Altered Book Collage by Barbara Matthiessen

I've been perusing this book recently while exercising at the gym (for some crazy reason, my best place to think about art) and it's really inspired me. I must have bought it a long time ago, probably at Joann's with a 50% off coupon, then put it on the shelf and forgot about it. But now that I'm getting ready to host an altered book round robin, I looked to it for some tips and I'm so glad I did!

Even though this book may look a bit dated (published 2005), it is chock full of instructions, project ideas, tips, and techniques. Barbara seems to cover everything---including faux finishes like rusting, niches, resist backgrounds, heat embossing, microscope slide embellishments, stitching on pages, even image transfers. The text is clearly written and there are plenty of step-by-step photographs.

Barbara is teaching at Art Unraveled in Phoenix this week and I wish I was there, taking one of her workshops. Maybe next year...