Tear, Sew, Paint

Recently a colleague of mine retired and I wanted to make him a keepsake that could hold photos and messages that he could remember people by. An altered book seemed an ideal choice so after much tearing (I hate that bit!) I made 'pages' by sewing about 5 book pages together. This makes them sturdy enough to take paint although it's still best not to make them too wet.

Here is my page, a tentative start, ideas seemed to develop more as I went on. I tried to build up layers with masks and stamps with of course a bit of doodling.

...an emergency elastic band. He's very keen on flicking elastic bands, you have to keep your wits about you. Between us all we managed to include many shared jokes and humorous moments.

I was lucky enough to find an old postcard of a local building which was part of a project he worked on. I was also lucky to find a treasure of a book page in a Plundered Pages pack that I had from Julie used for another keepsake. It referred to the exact area and raised a few smiles.

To finish I stitched a fabric cover. It featured a photo that I had printed onto photo canvas which I was able to then stitch into the design with a button closure to keep everything safe.

All in all I think everyone who contributed enjoyed adding their comments and I think my colleague was touched to receive it and I know he loved it which makes it all worthwhile.