Altered Art Journals....Make Great Christmas Presents!




The clock is ticking and Christmas is almost here! This year I have decided to make many of my Christmas presents. Not only is it from the heart, but it is fun too. I have a list of things to do. I will be making altered journals for the next few days. You can follow along and join me too if you would like. What you need to get started is

-Old magazines, books, fabric or artistic paper
-Brand New Composition Book
-Paper Glue (I prefer YES glue that can be found at Michaels very inexpensively if you go online and use a 40% off coupon)
-Imagination
-Scissors
-Razor Blade

1. First you make sure you have a nice area to spread your work out in. Gather your magazines and consider who the altered book will be for. Flip through the magazines and gently rip out images that will fit on the front cover and sleeves of the journal you will be making. You can choose random images or themed images. Your imagination will be working hard at this time.

2. Now that you have gathered your images, start to arrange them in a pleasing way to decorate the cover. In my case I found the head of a bull and some watches. The journal I am making is for my father who at this point in his life is concerned with time. I want him to worry less about time and enjoy life in the moment. So I picked these images. Remember Ferdinand the Bull? It was a children s story about a bull that preferred lounging under trees smelling flowers than fighting.

3. Cut out images using a razor blade or scissors. Make sure your surface is protected before you start cutting!

4. Glue images onto a thick piece of paper. You can use an old paper bag for this if you need thick paper in a pinch. Glue onto cover. Repeat for back cover.

5. Do the same with the inside and back cover, except in this case an old magazine page of a map, computer manual or recycled sheet music will do the trick. No need for collaging here unless you want to.

5. Find a nice piece of thick cardstock or fabric and use as the finishing binder for the outside jacket.

I will post pictures as I go. :)

I cannot tolerate monstrosity of man on a good day, much less the ugliness of unkindness. So the quote of the day is
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

This is what I want to pass on down to my children. The courage to act and serve Good in the face of Evil. I see this right now in Haiti as the humanitarian workers filter aid to the people in need. I see this in the faces of the men and women here who step up and rescue abused children from their environments when they need them the most.
When I was lying in bed after my surgery to remove my cancer, my mother told me something quite profound. She told me that people show you their true character in the hardest of times. I would like to think that most of my dear family and friends are true and people of strong character.
You might be asking what does the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the diagnosis of cancer and the revelation of a child being abused have in common? THE CALL TO DO GOOD & ACT!!!!

Pray, donate to Red Cross, volunteer at a Cancer clinic, Rescue a child.....
I am making a promise right now to teach this to my children, and I will show them by example.