terrie's last letters

My last letters, but not the book, yet.  Soon.







In each pocket will go photos that I've taken of flowers starting with the letter on the pocket - flower pics are sized at 5x2.25" to fit in the pocket.  Here's a sampling:







So now, on to making the book.......and thinking about next year's alphabets.

susan's second - completed .....

It is so nice to have ticked another project off my list.

Bliss.

Fold over box design

continuing my new logo addiction!

you can see how the cut out folds over and hinges on the central piece

the letters just sit loosely in their box

some of the letters and their box

the alphabet box completed 

susan's second alphabet .....

The second half of this year has been a very odd one for me and as such none of my letters had been done until yesterday.  I came up with this idea in January and then went ahead with my dotty alphabet - no way I could have done all those dots in one day!

I had prepared the papers and then yesterday afternoon sat down and completed all twenty-six letters of the alphabet.  Seems like cheating but there is an urgency I have at present to catch up with all the projects that have needed my attention and haven't had it.  Steve and I head away in February next year and won't be home until after Easter so those projects which are due to be completed by April 2013, need to be done before Christmas.  I don't know if you all feel the same, but Christmas seems to bleed into January and not much in the way of creativity gets done.  Is this because we are exhausted after our year, and need that time out to refresh our thoughts and energies?  I think that is certainly part of it.

As you can see, my images are not on 7cm squares but are 7cms by 16cms and will be housed in a box.  The book will be unbound.  I have used a combination of joss papers - gold and silver, the gold had two differing coloured backgrounds.  I have used my normal writing for each letter of the alphabet and used the letters as part of the visual design.  Some of the letters are used repeatedly, almost as texture, and sometimes as individual letters. I have used a combination of graphite and fine black pen.

Despite the fact that the effort seems rushed, the concept had been worked out and a number of mock ups made earlier in the year.  As such, it meant I could just forge ahead with this collection.

I have really enjoyed looking back and forth through all the ALAW posts and seeing so much creative interpretation of the alphabet.  I am looking forward to seeing the completed alphabets.

second alphabet - a to h

second alphabet - i to p

second alphabet - q to z

terrie's playing catch up

I haven't worked on my second ALAW alphabet in a while so played a little catch up while I was on vacation.  Most of this one is computer work at this point so I printed out the background for all the letters (flowers beginning with each letter in a faded script), found and cropped the flower images before we left and hand lettered the alpha using my parallel pen while vacationing.

Originally I was going to do one flower per letter but I have so many pretty flower pics that I'm going to use multiples (though I won't take up your time to show them all).  My idea is that these will end up in a handmade book and it will be interactive because you can pull the photos out of each alpha pocket.

Kim Schoenberger - finally finished alphabet one!

Firstly, I must apologise for my lack of presence with ALaW the last few months, 'tis the usual story of work overload....

Doing catch up with my first alphabet and it is finished!!!  I am very happy with the outcome after which alot of brain power and contemplation went into the final touches of the light box to make it work effectively and look aesthetically appealing.

 

All complete - aerial view and lit up at night.

 

As this was my first attempt with making a light box and having no idea of 'how to' make one there were several things that didn't work which I had to reconsider! Not wanting to glue the pianola scroll down or frame the box, I decided to sandwich the scroll between two sheets of clear plexiglass raised above the light box with a 'pin' system.

 

 

Finding the exact size and system for the lighting was a challenge, which resulted in several trips and exchanges at the local hardware store, not to mention the different width cuts of timber - I eventually got it right!!! 

 

... when I found this lighting system, it fit perfectly like a glove, even the extension cord distance - if only I'd found this system first go!

 

Another view in the daylight...

 

Now that is finished, I best make a start on alphabet two!

susan's final letters .....

Phew - just a couple of days left in June and I have finished my 'dotty' alphabet.  I am now suffering from alphabet envy.  This is my first alphabet book and I am quite pleased to have it, however now I am wishing I had begun this project in 2010 when others did and the completion of this dotty book would mean I had completed five alphabet books!  How marvellous would that be .... having five of them bonding on the shelf ......  ah well, in another few years this book will have plenty of playmates.

This photo next is included as I am still quite partial to the 'bits' I had to cut off my letters as I had not made them the correct size for this project.  I may try and include them somehow when I house my book in perspex.

I will be making a perspex box for my book, and maybe a perspex sleeve for underneath the box and that way the reflections will add another dimension.  This is a borrowed box - you can see all the scratch marks from the pens which usually inhabit the box.  Thought I would just borrow it momentarily for the photo shoot!

And so, my 'dotty' alphabet is complete, apart from its box and now I am working out ideas for the second alphabet.  Something less dotty this time for sure .....  It has been fun though.  Looking forward to all our books meeting.