Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Elemental Journal Review

 The Elemental Journal: Composing Artful Expressions from Items Cast Aside

Create Expressive Books from Salvaged Treasures

Rusty doorknobs, cardboard containers and plastic packaging may seem like trash to some, but through the creative mind, they are transformed into beautiful expressions - equally parts artful book and assemblage. The Elemental Journal will show you how to craft a wide variety of journals to hold your secrets or express your inner thoughts, and discover new ways to use wood, paper, fabric, plastic and metal in your art.

Peek inside The Elemental Journal and you will find...
  • 15 stepped-out journal projects made from unusual materials and found objects, from tree bark to dismantled photo albums to tin boxes.
  • Tips for seeking out materials for your journals in flea markets, garage sales, and in your own attic or trash can.
  • Inspiring gallery projects from 9 contributing artists, including Susan Tuttle, Jen Osborn and Jill Berry.One artist's trash is another's treasure. Discover yours with The Elemental Journal.
My take:  The telephone call that strikes terror in my heart comes far too often is from a certain 13 year old girl who, like her mother, might be a bit neurotic, bless her heart: "Mom, I'm bored.  What can I do?"  The difference between this child and her mother is when her mother is bored. . . Wait.  Her mother is never bored. She has 4 children, a job, a book blog, laundry to do, a garden, people to feed, a house to clean, and a stack of books to read. The daughter, when bored, whines, throws a fit, and/or picks a fight with a sibling.  Will she fold some laundry? Vacuum a room? No. She wants to be entertained right now and that nearly always means going to a store to get supplies for a new, messy craft.

Love the child and she is learning to clean up after herself but I do get tired, believe it or not.

Last night this beauty, who happened to be bored, sat by her mother for a full 45 minutes and looked through this book.  Not only does the book have great, artistic ideas, many of the components are readily available either in the house or outside!  It's turning trash into treasure - or at least a piece of art.  It's using what we already have and keeping a "bored" child busy for awhile without me taking her to the craft store.

Bliss.

This book was provided by the Thomas Nelson Group in exchange for an honest review.

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