Collage Couture

I saw this book on Amazon and thought it looked interesting, but without being able to see pictures or have a description from someone that has it, I hesitated to buy.  I was in our local bookstore the other night and lo and behold there it was. What a treat for the eyes. I am such a book junkie, not the e-book type, the real paper, hold in your hands, kind of book junkie. I love the smell of books old and new and can wander around in book stores forever just looking at them. There is so much energy and creativity that goes into creating a book I am on the side of those who would never want electronic books to become the way of the world. There is something very comforting and relaxing to sit with a good book.

When I choose books to add to my collection I want to be able to pick any one of them up and get that “ love this book” feeling, so I am kind of picky. This is another of those that I can do that with. Currently on CDA, in the Vintage Studio, we’re starting an Alice Bookmark challenge. I think that’s such a great challenge, because you can make several, each one different from the other.

When I saw this book I was pleasantly surprized to find that it fits the idea of the challenge so well. It’s also something that would be appropriate to fit in with Colleen’s March theme of historical costuming on The Magic Bean. These paper art dolls/ladies could easily be created with historical costumes. Wouldn’t a collection of them make a great journal or collage on a wall.

The book is so well laid out. There are instructions for creating paper collage dolls based on different costuming themes. You can take yourself to different places in the world, like Paris and the Far East, you can think of kids clothes or very glam right out of the pages of a Vogue catalogue.

Anyway you decide to go is possible. While the book is based on paper art and collage art specifically, if you allow your muse to take your imagination away and consider all the other possibilities you could create some pretty amazing art pieces.

 

My thoughts at the moment are swirling around bookmarks and how many options I have for making and embellishing them. If you can find this book locally, take a minute to check it out. There are instructions for making the female doll shapes but certainly with a little effort and thought you could easily modify them to make male dolls to compliment them.

The how to pictures for making the collage couture doll art, even including instruction for jointed paper dolls, are very clear, step x step. One thing I always look for as well, is the type of paper. I love books that have good quality paper, it just adds to the feel of the book as you work your way through it. This is a great little book and one that you can open to any chapter to be inspired.