Everything Papercraft - Altered Art

In artistic circles, altered art is basically the conversion or alteration of everyday items into decorative pieces using a variety of different methods, techniques and materials. Usually the items that are altered become purely ornamental since the intention is to create a piece of art. However, altered art in terms of paper craft, can also include functional objects that have been decorated but still maintain their use such as altered books, boxes and containers.

Recycled and upcycled objects are an integral part of altered art with many crafters enjoying the “search” almost as much as the creating! You can find wonderful vintage images, jewellery, fabrics, buttons, metal objects and other whatnots in second hand shops, local markets, garage sales or even amongst your own craft stash. Another great source for interesting objects is the internet, particularly sites such as Etsy and eBay.

Hot Tip Tuesday

Every now and then I feel inspired to create an off the page project like an altered book or canvas, and most time I like to add words to my creation. It's often the case that the chipboard letters I have in my stash are missing a letter or two that I need to complete my title. Instead of rushing out and purchasing yet another packet (and ending up with two hundred letter X's) I will attempt to construct the letter I need using what remains in the packet. In the photos below, I've shared my technique for creating an "e" from pieces of other letters that always seem to be in excess...

I firstly construct the "bones" of the letter -  in this case I've used a "c" and part of a lower case "q", which I was able to cut with a sturdy pair of scissors. The letters are glued to the canvas and allowed to dry thoroughly.

Next, I apply texture paste over the joins. I use a palette knife to get a nice flat surface.

Shaping tools are useful to push and shape the texture paste around my new letter.

After allowing everything to dry thoroughly, I give the letter a light sand to remove any rough spots. Once the gesso, paint and mediums are applied, you won't see any difference between my newly created letter and all the other letters on the project.

Judy's Creations

We've been invited to Judy's studio today to see her latest off-the-page project,

a beautiful altered letter in gorgeous shades of pink, purple and yellow.

Judy printed, coloured and fussy cut the picture of Winnie to use as the main focal image on her project. She then concentrated on Winnie's little bunch of flowers, printing them out several more times in different sizes to use as embellishments. Bright, happy colours and a touch of glitter and she has a wonderful project that would look fabulous in any little nursery or child's bedroom.

Judy's Blog

Recipe Book

After losing all my recipes from an app on my iPad that was no longer updating, I decided it was time to go "Old School" again. Luckily I still have copies of all the recipes I lost.

Stamps: Just Desserts

Holiday Canister

I have quite a collection of items in my stash that are waiting to be altered or upcycled, including this fabulous canister that was given to me several years ago by a friend. It's decorated with the little images from the Sugar & Spice clear stamp set, along with some patterned paper and twine. Now I just have to decided whether to fill it with Christmas cookies or rum balls. Decisions, decisions...

Stamps: Sugar & Spice

Altered Clock

A lovely friend of mine asked me to decorate a clock for her bedroom that featured her favourite quote, which I've included below the photo. After taking the store bought clock apart, I added some pretty patterned paper, die cut numbers and then stamped the quote, letter by letter, on to the clock face. Some more paper around the outside of the clock and the addition of some flowers finished the project nicely.

The quote:

I shall pass this way but once;

Any good that I can do

or any kindness I can show,

to any human being,

let me do it now;

Let me not defer

nor neglect it,

for I shall not

pass this way again.

~ Etienne de Grellet

Finished!

I am happy to report that, apart from a few tiny embellishments, I have completed the altered notebooks I've been working on for the past couple of weeks. It took a little longer than usual to dry between coats of gesso, paint, spray inks and varnish, mostly because the weather has been so cold and overcast. Happily, they are now done and I can move on to my next project.

Gesso...

I've finished the second stage of the altered notebook project, which is to add a coat of white gesso over the tape, texture paste and embellishments I glued on a couple of days ago. I'm always amazed how different the project looks once everything is the same colour... suddenly it's all about texture, shapes and shadows.

(Almost) Altered Notebooks

I'm in the process of altering a couple of A4-sized notebooks - one will be a gift and one is for me to jot down notes when I'm in meetings. So far I have added the base texture with tapes and paste, and also glued down the embellishments that will hold all the lovely colours. When the glue dries I'll be adding a coat of gesso before going wild with sprays, inks and paints... my favourite part!

Mixed Media Canvas

Every now and then I get in the mood to make a mess! By the end of this mixed media canvas I had dried glue stuck to my desk, wads of masking tape on the floor, green fingers and a scattering of tiny flowers over just about everything. Despite the mess, I quite enjoy the process of creating these canvases. You don't have to worry too much about being precise, a slip, slop, slap approach is perfectly acceptable... although I can't guarantee the outcome!

GATHER ALL THE BITS AND PIECES

PREPARE THE CANVAS WITH LOTS OF TEXTURE

ADD MORE TEXTURE WITH CHIPBOARD, FLOWERS, METAL, ETC.

WHEN THE GLUE IS DRY, COVER EVERYTHING WITH A COAT OF GESSO

GO CRAZY WITH SPRITZES, SPRAYS AND PAINTS - MY FAVOURITE PART

BRING IT ALL TOGETHER AGAIN WITH A TOP COAT OF GESSO

ADD SOME SPOTS OF LIQUID PEARLS, A TOUCH OF GOLD PAINT, ETC.

Upcycled Canister

Up-cycling is all the rage at the moment, which is great for the environment since most of the items being decorated were once destined for the trash heap.  You'd be surprised at all the creative projects people are making with throw away items or treasures found in second hand shops.  A quick search on "upcycled" or "altered" will have you scouring the house, and the bins, for your own potential works of art.

 

 

1.  Choose an item that can withstand heat, moisture and lots of handling so that it doesn't break or fall apart as you're decorating it.  I used a sturdy cardboard cylinder that has a removable plastic lid and a solid metal base.  Give it a good clean to make sure it's free of dirt and grease.

 

 

2.  Apply a layer of masking tape directly on to the cylinder.  Try to get lots of creases and ridges in the tape for added texture and interest.  Have a look through your home and garage for other interesting tapes, such as plasterers tape or first aid tape which will give different textures while helping to hold everything to the surface you're decorating.

 

 

3.  Continue adding texture with pastes, stencils, lace, textiles, string and other mediums.  Don't worry about colours at this point, it's all about texture and dimension.

 

4.  Time to apply a layer of gesso.  Gesso is a thick, white (or tinted) paint primer that is usually applied to artist canvas before the art work is created.

 

5.  Now choose some embellishments.  Once again, we're looking for textures and shapes rather than colours and surface patterns.  This is a good way to use up all those odd coloured flowers, charms and letters we all have in our stash!

 

6.  I like to adhere everything before painting, but feel free to paint each embellishment first if you prefer.  Use good strong glues to secure the embellishments to your cylinder... I used a combination of tacky glue, a hot glue gun and glossy accents.

 

7.  Time to gesso again.  At this point, I left my project to dry overnight.

 

8.  Now that the glue and gesso has dried, we can add some colour back in to the project.  I used a variety of spray colours, alcohol ink and perfect pearls.  Dry the project between colours, particularly with the sprays, so you don't end up with a muddy mess.  Use a hair dryer or heat gun to help the drying process.

9.  Use your finger to rub some more white gesso on some of the embellishments.  This will help highlight them and lift them out of the background.  You can seal your project with a light spray of varnish if you wish.

Photos and written instructions are copyright Beccy Muir.

All rights reserved.