Since I have been teaching locally, I have rapidly acquired a lot of new paper. When I am putting a new project together, I find myself searching locally and via the internet for just the right paper for color and texture. This takes way too much time, a lot of space, and can get pricey. My stash of paper was already quite nice, but when you need enough paper for 20+ kits, you need more than just a single 6 x 6" pad.
Over the years, I have collected ledgers, antique books, and other ephemera, so what I have opted to do is to use fragments of store bought papers along with ledgers, book pages, hand-crafted papers, etc. Over the last couple of days I have been experimenting with a ledger book paper doll. I worked with stamps from my line of stamps Character Constructions, Mother Bird from the Theater of Dreams collection and legs from Bird & Bee Paperie, coupled with three dies (Memory Box stitched hearts, a Sizzix doily, and a generic bow die found on Amazon). I love that I can take something store bought and combine it with ephemera to create something that is unique and personal. Along with the ledgers, I incorporated some seam binding, shredded and stained to add some dimension and texture. The possibilities are endless!
A few words about Mother Bird. This stamp is from the Theater of Dreams collection, which I illustrated back in 2003. It was only my second collection of illustrations and back in those days, all the stamps had names. My son Ian named her Mother Bird. She holds a special place in my heart. And, finding myself finally with the time to "play" with these art tools created so many years ago, she takes me back to my roots, my sense of place and who I was at that time. The nest is empty now, but I will always have those memories to keep me warm.
