Sample Scrapbooked Poems
I recently finished a batch of scrapbooked poems on commission for laffingkat, who is willing to let me post pictures of them here. Full-size images are saved in my LJ scrapbook; see the " Scrapbook Images" gallery. (Sorry the colors are a bit murky; it was a cloudy day when I snapped these pictures, and the flash can only do so much.) You can read more about my poetry, scrapbook versions, and other details on the Poetry Fishbowl Landing Page.
" Infinitesimal Angels" is printed directly onto 8 1/2 x 11" paper with an angel pattern. I really like "frame" papers like this, because they're so quick and easy to use. Alas, the style has become unfashionable and is rarely available in scrapbook stores these days. This style of page is $5.
" Casting the Circle of Words" is printed on white paper, cut with scrapbook scissors to produce a wavy edge. It's matted on black cardstock. The background paper is patterned in metallic red and white. This style of page is $5.
" The Quicksilver Linguist" is printed on white paper with line art added, cut with scrapbook scissors to produce a wavy edge. It's matted on black cardstock. The background paper is silver with a linen texture. This style of page is $5.
" How Chaos Came to the Cosmos" is printed with line art added, cut with scrapbook scissors to produce a wavy edge. There are two versions below, one on white paper with background paper in mottled pastel shades, the other on ivory linen paper with background paper flourished in shades of brown. This is a good example of a poem that can work with different colors and styles of abstract background papers, for instance to match a room or a person's taste. In this case I had free rein, so I did two very different styles using the papers that I had on hand. Since I couldn't find stickers to illustrate all the animals, I chose line art instead. Tracking down all those images took a while, so I bumped the price of the first copy up to $7. The second copy was $5 since I already had the illustrations laid out.
" Mental Iterations" is printed on white paper, cut with scrapbook scissors to produce a nebuly edge. It's matted on teal cardstock. The background paper is verdigris cardstock mottled and swirled with copper ink topped with copper glitter. This style of page is $10.
The background paper was my awesome find during the shopping trip for supplies I didn't have on hand already. It is perfect for the poem's theme because the design is distressed and irregular -- and that is what makes it so gorgeous. (My aesthetics are forever influenced by my study of Japanese language and culture; the wabi-sabi stuck like glue.) Likewise the verdigris is the color of aged copper, contrasting with the bright metallic copper glitter. The matted poem is offset in a corner, rather than centered, partly to expose more of the copper swirl design but also to echo the flavor of something out of the ordinary. This piece was requested as a gift for someone not neurotypical, as a celebration of diversity; that influenced the symbolism I chose in creating it. I was originally looking for something in jewel-toned watercolor swirls, which I've seen before; I just lucked into the verdigris-copper paper by chance. Sometimes art is all about finding the right media for the piece.
Pricing for these scrapbook pages is based on time and materials. Direct printing, single overlay, or simple mat designs usually cost $5. If I have to buy special materials and/or spend extra time then the price goes up. Pieces that require more complicated cutwork or fancy paper typically cost $10. I'm frustrated that the most convenient materials -- 8 1/2 x 11" frames -- are vanishing from the stores. The 12 x 12" size can be cut down, but only if its imagery is compatible with resizing. Meanwhile the prices are going up. Scrapbook paper usually costs $.50 to $.75 per page, but the fancy ones are $1-3 each. Yowch.
On the bright side, cutting down a 12" square leaves me with a little "L" shape that I can overlay on a regular 8 1/2 x 11" paper and get a second page's decoration out of the original scrapbook paper. I save the paper scraps in a separate case for later use. With most of my batch projects, I can get started with materials I already have, then work up a list of new stuff I need to buy in order to finish.
" Infinitesimal Angels" is printed directly onto 8 1/2 x 11" paper with an angel pattern. I really like "frame" papers like this, because they're so quick and easy to use. Alas, the style has become unfashionable and is rarely available in scrapbook stores these days. This style of page is $5.
" Casting the Circle of Words" is printed on white paper, cut with scrapbook scissors to produce a wavy edge. It's matted on black cardstock. The background paper is patterned in metallic red and white. This style of page is $5.
" The Quicksilver Linguist" is printed on white paper with line art added, cut with scrapbook scissors to produce a wavy edge. It's matted on black cardstock. The background paper is silver with a linen texture. This style of page is $5.
" How Chaos Came to the Cosmos" is printed with line art added, cut with scrapbook scissors to produce a wavy edge. There are two versions below, one on white paper with background paper in mottled pastel shades, the other on ivory linen paper with background paper flourished in shades of brown. This is a good example of a poem that can work with different colors and styles of abstract background papers, for instance to match a room or a person's taste. In this case I had free rein, so I did two very different styles using the papers that I had on hand. Since I couldn't find stickers to illustrate all the animals, I chose line art instead. Tracking down all those images took a while, so I bumped the price of the first copy up to $7. The second copy was $5 since I already had the illustrations laid out.
" Mental Iterations" is printed on white paper, cut with scrapbook scissors to produce a nebuly edge. It's matted on teal cardstock. The background paper is verdigris cardstock mottled and swirled with copper ink topped with copper glitter. This style of page is $10.
The background paper was my awesome find during the shopping trip for supplies I didn't have on hand already. It is perfect for the poem's theme because the design is distressed and irregular -- and that is what makes it so gorgeous. (My aesthetics are forever influenced by my study of Japanese language and culture; the wabi-sabi stuck like glue.) Likewise the verdigris is the color of aged copper, contrasting with the bright metallic copper glitter. The matted poem is offset in a corner, rather than centered, partly to expose more of the copper swirl design but also to echo the flavor of something out of the ordinary. This piece was requested as a gift for someone not neurotypical, as a celebration of diversity; that influenced the symbolism I chose in creating it. I was originally looking for something in jewel-toned watercolor swirls, which I've seen before; I just lucked into the verdigris-copper paper by chance. Sometimes art is all about finding the right media for the piece.
Pricing for these scrapbook pages is based on time and materials. Direct printing, single overlay, or simple mat designs usually cost $5. If I have to buy special materials and/or spend extra time then the price goes up. Pieces that require more complicated cutwork or fancy paper typically cost $10. I'm frustrated that the most convenient materials -- 8 1/2 x 11" frames -- are vanishing from the stores. The 12 x 12" size can be cut down, but only if its imagery is compatible with resizing. Meanwhile the prices are going up. Scrapbook paper usually costs $.50 to $.75 per page, but the fancy ones are $1-3 each. Yowch.
On the bright side, cutting down a 12" square leaves me with a little "L" shape that I can overlay on a regular 8 1/2 x 11" paper and get a second page's decoration out of the original scrapbook paper. I save the paper scraps in a separate case for later use. With most of my batch projects, I can get started with materials I already have, then work up a list of new stuff I need to buy in order to finish.