Digging the Rabbit Hole

Today for my “Thrifty Thursday” altered book project, I decided to take a trip down the rabbit hole – but first I had to create one!

This is a common technique used in altered books and art journals, a variation of the “frame”, in which you glue several pages together and then cut out the center. In this version, I cut a series of circles, each one a little larger than the last, leading up to a photo on one of the pages in my altered book:

As you can see, the image gets larger each time you turn the page, until finally you see the entire picture:

The next step will be to decorate each page. I haven’t decided if I want to use a theme – perhaps something relating to the actual image – or just have four different layouts. Probably the former. I may also add some additional elements to the insides of the circles (someone else with the girl maybe?) just for a bit of depth and whimsy. This is a really fun technique that can be expanded upon in countless ways, and can use as many pages as you wish.

A fun sort of bonus:  you’re left with circles cut out of book text, great for adding to art journal pages, mixed media canvases, or even elsewhere in your altered book. For my circles, I started with 3.5”, then went up to 4.5”, 5”, and 5.5”. You can alter these measurements depending on the size of your final image and the number of pages you wish to create. In order to cut the circles I used a Creative Memories circle cutting system (awesome thrift store find!):

This system came with three blade sizes, three circles, and a template to help you determine which blade to use with which circle. It also came with that brilliant cutting mat you see under the page (it fits right into the book!). You could also use a Martha Stewart circle cutter, an old fashioned compass, or even just trace around circles of the right size. If you had to, I’m sure you could find templates online to print and cut out, then trace around.

This can also be done in different shapes – ovals, squares, rectangles, or hexagons would be fun. Play around, have fun, and take a trip down the rabbit hole! You never know what you might find! As for this one, I’ll be posting photos when I get some of the pages finished. Happy crafting!