For the past three years, Craftster.org member “alteredmommy” has invited artists to participate in a special “chunky page” book to raise funds for her participation in the cancer fundraiser, “Relay for Life.”

If you’re not sure what a “chunky page” book is, you can see some beautiful examples from previous years at the following links:

Book of Hope 2008
Book of Hope 2009
Book of Hope 2010

The dual themes for this year’s pages are “hope” and “birds.” When I heard that I knew, just knew, I was going to use a quote from an Emily Dickinson poem. And even when I saw that someone in a previous year had the same idea, I wouldn’t be dissuaded.

It’s a really good idea.

In the end, I didn’t use a direct quote, but rather an “inspired by” phrase. Here’s the poem:

“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.

I ask you, with the given themes, how could I chose anything else?

I started with an engraving of the Booted Racket-Tail, a South American hummingbird. I chose these little lovelies because, while beautiful, they look a bit like something out of Dr. Seuss — and what better combination to represent a mystical bird metaphor?

Using photos I found on the web for reference, I digitally painted the hummingbirds in Photoshop.

The hanging beads (oh how I love these beads) are from a (very broken) vintage necklace that I’ve been holding on to for, erm, ahem, 25+ years. I was certain I’d eventually find the perfect project for them and I now know it was worth boxing them up every time I moved.

And I only used a handful of the available beads so I can hoard hold onto the rest of them for the next Perfect Project.

The hanger is a bit of chain from another old broken necklace (yes, I do have a lot of old broken jewelry). As this page is to be part of a book, the hanger is more decorative than functional. Just a nice bit to drape down the back of the page… and it amused me to add a feature that makes it seem like this was a found wall hanging re-purposed as a page in a book.

(Note to alteredmommy: I promise, the piece really is square. I didn’t notice how un-square it looks in the photos until after I already packed it up for shipping. lol)

I’m just addicted to using these tiny little grommets from Dollmaker’s Journey. I love the finished look and added stability (better than just a punched hole) and they take a coat of paint (Polly Scale by Floquil) beautifully.

The tiny chain (40 links per square inch!) is pre-blackened brass chain that comes from the world of Model Train supplies.

I loved doing this piece and I hope it’s a worthy addition to what I know will be a stunning “Book of Hope”!

I still can’t tell you what I’m working on, but thought I’d share my latest skeleton upgrade. If you’ll recall, I’m working on a secret project that involves a skeleton. Well, I decided she had to be articulated — or else I was going to bend her bones and that just looks painful — and I was pleased to discover that it just wasn’t that hard to do.

For this project, I used my “go-to” glue (Aleen’s Quick Dry Tacky Glue), some 28-gauge wire, a craft knife, and a tiny hand drill.

UPDATE: Make that glue Zap-A-Gap (a CA glue). While getting her into final position, I managed to yoink off one of her hands. While attempting a repair, I ripped out her forearm. At which point I just pulled out her shoulder and repaired all the joints with Zap-A-Gap and they’re much stronger for it.

In place of the hand drill, you can use a straight pin/needle, but the hand drill makes it easier. If you like working small and don’t have one of these little drills, I have to tell you — I bought mine on a whim (it was probably on sale) and I use it all the time. It’s not one of my “have to have” tools, but it is one of my “I’m so glad I have this” tools.

A standard craft knife slices right through the elbow joint.


After slicing the elbow joint, I noticed the bright white of the original plastic — I stained the white spot to match the bone. Certainly don’t want any glaring white bits when the lady bends her arm.


Drilling the holes — I hope the different color paints on my fingers don’t give away too much about what I’m working on.


I inserted wires (with a dab of glue) into the elbow joint and the wrist joint. After those had some time to dry, I inserted the other end of the wire into the corresponding body part (forearm and hand).


And, voilà! The articulated arm. This method isn’t sturdy enough to hold up to endless posings, but it’s perfect for my purpose.

My secret purpose.