Another week gone - another month gone!

I seem to be as busy as ever but with not much to show for it.    However, I have completed another chapter of my course work and just begun the final one for this module.   For this chapter I have to alter a book.   In case you don't know what this means, you take an unwanted book with a strong cover and good binding and remove about half the pages, strengthening those that are left by glueing them together in pairs.   I am using an old year book featuring healing plants which I no longer want and it fits in quite well with my chosen theme - the garden.   When the pages are reduced and strengthened the next task is to paint gesso on them to cover or obscure the text, though it looks quite good showing through in places, and any illustrations that there might be could be made use of too.

My first task was to tackle the end papers and for this I used my own rather wonky handcut rubber stamp of daisies.

The book's existing end papers are a soft green and I stamped my daisies using a slightly darker soft green ink pad.    They looked a bit too subdued so I defined them with a slightly darker green pen and used a white pen for the petals and a yellow for the centres of the flowers.

I have stitched round most of the pages to strengthen them further and then started to draw my designs working through the year from early January onward.   Here are my snowdrops and crocus pages.   It is quite nerve-wracking drawing directly onto the page - well it is for me.  I have used water soluble crayons to provide the colour and I love working with them.

   Some pages will have their edges cut out into leaf, flower or other shapes, and others will be extended upwards or outwards.   I might also use decorative paper punches to cut out suitable shapes down the side of a couple of pages.

  Once I get the bit between my teeth I want to keep going but my eyes cry for mercy!    This is just a taster and the rest will eventually appear on my other blog for my tutor to see when the book is complete.   Only another 32 pages to do!   And the cover, of course.