Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Slip Me a Book

My youngest half-sister’s birthday is coming up. She has everything money could buy, so I decided to make her a slipcase for her favorite book, The Catcher in The Rye. A slipcase is a box that protects your book from the light and air. It’s not 100% protective since you will see the spine of your book. Here is the end result so you’ll get a better idea of what it is. The box allows the book to slide (slip) right in.









 
 
 
 
 

 
Materials
Davey board
Book Cloth
Lining Paper
PVA Glue
Glue Brush
X-Acto knife
Bone folder
Ruler
Cutting Board
Pencil


























1.       Measure the book and add the thickness of the board on each side of book.


2.       Cut out 2 faces, 3 sides from the Davey Boards.

3.       Glue lining paper onto the Davey Boards for the inside.

4.       Glue three of the sides to one of the faces. (see below)

 

















5.      Then glue the top to complete the box.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
6.   Measure the book cloth by adding .5 to 1 inch on each end.
7. Glue the book cloth to the outside of the box.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8. Glue the box on both faces.




















9.      Cut the end flaps at the spine.
 
 
 
 



















10.     Fold the flaps in at the spine, and then fold the flaps into the box.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11.     If there is excess book cover sticking out, cut it off.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

12.    Cut the ends at the opening of the box.






 
13.     Fold and glue everything inside the box and slip your book in when the box has dried.



















This project only took me 2.5 hours. It went by fast and I felt very good about the final product. The way the book cloth feels. It made the book seem more valuable than me paying 50 cents for it at Goodwill.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Creative Practice Wk1 - You Paint Me Round, Round

Recently, I came across some images of painted stones.  The painter created a mandala pattern using white acrylic ink and a quill pen. Just looking at the painted stones made me happy. It created a desire to own something like them. With the knowledge that there has been research on how therapeutic drawing mandalas could be, I thought I would try creating my own painted stone. The initial reaction was fear –fear of creating something ugly, fear of not knowing how to create a perfect circle.

Once the ink touched the stone, it was commitment time; it was time to let go of control. I found myself calmer, more focused on trying to get the ink onto the rock. My brain ended up telling my hand to create certain patterns before I completed the previous pattern. It felt good watching the patterns gradually form.

Though this was my first mandala, I can see that my hand-eye coordination will increase and the patterns will become more creative with practice.


Materials Needed:
  • Round Stone
  • Acrylic Ink - Any Color
  • Quill Pen or paint brush



















Create your pattern on the stone, starting from center working your way out.
























Final product.
























I decided to do some art vandalism with  my painted stone by placing it in a planter with other rocks.
























This rock is in a planter at a hospital. Hopefully someone who needs a blessing for the day will find it. They will only see the blessings if they flip the rock over.