Had I the Heavens - Concertina Book

I LOVE MY JOB!

Everyday can be different and while for the most part these days my work consists of Wedding Invitations and Stationery, I occasionally get the chance to brush up on my calligraphy skills.

I don't want to go into too many details about this commission, or in fact who it was for because to whole thing was pretty personal to the caller and the reasons are pretty sensitive. 

So without much explanation... I'll just share the pictures....

It had been a while since I did a commission 

where the words had such meaning. 

The brief was Pinks..... of all shades....

For whatever reason... the words just didn't look right. They lacked flow and were all too stiff.

Perhaps it was my anxiety of having to portray someone's emotions across in a way that the recipient would understand the meaning behinds them. 

I don't think people realise the pressure

a commission of this kind can put on an artist.

On the one hand you have your won ideas,

while on the other hand you need to convey theirs.

The best ones are the ones who say

"Just do it however you want.

You'll know what to do.

I mean... that's your job!"

I tried again......But still I just wasn't happy.

I left it alone for a few days....

but I was aware of the urgency that this piece needed to be done.

A marriage could depend on it :-( 

I relaxed and ruled up once again.....

And this time chose Gold Gouache....

Much better.....

Softer, lighter,.... heaven like.....

The letters started to form and take shape....

Formal Capitals... with a twist.....

Which helped the piece loose it's stiffness...

And the tumbling squares....

which seem to be some sort of trademark with me

and have been for some years....

Here's the finished piece before folding....

(iPads take such crappy photos!)

And once folded, glued to 2 card covers... 

forming a Concertina Card/Book

YOU CAN SEE MORE HERE

And here's the finished piece.... minus the

 front plate which has the recipients name on it.

If you want to see more 

Concertina Cards/Books

CLICK ON THIS LINK

Personalised 40th Birthday Concertina Card

I was asked to make a very special 40th Birthday card

From a friend, to a friend,

Containing a personalised poem.

I made it into a simple styled 6 page concertina

Using type for the poem in gorgeous purple 

and hand lettering the Greeting in pink

The balance of subtle type

worked well with the quirky lettering

A Butterfly charm with the words....

hand made especially for you 

matched the Butterfly on the cover

I attached a swing tag to the front...

omitting the '40th' bit!

People love receiving these cards. When recipients untie the bow at the side, the concertina pops open to reveal the secret contents inside. They are just loved by everyone! :-)

Personalised Made To Order, Wedding Concertina Card, In Champagne, Silver and Royal Blue

Personalised Made To Order, Wedding Concertina Card, In Champagne, Silver and Royal Blue

I was approached by Kat to make a special wedding card for her sister and future Brother-In-Law.... but as the wedding is in 2 weeks there was a bit of a sense of urgency about this one. 

I really didn't want to panic, but sometimes when I get asked to do something at such short notice. I'm quick to answer... 'Yeah no problem' then find out that the customer wants a ton of extras and makes almost impossible suggestions that are really not possible in a short space of time.... if at all. 

I must admit that I cautiously asked questions first BEFORE I said I could... It's took me a long time, but I'm finally getting ALL the information before I jump in with my big mouth.

I didn't have to worry... the brief was easy:

Champagne Wedding Dress, Royal Blue Bridesmaid Dress and a hint of Silver... Oh and Butterflies too.... and 'Do it however you think best'

The card was for Rosemary and Michael

From Kathleen-Ann, Rob, Chloe and Jude,

Who is not yet born, but as he is due sometime around the Wedding Day... he will be in attendance one way or another I expect, so I added him too :-)

For the covers I decided to try something a little different, seen as I was given a free reign and made a little tag with their names and Wedding Date on it, rounding the corners to soften it slightly...

I knew I had some gorgeous Champagne Japanese Silk Paper somewhere.... saved for a something special kind of moment and this was it! I wasn't sure how it was going to work with Blue.... but had to give it a try.

Mow, 'normally' I use thin 3 mm ribbon to wrap around and close the book, but this time I wanted to try something totally different. I used 1" Organza ribbon.....The tag is tie and fixed onto the front cover, with the longer piece of ribbon glued and threaded through the back cover. This forms a bow at the right hand side when tied. 

Here's the fully opened out book... all 10 pages of it.

The inside verse is The Apache Wedding Blessing....

suitably perfect for ANY wedding.

I had almost come to the conclusion, that I would not be making any more concertina cards. They are a lot of work for little return. Many clients want you as an artist to create something for them, they like your work, but then when you agree, put forth ideas that are totally unrealistic.

Working on this commission, I realised that if the artist is left to get on with creating something in a free and trusted manner and with only a small outlying brief, they can come up with something that's truly from the heart.... something they are proud to hand over and say... "I made that and it represents the work I do best". Put handcuffs and restraints and give too much input and the artist is not really creating something of themselves. Not only that, it puts an awful lot of pressure on them to interpret exactly WHAT the client wants.

I'm hoping Kat is please with what I come up with and I hope her Sister and future Brother-In-Law love it even more. If they do... then it's a job well done.... I will let you know.

COMMENT FROM KAT:
Oh my word Sue!!! The card is absolutely beautiful. It's just perfect, I can't begin to tell you how much I love it and appreciate what you've done.

I left a comment on the blog page, however, it needs to be approved by you. 

I cried for ages this morning when I saw it. Even Rob had a tear in his eye, when he saw Jude's name

If you want to see more Concertina Books

 I have made click here

Personalised Concertina Cards

A rare rest from Wedding Stationery this week, when Mildred from Northern Ireland asked me to make 2 concertina books. One for her mum's 90th Birthday, One for her Brother and one for her sister.

Bill was a keen petrol head.... loving cars, Bikes and Planes....

Her sister Ohyllis's favourite colour was lavender

And her mums was Burgundy and hot pink

And here they are all wrapped up and ready to go....

What Mildred said about her commission...

Hi Sue,

With mum and your great works of art are here!

 Bill with absolutely love his

and mum did too!

You are just brilliant!

Thank you friend! Love Mildred.

To see more Concertina Cards
CLICK ON THIS LINK HERE

Personalised Gift - Concertina Book For Baby Boy

A cute rocking horse charm was added to the card...

I made this little concertina book a couple of weeks ago,

(see what I mean about forgetting to actually 

get round to WRITING my post up!)

As this was for a boy....of course it HAD to be in blues.

The cover paper is a blue watercolour washed paper,

and the lovely crinkle effect marks 

are made with laying cling film over the top while it dries.

This is a great technique for Journal Makers and Scrap bookers too!

Very simple but effective. 

Untying the ribbon, allows the book to expand....

And stands up all by itself....

Then tying the ribbon again...hides it's secrets....

Personalised, Made To Order Gift - Concertina Book for Baby Girls

I've been snowed under with work lately....

hence my lack of blog posts and

 keeping up with my Inspired by Script Blog.

I have downloaded photos as I have taken them 

and popped them into blank Blog Posts....

unfortunately, my attempt at creative titles 

don't make it easy for me to know,

which pictures I have uploaded and which I haven't...

so you will have to bear with me if I repeat myself 

(It's ok.... it's an 'age' thing!)

This commission is freshly finished,

so I KNOW I haven't already shown it to you.

Sophie and Eleanor.

2 concertina books, both celebrating 1st birthdays.

I've mentioned before about these little books...

I can go months without doing any... and then all of a sudden 

I get inn undated with orders for them. 

I prefer making these books to order....but will be adding some 'ready made' ones 
onto my website http://inspiredbyscript.co.uk  for people in a rush.
Turnaround time for orders of these books can be up to 14 days, depending on how bust I am at the time...
so please, if you want one making specially....
please order in good time. 

Wedding Concertna Card Commission

For some reason I found this in my 'draft' box and never got round to blogging about it. So, this was a concertina book/card, made to commission, for a Bride and Groom to be....

The concertinas always invoke an element of surprise when opened, if the recipient has never seen one before.

The client wanted two poems on the one card. First from The Song of Solomon and the second Love's Philosophy by Percy Bysshe Shelley.

The center panel was left clear for the client to add their own message.

The covers and the inside are soft ivory and the hearts are a lovely sage green....the colour theme of the wedding. ivory ribbon and inside a delicate silver strand decoration brought the whole piece together. Beautiful!

I've added Love's Philosophy to my quotation page

Hand Made Get Well Soon Card

Here's a concertina card made as a Get Well Soon Card.....
The calligraphy is in a pinks and gold
to match the inside

The outsides are covered in a soft, dusky pink Hahnemuhle

and gold lettering compliments the gold butterflies wonderfully

Materials Used: Gouache, Hahnemuhle, Canaletto,

3mm ribbon and card covers.

Concertina Cards are superb for special occasions

and are £7.50 each.

If you would like one made,

contact me at: inspiredbyscript@yahoo.co.uk

4 Fold Concertina Type Cards

I played around with the Concertina concept of folding paper and card to make a stand up card. Taking an A4 sheet of paper and super imposing text on top of calligraphy came up with these. They fold into a 210mm x 70mm structure. The ribbons are glued and run between the cover and the inside of the card. Just a novel take on the traditional concertina.

Concertina Card - Get Well Soon

A concertina card....with a simple Get Well Soon wish....

This concertina card is for a girl in hospital...in hospital, seriously ill with pneumonia since before Christmas...

She has had one lung drained and was due to have a drain put in her other lung last Monday......

The struggle has been long and hard....for both her and her partner

'Wishing you butterfly mornings,

and wildflower afternoons'

Here's hoping that you recovery now comes swiftly.

We are all lighting candles for you Ceebee