Have you ever made altered board books? It’s a fun, quick, and simple project, an easy way to get your feet wet (and your hands painty) with mixed media and altered books. We played with altered board books in one of our afternoon creativity sessions at the July Artful Island Retreat (there’s another one happening in September!), and I’m sharing some of the gorgeous results here. Have a look at these, made by the lovely ladies at the Artful Island Retreat, and then I’ll tell you how to make your own.
Looks like fun, right?
You will need:
- a small child’s board book
- acrylic gesso (a white, paint like substance that artists use to prime canvases. Get it at craft and art supply stores.)
- acrylic paints
- brushes
- glue stick or acrylic gel medium for gluing in collage bits
- collage elements – magazine tear outs, ephemera, even the foil wrapper from a chocolate bar!
Start by prepping all the pages with gesso. Do one page spread at a time and let dry. The gesso will dry matt, and quite quickly. You may need several coats. Use a hair dryer to hasten drying if you want.
Once all your pages are prepped, choose a theme for each two page spread. Choose paint colours and collage pieces according to the theme. Paint the pages in a free, messy style, enjoying the sensuality of the paint and the fun of the colours.
Complete all the painting and let each page dry.
Now you can begin to glue in your collage pieces. As you can see above, anything goes! From chocolate wrappers to tea bag wrappers to pictures of yourself…
When the pages are complete, you can work on the covers, and add colour (gold is nice) to the edge of the pages. Have fun!
More Artful Living:
Retreat! Give yourself the gift of time and self-care this Fall. Join me for my Artful Island Retreat this September 19-23 at Shanti House on gorgeous Denman Island. For five days, we’ll make art, dance, play, immerse ourselves in nature, eat well, meditate, do yoga, laugh, reflect, and rest deeply. This delicious retreat is open to six women, and I have four spots left. Go here to learn more and register.
Join me and a wonderful circle of artful women for the Artful Life eCourse, Fall Edition, nine week immersion in artful living, exploring my Nine Keys to an Artful Life.
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