Saturday, 18 November 2017

WW/MM. What to add (visually) to your Book of Shadows / Grimoire etc. P4/5


Let's take a look at making things pretty!

Now you may or may not have decorated your cover, splashed out on a pretty book, prefer to go incognito and be subtle and have it look like just a plain book, binder, folder, diary etc.  Or maybe you went digital..  Your pages may already be inked up, tea dyed, stained, distressed, photoshopped etc..  But regardless of that this blog entry is about the insides..  The very.. Er.. Guts..  Yes that's not a nice thought - back up!! So this blog entry is about the beauty on the inside! (yes, that's better!)

So first of all let's think style!  "What are you into?"  "What is your personal appearance?"  "What style is your home?"  "Your dream home?"  "What art do you like?"  "What music do you listen to?" Etc..  Do you like oldy-worldy, steam-punk, goth, travel, sci-fi, traditional vintage, Boho, bright festival colours, fairy, fantasy, mythical, TV themes...  Is your head spinning with ideas?  Quick grab a notebook and write them down!!  - Good news, you don't have to pick one theme and just stick with that.  You could easily cross over fantasy fairies, with a gothy look created upon steam-punk pages that have cogs, gears and blue-print style drawings..  Or make your book look like a bohemian gypsy festival exploded in neon watercolour brights across each page!  The design theme and style is your own..  And of course as said mix it up..  Come up with your own unique YOU style.  And apply this to the pages, drawings, tip-ins, lettering even wording if you so please!

So assuming you didn't just go online and buy / print premade pages often containing pretty cookie cutter pages of spells that might not even work for you!  - Not everything resonates with everyone and to be honest unless its basics like Wiccan Rede, 10 Commandments, 13 Goals of the Witch or Zodiac information (the set in stone and won't ever change information) it is probably a waste of time and money unless you're looking for a show piece prop!!  - I am not saying there's anything wrong with buying / printing these pages just this blog entry is about us creating our own beautiful pages!!

Now in my last post I briefly touched base about perhaps you're not very artistic - this doesn't mean you can't have a pretty book by using other tools and materials.  As said I would explore a little more about that here..

- Using tip-ins:
And of course you can always stick in additional pages or pockets.  Use fancy note paper or themed such as Halloween, goth, floral, animal..  Another item you might want to use is journaling cards or project life cards to create note cards, journaling sports, imagery, affirmation oh the opportunities. Another idea for tip-ins or just for your pages might be photographs.  I know I have a canon selphy and can print my own acid free 6x4 or smaller (make sure if you're printing with your printer on photo paper that it's acid free as that will effect your book over time..) another idea might be using photo corners.  I know I plan to include a photo of myself that I may wish to update as I age.  I'm nearly 29 and dare say I won't look the same when I'm 49..!

- Using other people's images:
This is a sore spot, the difference between copyright and royalty free and plain theft.  (As an artist myself I have a strong viewpoint.)  Also note a lot of them cookie cutter pages I mentioned earlier contain stolen imagery, not all but some!
  1. Using other people's work and passing it off as your own - NO.
  2. Using other people's work to inspire your own - YES.
  3. Using other people's work to create your own - TRICKY! If it's royalty free stock follow the rules of use then YES.  If it's copyrighted typically NO.  - Why typically?  Because if it's completely unrecognisable in the end it's sort of ok, like using for texture, perspective, form or colour plates - an artist thing. 
  4. Using other people's work (credited) in your own personal books - YES.
  5. Using other people's work (credited or not) to sell - NO.
  6. Technically if it's for personal use like in your BoS that no one else will see then crediting isn't a must but it's nice to be able to refer back to that artist..

- Tracing: 
Tracing is allowed of course.  Now a lot of artists will argue you're not an artist if you trace..  Even if you then turn several traced things into a whole other masterpiece where your skills are in the colouring, but that's not for here!  I personally don't see anything wrong with tracing images into your books (or otherwise) especially if you're A. Not great at drawing. B. Want artwork in your book to be more unique and not something everyone else has..  Mix it up a bit!

- Using collage:
Like my last point using other people's images printed from online, found in books or magazines etc can be a fun and of course tracing is only one way to create personalised art and make it more your own.  Another is to take an images (or just one) and create an image from that.  I know Molly has some prompts which include page themes like ransom notes or just collaged backgrounds or whole images. (You could stick these in as are, trace them or even photograph and stick that in!  Or a mixture!)

- Using stamps: 
Another option might be stamps, granted these could be images that other people have but stamps are a good way of adding images.  You could even combine stamps to create your own images or learn masking stamp techniques.  I would personally recommend versa magic chalk inks based on price, dry time and product.  Inks like distress ink, stamping up and stazon are all alcohol based inks which means they can bleed, go through your pages and show up heavily on the other side.  Pigment inks tend to take forever to dry as they are rather wet and can bleed.  But chalk ink seems to be your somewhere in the middle, in my book it shows through on the other side but not so much it's a huge problem..  As for stamps.. I typically use clear cling mount (an acrylic block is required) and I'm a stickler for cheap stamps from Aliexpress.com - I also have a whole Pinterest board on planner purchases which includes some of my stamp purchases.  yes they're not as good as the expensive branded photopolymer and they will probably degrade quicker..  But some of mine I've had over 5 years with absolutely no issues and let's face it £1-4 Inc postage for a set of stamps..  Sometimes even less!!  I picked up a bunch of Halloween, flower, feather, animal, textures...  Great for adding art; images, elements, backgrounds etc..

          Stamp Tip.  If you're worried about your stamps showing through you could always stamp on paper, journaling sports, project life cards etc and then stick that into your book.  I know I plan to do some stamping with pigment ink / embossing ink and then heat emboss images which I then plan to cut around (with plain scissors but you could use decorative fancy edge scissors) and then stick it in my book.  Thus far I found roller double sided tape to be best.  Wet glue will warp the paper and I am a fan of double sided tape anyway..  I literally buy it in bulk!

- Stencils: 
I have some already from my planner stash but recently bought some amazing stencils which create banners, boxes, flags, icons and more.. Very excited to use these in my book!  I know I pinned them here. 

- Punches: 
Another interesting tool is punches they come in all shapes and sizes or even as die-cutting machines of various kinds.  Again you can find inexpensive die-cutting plates on Aliexpress.com but most of my punches came from ebay.  - I do crafts.  So punch out various elements to include in your book.  I recently saw someone had punched out butterflies from leaves..  Which would be a very beautiful element if you fired the leaves or even used fake ones and punches out butterflies. Or other shapes.  Some sellers on Etsy and Ebay even sell these punched pieces, confetti and personalised pieces.

- Decorative / Fancy Edge Scissors:
Create a torn look especially great for adding scraps, notes, covering up mistakes etc..

- Washi & Decorative Tape:
Tape can be used to tape in those tip-ins, as part of collages or as decorative pieces on its own!  Some can be cut up and used as stickers! These tapes contain words, phrases, patterns and various images.  Believe me I have probably over 200 different ones..!!  I'm an addict but they're so cheap also on, yes you guessed it.. Aliexpress.com and also on my AliExpress Pinterest board I have a section which has some of my tape purchases.

 - Stickers:
Stickers may also be a viable option, I know there's a lot of Etsy shops out there but one I can personally recommend is my friends shop PuppersAndFloofs - plus 20% off with my code IMO20 she currently has a number of gothy/witchy stickers!

- 3D Elements:
So that's more or less your flat elements.  But what about including some more 3D elements like pressed flowers, thin encased butterflies or dragonfly wing, shaker card elements, pop-up pages, samples, 3D pockets or found objects like coins, charms, keys! - Well all that is upto you..

I hope that this has given you some creative ideas.  You could always check out my Pinterest BoS etc board or more specifically my section called Layout & Design Inspiration.

Some other ideas for you..  You may wish to look into such as on YouTube are 'art journaling' or 'scrapbooking' for some more creative ideas.  - art journaling prompts can also give you some amazing base ideas for getting started on a blank page page..  And if your paper is more like a sketchbook type paper which would take ink, paint or gesso (it's like a gritty paint that gives your pages some tooth - available typically in black or white and matte finish which is often what professional canvases are prepped with) better. - You definitely don't need to be artistic to art journal, scrapbook or have a pretty BoS / Grimoire / Book!


Good luck.  - I'd love to see what you do!  And feel free to follow me and my progress on Instagram

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