Anyway, twelve artists each begin an altered book with a color theme. Then we mail them each month to the next person on the list. So at the end of the year, you get back a book with the artwork of 11 other artists in it, based on your color theme.
My book is Blue and Chocolate Brown. I started with an old photo album with a wonderful leather cover and black pages inside. I decided to let the existing leather work on the cover shine, and just enhanced it with some Rub 'n Buff and added a few embellishments:
On the inside of the front cover, I created pockets from fabric and lace to hold twelve tags, one for each artist who will work on the book. Each artist will sign the appropriate tag, indicate which pages are hers, and embellish the tag as desired.
The inside of the back cover is just a fabric collage with a metallic tag to thank everyone.
The cover page adds a second theme: "What's Old is New Again," which the artists can use or not, as desired.
The spread on pages 2 and 3 uses photos that were in this album when I bought it on eBay. I loved the playful feel of the photos, and the suggestions of friendship between these two girls. The words around the photos build an imagined story of their friendship.
The next journal I'm going to get has a red theme. I'm thinking Asian . . .
