Que Pasa? Can you elaborate a little? I'm out of the loop on altered books or people.

Minnie.......I'm sorta new to this too but I think some of our co-hearts have made them. So maybe they will post some info here. I'm interested in the process........not so much in content just the mechanics.

I think a search on altered books would turn up a ton. Some are a little on the weird side, but it's kind of the same concept as altered Altoid tins or embellished boxes... You just take something ordinary and make it artsy! Stamp, collage, paint, whatever. I've played around with an old book I had and, I can't explain it, but it's very fun!

Rosie, are there any pictures of the hymnals? That would be a neat thing to do with Christmas carols.

Here is a link that might be useful: Here are a few examples

I forgot about this site, which has been mentioned around here before (very inspiring work!) I think her altered books kind of tell a story; isn't that a "novel" idea? ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Karen's Whimsy Altered Books

I have worked on one altered book so far. The problem is I can't finish it cause I have lost it! It has gone missing for about a year now...but it is bound to show up sooner or later!
Anyway, a nice way to start is to get a child's "board book" from the thrift store....with the thick cardboard pages. Then you have a good heavy surface to paint and stamp away. You can let some of the original words & pictures show or you can cover the whole page with gesso and do whatever you wish.

Lia.......check this out.

picturetrail.com/cmpenny

Right side.....hymnal pics.

I looked at the pictures but I just don't get it.

Rosie- at first I thought you meant she created a figure of a person using the altered hymnal as the body.
Minnie- to me, altered books are a form of collage or assemblage art. The hymnal istelf becomes a new work of art by the artist adding paint, decoupage, stamps and other items to the pages. She used the topic of each hymn to inspire her when she added images. I think it is lovely! Although I am surprised at how nicely the pages look. Hymnal paper is so thin it can't take much added wet media unless she put something else behind the page as a backing.
I just did a collage for an art journal round robin, and used a page from a hymnal as part of the background with watercolor paper as a base.

Karen

Will email her and ask how she strengthened the pages........Check out this French lady's work.........I think some are familar with her work....just outstanding.

isisesc.supelec.fr/gallery-nenuphar/Cosmology_Astrology

Karen.......this was her reply on how to strengthen the pages in the hymnal.

"As for glueing the pages, I did some with glue stick (just around the
edges), did some with mod podge (they tend to crinkle a bit more, but can be
improved if brushed with the grain of the paper. However, I think now I
will use glue stick around the edges (1/2 inch inside) and if I'm doing a
bunch together, I'll go back after they're all glue sticked and "paint" a
little modge podge along the edge for extra measure."