I wish

Here’s the truth: if you want something, you can have it, but only if you want everything that goes with it, including all the hard work and the despair, and only if you’re willing to risk failure.
from Clockwork or All Wound Up by Philip Pullman

Some wishes are carelessly uttered and are as easily forgotten. Some dreams are harboured deep inside for a long time and become part of our being. I had few of these hidden dreams for a very long time. They grew and shrank as my life followed its unique course; sometimes they hid away even from myself; occasionally I would re-examine them only to put them away again for later. And now I have the chance to turn them into reality. But remember that old saying “Be careful what you wish for”? So I need to think carefully about the implications of finally living my dreams and how they will affect the rest of my family. And to help myself focus and to find some time for contemplating my future I created a little dream book by altering an old kids board book.

The stamping of the flowers didn’t work, especially after the little hands grabbed the book before the stamped images had time to dry. I didn’t want to repaint the cover, so used some of Katya’s glitter and shiny shapes to fix (or at least somewhat hide) the problem. The butterfly was crocheted from one of My Picot’s patterns and hand-dyed together with some fabric using Procion MX dyes.

I know it sounds silly to spend time on altering a board book in order to carve the time required for the self-reflection, but doing something with my hands helps me to relax and switch off from daily tasks and worries.

If you want to try your hand at modifying an existing book for your own purposes Art Junk Girl has a post with Chunky Book Tips on her blog.