Patchwork Metallic Altered Book

Materials:

hardcover book with approx. 200 pages
metal repair tape (home improvement stores)
rubber stamp
black permanent ink pad
alcohol ink
embossing tool
2 microscope slides
black masking tape (framing tape)
scissors
glass vial
scrap of dictionary page
metal wire
metal embellishments or found objects
heavy-duty craft knife or box cutter
large paper clamps or clips
stamped or transferred image
artist's cement
self-healing cutting mat
glue stick or Perfect Paper Adhesive (PPA)
awl

Steps:

1. Separate the book's pages into thirds (or any amount of sections you like that comfortably fit your book), which we will call signatures. Make sure the first signature is thick enough to accommodate a niche about 1/4 inch in depth.

2. Use clamps to secure the sections of your book (figure A), and apply artist's cement around the page edges to glue them all together. On the first signature, leave two to four pages unglued in the back (figure B).

3. Clamp the other pages together and glue as before. Set book aside to dry.

5. Clean the slides and lay them onto a clean piece of white scrap paper. Secure them with a small amount of removable tape.

6. Stamp with black permanent ink directly onto the slides (figure D). Be sure to press evenly and do not wiggle the stamp--just pull it straight up when removing it. Let this dry. If you do not want to stamp both slides together, then simply stamp each one separately.

7. When the artist's cement is dry on the book: Lay the self-healing cutting mat inside the book on the first unglued page. Leave the other unglued pages behind the first one. This will prevent the cut from going on the page where your image will be.

8. Using your heavy-duty craft knife or cutter and following the traced image, cut the cover and all the way through the first section of pages (figure E). This will take several cuts. When done, you will have your window and your niche (figure F).

9. Remove the mat. Choose an image and stamp or glue it onto the center of the first unglued page. You may want to paint the page or add other paper or embellishments to the center before gluing it to the previous page (figure G).

10. Glue all of the unglued pages together with a glue stick or Perfect Paper Adhesive (PPA).

11. Use the black framing tape to wrap the first section of the book. This section includes the niche and stamped image. Start at the edge closest to the spine; adhere the tape and then wrap from to bottom around the bottom edge and up and over the top edge matching up where you began (figure H).

12. Repeat the wrapping over the entire first section (figure I). When you reach the niche opening, simply wrap it like it was the top and bottom of the book. In other words, there will be some smaller pieces of tape wrapped there. You can also opt to wrap completely over the niche and then cut it out with a sharp craft knife.

13. Paint any exposed edges with some black ink if you do not want any light color showing (figure J).

14. Metal wrap the book the same way you did the black tape. Cover the entire front and back of the book, inside covers included (figure K). Around the top and bottom edges of the book where the spine meets, you will need to lay an additional piece of metal tape vertically around the edges and tuck it into the gap in the spine.

15. The patches are made by cutting random lengths of the metal tape and placing them onto the cover of the book and on the inside cover pages as well. Layer and wrap to make a pleasing design.

16. Use your embossing tool to make the dots around the edges to add a rivet texture to the book (figure L). Set aside.

17. Wrap a narrow but substantial edge of tape along the long front edges of the slides. Leave plenty of tape to adhere to the outside cover of the book. Lay the slide in place and attach (figure M).

18. From the inside the niche, run another piece of tape along the long edge of the slide and attach the leftover tape to the inside cover. You will need to make the additional tape blend in, so use your embossing tool to make the needed riveting images. This creates an open window effect; your stamped image should be seen through the stamped glass slide.

19. Use a soft cloth or a paper towel to rub the alcohol ink onto the metal tape and make sure it gets into the patch detail (figure N). If any rubs off, it can be redone. Also if any damage occurs to the book, you can add a patch to cover it.

20. Punch two holes into the top of the cover through the tape. Make sure that the holes are spaced shorter than the length of the vial. Thread two pieces of wire about 12 inches long from outside of cover up over the top of the book.

21. Roll the dictionary page scrap tightly and place into vial. Lay vial over the holes in the book and wrap wire around it to hold in place. Twist the two edges of the wire together and make interesting shapes by wrapping around a pencil or other object.

22. Use other found objects to reflect your theme and add to your patchwork cover.

Robin Knutson sends special thanks to Carolyn Waite for her inspiration.