Saturday, September 17, 2011

My book of hats.....

It all started innocently enough...I bought this great old photo album at a flea market.

IMG_1389Hey, I can do something with that! 

Then one day, while looking through my collection of old photos I noticed how many photos I had of men, women and children wearing hats.  Great hats, hats of the period with feathers and ruffles and brims out to here hats...that's what I'll do....make an altered book featuring some wonderful hats! 

So, I started making pages for my book......

IMG_1390This page features a photo of two women covered by a clear overlay of a postcard.  The facing pages look like this......children in hats!

IMG_1391 IMG_1393 I used watercolor pencils to add color to the flowers on these three beauties bonnets.....to me they look like Easter bonnets.  See the facing page below......

IMG_1392On this facing pages I used Easter post cards, buttons, lace and flowers to compliment the  Easter theme.

IMG_1395I cut these photos out and glued them onto canvas that I had already  painted and stamped...then stitched the whole page together.

IMG_1394I love the photo on this facing page...do you really think you could dance with one of those hats on your head?

IMG_1396  I just finished this page...it is a photo of my mother about the time she left Norway for America, she was four years old.  She may have even worn that outfit during her travels.

This is a page....that is under construction...a lot could change!

IMG_1397Here are a few more potential photos for the book......

IMG_1398They are all great photos, but notice the two men in the back with their derby's and the ladies in front with "boater's"....such great pictures. 

In spite of having a great book and some fantastic photos, I've had  trouble getting "fired up" about this book, until today! 

That's when Melissa posted a blog about the great ATCs she has been making.  Check them out here at her blog "Red Tape" .  She does wonderful things with cabinet cards.  While your reading her blog, I recommend you click on her Flicker page and check out the whole body of work.

This is the great thing about blogging and belonging to on-line art groups....artists, like Melissa, share something on their blog that can truly inspired another blogger....clear across the country...and get her excited  about trying some new ideas.  Thanks, Mellissa.  I hope one day soon, I will be ready to share my completed book with you and my other readers. 

This Wednesday, the 21st, I will be joining Seth Apter at The Altered Page for the fun collaboration he is hosting called Paper Stacks.  I don't think you're going to want to miss it!

  Thanks for stopping by and I always appreciate your comments.

7 comments:

Fishtail Cottage said...

Such a cute & fabulous idea! i kinda did a book like this years ago & put all the baby announcment photo's people would send inside of it - although now, i have no idea who's baby is who! lol xoox

Melissa said...

This is a wonderful photo album and I love the theme...you have great images with which to work! The story, each page tells, puts the reader right back in-the-day. Sometimes books like these are a work over time, as new ideas come to you. Beautiful!

teri said...

I love what you are doing, and I totally agree about inspiration from Melissa and others. One idea leads to another...

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I got a bit off course by visiting Red Tape and all the wonderful cabinet cards. I especially like the one you made using a transparent postcard overlay. Very clever!

Julie said...

Thanks for your ideas on my mini book! I am learning a lot from you! I love this idea...what a great find you made!!!

Carin Winkelman said...

You did some wonderful things with this book/album. Inspires me to think about picking up an old album I have that looks very much like this one (but is still empty, haha).
Good job!

Chris Flynn said...

These are all so sweet... really takes me back, wondering what it must have felt like to balance those hats on my head. I don't even like a bobby pin, scrungy, nothing... on my hair/head! I do have some huge, long hair pins in my antique shop. One is over 12" long, with a big ornate jewel on one end. I'm just glad I don't have to cover my head for society or fashion's sake!
Sweet Blessings to you!