Altered book – Rustic bird

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.  It’s unusual for me to craft on a Saturday morning.  I got up today turned my back on the chores and decided to make something for the Artful Times Challenge.   This weeks theme is “Birds”.  For full details of the challenge click here

I have altered a book for my project.  Part of the rules of the challenge is to explain how you have made your project…. Mmmm! I will try but as always I am more than happy to answer anyone’s questions.

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I started by marking and cutting a square out of the front cover of the book.  I then marked a smaller square within the aperture and then cut away at the pages until I reached the depth I wanted.  I glued the pages, including the cover, together using PVA glue.  Whilst it  was drying I made little plaque

 

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I made a small frame out of quince prunings.  They are from last year and out of my stash.  The frame is held together by the wire and attached to the wooden block with hot glue.  The little peace of wood is just some scrap out of the shed but it is quite nicely weathered.  The little faux tile is just a piece of scrap board, painted, stamped onto and then distressed.  I used the one step crackle medium on this.  You just paint it on and let it dry.  When it’s dry, just rub some acrylic paint into the surface and wipe off the excess.  I love this product!!! The tile is attached to the wood with brass tacks.  The plaque is attached to the book (back cover) using hot glue.

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I stamped the birds nest onto some small tags. I inked around the outside of the tags using ranger distressing ink.  You can just about see some little hooks in the spine.  These are just some little eyelet screws.  These are taking the weight of the key but I did add a little bit of hot glue to the underside of the base of the key.

The dog collar is out of the shed.  I found it in the house when we moved in (12 years ago) I knew it would come in handy for something! LOL!

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This is just another embellishment added to the collar.

Right I think that’s about it from me.

Happy Crafting.

Best wishes Florence x

88 thoughts

  2. You have been busy Florence and made sucha wonderful work of art. You certainly see agreat use for so many bits and bobs. Must say I just love this

    Chrissie xxxxxxx

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    1. Hi Yvonne. Hope all is well. Congratulations on the new arrival. I will be popping over in a minute to have a look at the photo 🙂 Thank you for calling in and for such a lovely comment.
      Regards Florence xx

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    1. Hi Wendy and Jazz. Hope you are both well. It has made my day to know that I have the paws up from Jazz!! 🙂 Great to hear from you. Thank you for calling in and for your lovely comments.
      Happy pruning! LOL!
      Florence xx

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  5. Love what you have made. I never manage to cut holes in books without cutting my fingers. You have turned an old book and a dog collar into a piece of art! Valerie

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    1. Hi Valerie. Hope you are well. We can’t have you damaging your fingers as well as your toes!!! 😉 Thank you for calling in and for your lovely comments. Always great to hear from you.
      Take care,
      Florence xx

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    1. Hi Janet. Great to hear from you. Crafters never throw anything away….. They just have to find more space! 🙂 Thank you for calling in and for your lovely comments.
      Hugs
      Florence xx

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  7. LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It has inspired me to get serious about cutting into an old book!
    Would love to know the name of that one step crackly product….sounds great!
    happy altering,
    Lisa

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    1. Hi Lisa. Great to hear from you. The crackly product is DecoArt’s “One Step Crackle” I am so pleased with the effect this makes and it is so easy to use. Thank you for calling in and for your lovely comments.
      Regards Florence xx

      If anyone else is interested in this product I know JS stocks it.

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  8. Totally wonderful altered book Florence and how brilliant to find that dog collar. Loving the beautiful plaque in the middle. Enjoy the weekend, Annette x

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    1. Hi Netty. Hope all is well and you are having a wonderful weekend. I was delighted with my find. It is just the right size for a book. 🙂 Thank you for calling in and for your lovely comments. Always great to hear from you.
      Regards Florence xx

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    1. Hi AJ. Hope all is well. It was a much better way to spend the morning but it was only putting off the evil hour!! 🙂 Always great to her from you. Thank you for calling in and for your lovely comments.
      Regards Florence xx

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  11. This is fabulous Florence. I love how you’ve made the frame out of the wood and the wire.

    Brilliant project, thanks for sharing this week with Artful Times.

    Sam xxx

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  12. This is a lovely piece, The key is what makes this one for me, i really like that, have a lovely weekend! Hope you have a relaxing day tomorrow! c

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    1. Hi Celi. Hope all is well on the farm. I missed you last week. Looove big old chunky keys. No relaxing for me I still have the chores to do! 🙂
      Have a wonder day.
      Regards Florence xx

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  13. Another wonderful out of the book creation Florence 🙂 and what a different idea hanging it by the spine
    Thank you for sharing it with us at Artful Times
    Von x♥x

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    1. Lovely to hear from you Von. Hope all is well. I am pleased you mentioned the spine. This book was quite sturdy and the spine was intact. Some old books where the spine has come loose need to be glued using a syringe (or similar) or they can sag 😦 being hung this way. Really enjoyed the challenge. Thank you for calling in and for your lovely comments.
      Regards Florence xx

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  15. Wow, an amazing altered book, love the bird plaque in the recess and the collar was inspiration. Will have to look for Megs old puppy collars they may come in useful.
    Yvonne x

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    1. Hi Yvonne. Great to hear from you. Hope all is well. You see, there was a reason you kept Meg’s puppy collars 😉 I am adding collars to my “what to look out for at the charity shop” list 🙂 Thank you for calling in and for your lovely comments.
      Take care,
      Florence xx

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  16. wow, this is fabulous I really love the image and the belt buckle, key and twig frame all look beautiful, love it. Sorry I haven’t stopped by to comment for a while, things have been so busy and I am a complete scatterbrain at the moment. Hope you are well
    Lindsay xx

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    1. Lindsay! Hi! Hope you are ok. No need for any apologies. I am keeping up with what you are doing via subscriptions but for quite a while I was unable to leave a comment so my apologies to you my friend 🙂 You have been making some fantastic projects. Just pop in now and again, when you have time, just to say hello. Always lovely to hear from you. Thank you for calling in and for your lovely comments.
      Take care,
      Florence XXX

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    1. Hi Giovanna. Hope you are ok. The book is an old gardening book which I bought from the charity shop. Thank you for calling in and for your lovley comments. 32 degrees here today which is unusual for this time of year. Have a wonderful day.
      Regards Florence xx

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  18. Please can I come and visit your shed it sounds fascinating !!!! More stash than my crafting cave !!! Another amazing project Florence you are a creative genius !!! So many wonderful and ingenious items here beautifully crafted.

    Marie

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    1. Hi Sweetie. Hope all is well. You can come and visit whenever you want to 😉 Fascinating is one word to describe the shed but not one I would choose!!! 🙂 I think I need to mark out an escape route in there! 😉 Always lovely to hear from you. Thank you for popping in and for your kind words.
      Regards Florence xx

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  20. Amazing….this is incredibly imaginative…happy to read its a dog collar, I was afraid you might of raided your husbands closet again LOL…
    which crackle paint is that ? i am looking for a good one…tks

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    1. Hi Gisele. Oh, you know me so well! 🙂 Hope you are ok. The crackle medium is DecoArt’s “One Step Crackle”. Thank you for calling in and for your lovely comments.
      Regards Florence xx

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    1. Hi Tracy. Great to hear from you. I cant believe a crafter like youself throws anything away! 🙂 Thank you for calling in and for your lovely comments.
      Regards Florence xx

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  24. Hi Florence
    Inspirational on so many levels.
    I adore your use of the book cover, creating the aperture and the way you framed that beautiful bird. As for the dog collar, wow, that is the perfect embellishement. A gorgeous rustic/nature inspired piece of art.
    Wishes
    Lynne

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    1. Hi there, Hope all is well. Thank you for calling in and for your lovely comments. Cant wait to see what you create with your old books.
      Regards Florence x

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  29. You are such a creative genius, this is so stylish, beautiful and uniquely Florence, what a wonderful imagination you possess. Lovely photography too. xx

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    1. Hey Paula. Hope all is well. Thank you so much for your kind words. You are and always have been so encouraging. It truly is appreciated. Always lovely to hear from you.
      Regards Florence XX

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  31. Florence, the key caught my eye right away, then the cute dog collar.. you should consider selling these on Etsy.. I think a dog-lover such as myself would love one for a photo album or journal:) You are so talented!!

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    1. Hi Smidge, Hope all is well. A few people have mentioned Etsy. I am a little concerned about all the rules and regs and H & S aspect of selling hand made things. I looked into it once and it was a mine field even if you make things for a charity. It is always lovely to hear from you. Thank you for popping in and for your kind words.
      Take care,
      Florence xx

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  32. I just love your new piece of art and love hearing how it went together! Thank you for inspiring me today with your found objects and unbounded creativity!

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  33. What a lot of work you have put into this project and it shows in the gorgeous end result. I can see that I’m going to have to become more imaginative in keeping an eye out for items I can re-use.
    Lorraine

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  34. Just love the colour of this album you have made. Love the album! Were you in the Girl Guides at one time? You have lashed those quince twigs so well. I jsut love all the little elemenets you have used to make this up – a truly memorable treasure.
    Hugs, Neet xx

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    1. Hi Neet. Hey, I was in the girl guides. I had forgotten about that until I read your comment. I was in the King Fishers! LOL! Great to hear from you. Thank you for calling in and for your lovely comments.
      Take care,
      Florence xx

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    1. Hi Jo, Lovely to meet you. Thank you for calling in and for your kind words. Looking forward to seeing your altered book project.
      Regards Florence xx

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  41. Visiting from Sarah’s and absolutely love your projects and style! Beautiful work and I have followed you to keep up. Thank you for sharing with us.

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    1. Hi Gina. You have made my day. Great to meet you. Thank you for popping over and for your lovely comments. Thank you also for following. I hope you enjoy your future visits.
      Have a wonderful day.
      Florence x

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    1. Hi there. Great to meet you. I am really looking forward to following your blog. I had such fun this morning visiting all of the lovely blogs Michelle had posted links to. So pleased I found your blog. Thank you for calling in.
      Regards Florence xx

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