The Trouble With Men

So it's been a while since I've been on here. I blame men. Two of them specifically.

Exhibit A: this guy

Captain America changed the kind of plane he flies recently. That means he's a lot higher up in seniority and has a much better schedule. He's home now more than ever. (Is that even possible?? And that is not a rhetorical question.)

It's great having him around the house more, but the flip-side is I haven't had as much time to write as I used to.

Exhibit B: this guy

Meet little QuarterPounder. Isn't he the sweetest thing ever? Hard to believe that the last time I wrote on here, we were just finding out if he was a boy or a girl. He showed up at the end of August, and now he weighs about 11 1/2 pounds, eleven of which I'm pretty sure are in his cheeks.

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Sorry, I had to stare at that picture for a little longer. <Sigh.>

Anyway, I've been working for several weeks on something special for his room and I finally sent Captain America on enough trips that I got it finished. Taaaaa-daaaa!

His mom and dad decided that they didn't want any particular theme in his room but they wanted it to be filled with lots of books and they wanted the colors to be navy and gray.

Do you know how hard it is to think up something for a baby boy that doesn't involve sports or animals? But as I was looking through a catalog one day I saw a picture of an alarm clock and thought "That's it! I'll make something with a clock and incorporate books somehow, too." 

The first thing I had to do was come up with a saying. Something that incorporated clocks and books. My mom was always one of those who would let you stay up just a little longer if you were reading a book, so I just went with that idea.

Then I started with the paint. TRUE CONFESSION: I'm not a painter! Geez Louise, it was the most nerve-wracking thing ever!

I sketched something on the canvas and then experimented with mixing colors to show shadows and highlights. By the time it was over I felt like a real artiste. TRUE CONFESSION: That was a joke. It was nerve-wracking until the end, but at least it looked sort of like an alarm clock.

For the clock face, I decided to go with a book page mosaic, just like I did with the hearts and the guitar. Remember?

Then I painted the numerals and the hands and finished by Mod Podging on the text. (Is Mod Podging really a verb?) 

I signed it with my new grandma name, Granny Phanie. 

But the best part? After his mom and dad hung it on the nursery wall, I got to go to read to QuarterPounder and see if he liked it.

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Sorry, I had to stare at that picture a little longer. <Sigh.> I mean seriously, those cheeks!

Sad Guitar

Remember those hearts I made for Valentine's Day? Well, I think I have a crush on book page mosaics now.

I also have a crush on sad guitars.

Sad guitars, you ask? Yeah, like the ones Karen Carpenter used to sing about. Or George Harrison. Or Brian Pounds.

So book page mosaics + sad guitars = this new creation.

It's a lot bigger in size than those 8x8" hearts were. This baby measures in at 30x15".

I used the same combination of book pages that I used for the hearts for the face of the guitar, but the other parts needed some color, so I used some RDCB pages with pictures for the sound hole, bridge and pick guard. It was fun going through pages trying to find just the right colors to use in my "palette."

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I've got stacks and stacks of pages that are primarily black. But the cool thing is that when I tore them into pieces, the edges are white. I thought it was such a neat effect on the neck of the guitar. They almost look like frets.

So sad guitar = happy Stephanie. I've got tons of ideas for new mosaics now, and I can't wait to get started!

I Love You, Dear Hearts

It's February! The best month of the year. Why? Because everyone's all full of love and kisses--and HEARTS! Here are the hearts I made for my house this February. 

One of the things I love about working with old books is the endless assortment of fonts and page colors. It sounds silly, but I really do get mesmerized by it all. So for this project I decided to show some of them off.

Check out the whites, tans, and ochres. Tight font, loose font. Big letters, tiny letters. I heart them all!

So in honor of Fabulous February, I am introducing <insert fanfare here> my first tutorial!

How to Make Book Page Mosaic Hearts

What you will need:

• Three 8"x8" square canvases
• Red acrylic paint
• Pink acrylic paint
• Book pages of various colors
• Mod Podge
• Cardstock
• Paint brushes

1. First paint your canvas. I used Martha Stewart Glossy Acrylic Paint for this project. I started by painting my canvas a bright valentine-y red. 

2. Next, lighten up the canvas with a dribble of pink. I just added a couple of little dots of paint and then...

swiped it back and forth a few times.

3. Then just to add a little more depth I added a couple of dots of red and swiped everything again.

4. Let the paint dry. This takes about an hour, so go do something fun. I went to my son's house and watched his Mastiff try to dance upside down. Her sister, the German Shepherd, was having nothing of it.

5. Once you come home, make a heart template out of cardstock. You can find a heart design on the Internet or in  your favorite word processing program. I made mine so it was about 6" across. Print it on the cardstock and then cut it out.

Lay the heart template on the dried canvas and use a pencil to lightly outline the heart on the canvas.

6. Now for the paper part. Remove some book pages from their books and tear them into strips about 1" wide. 

I chose pages from four different books and took about five pages from each. I chose pages that were different colors and with different fonts sizes.

Tear the strips into pieces that are roughly 1" square.

7. Next, Mod Podge the paper squares to the canvas. I used the glossy Mod Podge, because. That's right, because.

I started by gluing the first square right below the point of the heart. Then I  glued the second one right below that. Alternate the color of the squares as you work your way down to give the heart a mosiac look.

When you get to the bottom, align the edge of one of the squares with the inside edge of the heart.

I found it easiest at that point to continue working along the edge of the heart, lining up the edge of the paper squares with edge of the heart. 

When you get to the curve, shape the squares by tearing off little bits at a time until each matches the curve you need. 

Once the outline is done, Mod Podge away until you fill in the middle of the heart.

8. Let the Mod Podge dry. It takes about an hour. I spent that time thinking about my recent Hawaiian vacation. If you don't have any memories like that, you can borrow mine. Here's one.

9. Finally, add some romantic lyrics to your canvas. I chose lyrics from Love Me Tender, because it has been one of my favorite songs since I saw the movie of the same name at the drive inn when I was about 5 years old. I mean, c'mon, remember this scene at the end?? Isn't it everyone's favorite song after that?

I cut the lyrics out of a dark grayish-brown cardstock using my fancy-dancy Silhouette machine. I thought about cutting them out of vinyl, but then I asked Babette whether I should use paper or plastic and she said, "Paper. Duh." Well, actually, that's not exactly how she said it, but regardless she was right. That's why I call her for advice. Duh.

The font I chose is called Dancing Script OT, and I think it is swell. I made the first word on each canvas (Love, Love, Never) slightly larger than the other words. And then the words and I had a Mod Podge party all over the canvas.

10. Repeat for the other two canvases.

I'm sorta in love with how these turned out. They really were easy and I was able to finish them in an afternoon. I think I see lots of little book page squares in my future.