booktastic goodness

i am getting soooo very close to completing the tallest handmade book in the world!  once it’s done, i will be emailing all participants so we can all shout out to anyone and everyone who may be interested in seeing it completed, and bidding on it silent-auction style.  i am so excited!  hopefully you are too.  i had things on hold because there were about nine people who kept promising to send pages but life is buy and i don’t hold that against anyone, of course.  just was hopeful that some of the late pages would come in.  one of those people was my husband, who is a musician and not a visual artist, but he wanted to do a page.  did he?  nope.  i still love him anyway.

i have to be honest.  i had no idea so many gorgeous pages would come in and i’ve had about 78 panic attacks thinking i would ruin the book that so many people put so much love and creativity into.  i’m dumb sometimes and have to tell that self-doubt to shut the hell up, of course, but sometimes it still creeps in.  so, to ensure i haven’t forgotten how to bind, i created three new books in practice.  it’d been a year or longer since i’d made one, after all.  wanna see?  if so, scroll down.

first, i created a little apothecary book.

from left to right, the tiny bottles contain echinacea petals from flowers from my yard, a poppy pod and third, some dried english lavender flowers.  the pages are created out of cold pressed water color paper which is great for painting, collaging or whatever as they are sturdy and tough.  the paper on the front is more like fibrous fabric.  it’s really, really cool and i think it was hand-made in thailand but i could be wrong.  it’s covering black hand-made paper and i kind of like the effect.

i have recently gotten quite a huge amount of these insanely cool middle eastern tribal coin charms — they are authentic vintage coins with metal loops soldered on.  i have been using them like crazy in my books and assemblages.  (i have some new ones up for sale here — they sell pretty fast though ’cause they are gorgeous: http://alteredbits.com/metal-glass-objects.php)  i really need to retake some of the photos, but that’s a side note to self.  anyway, the book has a tie closure like most of my books to help keep secrets safe inside (not that others can’t untie a ribbon and get hella nosy, but you get my point).

next, i was so inspired by this gorgeous carte de viste photograph which is one of many i received from my sweet friend emma in the uk, that i had to create this book with her image on the front.  i want to do a series of them because i think it would be fun.  i call this a “foremother” book because i’ve been hugely into genealogy lately and i always wonder what all these wonderful ladies and gentleman look like from my ancestry.  (another side note: i am a princess.  well, not really, but i should be — i am a decedent of a king in scotland.)  here i have used one of the more rusty and old coin charms along with some tribal metal beads and some tribal chain.  i am so in love with these new finds!  and i’m so not in love with how crap-tastic the above photo looks.  i’m not good at photography when the sun isn’t out, sadly.

this book ties shut too, of course, and to give credit where credit is due, all of my ribbons come from the gorgeous and talented lisa jurist of mudhound studio.

each of the pages are dyed and i have tattered the edges because i really wanted it to look as old as possible to give that feel of something handmade that had been passed down through the generations.  kind of like an old relic or family heirloom.

finally, this one, which is called the moth book.  if you know me, you know how damn creative i can be with my naming!  (that’s a joke — “the moth book” is not a creative name at all.)  but the book is pretty darn cool if i do say so myself.  there is a silken bookmark with one of those gorgeous coins again, another tie-closure from lisa jurist’s amazingly beautiful ribbon, and on the spine, some of the lovely tribal metal buttons (again).

this little moth died on my front porch and he was so pretty that i decided to immortalize him (or her??) in this book forever, under a piece of mica.  the wings are so pretty!  i love bugs (well, dead ones, sorry to say — some live ones scare the crap out of me), and am going to do a whole series of entomology books.  i have some crazy horned beetles and other such things to use.  the frame is a product of the first mold i ever made, and created with aves apoxie resin clay — i’ve just painted it to look a bit like metal.

each of the 130 pages of this book have been hand-dyed with coffee, tea and handmade dye, most with the imprint of leaves and other bits of nature.  i have never put that much work into actual book pages before — it was so fun seeing all of the pages hanging around my kitchen to dry, like little tattered paper flags.  i’m definitely going to be creating more of these soon!

i am so in love with the way the pages look together in the book.  i intentionally offset some of them so it gave and older tattered look.  oh, and some of the pages were originally white and some brown paper bag paper (not actual bags, but the nice reams i used to be able to buy from paper zone before they went out of existence).  i’m secretly going to miss this book — it has sold and will be flying off to virginia.  (the other two are available and have just been listed in my shop — trying to stock up for the holidays this year.)

speaking of books, i have been trying to get two new book tutorials done.  one being a waxen two-story book and the other being a specimen book with a test-tube as part of the binding.  i’m going to get the tallest handmade book in the world project done first, of course, and then jump on it.  here is a peek of those two books (click to enlarge if you want a better view):

please stay tuned, book lovers — my favorite art kiddos will be done with their handmade books soon and i soooo can’t wait to share photos.  you will be so impressed!  all we have left to do is bind and paint.  the covers are clay-covered book board with embedded objects and sculpted bits.  they totally rock already but they will be even more magical once they are completed.  with any luck, i will have four to share within the next week or three.

also, stay tuned for more peeks at the tallest handmade book in the world because it’s getting so much closer to being done.  the drawers are complete, the binding sort-of started, the covers almost done (back done, front is going through a bit of an identity crisis).  i also still need to take photos of all of the pages.

HEAPS of “inspired winners” announced

wowz!  the “inspired remnants, curious dreams” blog tour was an amazing hit and ever so much fun!  the winners are SUPPOSED to be announced in two day’s time, but i’m going to be super busy that day so i am posting them now (i’m not the first!).  without further ado, the winners of the fantabulistic blog tour prizes are….

The winner of A) The book: Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams by Kerin Gale.
Lisa Gatz of her self-titled blog Lisa Gatz

The Winner of B) One Aves Power Pack
Katie Cahill of Evil Seamstress

The Winner of C) Fluid Chalks Online Workshop by Lesley Venable at http://theartofaltering.ning.com/
Patti Edmon of Altered Attic
(Ironically, I was the first winner as my comment’s number came up, but that would hardly be fair now would it!?  I was sad though — this looks fun!)

Winner of D) Two Digital Collage Sheets of your choice by Alicia Caudle (aka “me”) of Altered Bits at http://alteredbits.com/digital-collage-sheets.php
Renate of Put a Little Magic In Your Life

Winner of E) Sample pack of Silputty 40 silicone putty mold mix from Silpak.
Barbe Saint John of http://www.barbesaintjohn.com

Winner of F) 1 OZ ICE Resin and a mixed metal bezel from http://www.iceresin.com/
Sharon of Live Wire Jewelry

All of these prizes will be shipped directly do you by the manufacturer/publisher/etc. except he collage sheets which I will email to you and the online workshop.  PLEASE SEND ME YOUR ADDRESSES and I will forward to the proper peeps so you can get you your goods.

And, there are MORE!  I did an additional drawing for just my readers (whom I love and adore).

The Winner of 5 digital collage sheets of your choice is Sharon Rowland of Alice’s Secret Door

And last but not least, the Winner of the “How to Crackle Charlottes” PDF tutorial and three un-crackled Frozen Charlotte dolls is Lisa of Vintage Glimmers

Huge congratulations to all of you lovely ladies!! (I like that there are two Sharons and two Lisas)  🙂

Contact me ASAP with your contact info and I shall get the ball rollin’ so you can get your goodies.  I will try to contact each of you via email today too, of course.

Day #2: Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams Blog Tour

The time has finally come… the Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams Blog Tour has commenced!!  Read through this post to learn about some of the MANY wonders of epoxy clay, find links to all participants in the tour, view the prizes you can win (there are 115!!), and see free giveaways for my readers too!  You may want to grab a cuppa coffee, tea or a beer and relax for a few — this is a HUGE post with lots to take in and look at!

First, as many of you know, I’ve been friends with Miss Keriny for a few years now so I was “there” for the ride when she wrote this most amazing book.  It was such an honor and a privileged to get to hear the little bits and pieces she shared with me (most of it was a HUGE surprise when the book came out, of course, but I did get secret little-tiny peeks and hints along the way).  I was able to learn so many great things about the wonders of Epoxy and Apoxy Clays before the book was even released!  I mostly starting using Aves Apoxy Clay as an amazing adhesive in my assemblages, but have also made molds to create smaller items.  I am just now getting into “the bigger stuff” since reading (and re-reading) her book and just have to say that I love this stuff!!  So when Kerin asked if I wanted to participate in this blog tour, I was giddy.  (My son would have said “duhviously!” wich is a combo of “duh” and “obviously”).  Like Kerin, I want the whole art world to know about this great and wondrous art material and its endless uses!  Kerin is the queen of opening so many eyes to this wonderful stuff!

       

 

This is an example of my most recent use of epoxy clay… everything, including the metal objects, hand-made boxes, hearts, bones, gears and beads atop the pieces and other bits are attached using Aves Apoxy Clay.  Additionally, I built up the anatomical hearts with this great and wondrous product before making molds of them so I can include LOTS of hearts in future projects.  Additional photos of these two pieces can be found on my website if you are interested in checking them out in more detail.

       

First and foremost, I would like to present the sponsors of this GRAND EVENT…
Visit these participating blogs along the way — the following is a calendar of dates each participant will be posting their wonderful information, art examples and giveaways.

May 1
Kerin Gale
Remnants of Olde: http://RemnantsOfOlde.com/posts

May 2
Alicia Caudle
Altered Bits: https://alteredbits.wordpress.com/

May 3
Lesley Venable
Flatwoods Folk Art: http://www.flatwoodsfolkart.typepad.com/

May 4
Christine Lehto
Lilly Bug Studio: http://lillybugstudio.com/blog/

May 5
Seth Apter
The Altered Page: http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/

May 6
Nancy Perennec
Little Bit Wired: http://littlebitwired.blogspot.com/

May 7
Jen Cushman
ICE Queen Zine: http://www.iceresin.com/category/inspired-remnants-blog-tour/

May 8
Happy Mother’s Day!

May 9
Beth Robinson
Strange Dolls: http://strangedolls.wordpress.com/

May 10
Brenda Schweder
Brenda Schweder Jewelry: http://www.brendaschweder.com/

May 11
Esther Verschoor
Vanessie Art Dolls: http://vanessies.blogspot.com

May 12
Kecia Deveny
Lemoncholy’s Flight of Fancy: http://www.lemoncholys.blogspot.com/

May 13
Rachel Whetzel
A Year In The Life Of An Art Journal: http://oneyearartjournal.blogspot.com/

May 14
Shannon LeVart
MissFickleMedia.com: http://missficklemediacom.blogspot.com/

May 15
Marlaine Verhelst
Marlaine Verhelst Art Dolls: http://marlaineverhelst.com/blog/

May 16
Lisa Jurist
Mud Hound Studio: http://mudhoundprimitives.blogspot.com/

May 17
Michelle Bernard
Yesterday’s Trash: http://michellereneebernard.blogspot.com/

May 18
Kerin Gale
Remnants of Olde – Alan Rogerson feature: http://RemnantsOfOlde.com/posts

May 19
Facebook Party!
Apoxie Clay & Epoxy Clays Page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_158159677562761

       

Sponsored prizes that YOU could win (each of the blogs will be giving away these wonderful prizes to MANY lucky winners!).  Please note that all physical prizes (i.e. non digital prizes) will be awarded to US participants only.  Access to Online Workshops and Digital Collage Sheets will be sent anywhere, worldwide.

To be eligible, all you need to do is leave a comment to this post by May 26. Please note in your comment if you are a resident outside the US.

A) The book: Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams by Kerin Gale.  This will be mailed directly to the winner from Northlight Books.

B) One Aves Power Pack (selection of their most popular formulas)  from http://AvesStudio.com.  (This will be mailed directly to the winner from Aves Studios)

C) Fluid Chalks Online Workshop by Lesley Venable on her The Art Of Altering site which features many other awesome online workshops.  More information about this workshop can be found here: http://theartofaltering.ning.com/group/fluidchalksbackgroundsbeyond

D) Two Digital Collage Sheets of your choice by Alicia Caudle of Altered Bits (yeps, that’s me).  You can see my unique and cool collections at http://alteredbits.com/digital-collage-sheets.php

E) Sample pack of Silputty 40 silicone putty mold mix from Silpak.  This is the formula Kerin recommends in the book that has the longer cure time.  If you want to order any of these materials or have any questions, call Jerry at Silpak 909-625-0056.  He was her technical advisor for the book and so it’s great that you can talk to him directly and get any assistance you may need!!!

F) 1 OZ ICE Resin and a mixed metal bezel from http://www.iceresin.com/

       

Grand Prizes For Book Reviews

Any reader that writes a review ~ however short or long ~  of Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams on amazon.com before July 31, 2011 and sends an email with the title “Inspired Remnants Review” to remnants.art@gmail.com will be entered in a drawing to win one of these prizes.  Please note that your honest opinion is wanted on this review.  Please note that all physical prizes (i.e. non digital prizes) will be awarded to US participants only.  Access to Online Workshops will be available worldwide.

A) The art piece featured on the cover of the book, “Sacred Totem”

B) Power Pack plus extra Fixit Sculpt clay from Aves Studio

C) A Frozen Charlotte Doll with digital tutorial “How To Crackle Charlottes” from Alicia Caudle of http://alteredbits.com (that’s me again! — see details on the tutorial below)

D)  Resin Clay Pendants online workshop by Kerin Gale from http://MixedMediaArt.ning.com

E)  Vintage Gentleman online workshop by Kerin Gale from http://MixedMediaArt.ning.com

F)  Choice of any one workshop being taught by Kerin and Charley at Art Is You retreat in Petaluma, CA.  The registration fee and workshop cost are both waived.  http://www.art-is-you.com/mysitecaddy/site3/generalinformation-westcoast.htm

G)  One copy each of Jen Cushman’s book, Explore, Create, Resinate and Susan Lenart-Kazmer’s book, Making Connections plus ICE Resin and a selection of bezels all from http://www.iceresin.com/

       

Altered Bits blog readers will also be entered to win one of these additional prizes (like everything else, all you have to do is leave a comment to enter):

First, PRIZE NUMBER ONE  is a collection of three Frozen Charlotte dolls which I will mail to you bundled up with love and pretty wrappings:

…along with a PDF Tutorial I created called “How to Crackle Frozen Charlottes” (creative, huh!):

With this tutorial, you can learn how to create wonderful crackled and faux rust finishes for Frozen Charlotte and Charlie dolls and learn how I create those little 3d hearts on them.  This is a great combo with Kerin’s book in that you can learn how to make molds of these girls, and create replicas in Epoxy Clay, then paint them up all pretty like these few examples:

And PRIZE NUMBER TWO (also only for my blog readers) is a collection of FIVE digital collage sheets of your choice from my website: http://alteredbits.com/digital-collage-sheets.php  and http://alteredbits.com/collage_sheets.php (yep, I’ll make ANY of them digital for you).  Here are just a few examples of some of your many options:

       

As if ALL of this hasn’t been enough…

During the blog tour (from May 1st through May 19th), you can get $5 off Kerin Gale’s ground-breaking and hugely inspirational book Inspired Remnants, Curious Dreams bundled with her amazing online workshops (I have taken all of these workshops from Kerin so trust me when I say they are A-FLIPPIN’-MAZING!!).  All you have to do is enter “Altered Bits” in the note section when you check-out through Paypal and you will receive the $5 back.  What a fantastic deal!

   
Resin Clay Pendants Workshop + Book = $35 + shipping  (only $30)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/63483761/inspired-remnants-book-and-resin-clay

   
Vintage Gentleman Workshop + Book = $40 + shipping  (only $35)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/27210387/inspired-remnants-book-and-vintage-gent

       
Both Workshops + Book =  $70 + shipping  (only $65)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/72931590/inspired-remnants-book-super-bundle-with
Enjoy your journeys and good luck!!

OR, if you already have her book, any of her online workshops will be a mere $15!!!  go peek at her shop now!

PLEASE NOTE: Just leave a comment for one entry to win one of these fabulous prizes (every blog on the tour has about this many so hooray!). Get more chances to win by sharing info about the book tour!!! When you leave your comment just say where you posted (facebook, twitter, your blog, etc.) Each post is worth one entry in my drawing!

art, babies and workshops

i think i’m going on week three of my serious multiple art personality disorder. i keep stopping something to start something else and setting it aside before i complete that one and starting yet another. does anyone have a solution for me? it’s getting a bit maddening. i’m currently most obsessive about my “little brain boy clock”. i haven’t finished even his head, but here is a TINY sneak peek (mostly for kerin). his face isn’t done and his brain is way too pink, as you can see — it’s just the undercoat so don’t you fret. okay, here’s the truth: i got drunk last night, which is a SERIOUS rarity and, um, yeah — apparently i paint better sober. but he can easily be fixed. once he is, he’s going on top of a box, which will have a clock on its front and inside is an arm that i think will hold a secret book. i’m currently hunting for feet for the box — claw feet? something else? dunno until i find them i guess.

as if i weren’t busy enough as it was, i had five babies this week. or rather my kitty did. i had found her as a tiny stray baby late last fall/early this winter. she could have fit in the palm of my hand she was so tiny and young. fast forward a couple of months, we go to get her (and her feral brother) fixed, and shablam, she’s already pregnant. i had NO idea that little girl kitties could get knocked up as early as four months of age. anyway, she had five babies.

i have tiny hands so imagine how little they are:

moving on to superior and significantly more important things…

kerin’s ning is how open: mixed media art. if you’re an artist who likes to meet people, share techniques and ideas, etc., you should go join. now. it’s only been “open” for a week and i’ve already met so many wonderful artists and new friends.

this is how she puts it on the main page of the group: Welcome you who love art of all kinds and discovering amazing new techniques and sharing our love of art! The Carnivale has arrived with wondrous workshops, free tutorials for one and all, side shows with discussions on fun and creative things, a professional development troupe, tips & tricks, artistic challenges, trade secrets, interviews, blogging, support & encouragement, calls for entries, and scheduled chats. Who knows what else will end up on here!

and with that, i will go work on the brain. oh, and you’d be pleased to know that i spent a good five hours working on the zine today. it’s going to rock (in my opinion). i’m still accepting entries until the 1st.

happiness is…

i love days like today.  the rain interrupting my gardening due to its force, but the little disintegration piece i buried is surely being effected by the elements which thrills me.

yesterday, i received 3 ATCs from deryn mentock of something sublime for a swap she invited me to do a couple of weeks ago.  it was a lot of fun working on each of her cards and i utterly adore what she sent me (of course!):

and my very favorite of all three gorgeous ATCs:

hopefully she should be getting mine today, and hopefully she enjoys them at least half as much as i’m enjoying hers. i sent these to her:

and to top off the day with utter bliss and excitement, i get to meet my dear friends kerin and charley of remnants of olde for coffee (or lunch?) today. they are returning from teaching a workshop and passing through portland which is, quite luckily, where i live. yays! and with that i must go get ready as i’m running on less than two hours of sleep…

altered baby week

i think it’s confirmed… this week seems to be altered baby week. i have created several.

earlier this week i did my doll from joAnnA Pierotti‘s bella art doll workshop at mosshillstudioworkshops.ning.com. i’m not entirely done as i have quite a bit to add to the base and i’m not entirely satisfied with her dress, but here you can see her head and sweet hair:

today, i finished my little artifact altered doll assemblage. i haven’t told kerin yet but i secretly borrowed her time capsule (which i love and adore and would gladly accept for an april fool’s gift… mom!) to travel back to an archeological dig site in the year of 1834.  i cannot, at this time, share the location because the legality issues associated with my removal of this item could cause me some significant repercussions, even 175 years later.  anyway, this little girl was the fifth item found that day and i was the lucky discoverer. anyway, i decided to make a little altered doll assemblage out of her with a nowhere near as old but still vintage 5 house number and an old piece of a hinge for the base.

artifact 5:

side view:

lastly, i’m working on another little piece that kind of resembles a dead baby but isn’t so morbid.  i’ll just put a teeny tiny photo here for a miniature glimpse.  i think that i will make her into something happy and joyous, like a clown. or an evil bunny. it’s only a face, not an entire head, so i’m putting her on this large oval canvas… and i’ll figure out the rest later.

am i having baby urges or something?  i should go play with wax for the rest of the week or something.