"Out to Lunch" Books

I was kicking around some unique book ideas this fall and here are a few  I came up with.





Now I know it's not the healthiest example but what kid doesn't like french fries once and a while!

When you pull the fries out you have the pages of your book connected by a chain.

This is a sandwich book, which could easily be a hamburger, taco, or even a wrap (that could be a scroll book).

Let's start with the french fry book.

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

- corrugated cardboard
- yellow and red liquid tempera or acrylic
- disk tempera paint
- container template
- cardstock or manila tag
- yellow and white paper
- printed text from the computer or hand written
- glue
- ball and chain connector (you can find these at the Hardware store)

PROCEDURE:

Using the template trace the container shape onto a piece of manila tag or cardstock.


Cut out.

Using disk tempera paint some yellow stripes on the inside of the container shape.

Paint the other side red.






Set aside to dry

Take your corrugated cardboard and cut into long rectangles.  Make them all slightly different lengths.

Paint both sides with the yellow liquid tempera or acrylic.

Set aside to dry.

Type out your story/poem on the computer or hand letter.

Paint with yellow disk tempera.

Cut your sentences out and glue onto the fries.

Poke a hole in the bottom of each fry with an awl.  Thread a chain thru the fries in the order of the story or poem.

I collect these ball and chains.  It seems every new pair of pants, shirt, etc seems to have one of these to attach the brand tag.  It is very easy to recycle these.

Attach a label to the front of your container.  This is your title.

Crease the fold lines with a bone folder or ruler.

Put some glue on the side seams.  Fold the container together.

Your container should look like this.

Place your fries chain side first into the container.

The sandwich book is made up of pages that represent the layers.


You need a piece of paper for each layer.

Cut a double page for the layer.  You can see my lettuce page here.  It is one large page folded.

Your double page doesn't necessarily have to have the same shape on both sides.  I could have cut a lettuce slice on one side and then a cheese slice on the other.  Just maintain that fold so you can staple it all together.

Put all the layers together and then staple, glue, or even sew along the middle fold.

Here is another of these layered books I have made with Grade 3 that shows the layers of the earth.

and last year I showed you this heart book that is a similar layered book.







Hope you enjoy the book projects and I'll see you next time.

How to make an Art Calendar

I have lots of art calendars.  I get one every year to keep the inspiration going.  (This year it's the Metropolitan)

It occurred to me that it would be great to make your own so I created one that showcases some of my favourite projects.

It's a desktop one that stands up on it's own and once you know how to make one you can easily adapt this project for a keepsake book or journal (i.e Mother's  Day).

I added a small calendar to each page for this year.

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

- 2 pieces of corrugated cardboard, the size you want for the calendar
- paint 
- coloured cardstock
- binder rings, chain, wire, or even ribbon/string
- artwork for the different months, same size as the cardboard
- glue
- hole punch
- piece of wide ribbon
- printable calendar

PROCEDURE:

I'm going to walk you thru how to make the covers and how to get it to stand up first.   You then can add the pages/months.
Cut 2 pieces of corrugated cardboard the size you want for your calendar or book.  These will be the front and back cover of your calendar.

I like to prime them with white paint or gesso.





Prime both sides. Set aside to dry.

Now you have different options for binding your calendar.

Binder rings are nice but can be a bit pricey especially if you are doing a whole class.  Another great option are shower curtain rings.  I can get a set of 12 for $1.00 at the Dollar Store.

You can also just use wire, ribbon or string.

I'm going to use binder rings for this calendar.

I mark with a pencil where I want the holes to go on one of the primed pieces of cardboard.

Punch with a single hole puncher.

Place this piece of cardboard on top of the second piece and mark with pencil where the holes are.  Punch them on the second piece.

You can now attach the rings.

To make the stand I cut a piece of wide ribbon slightly longer than the width of the calendar when it is standing.

On the back of the front cover glue the end of the ribbon to the middle of the bottom.



You can use tacky glue or hot glue.

Glue the other end to the bottom of the other piece of cardboard.

 Now have a calendar/book that will stand up.


If you want you can get fancy and do 2 pieces of ribbon on either end as an alternate way.


You can now add your pages as well as artwork for the front and back cover.  Punch holes in each new page.

Each piece of artwork is mounted on a piece of coloured card stock that is the same size as my cardboard covers.

You can add the names of the months with stamps, hand lettered, stencilled, or using computer text.  I used my cricut.

I found a printable calendar online.  I cut each month out and added them to my artwork pages.




That's it.

I hope everyone had a great holiday break.  I know I did.  I start a new residency today and I'm looking forward to working with my new crop of students!



It's going to be a week of clay projects, some old , some new.  You'll get to see the finished results in a few weeks.

How to Make a Heart Book

I was busy today working on lots of new art projects....most are still drying but I thought I'd show you this Heart Book.

I apologize for the dark photos but unfortunately in Winter we have very short days...I'll try to get some natural light photos tomorrow.

See Below



I love shaped pages and any shape that is symmetrical works well with this application, pumpkins, apples, fir trees, snowflakes, etc, etc.

NEW PHOTO

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

- thin cardboard or chipboard
- heart template
- assorted papers
- glue
- scissors
- paint
- colored paper
- hockey tape
- embellishments
- needle and thread

PROCEDURE:

Trace out a heart on thin cardboard.  This will be your template when cutting out your pages.

You can make the heart any size you want.

Trace and cut hearts out a variety of papers.  I used vellum, wrapping paper, painted paper, book pages, wax paper, etc.

You need at least 10 hearts to make a nice book.  Fold them in half, they should all fit nicely together.

You want to bind these papers together separate from the covers.

I'm using thread but you could sew them on the machine or use a stapler.  Just make sure the binding runs along the fold line.

Now you want to make your front and back cover.  Cut these out of thin cardboard or chipboard.  I wanted mine quite a bit larger than the heart pages.

Paint or add color/decoration to the inside of the covers.  I'm staying with my heart motif.



You might want to outline where the heart pages will be when planning your design.

Turn the covers over and set them side by side.  We are going to join them together with hockey tape which makes a great binding.  It's very flexible, easy to use, and widely available.
Leave a little gap between the covers.

The gap helps the covers move freely when opening and closing.

Take a piece of hockey tape and tape the covers together (leaving the gap in place).

Trim off the ends of the tape with scissors.




Press down on the tape to make sure it is stuck on thoroughly.

You should be able to open and close the covers quite nicely.

Now you can finish the covers.  I went with paper but you could use fabric or paint.

I measured out a rectangle of paper slightly longer than the length of my covers.
Coat with some glue, leave the fold line free of glue.
Fold your cover paper in half and put into place, close the book so you leave slack in the fold line, let dry folded.

Open the book and put some glue where the heart insert is to go.

Put the heart pages in the book.  Pull them up a bit in the middle before the glue sets up.  This enables the book to be fully open.

Now you can leave the heart pages as they are....use them to add text or illustrations but if you are not adding anything to them here is a tip to get them to fan out nicely.

Starting on the first page add a little glue to the top of the page, turn the next page gluing the tops together.

Now  put a little glue at the bottom of this page and then turn and glue the next page to it.


Keep up this alternating pattern, gluing top then bottom thru all pages.

This will give you a nice honeycomb type effect like those tissue decorations we have all seen at showers and weddings.

Add text.  I used the computer and then added some color to my words.

Glue your words into place and now embellish as you see fit.


I added a few sequins and some more hearts.



That's it.