Hymn Book Pages

A teeny hymn book, only 2.75 x 4.25 inches (7 x 10.5 cm) ...

with pages almost transparent and so lightweight,

 that feel so gorgeous with text visible from the reverse giving such an interesting texture...

all packed in bundles of 50, ready for crafty folk to work their magic… to tear or cut, to glue or stitch,

in mixed media, altered books, collage, scrapbooking & other such creative endeavours.

 I love to see or hear about the things that people make, but not everyone is willing to share photos with the world. If any followers of my blog would like a selection of book pages to sample, and are prepared to send me photographs of your creations that I can post (and link back to you of course!) 

do get in touch…. the first 3 people to email

 suziscribbles [at] yahoo [dot] co.uk 

can have a bundle  of pages to play with. 

 Book pages available to purchase at  torn edge paper on etsy

Woven Words...

 Things have been busy here but  this is one little experiment I tried a little while back…. Strands of old writings taken and woven into something new… hints of what has been that could have been discarded… textures mingled… random words… does it make sense? no. does it matter? no.
Just words & phrases tossed into a pool of pattern…. jumbled confusion? perhaps, but not unless you try & make sense of it.

I rarely throw roughs or scraps of paper away… at least not until they have been cut or torn & stuck or over written or stamped or collaged or…. something. And even then they get "filed" until much much later I find them bent & dog-eared beyond redemption. I was tearing this draft with the idea of making torn squares of text to collage onto other pieces. That will wait a while, cos I'm liking the effect of this!

Gorgeous, Bright Mountain Paper

Before Christmas, a lovely lady bought several packs of the Himalyan Mountain paper which comes from Nepal. It's a gorgeous paper, that comes in 10 colours as well as natural.

We had a lovely correspondence, from her first order to her receiving the paper, 

then to news of the creations made with it.

She must have spent many happy hours spent in creative bliss with her young daughter over the Christmas holidays! I asked her if she would be happy to share some photographs here...

… and I'm so pleased that she did! I absolutely adore this tree with the little bits of text mingled in amongst the branches.

I would never have thought of doing anything like these, and I'm so thrilled at what these talented ladies have created…. each one is so different… I love them.

Thank you for sharing Mahsheed, 

I hope you & your daughter enjoy this mini exhibition of your work!! 

Personalised Engagement Photo Canvas with Calligraphy

My daughter wanted a canvas for her friend's engagement... something to do with New York as they got engaged on holiday there.... a love quote.... neutral colours.... a splashy heart?... or maybe something with words repeated in the background... new york, love, forever, etc...? As I looked at  photographs of New York scenes & skylines, I thought of "borrowing" some of their holiday photos ... black & white... printed on canvas & collaged onto a canvas that I could write a quote on... still with words in the background.... or maybe not... keep the background white... mmm, maybe red writing...

So the conversation went, & as usual I couldn't explain what was in my head or how to work in K's ideas... & she just wasn't sure how what I suggested would look. To be honest, I didn't really know myself at that point.

As soon as I started I went for a grey background... with darker streaks & wisps of white. K hadn't been sure about frayed edges to the photos so I trimmed them straight & 'scattered' them across an 8 x 19.5 inches ( 20 x 50cm). I do like the longer, narrower dimensions & loved this layout, but wasn't sure about the red lettering even before I wrote. It's ok.... but I wanted white...

I'd already painted a few canvasses (I rarely ever do just one) & had played with some photo collages previously, so the final version came together in no time.

Love does not consist of gazing at each other,

but looking forward in the same direction.

 I have pages of quotations typed out & this is the one K chose... Quite appropriate for them as they look forward to marriage & spending their lives together isn't it? The photo was printed onto canvas & I frayed the edges to soften the look... (yes, she did like them frayed when she actually saw them). The canvas is 10 x 12 inches & the image approx 6 x 4 inches.

I believe the bridge is where he proposed.... and they loved their gift!

Vintage Book Pages for Collage

 There's something almost sacrilegious about tearing up old books...

 even though they are battered i feel like i'm committing a crime...

but it would be more of a crime, i think, if they were to be tipped in a skip, or to lie in a box in some dark attic, or to gather dust on a shelf.... untouched, unread, unloved...

i checked they weren't valuable... in monetary terms....

their value is in the oldness, their feel & smell, the memories that someone else, perhaps long gone, has of receiving them... of turning their pages...

(now available in the shop)

But even if they did turn out to be a rarity, i argue with myself, that this way, they bring joy to many people, not just one collector who has the means to keep such things for their eyes only...

No, this way, people can play with...

doing what they....

Lisa~ Mudhound Studio

in many other ways...

Cat~ La Dolce Vita

Sam~ Surfacing

I remember watching with a sense of fascination as Fiona began "the burning" which led to this display...

Fiona~ Paper Ponderings

Yes, in this way, the words on the pages become something much more than the original author or publisher could have ever envisioned... mini masterpieces of texture & sentiment, filled with the love & passion of the artists who create them (and no doubt some anguish at times too). Things of beauty that bring joy, not only to the creatrix/creator, but to all of us who view & swoon over them....