Gluebook Swap -- Our Lovely Daily Lives

Now that the holiday excitement is winding down, let’s turn back to the joy and wonder and sacredness of our own regular, daily lives.

This is an international swap. Newbies are welcome.

Last summer I discovered gluebooks and quickly started my own. I've started a few for friends too. Then I had a swap on here and it was so much fun! [previous swap: http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/6334] I love the gluebooks I got and I use them myself.

Gluebooks are a sort of altered book/daily diary/art journal, but they are much, much easier. It's just cut-and-paste. You can google for information, but in short --

1) Find a book to use. I prefer to use books that will lay open flat, like composition books or wire bound blank journals. You can use new books or old ones, handmade or store bought.

2) Find some glue. Any kind that works for you is good.

3) Find things to glue into said book.

And that's it!

The theme of this gluebook is: OUR DAILY LIVES

For this swap you will acquire a book and start a gluebook for your partner. The book can be any book as long as you can mail it. We will make a MINIMUM of 5 pages which will include the opening page (can be a title page) of the book and the next 4 pages, which can be done individually or as two 2-page spreads. If you would like to do more pages, go ahead. Please leave some blanks in the book so your partner can continue using the book to do their own gluing. If you want to go all out, you can decorate the cover, incorporate your partner's name into the title page, etc.

This book will be an record of YOUR OWN daily life. The swap is international, so use the book to show your partner a snapshot of what life is like for you. You can do it however you want, but use REAL things to show your REAL life.

Ideas for what to include:

• Receipts
• Junk mail
• Pictures or words from magazines/catalogs
• Postcards
• Brochures
• Menus
• Flyers
• Photographs
• Tickets
• Ads
• Packaging
• Shopping lists

Look in your bag/purse at the end of the day for receipts and bits of paper, pick up some business cards and flyers from businesses you frequent, keep packaging from your favorite products, etc. Just your daily, every day life, no matter how unglamorous it may be. Then turn it into a story.

If your main language is not English, you could possibly label items in English so your partner knows what they are, but it’s not required. Other materials and techniques [stamping, inking, distressing, folding, origami, painting, embossing, drawing, etc] can be included, but aren't required. The primary focus of the book is just gluing.

There are tons of websites and galleries online so google or PM me for more info. And if you want to add some additional treats into the package, all the better! [but again, not required]

I just want to emphasize that this is a gluebook, not an altered book or a chunky book or a handmade book or anything like that. This is fun and easy and anyone can do it — even if you have never paper crafted before. If you can find an old book that you aren’t using or are done with and glue some stuff into it, you can join in.