Week 2, CHAPTER 7: Text as Nonsense

Alice didn't dare to argue the point, but went on: `-- and I thought I'd try and find my way to the top of that hill -- ' `When you say "hill,"' the Queen interrupted, `I could show you hills, in comparison with which you'd call that a valley.' `No, I shouldn't,' said Alice, surprised into contradicting her at last: `a hill can't be a valley, you know. That would be nonsense -- ' The Red Queen shook her head, `You may call it "nonsense" if you like,' she said, ` but I've heard nonsense, compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!' -- Chapter 2, Through The Looking Glass and What Alice Found There

Using text as pattern is a trend right now that I really love. Your challenge is to use text as nonsense - not to read but as pattern on your project! Of course you can still have words or sentiments, but we also need to see text used in a non-reading way. I have a stack of old books and dictionaries that I use for this purpose.

Our sponsor is Stamp Attack, a British company that is well known (among other things) for their fantastic Alice stamp plates which have sold to customers all over the world. In fact, Helena Bonham Carter, the actress who played the Red Queen in the Tim Burton Alice movie, purchased sets of Alice stamps from Stamp Attack, which were then delivered to the studio!  Enabler alert: Stamp Attack offers speedy worldwide shipping for only £1 on unmounted stamp orders, so go on and check out their beautiful stamps!

The winner will receive a Stamp Attack gift certificate for £13.50, which is equivalent to one of the stamp plates that the design team will be using!


You have until Friday, September 23 to enter your creation and the winner and honorable mentions will be announced on the last Sunday of the month, September 25.  All kinds of projects are welcome, they do not have to be "altered art" and as always, entries that feature some aspect of Wonderland are given two chances instead of one in the random prize drawing. You may enter multiple times as long as each project is on a separate post.

We are also saying goodbye to our  current crop of guest designers, so please leave them some special love this month as their projects have been FABULOUS! Thanks so much ladies, you have added so much to The Altered Alice! And stay tuned, there will be some special design team announcements next month too!

Your Weekly Inspiration


I think you will agree that our design team has been ON FIRE with this challenge! First up is one of our guest designer's last post:

Tracy, a.k.a. CuddlyBunny of Not a Moment to Spare has created this charming text-filled mini book. Most of the images are from Stamp Attack, and the large Alice in the Rabbit's house is one of the more rare images that they carry.

 

I really LOVE the way she has used pages of another story but highlighted words here and there to go with our Alice tale! Be sure to click on the pics to enlarge, or better yet, see her blog post for pictures of the other pages! THANK YOU CuddlyBunny for being such a GREAT guest designer for The Altered Alice!

Erin Leveille of Stamp til U Cramp created this wonderful shrine featuring several stamps from Stamp Attack: the Alice silhouette, the Scrabble tiles, the card suits and the key. Erin used a shrine template from the book - Kaleidoscope: Ideas & Projects to Spark Your Creativity. I would say Erin's creativity was sparked for sure! I love all the details and the rich turquoise and gold color scheme. I also love it that she made her own patterned paper by repeated stamping of the key image.

I love all the elements she stamped or punched from book pages, even the grass and clouds!  Be sure to visit Erin's blog to get all the details and see more pictures.

Barbara Washington of Magic Delights created this wonderful set of 12 notecards in a special box! I love the clean style of the cards, each featuring one of the great Stamp Attack silhouettes from the Alice 2 plate.  The colored stamped band behind is a great design element, especially with the way she has lightened and brightened the color at the right end which really sets off the characters. What wonderful one layer cards!

The box is pretty special too. The top panel's background paper says "Jabberwocky" and the Stamp Attack frog messenger image is the perfect image for a set of notecards!  What fun it would be to use these cards and what a charming gift they would make to any Alice fan!  Be sure to visit Magic Delights and leave a comment for Barbara!

Now you should be TOTALLY inspired, so start thinking up some nonsense and create your own text-patterned projects to enter for the challenge. Be sure to check out the fabulous Alice stamps from Stamp Attack, because if your the winner you could be selecting a set of your own, or buy a set now with only £1 worldwide shipping!

Enter by Friday, September 23. To enter your creation, use the linky tool below - just click the link below the thumbnail images. Please list YOUR NAME or YOUR BLOG NAME in the TITLE, for example "Alice Liddell - Illustrated Poem".  The field is long enough that you can also put the name of your piece, but please put your name first. (Note - if you are viewing this in email or through a reader, you will need to click on the title of this post to view it on the blog.)


Please leave a comment before you go, they keep me going and they mean a lot to my talented design team!