Alter This!: Radical Ideas for Transforming Books Into Art by Alena Hennessy is a great book for the altered book beginner because it explains so many techniques for transforming books, including projects for hardbacks, paperbacks, board books, and even phonebooks! Altered book pros will find inspiration for fun and creative projects and ideas for taking their artwork a step or two further. And scrapbookers will find many techniques that they can use in their own albums.
With altered books, before you add too much to a paper page, you will need to make it sturdier so that the paper doesn’t tear. The book begins with instructions for page strengthening with paint, glue and gesso. Directions for preparing board books are also included.
Hennessy has some simple ideas that have great impact, like painting over all but a few words on the page. The unpainted words stand out and make titles or read like found poetry.
I like that Hennessey gives specific instructions and needed supplies for projects, but that she gives ideas for expanding on those same directions. Some of my favorite projects in this book are books that hold secret notes, entire game boards complete with playing pieces made out of phonebooks, and travel journals with special pockets for holding things like tickets and postcards – or even chopsticks. Other pages use collage, origami and pop-up book techniques. There are even instructions for transforming books into shadow boxes, drawers, purses, and even clocks.
Other page ideas are simpler. Some are even directed towards children. Hennessey suggests drawing right over the printed page, or using rubber stamps directly over the text. And don’t forget the book covers, you’ll find ideas for transforming them too.
Also See:
Cloth Paper Scissors – Magazine Review
Vintage Pop-Up Cards – Taylor Hagerty