Mix It Up Monday: Accordian Book (and a little painting...)


Ever get something stuck in your head that just won't go away until you give it a go?  That's what prompted this little accordian book.  I've never made an accordian book before. Okay, let's be frank!  The only real book I've ever made is the book I created at Artful Journal last February under the tutelage of the amazing D.J. Pettitt. Awesome book, yes!  Have I tried anything since?! No!  But I definitely now have the book bug.  I was completely going on a whim with this one, but I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out for a first try (and very little patience).
 

I used one 18" x 24" piece of Canson mixed media paper and cut it down into four equal strips. Then I folded each of those accordian-style and attached them all together.  The book covers are map scrap covered pieces of smooth cardboard I kept from one of my photo bag shipments (proving product packaging often makes great art supplies!).  The spine is a piece of duck cloth I cut from some scraps I had left over from making the sleeves in which I keep my large framed photo pieces that I use for my booth.  The maps....well, I will admit to a map addiction.  It's one of the handful of things that keep me addicted to eBay...along with vintage postcards, vintage Life and Saturday Evening Post magazines (searching through those for great old ads is a wonderful treasure hunt), and vintage children's books.  Oh, and of course, then there are beads (bad, bad Kelly...).  The ribbon is from my burgeoning, barely closing ribbon drawer.  This little book is in the mail to a friend as a surprise.
 

So that painting in the background?  That's from a class I'm taking from my lovely friend Wyanne called Paint Free.  To preserve the integrity of the class, I can't tell you what our assignment was, but this little painting is my result.  All I'll say is we were given a very limited time frame!  Not that having any more time would have made much difference in my case.  I was ready to stop early because I felt like the colors were getting muddied together too much.  In any case, in the event you can't see the resemblance, it turned into my rendition of our 100 Acre Wood, where we head for some fresh air and a good hike every Saturday or Sunday morning.  I'm really enjoying Wyanne's class!  Click here for previous Mix It Up Mondays.  Some still available!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

There's something about a good book. Especially a gorgeous one created by you! Love the yummy colors and the contents.

Wish you could have been with me at the bead show! Too many pretties to look at :)

xxo
Gwynnie

iHanna said...

What a wonderful little book! I once did a round-robin in Moleskine's accordion book, it is a great format to work with art in. Enjoy filling it!

Wyanne Thompson said...

I love your painting! It was fantastic! And the accordion book is great. You have much more patience than me. I love the maps. So glad you are enjoying the class. Can't wait to see what else you do!
Love,
Wyanne

Leah Virsik said...

I'm the lucky friend that got this special Kelly book in the mail! Thanks so much Kelly! Such a treat and a nice surprise! You are amazing creating this without any instruction. It's very inspiring! I like reading about your reuse of product packaging. I like to to do that too. Really fun painting too! Makes me want to paint. Looking forward seeing you soon at An Artful Journey! Can't wait!

xo Leah