Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Dragonfly


As artists I think we all have our preferred techniques and projects that we go to when we feel the need to be creative but also want a dose of zen. For me, it is making simple little books. With some hand painted papers from my stash, a few sheets of watercolor paper, scissors, thread and a needle, I have a mini-book.


I can make dozens of these at a sitting, all of which I leave in a pile so I can come back another day to decorate the cover. Today's cover inspiration was a new set of dies from Spellbinders called Distressed Edges. With a name like that you know I had to give them a go.

I grabbed two different colors of hand painted paper and one of the dies out of the set of seven. I ended up with two rectangular die cuts and used the scissors to form two frames with the left over paper. I chose one frame and one centerpiece from each color family for contrast to use for my book cover. I will save the other two pieces for a future project.


I chose a different color of hand painted paper and made one more die cut using a different die from the Distressed Edges set. I cut that piece in half.


I used a stamp pad to add a bit of shadow and contrast to the edges of all the die cuts.


Given that spring is doing its best to come to NYC, I decided to incorporate a bit of a nature theme. I selected a branch die from Spellbinders Mix'd Media Elements set and matched that with some hand painted paper in a rich brown with green tones.


Using one of my favorite rubber stamps and ink, I stamped an image of a dragonfly on parchment colored paper.


I highlighted different sections of the image using bright colors that remind me of spring. When I add it to the book cover, I will draw in the dragonfly's antenna.


My next step: putting it all together.






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Supply List

Spellbinders Paper Art Supplies:

GC-001 SpellbindersTM Grand Calibur® Machine
S5-174 SpellbindersTM Nestabilities® A2 Distressed Edges 
S5-085 SpellbindersTM Shapeabilities® Mix'd Media Elements

Preferred Promotional Partners: Tsukineko StazOn Ink Pad, Imagine Crafts Inkblushers sponge

Other: watercolor paper, gesso, watercolor paint, acrylic paint, paint brush, water brush, rubber stamp, pen, thread, needle, scissors, adhesive

27 comments:

tgarrett said...

Beautiful cover Seth. We have many dragon flies here in Northern Minnesota. Sometimes we look up and there are hundreds and hundreds. I too love to make books and so understand what you said.

Anonymous said...

♥ it Seth. The colors are beautiful and you know I love dragonflies. You should see the photo of one Leslie has. I'll be sharing that soon on my blog. Did two posts so far on my blog about my journey to NYC...more to come. I finally have something interesting to blog about. Love that branch too - a must have. Is that from the metal machine?

Sue Marrazzo Fine Art said...

'LOVE to see the process!
The colors and subject are GREAT!

The Creative Beast said...

I just love seeing the step-by-step process here Seth and this mini book is GORGEOUS!! When my "Buy no new art supplies" challenge is over, I'll be picking up some of these wonderful tools you're sharing here =-)

Anne Marie - Toronto said...

Love it Seth! Now tell me, how do you 'stitch' the little books together? Also, will the spellbinders dies work with my new Vintag BigKick from Sissex???

Anne Marie - Toronto said...

Hey Seth, you don't need to answer the second part. I googled it and the dies will work with the Big Kick. Thanks!

Jo Murray said...

Glad you actually find time to produce stuff Seth...and beautiful 'stuff' it is. Watching the process is always fascinating, but these new-fangled tools are a mystery to me.

Kathryn Dyche said...

You make it look so easy but it really isn't. You have an amazing eye for colors, tones and textures. You're pieces almost seem like a puzzle that has to be put together.

Lynn Cohen said...

Sweet!
It is spring in full bloom where I live in California. Lots of trees totally white and/or pink in blooms. So pretty, but sometimes make me sneeze! ;-)
Your book is a treat! Thanks for sharing all the how tos too!

Roberta Warshaw said...

I too love making little books. I love this one. What is the actual size? Hard to tell online.

Allie Gower said...

Very pretty. I'm inspired to make more handmade papers and put them to use.

Tina Connolly said...

Gorgeous project, I love the color combo you've used.

Raylee said...

dragonflies are a favourite of mine.....thanks for the process....i too am like jo, the tools are a mystery, but i love the result!

Amanda Trought said...

Seth,This is so pretty and looks so delicate, I love the colours you used and the step by step progresion!

Martin said...

Wonderful Seth!

john said...

I love dragonflies, Seth. They fascinate me. Love this cover.

Linda said...

What a beautiful project. Your hand painted papers are so vibrant...can you share your technique for making them?

Caterina Giglio said...

oh sheesh, I read needle and thread and went looking for stitches!! then ... duh... I realized you used it to STITCH THE BOOK together... silly me... ; )

Katalina Jewelry said...

Love the colors of this piece.

Bill said...

Love the dragonfly against the blue. Beautiful work as always.

Barbara Smith said...

Seth, you are always such an inspiration! Like Creative Beast, I too am on a self-imposed art supply moratorium for a while, so I'll make something similar with the papers I created using your DVD tutorials, but I'll substitute a real twig for the die cut version.

Quinn said...

Lovely work! It's so nice to see cheerful spring colors, and that distressed look is really rustic and comfortable.

DavidCastleArt said...

WOW! I sure love this one, Seth! And the mini format is really fantastic.

Carol said...

Beautiful cover, Seth, and great progress shots. Like Jo, the tools are a mystery to me but I love the end result.

Halle said...

Love the bold color and texture!!

~*~Patty S said...

Beautiful book Seth, thank you for sharing how you created it!
Happy Spring weekend to you
oxo

Connie Fossenier said...

Impressive way to use these Die Cuts.Altered books are a always a creative journey...TFS
connie paxman