Telling Your Story (sans lipgloss!)

The woman with the camera in this photo is the lovely Lynda Heines! Lynda stopped by the studio recently to interview me for her biweekly column Telling Your Story. Lynda is exploring the various ways people choose to share their stories with others. I love the art of altering books, and was delighted to jabber away on the subject for as long as Lynda would listen! You can read the resulting interview here. (Please note that if I had known my picture was going to be in the paper, I would have put on lip gloss!)

I have a groaning shelf of books on the subject of altering books, but my newest favorite is Playing with Books. What an irresitible title! And resist I did not! When I saw this book available on amazon.com it went straight into my cart. When it arrived in the mail I swooned a bit, and then made this fun business card holder. Of course, I plan to use it for vintage postcards, photos, and other bits and pieces, as you can see from the picture. The author, Jason Thompson, owns the Rag and Bone Bindery, and specializes in beautifully handcrafted journals. The book is packed with projects, and gorgeous photos of incredible works of art using old books. (umm...how many times can the word book appear in one paragraph? Six by my count!)
As I folded the pages for my business card holder, I was suddenly transported to my 10 year old self and my very first business venture. I remembered folding the big edition of the Sears catalog in exactly the same way to create a door stop! I made two of these hefty beauties, and sold them to obliging neighbors for 50 cents each! I had altered my first book, and I didn't even realize it!
I have lots more to say on this subject, and many more books to recommend, but I'll save that for another post! If you want to read about Lynda's adventures in altered books, check out her blog Bloom, Bake, Create. Happy altering Lynda and everyone else!