Tuesday, 21 April 2015

Girl Guide Collage Book Part 3

Hello!  Welcome back to Part Three of the long awaited Girl Guide Collage Book post.  In Part One, I had shown you how to assemble a basic three-ringed cardboard book. In Part Two, I had shown you how I had prepared the pages for the collage process.  In Part Three, I will show you how I had created my collages.

Mostly all of the photos that I had used for this collage book were found on good ol' Pinterest. Like most of you Guiders I have a Pinterest board for Girl Guiding images...which I have named "Girl Guides". I like to collect images of vintage Girl Guides and Girl Scouts from around the world.  I may have a few Scouting images in there as well. 

To make the collage pages you will need:

Girl Guiding images, words {either cut from magazines, stamped, or hand written with markers, pens or paint pens}, scissors, glue of your choice {I used mostly glue sticks}, Mod Podge if you have it, more pattern and texture items as seen in part two, and a creative eye...or two! 

Decide if you want to do pages that have a common theme or have totally random photos on each page.  Some of my pages have a theme.  For example all photos on a page are cookie related, while other pages have random photos that just look good together.  Whatever you like to do is up to you and your imagination. Play around with your layout until you get the desired look then glue it down. Some of my pages are still not finished yet but I will add to them whenever I come across an image that I think would look good.

Next I'll show you a couple of my pages from start to finish.  


The page below started as a painted pink page.  I chose an image for the focal point. I then added pattern and texture using paper doilies and paint.  The choice of colour of the pattern and texture will depend on your image{s}.
Below, I used Mod Podge to attach tissue paper.  I used a brush to apply the Mod Podge to the page then placed the tissue paper on top, then brushed on more Mod Podge over top of it.  The Mod Podge seals the tissue paper to the page.  A glue stick does not give the same effect with tissue papers.
It doesn't look like much at this point but all these layers come together in the end.
I cut out the sections of the image that I had wanted {the two Girl Scouts and the pussy willows} and glued them in position then added polka dot stenciling. I also added a chipboard sentiment "it all matters". Use whatever supplies you have available. The pink striped pieces are from a napkin.
I then brushed on some Glitter Paint over everything except for the girls and the pussy willows just to add shimmer to the page.  I didn't know if this step would look good or not but in the end I liked it.
At this point I thought that my page was done but then I discovered a new pattern item at the Dollarama...this silicon pot holder. It creates such a neat pattern. I used a styrofoam tray as a printing surface and added black acrylic paint {from Dollarama} with a cosmetic sponge to get a nice thin paint layer. I then rolled the pot holder in the paint and stamped it on my page.  
I liked this effect so much that I ended up going back over several of my other pages with this pattern.  
Below is the finished collage page.


Here is another page from start to finish...
For this page I used a printed facial tissue applied with Mod Podge. {If you use tissues or napkins make sure to peel the layers and just use the printed layer}. 
I chose images that had the same theme for this page...cookie sales.  I placed the images so that one was not blocking another image.  I chose to cut around the image on the bottom right since the background was blocking the other images.
Not much of the bird printed tissue is visible underneath the images but it just adds another layer to the final look.  To finish the page, I added pattern from the pot holder with black paint. Don't be afraid if you go over your images with the pattern. 

Wow! I've discovered that I have quite a few photos of this book project so I think I may do another post after this to show the rest of the finished pages. I will also show you how my cover turned out!  


Stay Tuned for the final installment of the 
"Girl Guide Collage Book" 


Thank you for visiting my blog!  


Lee Ann




Saturday, 4 April 2015

Girl Guide Collage Book Part 2

Hello !   I'm back with Part 2 of the Girl Guide Collage Book.

In Part 1 I had shown you how to assemble a basic three-ringed cardboard book. 
In this post I will show you how I had prepared the pages for the collage process.

If you prefer not to paint your pages then skip this Part 2.  You could opt to cover the pages with scrapbook paper or any other paper ...or leave them as is.  I chose to add paint, pattern, and texture for a nice background to my pages.

To prepare each collage page I had used:
White Gesso 
Acrylic Paint in various colours
Paint brushes
Patterns
Texture Items
Scissors
Glue Sticks
Mod Podge
Gel Printing Plate- Optional
Brayer
What is Gesso? Go here for more information.
Wash your brush before the Gesso dries since it will harden and may ruin it!
I had painted most of my cardboard pages with an Acrylic Gesso.  Gesso is like a white paint that is used to prepare a canvas before painting.  It prepares the surface for the paint and will help block out underneath images/words etc. Without the Gesso the paint will soak into the cardboard...the photo below shows the difference.  The light blue page has Gesso while the dark blue is without Gesso...same blue paint was used on both surfaces.  If you do not have Gesso then just go ahead and paint the pages...it just may take a few extra coats to get the desired look. Paint the pages in whatever colours you like.
This blue acrylic paint from Dollarama works well.
In this next step I had added pattern to the pages.  I am fortunate enough to own a Gelli Plate so that made the process of adding pattern so much more fun!

Add paint to the Gelli plate and roll with a Brayer
Doilies and stencils are great for adding pattern.  Lay a page on the plate and gently rub then lift to see the pattern.  I Love my Gelli Plate!!
These items are excellent for adding Pattern to the pages
A crumpled paper bag leaves a marbled effect on top of paint.  Paper or plastic doilies, cosmetic sponges, plastic mesh, stencils, and bubble wrap are great tools for making pattern. I also used plastic bottle caps to make circles. 




If you do not have access to a Gelli Plate then you can use a styrofoam tray as a palette and cosmetic sponges to apply the paint to whatever pattern pieces you have.
Rubber and foam stampers are great tools for adding background pattern to your pages.
After I had applied the Gesso, paint, and pattern I then added texture to my pages.  To add texture to the pages I had used an array of things...
Paper Doilies, tissue paper, Printed napkins, scrapbook paper, embossed paper, dictionary book pages, phone book pages, stamped pages etc...glue in whatever you like.
Helpful tip:  Using glue can be messy!  I like to use an old phone book or magazine when applying glue to an item...especially when I have lots of pieces to do. When the page gets too sticky then just go to a clean page. This will save your work surface from getting all sticky!   Also, keep wet wipes or baby wipes near by for sticky fingers.
  Using Mod Podge to adhere tissue paper and napkins will give a nice transparent effect when it dries. Just brush it on the page, place the tissue paper down and apply the Mod Podge over top.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the Girl Guide Collage Book!
In Part 3, I will show the collage images I used and the collage page from start to finish. Thank you for being patient with this project! It is not something that can be done in a hurry.

Happy Easter!

 Lee Ann


Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Girl Guide Collage Book Part 1

Hello Owl & Toadstool Readers!  

I would like to share with you something that I've been working on the past few 'snowy' days...yes, still lots of snow here. In fact, school was cancelled today due to the snow...lovely.

Since it is Spring Cookie time here in Canada, I thought this would be an appropriate time to post about this craft idea.  I've been storing this idea in my head for a while so time to retrieve it! 


Save your empty GGC Cookie Cases!

...and thin cardboard boxes such as these to make a book.
I cut out the two large sides of the cookie case for the front and back covers...
...to make a simple three ringed book.

Bonus Craft: 
Cut out the trefoil from the discarded cookie case scraps and make it into a brooch.  
Hot glue a brooch pin to the back and seal it with Mod Podge or other varnish.
Decide on how many pages you would like in your book.  My book has twenty-one pages of various sizes.  To make the pages cut out the large sides of thin cardboard boxes. I opted to leave side flaps in tact for most of my pages.  For example, you can see the Catelli box below has the side flap in tact.  The pages will work even if you do not use the side flaps.  Boxes with 'windows' add interest to the pages too.

Next, you will need to punch holes for the binder rings.

1-1/4 inch size worked well for my book but you can judge for yourself.
I reinforced all the hole punched sides with duct tape.  This prevents the holes from ripping. {I did this step after I had punched the holes but then i had to punch over the holes again...In hind sight I would have put the tape on first then punched the holes}.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the 
Girl Guide Collage Book !

In Part 2, I will show you how I had prepared 
the pages for the collage process.

HAPPY CRAFTING!