This 8x8 book was made by special request, a friend was looking at one of my other 8x8's and wondered if I would make a book of fairies? I had not considered this before, but gave it a go...
Based on trial and error, I have coined two practices that work well for this design. The book binding and the fabric cover method I have developed. If anyone is interested let me know and I will pull a video together.
The spine is covered in a brown textured leather. I punched grommets into the spine to place a chain link for charms. I added a 2inch long charm of a faerie. Her wing tips are painted in green and there are blue crystals outlining the wings as well. I placed a fabric vine also onto the spine starting from the base and branching out to three stems up to the top.
The book is covered in a colorful butterfly fabric print. The back and front cover of the fabric I inserted batting. This allowed for the "quilted look" when the butterflies were added to the front.
I searched for this fabric for a couple hours at M&L's, it suited my design perfectly.
On the cover I made two large 3D butterflies. I selected and glued 2 butterflies from the remaining fabric onto chipboard. After they dried I cut them out. I left a section of the fabric unglued, so that I can fill it with batting. I then glued the section so the batting stays put. Note: I only placed glue on the outline of the wings and the center body.
I painted the chipboard backing. I bent the wings up a bit for dimension. I then hand sewed the butterflies onto the cover. I then covered the stitches with blue crystals on top, also giving the butterfly center body more dimension as well.
This is the first pair of pages to the faerie book.
The left page -Mushrooms: has a clock on top of the "O" in Once Upon a Time page that is the base page cover. Beneath the "O" is a sleeve I made, tore the edge and added green ink. Inside the sleeve I made two cards. On top of the sleeve are moss drops to show the page is part of the earth. Amongst the moss you will see several fairies I colored, inked and stickeled. On the bottom right of this left page I place a leafy 3-stem vine one going across the page and the others up to the top. On top of the vine is a cluster of mushrooms I made from chipboard. Painted, stickeled and added green and red crystals. A faerie sits on top. Above the faerie is more moss with red berries.
The right page-Mushrooms: has a twiggy tree I made with rope and colored it brown, added moss drops and a faerie sitting on a branch. I added a corner sleeve to the bottom right of the page, and edged the ends with brown ink. I made faerie cards and inserted them here. Just beneath the faerie tree in the center of the page is a mushroom patch. I made from chipboard to compliment the smaller mushrooms on the opposite page. I placed moss on the base of the page and tiny flowers sprinkled about.
Now for the 2nd pair of pages...
The left page-Berries & Blossoms: I don't know if its fair to say, but I think this was my most favorite page of all... I made a tree from chipboard, covered it in card stock, moss and berries. I got the berries from Michael's floral section last Christmas and just saved them till now. I was so happy when I found them. :) They worked out great here.
So, I added leafy vines to the branch, made a bench from twigs to build a swing. I then glued a pair of fairies onto chipboard and added them to the swing. I placed moss drops onto the tree and placed a faerie onto two of them, like perches. To the right of the tree I made two faerie cards and glued a metal clip to the top of the page to hold the cards. The bottom right of the page I made 2 bottle cap charms with the letter "B" & "E", for the word "BE". Just "BE" yourself. :)
To the left of the caps I placed a tiny batch of white flower blossoms and a faerie sits beside them with some in her hand.
The right page- Berries & Blossoms: This page consists of a floral ring, the type fairies wear as crowns. I placed fairies around the crown, s "look" for them they like to hide...
In the center is a four-way mini book. It has a tiny magnetic closure. I don't have this book anymore, and I don't have a photo with the mini open, so my apologies. But each page is adorned with faerie images and areas for either journaling or adding photos.
This is the 3rd pair of pages...
The left page-Tree House: I loved making this page, mostly because I wanted a water pond and didn't know what I was going to do to make it happen. The top left is a frame made of rope that I colored brown and twist and glued together. To the right is a leafy vine from bottom to top of page. From one of the branches I built a house made from tiny twigs for the base and the top. The center body is made of a tiny basket. I added brown moss and stickles for texture. On the top left of the roof I added a faerie I made from card stock. I colored and stickeled his clothes, wings and shoes to match. From the house I extended a step ladder made of wood pieces and I added words of inspiration onto each one. SMILE, BELIEVE.PLAY.
At the bottom of the ladder is a wooden fence I made and colored brown. I wrapped leafy vines around each boarded slat. I placed flowers and butterflies on top. I added a faerie to the right of the fence.
The Pond, is on the left bottom of this page. I started by placing a 1inch round mirror onto the page. I then layered in moss and pebble stones. On top of the mirror I added tiny aqua blue seed beads, leaving a pattern of reflective movement on the mirror. I place a faerie sitting beside the pond looking into the "water".
The right page- Tree House: The top left has a Phrase, dimensional sticker I made from chipboard, clear adhesive and ink. I added a dragon fly to the top right edge. Beneath the phrase is a tree and door I made from polymer clay that I made by hand and baked in the over. I then painted each one and placed it onto the page. The tree has lots of dimension, just hard to see on photo. The door has a center round peep hole. If you look through it, there's a surprise, but not visible on the photo. Sorrrrry... :)
On the right and left of the base of the tree I place a faerie, a girls kneeling to play with a bug and a boy leaning up against the bark, both with the wings all a flutter. The photo is a little cut-off, but you can see there are tiny stones leading away from the door an out to a path. At the base of the door are tiny "wood" (chipboard) steps I made.
On the upper right of this page is a mini book with a faerie on the outside cover. Inside I placed pages for journaling. I also decorating the inside cover with fairies and butterflies. The book is bonded with two tiny ring jumpers, and has a magnetic closure.
This is the 4th and final pair of pages...
The left page-MushroomMini, This entire page is a purple mushroom patch, where all three mushroom tops open to reveal a section for adding photos or journaling. After making the first mushrooms earlier in this book, I wanted to make the mushrooms interact. I made these from sketching onto chipboard, cutting them out and inking them. I wish I had close-up images for all these e type of pages, so you could see the detail. I placed purple paper flowers on the large center mushroom and in the center is the word "cherish". I colored the word and placed a clear resin adhesive on top for dimension. The smaller right and left mushrooms have clear dew drops I placed on to their tops, giving a whimsical look to the page. There is leafy vines on the sides and moss at the base of this page as well. Oh, and if you look close you will always find a faerie or two. :)
The right page-Wishing Well, I had this close up photo of this page, so I wanted to share it. You can see more detail then in the photo above. On the left of the page is a tree I made of rope and colored it brown. I added leafy vines and yellow and green blossoms on top. At the based of the tree I placed a faerie sitting, watching. In the center of the page is wishing well I made of tiny twigs, a tiny basket as the pail , aqua blue seed beads for "water" and tiny stone pebbles at the outside base. I added a rope to "hang" the pail to the well. At the top of the well I place a faerie. I color and stickle all my fairies.
To the right of the page is a frame, on the frame I have a couple charms. The left is metal charms spelling the word "DREAM". The right is tiny twigs shaped into a circle and bonded by wire. Inside each circle is a letter. The charms I made by hand and the word spells "WISH". I made a card insert for the frame, can be used like all of the inserts I make for either journaling or photos. The bottom right of this pages ends of course with a FAIRIE.
This book took several hours and days to make. I think off and on about a month. I really enjoyed each page, as each one was not only an adventure but a challenge to my creative nature. It was exciting and truly made with every child-fiber in my being. I hope its new home treasures it.
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