B is For Books

The other day I was shopping at an antique mall when I discovered two plastic bags of children's books. The bags were securely stapled shut so it was impossible to see exactly what was in them but they were only $2.75 for seven books (in each bag.) My daughter is an Elementary Education major and she recently mentioned that she was trying to build up her library of children's books so I thought this might be something she could use in the classroom. Of course I purchased them.

When I opened the bags at home I discovered that the books were rather damaged and fragile. The pages are falling out and several are wavy as if they have been wet. And yet... I am fascinated by them. They are mostly from the 50's and 60's - all marked as being owned by a "David Drain" or sometimes "Davy." The images are charming. I thought I could use them for some pinbacks (a favorite project which I don't think I have shared here yet... I'll have to save it for "P")but then something else started to percolate...

I have always loved working with fabric and other textiles, and have so far resisted the siren call of scrapbooking, collage and other paper arts - although I enjoy seeing them. It would be impossible to rationalize the purchase of papercrafting supplies when I have boatloads of vintage textiles just waiting for the muse.

But there was something about the books.....

I tried something new. What do you think?