I've been A.R.T.ed (Act of Random Thoughtfulness)

Halle gifted me with three gorgeous tip-ins for my money book. She actually sent them to me before Christmas, but this was the first time I've had to scan them. Thanks for the really unique additions to my book, Halle!!

The Fortune: An AB about money

I started this book in either late 2005 or early 2006. I started collecting images way before that, because I liked the idea of money for a book. I liked it so much, I even created a Money deco which 10 talented artists worked in. I didn't start the book because I didn't have a good book for it, even though I have many books I could alter. A neighbor was moving and asked if I wanted a ton of her Danielle Steele books. I looked at them and they were very sturdy. One was called "The Fortune" and I knew the time had come to begin this book.

I didn't take any photos or scans of this book as I was making it because when I started it, I didn't have a scanner. My computer or ISP had a major meltdown in late 2006, so I was offline for nearly two months. In that time I created most of my work. It just goes to show what staying off the computer can accomplish. I was able to create nearly 2/3 of the book during that time. The rest has been tinkering and thinking about how I would finish the cover.

I have spent the last three days scanning, photographing, and uploading to blogger, images of this book. The pages are in the order they appear in the book, however, they are not in the order I created them. This is the first time any pictures of this book have appeared anywhere on the internet. The only people who have seen this book are those friends who have come to my house.

I reference several background techniques that I don't explain in the text. The reason for this is because I have tutorials on them, but they are only on ABC, the altered book yahoo group I help moderate. After I take a short break from the computer, I will add them to my main site. When I do, I will edit my blog posts on this site, referencing the exact page for the tutorial.

I used at least five bottles of Elmers White or School glue on this project and I quit counting after I had gone thru 10 glue sticks. I am not a fan of glue sticks, but some of the magazine images were so thin, I had to use them. Also, I used a glue stick anytime I used a napkin, paper towel, or hmp (handmade paper). I always applied the glue to the page, not the thin or fragile paper.

I hope you enjoy reading about this book as much as I enjoyed making it. Now that it is finished, I can't wait to share it with everyone in the AB community. As always, you can click on any image to get an up close look.
The front and back covers and inside front were cut from a tee shirt. Because the edges were a bit wonky, I added the green satin ribbon to finish the edges. I also made a plate using polymer clay. Even the little simulated brads are made of polymer clay. I attached the tee shirt using iron-on wonder under and the poly clay using E-6000.
From front to back, this is what the book looks like as it will be displayed.


As you can see from some of the bent and torn pages, my cat Bleubeard, got to my book. Find out why when you read the text.

Money pages

This is the first image you see in the book. I printed the words on green printer weight paper, then placed it behind the opening and cut off the excess. I glued another sheet of the same colored paper to the page, then placed the image over it. It was much easier than trying to line everything up on one page. I stamped the AB No1 to the left of the image and got it upright . I had originally stamped it on the title page (below), but stamped it upside down.

Those of you who get JoAnns coupons probably recognize the "Moolah" image from a 2007 Christmas flyer. I thought this was the perfect way to get in the holiday spirit, so created this page when I noticed how naked the page next to it looked. I started with Santa material, then added the Borders card and moolah using gel medium. The Christmas house was a covered button I took apart and attached using E6000.
I could have called this the "open door policy," but liked the title I gave it better. I found the door in a magazine and backed it with heavy cardstock (CS). I have come to the conclusion I like my writing more than my printing. The words were printed using my Krylon Gold Leafing pen.
This page was scanned, the one below was photographed. I thought each one cut off a bit of the left image, so I wanted to show the best view. Sadly, neither did that well. I thought the arrows coming out of the images looked like "07." That's why I wrote "completed in" using a gel pen.
This view provides a better idea how much the scanner cuts off the original bottom of the scans.
The next page in the book, this was actually the first page I completed. Magazine images and titles were used.

The left page is a magazine image I couldn't pass up. I used bandages to attach it to the page, thus creating a statement.

The right side background was created using the DTP method and Ranger vintage lime ink. I used a few images I had collected, including the clear credit card I originally planned to use in my Asian altered book. I decided it needed to go in the money book because Delta (which is shown on the back of the card) doesn't fly to Asia. For the title page, I stamped the AB stamp but got it upside down, since it was unmounted and I couldn't determine which side was up. Undeterred, I added my name like it was planned that way. The left side is Patio paint applied using a credit card, then oversprayed with Ranger Lettuce Color Wash.
This orange scrapbook paper was a bit too bright for this spread, so I dry brushed silver glaze to tone it down. I then added various stickers to spell out the title. This is the left side of a two sided spread. I created it and the one below outside the book when it got too full to work in.
Words that refer to money in some way were the only things I used on this spread, then glued to the book.

My friend Kathy gave me this pamphlet from Bank of America. It was too large for my book, so I had to cut it down.
I attached the two pages using copper tape. The inside left had advertising, so I laid down a coat of gesso, then randomly dry brushed copper Lumiere paint over part of it. I then added the piggy bank images.

Although this is a poor photo of the left page, you can barely see an altered thoughts stamp image. For the right page, I played off the book's chapter name. In ancient times, stones were often used as currency.

"Money for nothing" lyrics, a song made popular by Dire Straits, became the background for the Ozzy free money. This is the left side of a spread created outside the book after it became too full to work in. The background for this and the image below were spritzed with Lettuce Color Wash by Ranger.

Momisms are often quoted and used in ABs and art journals. This one was printed using a green Zig pen.
The left side uses two images that I turned into a flap to hide the inside. See below for the inside of "Growing Investments."

The image on the right is a game piece you can open (but I never have). I attached it using two different colors of green masking tape. Everything is mounted on scrapbook paper and also attached using green masking tape. Both sides titles were created using a Dymo label maker.

This shows the flap open to reveal the entire image.
"Passing the buck" began with a scrap of scrapbook paper, over which I added the magazine image and the clothing tag. I added the title using a Dymo label maker.

The right side uses magazine images and a cluster of silk flowers I made leaves for and wrapped with play money.
The left image came in the mail, describing the new color of money. It was printed on both sides, so I adhered it to the page using brads, which I don't seen to have scanned. The right side is made up of several images, including the crown I made from a colored paper towel.
This shows the back side of the new color of money.

I found this image in a computer magazine and wanted to improve on it, but after several months, came to the conclusion it was fine the way it was. I simply cut a triangle from scrapbook paper and printed the title on my hmp (handmade paper).

Images come in all sizes and this one came in two sizes. I mounted them back to back in the book.

The left side is a smaller version of the image on the previous page. The caption reads: "Too many of us look upon Americans as dollar chasers. This is a cruel libel, even if it is thoughtlessly reiterated by the Americans themselves." The author is unknown.

The right side is a tape transfer over green glitter paint and blue acrylic paint. Although the image had nothing to do with money, when I saw it, I thought of the sentiment/title.
I enjoy a play on words, so I had to create the page on the left. I began with blue scrapbook paper, which I also used on the right page. The sentiments were printed on patterned scrapbook paper. The sentiments read "I feel like I've been quartered," and "Maybe I've been nickled and dimed." The other images are from a Numismatics brochure.

The right side went together easily. I began with the matching paper, then added mulberry paper to the background. Finally, I added the image and the title, which I found in an economics magazine.
I loved this image and thought for about a minute until I got the title, which I printed on some paper I colored.
I got an ad thru the mail for State quarters and couldn't resist using it as the central image, around which I added pictures of other coins.
In the spring of 2006, my front yard was surveyed so the water company could repair the lines. I grabbed the flags before they got too weather worn and got to thinking about how much we spend on utilities every month. I had a blank expense sheet and filled it out with imaginary dollar amounts.

I chopped off the title to the left side when I scanned it. I named it "misbehavin'." I double matted the image and the title on a hand painted paper bag.

We were studying various collage techniques, including perspective, on one of my yahoo groups when I decided to make this spread on the right. I substituted a small head and a small piggy bank. Her hair is made from real shredded money. The background is H20s.
These two pages were more about the shaving cream paper background than anything else. I also added punchinella (sequin waste) to the right side. The first of four collage pages. I wanted to use as many images as possible, while learning collage. I'm really poor at composition, but thought the more collages I created, the better I would get. Not sure that's true, but I'm trying. The "fixed rate" on right page is raised and the coin on the left page is real.
The second of four collage spreads, it has one of my favorite images: the dressmaker form. To it, I added a real dressmaker pin with a gold head. On the left is a real coin and a business summary I received in the mail. The right side has a real coin also.
The third of four collage pages, this one started with coin wrappers, which are now hard to find. The upside down "Money" has a brad in the "O."
This is the fourth in a series of four collage pages.
I've used the stack of bills on the left in several spreads. This one uses small images of the "eye" from the dollar bill (found on the backside of the bill on top of the pyramid). They were printed on a laser printer and colored using two green Patio paints.

The right background is more of the same "eye" only larger. The dollar bill in the pocket is two sided and very realistic looking. I decided I wanted to make it interactive so people could remove it and see both sides. The small gold band was attached to the clear pocket to highlight the eye. A light green paint was brushed all over the pages, then glazes were applied using a sea sponge. After that I added black Sharpie on the left page and Krylon Gold Leafing on the right. What's in the pocket? Why money of course!! And yes, that a real British coin glued to the envie.
I call this and the next pages an experiment gone wrong. However, they say we learn from our mistakes, so I hope you will learn from mine. I had these images that were double sided, so I decided to cut windows and insert them in it. However, they don't look like they are in windows, but rather just applied to the page. To create an effective window, you need to use a transparent image, such as one printed or stamped on a transparency, or a transluscent image, such as one created on vellum. The image on the left is a larger version of the two in the windows. I double matted it.
The left page is the back side of the windows and the right side is another larger photo double matted with a ribbon added.
These are two of my favorite spreads. The left side started with the yummy handpainted paper. It was so beautiful, I knew I wanted to use it, but didn't want to cover it up. The basket of money was the perfect thing to spotlight it. Various coins represent the "o's" in the title.

When I first saw this image on the right, I knew the title. I printed it on my hmp. Just my sense of humor showing thru the art.
A tie and colored paper towels were used as the background for the $ I cut from a colored book page. The green in the top is too close to the green in the $. I should have used a different background color. That's a lesson I've learned from this and other spreads.

The right side was a gold ribbon strung thru the word "Money" which was on the cover of a magazine.

Cash in hand

I've been collecting hand images for awhile because my next big project will be a "hand" book. I had enough hand images with money that I was able to make three spreads. As you turn the book pages, you see the words "Cash" "In" "Hand" which I hand formed using wire and green heart beads. Again I chose to keep the background simple, focusing on the images and the words rather than anything else.