Altered Book Basics: The 9 most commonly asked questions about preparing and making an altered book
More altered books on my site:
bookandpaperarts.com/altered-...
Your questions about altered book making answered! How to choose and prepare a book for altering as well as mending bindings and more.
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Here is a list of the questions and the approximate time mark where they occur in the video:
• Introduction
• What is an altered book?
• How do I get past the guilt of cutting up a book? 3.17
• How do I choose the right book for altering? 6:31
• Do you tear out pages when you prepare a book? 9:05
• What kind of glue do you use? 12:28
• How do I get my pages flat and without wrinkles? 13:55
• My book collapsed! How do I mend a broken binding? 17:24
• Do I fix or seal my finished pages? 24:37
• How do I display my finished altered book? 26:21
Here are some links to longer, detailed video tutorials:
How to Tear Pages and Prepare Your Book
• Altered Book Tutorial ...
How to Make Perfect, Flat Pages
• How to Glue Perfect Fl...
Check out my online course: How to Make an Altered Board Book Masterclass to find out how to turn an expensive child's board book into a one-of-a-kind, mixed media art piece: kelly-s-school-b1d1.thinkific.com/courses/altered-board-book-master-class
This is the whole basics course in half an hour. For free! You are very generous with your talent and business. Thank you
Hi Michele. Thanks for being so nice. You have made my day. I am actually making an altered book masterclass to launch in September and while all of this will be in it, it will be the whole shebang, soup to nuts. So, I hope this is more of an incentive for that come September. But - it is also because I have been blessed with a creative life and while I like money 😁 I can afford to do stuff for other reasons than money and pass it forward to creative people on a tight budget. 🌼🌻🌷 Which was me for a LONGGGGG time.
@@BookandPaperArts I get the budget constraints thing. It sucks. I will be watching for the September notice of your class. Have not signed up for binding yet, trying to make some headway in unfinished sewing projects. But I cleaned off the paper arts table so it is ready!
Admire !! Yes,that is the word I would use too. I admire old, beaten, loved, perfect to look at and enjoy books….🤍🤍🤍🤍
By far, the best video I've watched on altered books. Easy to follow and Kelly has a lovely speaking voice which makes such a difference when you're learning a new skill or technique. 💜
Why thank you, Yvonne. That is truly nice to hear. I am currently putting together a "master class" in book altering online course but it is taking awhile as it is kind of big. 😺 Stay tuned and be sure to let me know if you have any questions. Kelly
Great video - and what beautiful pages you have created! So bold, and so quirky. Just gorgeous.
Thank you, Shoshi. I love making altered books more than anything else I make. I'm glad you like them, too! Kelly
Just found you and I am so glad I did. I enjoy your simple, straightforward teaching style. You provide such good, practical , useful information, with no silly chatter. Thank you.
Why thank you, Cornelia. I really appreciate this as sometimes I worry that my videos need more wind chimes and ambient music (okay, I rarely really think that, just in my rare insecure moments😺). The best compliment I ever, ever got in a comment was from a lady who said she did not fast forward once through my video. I mean, everybody fasts forwards a little! So, it does means a lot to me to hear that straight-forward is the way to go. Kelly 🌷🌻🌼
cornelia bayley...how right u are! silly chatter is what it is...I just want to watch the informative video
Kelly, what a wonderful, informative tute this was! Like you, I too have been altering books for several years, but there's always something new to learn! I like how you fixed the busted seam down the middle. That can be so disheartening. You had some great advice! And I'd never heard about adding a little water, if the book is old and thirsty. YAY! I just love all your videos! Thanks so very much for all your stunning shares and generosity!
Thank you, Lynn. And boy are you right. Sometimes I find something that I have rigged for years and someone will show me bam, a super simple way to deal with it and I feel, wait, what? Why didn't I see that? I hope you are having a creative weekend! I am off to a car boot sale, fingers crossed for treasure.
that was actually really helpful, as I often feel that guilt about altering books, I am now entering a guilt free future, thank you
Then my work here is done! 😺Thank you, Edelle. I hope you will join me for more book arts as a way to honour old books by transforming them. Alter on! Kelly
I don’t know how I found you but I’m obsessed. Loitering in a cloister and creating collage art . . . I’ll try not to stalk.
Hello and welcome, Colette. What a lovely and captivating message. I do indeed loiter in cloisters and fancy it is part of my job description. ⛪⛪⛪
@@BookandPaperArts And what a lovely job it is.
Is a good thing I live in NZ, we may have ended up as stalkers together 🤣
Good morning a year later from the SF Bay Area! Thanks so much for your generous sharing of knowledge. I learned many years ago from an artist mentor that information is to be shared. I have lived my artistic life with that philosophy and clearly you have too. Thank you!
Why thank you, Rose. I very much believe in passing the good stuff forward and the way that works is that then the passee passes on forward and on and on and we all learn and share and this is what makes the world go around! Thanks for touching base. Kelly
@@BookandPaperArts Thanks for responding. By the way, Chappell is my first name in case we talk again. 😊
@@chappellroseholt5740 My apologies! I am actually old-fashioned and fussy about names so I should not have guessed. 🙄 Anyway, Chappell, I hope you have a creative Sunday! Kelly
I've watched a lot of videos, and no one else recommended taking pages out from the center of a signature - genius!
Why thank you, Alexandra. I hope you make gorgeous pages! Keep me posted. Kelly
I so enjoyed your tips and appreciate the gift of your shared knowledge. Your art is stunning!
Why thank you. That is truly lovely to hear and you have made my evening.
Thanks! I recently discovered you on KZhead and believe me I am inspired . . . Thank you!
Why thank you, Melissa, and welcome. You have made my day. 🌼🌷🌻
Bonjour Je découvre votre chaîne et je vous remercie infiniment pour tous les détails sur le livre altéré. Les réponses que l'on se posent souvent y sont bien expliquées. Merci, belle fin de semaine et à bientôt.
I have just discovered altered books and love them.Thank you for this video. It answered most of my questions.I am looking forward to exploring more of your videos!
Hello and welcome, Rose. Altered books are my passion. Join me later today as I have an art journal to altered book page layout video. And don't hesitate to ask questions. I really like cutting down the learning curve for others. 😺😺
You are so interested to listen your voice is so pleasant. Thank you for the feedback.
Why what a lovely comment. I always hope I am going to sound like Marlene Dietrich but then I hear the playback and it is more like Marcia Brady. 🙄So thanks for the vote of confidence. Kelly
just came across ur video & so glad I found it! hav watched it twice! and I love the way u have decorated...u are an artist! this has been so helpful and to the point...not a much of rambling on! thx u!
Hello and welcome, Darlene. Thank you for the comment. It really does me a lot to me that the message gets out there and hopefully encourages others to just jump and get started and make a mess and have fun and maybe, just maybe, art will appear. Hope you make some beautiful pages! Kelly
Thank you for your generosity!
Why you are very welcome! I am so lucky that this is my real job and I like to pass ideas forward and get them out there for everybody! Happy holidays (or what you will!). Kelly
This is EXACTLY the information I was searching for. Thank you!!!
Thank you for the message, Emmay. It truly makes me happy to hear that. Hope you have a creative Sunday! Kelly
Well I’m not sure you’ve answered ALL of my questions…but I’m am sure I will ask questions for the rest of my life and I hope I have plenty more time (🙏🏻) and you do as well. Thank you for so graciously sharing your time, your talent, your art, your heart and your enthusiasm 🤍🤍🤍
It is my real pleasure, Cheryl. I am currently working on an online altered book masterclass that will include a ton of stuff. Maybe too much and maybe too niche but there are few real courses (although there is actually one here in the UK at Bristol uni and if I was 40 years younger...) and I just feel like it something I am meant to do. Cheers for now! Kelly
Your books are lovely - thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise.
Thank you, Victoria. I hope you try some altering and make fun and gorgeous pages. Have a creative week! Kelly
Thank you given me a bit more confidence to start
Thanks for letting me know, that, Yvonne. It truly makes me happy. Let me know if you have any questions! Kelly
Wonderful tutorial. You answered so many of my questions, and I especially appreciate your detailed demo of repairing bindings when they split. By the way, your work as an artist in terms of the layouts you create in your books is just BEAUTIFUL!
Dear Michele, thank you. It's funny, after all these years books still come apart at whim, they have a mind of their own. But that is part of the process and hopefully it teaches us patience and flexibility and to laugh at ourselves. Sometimes it does, other times I just scream then get on with it. Thanks you for your kind words about my layouts. I sometimes think I would do "better" if I junk journalled (nothing wrong with that, some are gorgeous) but I am of a certain age and altered books are where I want to be. Hope you are having a creative week! Kelly
@@BookandPaperArts I love what you do, and (most important) YOU love it, so that's the way it ought to be. I must say that, after seeing you create several of these pieces of art, I doubt that I will try to follow in your footsteps. I am probably less patient and more easily frustrated than you are. For the time being, I will continue to try to create art journals the easier way by either making my own covers and binding using chipboard and fabric and creating the signatures to fill them or by filling the pages of journals that have already been constructed. My hat is off to you, though! Perhaps when I am fully retired and have more time to devote to it, I will take on the unique challenge of altering books. Because I enjoy harvesting the pages of old books, though, and I have many of them, you have inspired me to create collage pieces using the covers as substrate. I hadn't thought of doing that, and I think it would be easier and more fun for me right now.
@@MicheleEngel Michele, it is a rare person who knows where to put their time and energy and where not to, as you are doing! I do recommend that people start in cheap books first (burner books, I call them). You can have fun making messes and see if it "takes". I do advise people to make these techniques their own - in an art journal or blank sketchbook or whathaveyou. Okay, off to work on a video now! Kelly
Have been following you now for about a month and just love all your videos. I am learning so much from you and this is the most fun I've had in a long time with books and art. Even my 4 young grandchildren are showing an interest in the altered books and want some of their own. Hopefully, they'll want to alter books one day, too. Thank you!
Hello and welcome, Kim! You have really made my day with this. Did you know you can alter children's board books? I need to do a video on that, although it might also confuse young kids (be nice to your books unless you are tearing them up😁). Or not - I love creating with kids; they are so fearless. It is lovely to compare notes with you and please, let me know if there is any kind of technique you are curious about - it really helps me plan future videos. Happy making! Kelly
Thank you, Kelly, this was really informative and very clearly explained. As the daughter of a librarian, I thank you very much for discussing 'the guilt of cutting up a book'! Anything more 'precious' than a cookery or gardening book is very hard for me to cut up, but, yes, I need to ask myself, ' Is anyone else ever going to read this book again?' and really, I know they aren't.
Why welcome and thank you, Helen. It is kind of a big deal with book altering, the psychic paralysis of destroying a book but the important thing is to remember that altering isn't destroyed. Sooooo many times I've found books mildewing or battered and managed to rehab them and they now have new life. And trust me, no one is going to every read that Reader's Digest Condensed Book circa 1972. Happy making!
You are a good teacher, simple, easy to follow and creative.. luv this. Thanks
Thank you, Kerry. This makes me happy to read. 🌻🌻🌼🌼🌷🌷Kelly
Excellent video, thanks for all of your tips!
Thank you, Pat. Let me know if you have more questions. I probably missed out a ton. Kelly
this was wonderful. can hear the experience in the way this lesson was conveyed
Thank you, Jamie. Yup, I have learned a lot, usually by making mistakes, taking a deep breath, and then figuring out how to make it better the next time. So I always hope I can shorten that learning curve for someone else! Have a creative week! Kelly
Thanks for the great video. I started an altered book about a year ago and it has just been taking up space in my craft room because I ran into so many difficulties. I was ready to toss it. I may not be able to completely solve all the issues with it but your suggestions will help and maybe I will even start another one with all your advice.
Please forgive me for interrupting at 5 minutes in….to say, I totally understand you not wanting to alter some particular beautiful books. Up until this point in my life, I decorate with beautiful, old books. I live for our local biannual book sales at our library here in Charlottesville….stand in line even for entrance into the vast possibilities of “fill in the blank”. Sometimes it’s by color, sometimes by size, sometimes just because it speaks to me…..so bravo to the beautiful little books on the shelf, that will be left intact (for now at least) 🤍🤍🤍
Cheryl, those books made a sucker out of me! They are still intact, though. I love, love library book sales. We don't have them here in Wales where old books are seen as "rubbish" (not even kidding). I spent years training my local second hand bookstore but now they get it. Anytime I am in a thrift store or book sale I zoom straight away for: nature (to find birds and botanicals), coffee table art books, maps, and religion, as sometimes I find reproductions of sacred art in those.
Thank you. This was a super helpful video.
It is my pleasure, Heather. Keep on making!
Just found you and subscribed. Brilliant instructive video for me as a beginner. I can’t wait to get in my ‘she shed ‘ as my hubby calls it, and put your tutorial into practice. Thanks for posting.
Well hello and welcome! I am so glad it is helping with the learning curve. Having made altered books for AGES, the same stuff still makes them challenging - and rewarding. No need for anyone to reinvent the altered book wheel. Happy New Year!
Ive been subbed to your channel for awhile but this vid just popped up. great tip on using the tea bag as a “bandage” for the spine!! have a great week😊
I like your outlook on setting the book. Shouldn't cause stress. This is my enjoyable self indulgent time.
You are right, Lisa. Definitely meditative. Thanks for checking in! Kelly
So helpful!
Thank you so much. I’ve done a few altered books and have had problems that your video solved for me. Much appreciated.
I'm so pleased about that, Sharon. The learning curve is so steep on making these things and I learned a lot by doing it wrong so I thought it would be nice if I could help others avoid that fate. A little bit, anyway. 😁
Very informative. Thank you.
I really enjoyed this video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Hi Kay, it is my very real pleasure! Thank you for touching base. Kelly🌷🌷🌻🌻🌼🌼
this was just the video I needed. thank you!
Why thank you, Joan. And welcome!
thank you for the great lesson I have learned a lot I have made a request in the reply section to receive your newsletter many thanks linda
I learned so much. Thank you!
Why Kathie, how lovely to hear that. Thank you. 🌷🌷🌻🌻🌼🌼
Hi Kelly, brilliant 👩🎨👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thanks bunches, Laura Mary!
Thx so much for this fab video, learnt a lot
So very helpful. Bonus: the pleasure of enjoying your inspiring books.
Thank you, Karrla. It means a lot to me that these books get seen. I feel so protective of them. 🌼🌻🌷
Children’s picture books make awesome altered books!!!
Hi Dianna. Also children's board books. It is a different kind of altered book but quite cool. Have you tried those?
Excellent. Very enjoyable video.
Thank you for all the great information!!
Hi Michelle, it is my very real pleasure. I hope you make gorgeous pages! Kelly
Very Helpful and Inspiring!
Thank you, Martha. I hope you make gorgeous pages! Kelly
i have subcrived many times but never get your weekly letter, still i love your work
Hi Louise, thank you for trying but the truth is that after two years, I decided to stop the email newsletter and take it to a video format here on KZhead, and hope to have one up soon. Kelly 🌷🌻🌼 Here is a little more info: kzhead.info/sun/l8aIhcl9fpieoI0/bejne.html
Interesting and informative, as always! Thank you! Your collages are beautiful!
Thank you, Patti. It is such a joy to make them. 🌻🌼🌷
Thank you thank you thank you !
Why Allison, it is my real pleasure. Thanks for touching base! Kelly
I'm about to start my first altered book just for fun and this video has been great! Thank you!
Hi Lorena, sorry I missed your comment. How did it go? Just for the fun is the best way to start. It is a tricky art form and if you are willing to leap and just get making without high stakes you will learn and get the most out of it. Kelly
@@BookandPaperArts Thank you for your answer. I have found a couple of books that seem nice to be altered but I have not started yet. ☺
Thank you so much for this tutorial. I love your works and your videos.
Oh thank you. Merci. Vos mots sont tres sympa. 🌼🌷🌻
This is so helpful!!
Why thank you, Ashweeni. I hope you are having a creative weekend!
@@BookandPaperArts yes indeed! I started my first altered book!
Love this! What a great overview!
Thank you so much, and happy altering!
Thank you, Kelly! Altered book secrets revealed😍
You're the best, Alicia. Thanks bunches!
Such a great video! You addressed every major question I had, thank you!
I am so sorry I missed your comment! Thank you for this. Basically just hitting all of the points I am asked about regularly. It always helps when I get questions and feedback from someone who is doing the making, or thinking about it. Kelly
Excellent video! Thanks for all the great advice.
Patty, it is truly my pleasure. (Okay, this video took me 11 hours, but still....😁). Hope you have a creative weekend!
This was great!! Thanks for doing this. I subscribed!!
I am sorry I missed this, Marie. Thank you for the feedback and the follow! Kelly
Wow!!! Love it!
Why thank you, Linda!
Love this, Kelly, thank you. I have been altering books through your tutorials and love the results. Always always learn new things from you. Look forward to Fridays!
Why thank you, Debra. You have made my day!
Fantastic! Thank you very much 😊
It is my pleasure, Marissa. Glad you liked it!
Fabulous, well spoken and explained! Thank you!❤
Why thank you, Dall. Let me know if you have any questions I missed. It has been a while. Kelly
Hello Kelly, thank you for sharing your passion
Carole, it is my very real pleasure. 🌼🌷🌻
Very informative and detailed, thanks!
Hi Judea, it is my real pleasure. Thanks for touching base! Kelly
Wonderful video! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Sherry and thank you!
You tubes most underrated art teacher. #YouHavePermissionToART
Mary, I just saw this and now I may cry. Thank you, truly, for this. I do put a lot of work into my teaching and to know that it has done its job and that you think this makes me very, very, very happy. Thank you, again. Kelly
@@BookandPaperArts if you cry let it be because of the relief I hope you feel from just being "that one art teacher" we all wanted but never received. Let it be 😊 joy. We all wanted "that art teacher" Who knew it would be years later and on KZhead. 😁 we just weren't patient enough. But now we are. Class in sesh ma'am. You are very much loved.🙏💯❤ Please continue
@@BookandPaperArts if I'm being honest? It was the permission for me. All these unspoken lines and such. Reasonable lines really; but with respect understanding and intention? Yeah We have permission. We won't destroy anything useful or beloved. Only things that need new life lest they be lost. We're responsible But we DO have permission to use our capability to CREATE from things lost. Like my DAD used to say "you wouldn't have ever seen that and wanted to keep it had I not pointed it out to you first."
@@maryfinnegan4198 Oh yes, joy and something bigger, not relief so much as yes, it made contact and was heard and that is huge but so rare. I do talk a lot about permission, especially in my newer videos about journal keeping because I get a ton of comments from people saying that They Couldn't Possibly or even more honestly and poignantly, that they don't have the courage to mess up a blank book or piece of paper and I hear it so often it must be a symptom of something that needs to be addressed and challenged. And that is what I try to do, so thank you for seeing that. Hope your weekend is turning into a creative one! Kelly
Thanks. Good, practical advice.
Thanks bunches. So many obvious things are anything but, no? Kelly
Great video Kelly! Lots of info and tips for both the beginner and the more experienced. TFS 💕
Why thank you, Carol! Hope you are having a creative weekend. 🌻🌷🌼
Nice overview! Thank you!
I am so glad you liked it, Cara. Hope you have a creative Sunday! Kelly
Thank you very much.
It is my very real pleasure.
Thank you, thank you so so much.....💞 from your newest subscriber!!!!
Hello and welcome, Terri. Hope you are having a creative weekend! Kelly
New subbie , wonderful informative Chanel thank you xx
Hello and welcome, Debbie. Thank you for all of your kind words! Kelly
Thank you for this video. I am just beginning. I found this very helpful.
Hiya, Sabi. Thanks for touching base and letting me know. It is my very real pleasure. Hope you make great pages! Kelly
Never mind now I understand you are just making your substrate thinker than I’ve normally seen.
Hi, Tina, yes. I tend to try to end up with five or six "canvasses" in a book. That floats a lot, of course, but I do tend to have rather thick substrate/pages. Strictly a matter of taste. Hope you are having a creative weekend! Kelly
Thanks! Very neat.
Why thank you. That is truly nice to hear. Kelly
@@BookandPaperArts just thinking about doing one of these.
Thank you
You are so very welcome, Barbara. 🌷🌷🌻🌻🌼🌼
Just came across this video. Very enlightening. Love your artwork, too. Thank you for the share and inspiration. Heading to the thrift store for my third altered book. Now I know what to look for.🙏🙏
Hello and welcome, Sally. This makes me so happy! Good luck with that new altered book and keep me posted if you have any questions. 🌻🌻🌼🌼🌷🌷
Really inspiring
Thank you, Eva.🌻🌷
New sub here. I really enjoyed the tutorial. Lots of good ideas to get your altered book ready for all the collage goodies
Hello Margaret and welcome! I hope you are having a creative weekend. 🌻🌷🌼
Your work is lovely
Jayne, I am sorry I missed this comment because I am grateful and so glad that you think so. All the best, Kelly
Oh, thank you! This video is so helpful! New subscriber here.
Hello and welcome, Amy. I hope you are having a creative Sunday. Let me know if you hit any glitches with altering! Kelly
Great video! So helpful and detailed. Especially appreciated your care in demonstrating the process of repairing broken binding.I learned so much! Your artistry is marvelous. I'm a new subscriber. Thank you!
Thank you and welcome, Mary. funny you should say that. Today I had to face it and give up on a book I worked two weeks preparing: repairing here, breaking there. Repairing there, breaking somewhere completely different. I could spit but that wouldn't help so I came home and painted messy watercolour flowers until the feeling passed. Tomorrow I will start another book. That's all you can do sometime! (PS - I am working on an online course of a altered book master class. This will show mending and other techniques way more slowly. Fingers crossed for October.)
@@BookandPaperArts i'll keep my eyes open for the class. I so appreciate your authenticity and your teaching style as well as your artistry.
@@marmaz57 Thank you, Mary. I really do appreciate that, especially as I learned to make video tutorials by making tons of mistakes in the earlier ones and it is nice to hear that I am getting them right.😁🌼🌻🌷
I couldn't of altered those small books either! This is a great informative video! Very helpful! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks a bunch, Susan. I thought of trying to incorporate altering into the sweet illustrations but so far haven't come up with a way that is good for me and good for the book. But maybe inspiration will strike. 🌼🌷🌻
Love this video! I am new to altered books and your video is very helpful. Thank you. I visited your website but I do not see a spot to subscribe for your newsletter. I must be missing something.
Hello there, Terry. Thank you for trying but sadly the newsletter is no more but I hope you stay tuned to my channel as this fall I am going to try a video newsletter for KZhead. Hope you are having a creative weekend! Kelly
Okay, I've got to pat myself on the back... I'm starting to think like Kelly (which I like.) So I was at the hardware store the other day, in the paint section, and I spot a plastic plaster spatula and I think "Hm. That would be good for smoothing stuff." And here I see you've known this all along! There is hope for me... Another great, informative video. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. Plus what a treat to SEE you! 👋😀🇨🇦
Okay, that is hilarious. And spooky. Are we connected or twins in some altered art journal book world? Actually, that would be really cool. And thank you for the feedback. One of my (many) New Years resolutions was to put myself in videos to see how that does and it took me this long to figure out how and then get up the nerve - for someone with a big personality I have a bit of stage fright. Plus, in my head I am 36 and I have no idea who this older lady is that looks like my mom, standing and waving her arms in my studio. Hope you are having a good weekend, Catherine! 😁🌼🌷🌻
@@BookandPaperArts Another odd coincidence... yesterday I watched a video from artist Lori Mirabelli on why and how she became a full time artist. One of her big things she suggests IS getting your face out there along with your work. She said, especially with the pandemic, people like and need to see a face behind the work. That an actual breathing human is creating these pieces. Then I got up this morning and there was your lovely face! Well done.
@@CatherineSunnysideJournals Thanks again for the encouragement, Catherine. How about you? Will you be going to the other side of the camera? (Maybe you already do, I should check again.😁)
Thank you, if you stick the last of one signature to the first of the next you may find your binding fails less often.
Hello Lucy, and thank you. Always happy to try. Fingers crossed!
Another question to ask even if it IS vintage - is this book easily found (check the internet) and purchased or is it rare. If it can easily be purchased, I cut away. It took me a while to get to this point though!!
I am SO GLAD that I am not the only one who buys a book to give it a new life then cannot bring myself to it and it is added to my personal collection 😂 Thanks for making this video Kelly, I have learnt a few extra pointers to help me along the altered book/art book path.
Hi Kerry, it is my real pleasure. Can't tell you how many times I have rescued a beautiful but not valuable book from a slightly mouldy box and resuscitated it. You, too? Book altering is tricky. I have done it for over 15 years and still, one in three will conk out on me midway through. So, I am glad I was able to pass some of the tricks and strategies forward. Keep me posted on your progress! Kelly
@@BookandPaperArts will do. I went op shopping yesterday for books and found a few nice ones and one I was so sad about because it had this huge round ding on the cover *sigh* it had such a lovely cover and was such a lovely size. There is a church op shop near us I also have in my sights in the hope of older music books and older books.
This is sooooo good! THANK YOU!!
Why thank you, Marie, and welcome. Hope you join us for more altering and journal arts. Happy making!
I just found your lovely and helpful channel. I have been wondering about using thermal papers which I see used by various collage artists. My understanding has been that thermal paper is intended to fade and decompose. Does applying glue prevent that process?
Hello there, Patricia. Please forgive the late response. I got distracted by something shiny. 😺 In my experience thermal papers are going to fade and I would probably not use them in an altered book that is meant to be an art piece. However, I sometimes do put them in my illustrated journals (visual diaries) if they are part of a memory I want to save and in that case I would definitely try coating them with some PVA, craft glue, mod podge, or acrylic gel. Let me know how it goes! Kelly
Really like it when you said 'let the book talk to you' I bought some lovely books from a charity shop recently with gorgeous pics in it so could I use still use the beauty of the original book and then add my own embellishments inside? To still make it my own
Hi Lara, I think you can do that. I have seen books that do that, basically building a collage from an image already in a book. When I tried it I had mixed results but that is just because of a clash of styles and I gave up trying to make them meet. But you should definitely try it. By combining two styles you may come up with a great third look. Where do you live? I am in the Swansea marina.
@@BookandPaperArts that is good will certainly try it, got a beautiful crowd stich book you see plus an adorable little gym book with embossed cover of choir boys. Just done a video on what I found on my channel. We love Swansea and not that far from there as we live in Bridgend area in the Garw valley up in the mountains, it is a stunning area full with inspiration 😀 maybe we could meet up in the new year being that we're both in Wales and not too far away? 😀
@@laracraft82 Yes, please! My email is kelly@bookandpaperarts.com if you want to drop me a line. Maybe we can compare notes in the new year. Have a great weekend, Lara.🌼🌼
@@BookandPaperArts cheers that sounds good 👍 will drop you an email in the new year
Just watching your video again. Do you glue a page from one signature to the next signature or keep each signature separate? Thanks 😊
Hello there. I usually glue four to six pages together to make a section and I make my layout on that section. If you mean do I deliberately pull the outside page from one signature to the outside page of the next one then the answer is sometimes. 😉 I kind of let the book tell me where it wants to be sectioned into. Does that make sense? This video might help. Kelly kzhead.info/sun/qql_iMtviaCumoU/bejne.html
Hi, I came across your channel yesterday and I love your tutorials. If you do get to see this can you use a paperback book to alter? I live in a rural area with no charity shops near by, so I'm finding it hard to get hardcover books, and when I do half the time my partner won't let me alter them as he's an avid reader of books. So what can I do please? x
Hi Rachel. Those pesky partners! The truth is you can't really alter a paperback as you need a book with a sewn spine rather than a glued one but have a look at this. It is a whole video about how to find old paper. Let me know if this helps and maybe we can come up with some more ideas. Go get 'em! Kelly kzhead.info/sun/gKdwl8hsZ3hpY6s/bejne.html
@@BookandPaperArts Arrr thankyou for your quick reply, I've watched that video earlier and went on ebay and wrote in handwritten ledgers and saved the search, thankyou again :)
@@rachelhughes7277 Rachel, I know living in a rural area is a challenge but I used to live WAY off the beaten track in Mississippi and Tennessee and was still able to find supplies from time to time. It helps to train yourself to "see" them and always have you eyes open for them. Also, be sure and ask friends. You might be surprised at how many of them have old books they want to shift. Kelly
Love your tutorials. I really, really want to make a Harry Potter themed altered book BUT after months of scouring for a reasonably priced one, discovered it's a glued binding. Ugh! The disappointment 😞 . Do I give up hope altering a HP book? Or, do you have some tips and tricks to navigate the altering of glue bound book?
Hi Amy. An altered Harry Potter sounds amazing. But. In addition to being glued they are also huge books and in my experience taking on something that big is setting yourself up for failure. I think if it was me I might make a handmade book with a Harry Potter theme OR altered a thinner book with a sewn binding and glue in, tip in, sew in pages from a copy of Harry Potter. Keep me posted and let me know how it goes! Kelly
@@BookandPaperArts thanks so much for your advice!
@@amytimms528 You'll get there, Amy. 😺
This tutorial was very informative and I appreciate it. BTW, what size book do you usually alter? (5x7 or smaller)?
Hi there, Jane. That is about the size I work in because that is the size I find although if you see my video just before this one I worked in a piece that was more like 8 x 10 and THAT was super fun. And I am working in a palm size one that is surprisingly good for creative layouts. Two different challenges.
@@BookandPaperArts Thank you for your prompt reply...
Just found your channel. Thanks for the information. Tried to follow your blog but it didn’t work.
Hello and welcome! I have a whole playlist just for altered books and there is even more information there. Sadly, my blog is no more so I removed the subscribe fields from my website. I am going to try a video version of the newsletter here on KZhead in the new year so stay tuned! Kelly
Thank you for this video. It was very helpful. I often find illustrations/pictures i want to save. I scan them into my computer so i can use them multiple times. I dont see my books so i dont feel im violating any copyright laws
Hi and welcome, Gram. There is also something called Fair Use, which means that if you use an image but only a bit of one, or you change it so it is something else incorporating the image, it is not violating copyright laws. You can check it out to see if it gives you some context. Or just carry on altering! Kelly
Lol. I guess you read my meaning. I do not sell my books. Thank you for the information
This was very helpful. However, I want to create an annual record of photos, awards, labels, programs etc for the quilts I make each year.. I may make one or five in a year.. enter in a show or two or teach a class on how to make the quilt.. I don't keep them.. my concern is acid in the paper of the book. Does the glue trap the acid in the old book paper?
Hi Kerry. I am not sure if it does or not but I have been making these for many years and all are still alive and kicking. I also feel that even if they may not be archival they will definitely outlast me by a long shot so I take a chance. It sounds a charming idea for an altered book or a scrapbook on archival paper, no matter what you choose. Keep me posted!
How do you work with a book where all the pages have been taken out and the signatures have to be put back into the book? Usually the cover has been altered itself and that why the papers have been removed.
What do you do with the covers?
Hello there. Do you mean how do I decorate them? Most of these are where I have collaged elements onto the covers. I also have some flip throughs here on my channel that talk more about the collaging techniques and whatnot in my altered books. Let me know if that wasn't the question! Kelly