper, slightly smoothing, leaving some of the wrinkles in.
*Lay on a flat surface and allow to dry completely.
*When paper is dry, brush matte gel medium onto the surface of your project and gently lay paper onto glue surface.
*Gently smooth, leaving some crinkles and not smoothing out the crumples.
*Trim excess if needed and allow to dry.You can seal this with bees wax, gel medium, or any sealer you wish but it is not necessary.

To antique you can experiment with rubbing an ink pad across the surface. You can also burnish the surface with brown shoe polish. If you want a rich shiny look you can use shellac but be sure to do this in a well ventilated area.

Technique #2, this will look like old wrinkly aged leather:You will need the same supplies as listed above.

*Tear or cut several piece of brown postal wrap in no larger than 81/2"x11", if larger it is harder to work with.
*Wet the paper until pliable.
*Wad the paper in a tight ball and squeeze out all the water.
*Gently unfold the paper, leaving quite wrinkled, do not smooth.
*Allow to dry completely.
* Tear paper into small pieces, about 1 to 2 inches in size.
*Using a brush, apply matte gel medium to the paper then apply the paper piece to your project.
Gently press down paper piece allowing wrinkles and lumps to show.*Continue to add paper pieces overlapping the edges of each piece slightly until the surface is completely covered.
*If desired you can seal or antique as described above.I hope to finish the covers on this two volume set today and send them on their way tomorrow!

After a little walk about God's Garden, my name for our woods, I collected a few offerings from the forest floor. I was inspired to start this collage by a twig and a nutshell.I had been wanting to try doing a watercolor bird over sheet music and am pleased with the results. The wash of color lets the music notes show through for a cool effect.You may remember this little baby from the invitations I made here. I printed him out onto muslin and then added a backing, sewing him into the tiniest doll I have ever made. He is about one inch long! Turning him was quite the chore but I did it and he will look so very sweet nestled in his little nutshell bed when I am done. I'll post more on this as it progresses.

Lastly there is a sweet bit of mail love waiting to be photographed. I won a giveaway over at Ragamuffin Gal from sweet Katie. The prize was one of her wonderful ATC's. She sent along the sweetest note and a stamped star with luscious ribbon. The depth to this little work of art is awesome. I love this sweet little girl daring to let her dreams take flight. She even has green wings! Thank you so very much Katie. She will be put in a place of honor in my studio space where she will encourage me to dare to dream big dreams.

Blessings,
Miss Sandy