brought to you in living colour by Quietfire Design
May 2005- Issue 45

 

Gentle Thoughts


 

 

 

 

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Hi Everyone!


This is just a note to let you know that the new acrylic blocks are in stock! Check them out with their accessories here.

If you're perusing the byhand Product pages, you may notice some changes. Hopefully, over the next several months I'll have all the pages converted to the new look and finding the toys will be easier! Just bear with me during the changeover. Thanks!

Also new on the Product pages are Insight Windows. You can click on the Insight twills when you see them in the Product pages

and read more about that particular product. Thanks to Judi Robinson for providing the first Insight! Stay tuned for more Insight windows.

The Quietfire Retreat is coming up soon and there are still spots left! Don't miss out!

Here is what's in this months newsletter:

Quietfire Retreat
 Suzanne's Calendar |  New byhand Products
What came in the Mail! | Stolen Moments
Mini Leather Book Swap

 

Please drop into my other website: It changes every month!
http://nourishment.usana.com

While you nourish your creative spirit by reading this newsletter, don't forget your creative body needs nourishment inside and out!
Join my new Yahoo Group
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/nourishment/

Books to Inspire
thanks to Cathy Highland for this review!

This is by far one of the best books on Mixed Media Artwork I've read since purchasing Claudine Hellmuth's Collage Discovery Workshop last year. Filled with ideas, information on several different mediums, instructional materials and how-to information, this book offers some wonderful tips and techniques that will enable you to explore and discover yourself while creating your own artwork. This book offers a little bit of everything and then some; from copyright information to creating altered books and mixed media collages, then on to altering tins, designing shrines and creating assemblages. There is no end to the amazing artwork and inspiration featured within from the 95 contributing artists and designers. This book is certain to jumpstart your imagination and inspire you creatively. Follow your muse wherever it may lead.

By using the links to Amazon supplied on this site you are supporting the byhandnewsletter production. Our deepest thanks!

Link to Altered Art

If you are an Amazon.com customer, please click on this link!
In Association with Amazon.com

 



If you're Canadian (like me!) and you'd like to order byhand products in Canadian dollars but don't want to wait for the mail system to deliver your cheque, there are alternatives! You can read more details here or email me. I'll try to make it easy-peasy!

I can't tell you how pleased I am that you are offering product here on the island and it is available in Canada! I also appreciate how easy you make ordering, answering questions and shipping.
THANK YOU!

Nadine M. - Victoria, BC

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As well a supporting the maintenance and creation of this newsletter you will receive a limited-release rubber stamp:


The width of this stamp is approximately 3.5"

For more details, go to the
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As a Premium Subscriber, you will receive a limited-release unmounted rubber stamp as well as first notification of new rubber and new byhand products!

If you wish to contact me, my email address is:
suzanne@quietfiredesign.com
Quietfire Design, Box 1231, Port Alberni, BC
V9Y 7M1  Canada

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Don't forget if you'd like to share some artwork that you have stamped with a Quietfire Rubber Stamp, please send me a copy and I'll be delighted to put in the Stamping Gallery.

Don't be shy!



 

Suzanne is a member of the

Visit my little gallery page on the ISABA website!

 

Suzanne's Schedule

2005

One of the new workshops for 2005...

Harlequin Stitched Spine Journal...


This delightful book incorporates an exposed harlequin stitching pattern through a leather spine and incorporates rivets into the structure.

Sat May 14 Victoria BC Journal in a Slipcase Island Blue Print
Sun May 15 Victoria BC Altering On - Niches and Drawers Island Blue Print
Sun May 29 Calgary AB Awesome Altered Books-
The Black Book		 for Select Imports at the Canadian Craft & Hobby Industry Show
Sat & Sun
June 11 & 12		 Port Alberni BC Copper Book Retreat Contact suzanne@quietfiredesign.com for details
Sat & Sun
July 16, 17		 Lasqueti Island, BC The Altered Book Project  
Friday Aug 12
7 - 10 pm		 Richmond BC Artwerx Vendor Evening Artwerx
Best Western Richmond Hotel.

Sept 24, 25

 Red Deer AB The Altered Word

Lettering Arts Guild of Red Deer
To register, please contact Christine - ahmadmo@telus.net
Oct 15 Victoria, BC tba Island Blue Print
Oct 16 Victoria, BC tba Island Blue Print
Oct 21 Abbotsford BC tba Endeavour Educational Services
Oct 22 Abbotsford BC tba Endeavour Educational Services
Nov 4 Edmonton AB Mini Mica Memories Edmonton Calligraphic Society
Nov 5 Edmonton AB Italic Bootcamp Edmonton Calligraphic Society
Nov 6 Edmonton AB Versed in Versals Edmonton Calligraphic Society
Nov 19 Burnaby BC Harlequin Stitched Spine Burnaby Continuing Ed
Nov 20 Surrey BC Harlequin Stitched Spine Bookmakers of Vancouver

Quietfire Retreat

There is still room and time to reserve!


Book by Chris Sawrenko

June 11 & 12, 2005
in the beautiful Alberni Valley!

The Copper Book 2-day Workshop

This weekend will include
Copper Book Workshop including book materials
A goodie bag
Catered breakfasts & lunches, all day coffee, tea and snackies on the days of the workshop
Spa evening (oh, so relaxing and fun)
Field trips & Shopping Opportunities (other than Quietfire Design!)
Fabulous Scenery (if it doesn't rain...)
And you'll be just over an hour away from the incredible Long Beach on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

The Spa evening at the hotel will include facials, snacks and the possibility of libations! I am trying to arrange massages, as well, but move over, I'm first in line! (kidding!) I'm sure this will be a fun and relaxing evening!
Accommodation will be at the Coast Hospitality Inn in Port Alberni, only a few blocks from the workshop location. A block of rooms have been reserved for the Quietfire Retreat and the event price is $90CAD/room. Participants will be required to book their own rooms and make their way to Port Alberni. Let me know if you're planning to fly in - we will arrange a pick-up, if possible!
Cost of the Retreat
$180 CAD/person (approx. $145USD).
This includes the workshop and all book materials, goodie bag, spa evening, catered breakfasts and lunches. You may use your Visa, PayPal or cheque made out to Suzanne Cannon. Please email me if your cheque is on the way!


If you'd like more information, please email me!
 It's going to be a fabulous weekend!

Here are some amazing examples of what students have created in the Copper Book class. You can see more in the Class Photos section of my website.

More information about the Copper Book workshop....
 This is a fabulous book with covers of solid copper. In this class we will stamp, etch, patina and drill copper and then fill the pages with the beatings of your heart.
The book pages will be decorated before the book is assembled for ease of working. There are 8 panels to decorate. You may wish to choose some sort of theme: friends, family, travel (etch the Eiffel tower on the cover???)...
Supplies you should bring:
the kitchen sink.
( You will not need your book cradle. ) Paper towel/guard sheets
Rubber gloves and some protective eyewear. I just wear my glasses.
Rubber stamps and pads
Copies of photos
You may want a selection of beads.
For more inspiration and ideas about what to bring, check out the examples in the Class Photos section.

 


The Mini-Leather Book Swap

Eight hardy byhandartists recently braved the world of leather to create mini-books. Here they are! Thanks to everyone who played and a special thanks to Nadine Wong for hostessing!

Carolyn Adams, Fairview, AB

Dos-a-dos literally means "two by two", but more accurately a dos-a-dos book is "back-to-back". Seen in cross section from the top down, the structure resembles a capital N. Pages are inserted into the two angles of the "I\I" to make a double reversible book with two front covers (one on top and one underneath when you turn it over) having separate spines but sharing a back cover.
I had the black leather remnant left over from my mukluk-making days but it was not quite heavy enough to support the book structure, so I added heavy card panels to the covers of each book to make it more rigid. The card panels were done with Stampers' Anonymous stamps and Versamark onyx black ink.
The leather covers were cut (3 x width of finished book + 1/4") x (height of finished book) and folded into three equal sections, then the prepared card panels were machine-stitched to the first and last sections leaving the centre section plain.
I cut an assortment of earth-toned papers for the pages, used an awl to punch holes for the stitching in both the pages and leather covers, and assembled the books using a three-hole pamphlet stitch with black linen thread. I started the stitching from the inside coming out of the centre hole, threaded beads for the top section of the spine and passed the needle back to the inside through the top hole, came out again through the bottom hole and added more beads, then went back through the centre hole and knotted the thread on the inside, and repeated for the second spine on each book.

Size of the Book: 2 1/2" x 3"

 

 

Kathy Mostardi, New Hamburg, ON

Signatures made from mauve and pale blue cardstock, with blue leather covers cut at the corners to reveal the textured purple endpapers underneath. All sewn together with purple thread in a coptic style binding.

Size of Book: 2 1/2 x 2 1/2"

 

Anne Atkinson, Saanich, BC

Mine was a smaller version of a class taken at Series, Red Deer with Carol Pallesen of Reno, Nevada. We pasted, painted and lettered on three sheets of large Arches text laid into 30 folios. Six sections with four folios per section. Carol covered book structure, parts of a book, sewing and a review of the Foundational Hand. Some awesome books were produced representing the Medieval Book of Hours.

Size of book: 4 x 5"

Nadine Wong, Sunshine Coast, BC

I am so glad I joined the Mini Leather Book Swap and stepping in as hostess when Linda Tanaka was unable to continue was a no brainer. The book is 2 1/8" by 2 5/8" and has a V stitch spine and can be worn as a necklace. For the Byhand Swap, I used Distress Ink Pads and reinker on the pages. I now have a variety of lovely little books to be viewed by all who pass through my studio. Great job Leatherettes.

Karla Hagemier, Renton, WA

I had never worked with leather before, but I picked out this great piece of red leather at the Accidental Bookmaker in Forest Grove, Oregon for this swap.

I had originally wanted to do more of a wrap-around style, but the leather I picked didn't seem to hold a defined shape. And every hole I punched with my awl seemed to close back up. So I decided to go with what I knew and use the coptic.

I like to use eyelets on my coptic books. I wanted to back the leather with something to make it a bit more interesting and I have this great dictionary I picked up at a library sale. I used PVA to glue the paper to the leather and put it in the book press overnight.

I used black waxed linen thread and the coptic stitch to put it together. I wanted to put something on the front of the book and tie in the dictionary page endpaper. I punched out word scraps of the dictionary paper and glued to the front of the leather. My biggest fear is that they wouldn't stay attached in the mail.

Size of Book: 2 x 3"

Mieke Mulder, The Netherlands

I always get my leather in a store, they repair seats and I receive my leather for free. It's always such a joy to look what is in the huge bag, sometimes they put such gorgeous pieces of leather. Like you see, I did make the most simple sort of pamphlet binding. I thought of making something little special in the inside and so I made this folded pocket pages, I found in a thin book by Yasutomo, I even think they have instruction about the page on their site.

  • You need one sheet of typing paper
  • fold it ones (in the length) and unfold
  • now again on each side of the paper, fold to the middle (first made fold) and unfold
  • fold on both sides 3/4"
  • fold all 4 corners to the folds made second
  • now fold to the center fold -turn the paper length and fold the bottom edge 3/4"to the backside
  • turn the whole piece over and fold in half, tuck the flaps into the corner pockets.

I hope it is a little clear how to made it but if you can't finish the piece I am always wanting to help, just send me an e-mail and ask.
Thanks for all the gorgeous books I received, Mieke

Size of Book: 3 x 4"

Size of Book: 3 1/4 x 3 1/4"

Nancy Quinn, Surrey, BC

I chose small pieces of soft, brown leather that I found at a leather store in Calgary last year. I used Stazon ink to stamp the design (Magenta) on the leather and then used Lumieres to colour the design. The little signature was sewn in with the booklet stitch. Great fun............

Suzanne Cannon, Port Alberni, BC

This little book incorporates leather, covered bookboard and rivets added for interest. The waxed linen thread stitched through the spine compliments the colours in the decorated paper. You can see I ran out of the purple! This book is the basis for the Harlequin Spine book that I am teaching in the fall. The leather I chose was a little thicker than I might have liked but I really wanted a leather that wouldn't stretch and a lot do. I also wanted a leather that wasn't too inflexible - the hunt was on. This leather is now available on my website....

Size of book: 3 x 4"

A note about the byhand shopping cart....

PayPal no longer requires buyers to sign up for PayPal accounts before making payments. Once the payment is complete, you can decide whether to save your information and sign up to PayPal for future purchases.

 

Start your shopping here for the new rubber stamps!

Other New Goodies!

Coil Journal

I just couldn't resist bringing in this journal. It is coil bound and has alternating black and lined pages. It would be a wonderful travel journal! Click here for more information.

New Vintage Collage Sheets

Perfect for collage, ATCs, Altered Books or anywhere you need that warm vintage look!
 Click here to see them all!

 

 

 

 

 

K&Co. Paper Kits
- loaded with goodies!

Leather


Yupo

See Rose Davidson's article on using Yupo in this issue!

Bookcloth

Kraft card ATCs!

 

Fabulous double-sided tape!

 


In the Mail

Collage by Moyra Peralta, author of Nearly Invisible
(read about Nearly Invisible in the January 2004 issue of byhand!)

Dear Suzanne
Your web-site just gets better and better... small wonder that it's influence has finally grabbed me! I have been driven to experimenting with torn-paper collage, re-working pages of a Sunday supplement news magazine. Although I hadn't thought of the series in this way, I now realise, in their new form, they are 'altered books'.

 

Stolen Moments

Rose Davidson tell us about painting with Yupo

For inquiring minds, (this is taken from the Yupo site): Yupo is a synthetic paper, machine-made in the USA of 100% polypropylene. It is waterproof, stain resistant, and extremely strong and durable. PH neutral, flawlessly smooth, and ultra bright white. No deckles. Recyclable


Enchanted by Rose Davidson, original watercolour painting on Yupo, 17 x 17, winner of the Juror's choice award at the SPAC Fine Art show

Well, for starters, I'm not a serious painter. Never have been. I just love to get out my paints and have fun. When a satisfactory painting emerges I am overjoyed. More often than not, the painting goes under my studio table, perhaps to emerge for a second look sometimes months or years later. I don't get over failure easily!! However, that is not the case with Yupo paintings. Because it isn't like traditional paper, actually it's more like plastic; it can be taken to the sink and simply washed off. A few of the more staining paints may leave slight traces but basically you could use the same piece of yupo over and over again. But, why would you when it's so much fun?

I've used watercolours, acrylics, inks, crayons and oil pastels on Yupo. Oil pastels and crayons and even fingerprints will require soap to wash off whereas paints will come off with a simple water rinse or a wipe with a wet sponge.

What I love most about Yupo is the serendipitous nature of the results. No control issues here. Because its surface is resistant to water, the paints flow over it, instantly creating incredible abstract patterns. By tilting the paper this way and that, the colours mingle and swirl. Trying to capture detail with Yupo is an exercise in futility so it's best to "go with the flow". (Pun intended)

Whenever I find myself getting uptight about my art I get out a sheet of Yupo. It's a great way to loosen up.

Here is the original Yupo painting
Here it has been digitally altered
This is Rose's bio superimposed on the digitally altered background. Amazing!

Ed. note: Every year Yupo has the Wally Awards for creative use of Yupo. To see more, click here.

You can now purchase Yupo in the byhand Product pages!

 

 

Stolen Moments Part 2
Fibre Swapping from Yogi

Recently the byhandartists had two fibre swaps! (Yippee, more fibres to play with!) And, in fact there were three complete groups.

Everyone who swapped with Yogi Grunwald from Calgary, received a very special treat - a fibre decorated folder filled with even more fibres. This was way over what the rest of us did! It's obvious Yogi had a wonderful time making these cards and assembling the fibres. All of us say a huge thank you!!

Below, Yogi explains "how she did it"!

FIBER SWAP CARDS: Having dealt with fibers and yarns and knowing how easily they knot up and also knowing I was going to include a whole bunch of fibers I had to come up with a packaging method that would keep the fibers free of knots and easily usable and storable as well as being aesthetically pleasing. This card evolved as I was designing and making mini sample cards to see what would work and what wouldn't.

THE CARD: I used a piece of basic 8.5 x 11" cream colored card stock. Using a bone folding tool I made 2 creases at approx. 5 ¼ " from either long edge with about ½" space between the creases to accommodate the fiber thickness giving me a finished card size of 8"H X 5 ¼" W. Since this was a mass edition I used my computer and ink jet printer for the wording using computer fonts. After careful thought I came up with a heading I thought was really appropriate "Earthy to Glitzy and treasures in between"

THE FIBER ARTWORK: The fiber artwork was a trial and error until I got the hang of it. I knew from past experience that gluing the fibers was a real mess. So I tried a few other ways. I finally opted for using my Xyron machine and regular cardstock. I worked on full sheets of cardstock rather than cutting the cardstock down to size. This gave me more "mental" freedom to swirl the fibers rather than be restricted to the smaller dimensions. I then cut out the areas I liked. While working on the cardstock I only lifted small areas of the adhesive backing at a time so that the adhesive would not get contaminated with fiber hairs. Loose edges I glued down with a bit of white glue. On some I added pearls and or buttons. For the larger fiber artwork I just glued a ribbon along the outer edge of the design. For the ATC's I decided to use my sewing machine to tack down the edges since they would probably be handled more and need re-enforcing. I cut little diagonal lines on the main card to hold the artwork. When the interior gluing and assembling was completed I then I attached the cards or ATC's to the main card by inserting the edges of the artwork into the cuts I made previously. I also hid a ribbon to tie the card closed under the artwork.

INTERIOR: I cut 1" strips which would be my vertical posts for my fibers to be held on and easily slide off of. I folded the top edge and stapled it to a horizontal strip of about 1/2'" and folded it again to hide the staple (I did this twice on either side of the card making 4 vertical posts). Using a basic glue stick I glued the horizontal strip to the top of the card on both sides leaving the center portion (1/2" fiber thickness) free. I put a strip of ½ " at the bottom but only glued it at either end. I then made a fold in the vertical strip to catch under the bottom horizontal bar so the fibers wouldn't fall off.

THE FIBER BUNDLES: I made 1" strips which I used to wrap my fibers onto and then stapled it on the back. The loose end of the fiber I tied to a tag I made that included the name and description of each bobbin of fiber, and put this tag between the fiber and the staple. These bundles were now ready to slide along the posts.

If there is any information you would like to see in this newsletter, let me know. Each month I will email you to let you know the new issue is published. If you know someone who would like to receive notice of byhand, just have them email me and I will put them on the list. Bye for now and thanks for visiting!

suzanne@quietfiredesign.com
(250) 723-0321 Quietfire Design

The original title lettering of byhand was done with a Mitchell's Roundhand Nib, size 0, and Higgins Eternal Ink. Quietfire Design Rubber stamps were used to create the other designs.

Artists whose work is shown in this newsletter retain the copyright on their own work.

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© 2005 Suzanne Cannon
This newsletter is for the personal use of the subscriber and may not be reproduced without written permission from Suzanne. You are welcome to email or print it in its entirety to share with friends, but ask that you include this copyright. Thank you for your help and your understanding.