My weekend fun.

One old, beat-up copy of The Long Secret*, one crappy blender, an X-acto knife and some handy-dandy papermaking stuff resulted in these:

As usual, lame photo quality, and the Mod Podge created some glare.  Also, my handmade paper came out looking suspiciously like paper towels.  Damn.  Next time, I'll mix the Old Book Pulp with some Other Pulp & see what happens.

I cut the margins off the pages, chopped 'em up, blenderized 'em and made new paper.  Then I picked some of my favorite illustrations and passages/phrases from the book and made some super-DIY, super-book-geek (super tan -- blecch) greeting cards.

Now I just need some friends to send them to.

*What!?  You haven't read it?  I realize this may result in some verbal beatings, but I always liked it more than Harriet the Spy.

 

 

Comments

[tulip]

I thought I was the only one who liked it better! As much as I love Harriet the Spy there was something about the Long Secret. The clambake and finding the skeleton, Harriet's dream, all GREAT!
I'm happy to be your booknerdgeekfriend to get one of your cards! :)

[jenn]

love them to bits! i'd say send one to me, but we aren't actually friends - it just sometimes feels that way because i love your blog and you have such great literary taste.
but, deep though my love for harriet the spy goes, i've always been a bigger long secret fan myself. it's the one i remember reading and loving at a kid and it totally holds up.

[catherine]

that is an excellent book. and i, too, would be thrilled to bits to be one of your bookpals if i could get one of those. but only if i get one of those. haha. kidding.

[Colleen]

The coolest thing would be too make copies and sell them - although probably still copyrighted, eh?

I loved this one too - it was more "real" somehow.

[Leila]

Yep. No selling of these puppies, sadly. I had a lot of fun making them, though.

[Laura]

Wow. These are effing awesome. I haven't read The Long Secret; I'll have to check it out! ... Aha! It's checked in!

[TadMack]

I LOVE these - especially the one about Harriet shrieking about menstruation and hanging up. These are the types of things you can do with books you have literally loved to DEATH. I think the antique-y color of your cards is great; you can always do a little bit of watercolor to brighten it up, if you felt the need to 'colorize' your sepia tones. But this is truly a neat idea, and the type I always want to do, but am afraid of screwing up! You're fearless - the sign of a true crafter/artisté. Thanks for sharing this unique idea! I think of my old Ginny and the Cooking Contest and imagine what fun it would be to make it over into something like this with recipes on the inside cover!

[Emma]

I haven't read it! But these are neat!

[web]

I also liked it better. It was actually the first children's book I ever reviewed.

[Little Willow]

Officially awesome.

You should sell these and others like them.