Wednesday 7 January 2015

2015 #1 Golden Hours {by Lynne Moncrieff}

2015 Theme 1: Fragile Papers

Hi everyone Lynne Moncrieff here, joining you this evening with a post where stained vintage book pages are the prominent feature on a wall hanging.

Incorporating vintage book pages into my artwork is almost a constant for me.  As a Bookworm, initially I struggled to destroy books but now I find the beauty in using pages from books that are falling apart.  My preference is to use vintage book pages because the texture is so beautiful. If you prefer, you can easily use new book pages. This wall hanging was inspired by all of us and how we become so immersed in the creative process which for so many of us are the Golden Hours.



Step One:
The book I selected is a rather tattered vintage French book. Cutting the spine in half I claimed one of the covers, a signature of pages and approx 6 loose pages to work with for this project. 



Step Two:
Next I gathered the supplies for altering the colour of the cover and pages.  Staining papers, lace, etc is such a favourite of mine.  For this project I started by boiling enough water to fill two large screw top jars. Once the water has slightly cooled I added coffee granules to one of the jars and the tea bags into the other, removing the bags when the desired strength of colour has been achieved. This is a timesaver because I have the solutions to hand for whenever I want to do some staining.  Apply the solutions with either a large round head watercolour brush or a foam brush.



Step Three:
For this project I also applied Vintage Lace and Distress Stain Tattered Rose to some of the pages.  Vintage Lace is my absolute favourite paint to apply to book text.  Applying with a baby wipe, when the paint has dried, which is so quickly, the book text peeks through the paint which adds dimension to the subsequent stamping.

This is a selection of the prepared pages all of which I then used for the wall hanging. 
Left to right:-
painted with Vintage Lace, tea applied over Vintage Lace, tea and coffee, coffee with Distress Stain applied on top and finally lace stained with tea and coffee.



Note:- for the book cover (not shown) I applied Vintage Lace before staining with tea. 


Sara Naumann's stamps seemed the perfect choice for working with book text.





Step Four:
I selected several words/phrases which I stamped with Staz-on Timber Brown onto the prepared pages, stamping not only on top of  the book text but also in the margins.  At this stage I stamped the words play and experiment twice, onto different papers. 


Before planning the composition, I adhered, with Golden Regular Gel Matte, the signature of stained book pages (a tip is to use a brayer to ensure good adhesion).to the cover. I then played around with the stamped words/phrases. The photograph below shows how I retained only one word or two from a phrase and also how I tore experiment in half and created  word tiles for the word play.  The two main words were then adhered to foamcore board for dimension  with all the other stamped elements strengthened by adhering to cardstock. Now you start to see that by stamping onto the different stained/painted papers it creates visual interest.




The composition is now planned but prior to assembling I threaded ball chain through holes created with a Crop-a-dile at the top of the book cover.  The embellishments of a Hinge Clip and Word Band were painted with Vintage Lace and Nougat and Distress Ink Walnut Stain sponged onto the edges of the stamped elements. At the bottom of the book cover I adhered a length of pretty lace with torn pieces of the stained lace trapped between some of the words/phrases and the book cover. I like the juxtapose of the lace next to the metal elements.



And Finally:

The Word Band, with the dusting of chalk paint was tied with torn pieces of stained lace and rests on top of a length of vintage velvet ribbon. The words were so apt for the overall theme of the wall hanging.




If you have never stained book text before then I hope that you are now inspired to do so. You can create wonderful variations depending on the strength of the tea/coffee solutions and beautiful mottled effects can be achieved when misting with water. 

My tip is for you to stain batches of pages in one go.  By doing so, the next time you set to work on a project, you will save yourself so much time as you have a stack of pages already pre-stained. Using tea and coffee is such an inexpensive way to transform book pages. Simply have fun!



Thank You for visiting. 
Until next time, 
Lynne Moncrieff



Fantastic to see how you bring a project all together Lynne. Doing tests on Fragile Papers to get those different shades of stain I can see will be a useful strategy in many situations. Thanks so much for sharing your ideas with us tonight!

We would love you to join in with challenge #1: Fragile Papers. If you are inspired by any of our guests who have blogged on this topic over this fortnight, then please join in and link up your creativity HERE

All links go in the draw to win a voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. This link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Jan 18th 2015, winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

38 comments:

massofhair said...

Beautiful pages Lynn, so many tips and colours for us to follow thank you. Wonderful completed hanging, so inspirational :-) xxx

Gabrielle said...

Simply beautiful.

Julie Lee said...

Great wall hanging, Lynne!What lovely, warm vintage colours. I love vintage book pages and how inspired to use Sara's lovely stamps in this way! A beautiful make. Some of my golden hours are spent crafting and some reading my favourite novels and poems, so this gorgeous hanging really chimed with me and inspired me! I love this theme and the way you have interpreted it!xxx

Helen said...

Only looking on my phone for now but this is gorgeous!!

Lucy Edmondson said...

I love this, Lynne, you have captured an incredible fragility in this piece,

Lucy x

Hazel Agnew said...

Love the concept of the Golden Hours! The idea of preparing "vintage" papers in advance is a great idea. Have used coffee to age maps with children but never tried it on lace. The finished artwork is captivating and has filled me with ideas!

Gillian .... said...

Gorgeous use of the theme.

Gillian

Craftyfield said...

Nope can't do it, books, especially old books can't destroy them. Ready to fake them with stamps though... Lovely hanging though!

Corrie Herriman said...

Wonderful creation !
Corrie x

Words and Pictures said...

Lovely delicate work, Lynne - Sara's stamps are perfect for this!
Alison x

laury55 said...

really great...love how you play with typography

Kirsten said...

Lynne, that is wonderful. I love the composition & the different stains look so effective.

Cocofolies said...

I'm totally under the spell of this gorgeous creation today... What is the most stunning and awesome Lynne, is that I know you very well and so I've already seen many of your projects based on such fragile stained papers, but each time I'm looking at your artwork with amazed and delighted eyes.. :D Fantastic play with Sara Naumann's stamps on this one, and thanks so much for your great and lovely tutorial so much full of your love for books! Hugs Coco xxx

Julia S-W said...

Delicate, feminine but strong and delightfully vintage. I love the combination of the stained and painted pages too. A stunning piece and very Lynne!
Juliaxx

Seth said...

Loving this Lynne!

Gerrie Johnnic said...

She can even make words dance in front of your eyes! Xx

pearshapedcrafting said...

I absolutely adore this Lynne! Oh the golden hours! This is pure gold - the textures, the stamps and the fab staining - wonderful!!! Chrisx

Anonymous said...

Truly beautiful Lynne! Love the vintage distressed style, the words are so perfect for us crafters! Sue C x

Etsuko said...

Oh! This is gorgeous and great idea __ Just wonderful xx

Colleen said...

Lynn,
Beautiful wall hanging. My papers are soaking as I comment on this. I'm very new to some of the mixed media stuff so I'm reallying learning a lot. Thanks for inspiring me.

Julie S said...

Absolutely stunning and how true about the "golden hours". I haven't tried coffee and tea staining my book pages but will certainly give it a go now. Thank you!

Unknown said...

Just spectacular, Lynne!! And many congratulations on being a part of the PaperArtsy DT!! I saw you here in 2014 as a guest designer and now, here you are--a DT member in 2015! :) YAY LYNNE!! XOXO-Shari

Dorthe said...

Thank you, dear Lynne, for this wonderful tutorial, telling how you created this most beautiful wall hanger .
Your coloured and stained old papers are so lovely, , the way of making baths is a great idea,- and you stamping the words on the old texts looks wonderful. I have never seen those stamps before, I must have a closer look !!
And then it is so stunning with the use, of also fragile old tulles and laces !!!
Hug from Dorthe, xx

Carol Salisbury said...

Great tutorial!
Love your project! Very pretty!
Hugs!

Sherry said...

What a beautiful make and I loved seeing how you aged the pages to perfection x

Annie said...

Fabulous project and great tutorial. Stamps on my wish list

X

terry said...

Golden hours indeed! Thanks for sharing yours. ~Terry Y.

~*~Patty S said...

Lovely details in your beautiful fragile paper creation dear Lynne.
Thank you for sharing your creative process too!
oxo

Dawn C. said...

Wow, this is beautiful!! What a fantastic tutorial!

craftimamma said...

Really love this piece Lynne. Lovely vintage colours and I absolutely go for the old book pages. I rescued one from my mum's last week that is so old and battered it's falling to bits on its own so is perfect for this purpose .... no guilt attached, lol!

Hugs
Lesley Xx

Vada said...

Just Beautiful Lynne.
Hugs Vada

Paper Profusion said...

The golden warmth this exudes is incredible Lynne. Like being curled up with a good book in front of the fire...bliss! Thanks for sharing your creative secrets with this beauty. Nicola x

2amscrapper said...

exquisite work and wonderful tutorial, Lynn!

Art By Wanda said...

This is absolutely wonderful!!!

Claudia N. said...

Beautiful, Lynne! xxx

Sam & Poppy said...

Gorgeous!

Marci said...

Beautiful! The comparison of different pages was very illuminating. Thank you for the tips.

Kezzy said...

Wow truly awesome hanging and I love how you have naturally coloured the papers, amazing. Happy Creating :-) Kezzy xxx