The Book

Above is a picture of the books front cover in its finished state. I am quite happy with the outcome and the styles i have used. I would like to have used more memories and more photographs to make a thicker book and provide more to look at because i think it lacks a bit where i haven't used a lot of illustration or detail. I feel like in some ways it doesn't look like a lot of work, but the whole process of researching toy makers and book making, making my own toys, coming up with my own childhood memories to use and how to communicate them, taking photographs both digitally and with a 120film camera, developing the photographs, experimenting with materials and book making, and using of typography and collage - it has all been a lengthy but enjoyable process and i have learnt a lot from all the different elements i have used to make the book. I had never make a sock monster before or a book and i got to experiment with collage and using a camera i had never used before. I would like to take some of the things i have learnt further and use them in the future for other projects and develop my skills further. If i had more time i would try making more books and using different styles of binding and maybe experiment with using different materials to do this.

The Holga (120 Film) Versions

Here are the developments of my 120 film and i will list which photographs i am going to use in the final book.

^ Yes

^ Yes

^ No

^ Yes

^ Yes

^ Yes

^ Yes

^ Yes

^ No

^ Yes

With some of these photographs i wish i had a few more options, i should have used two films and experimented a bit more so that i had plenty to choose from when developed, but because of time and money i couldn't do this. I am really happy with some of the outcomes, especially some of the double exposure photographs and the use of the coloured flash, and it has encouraged me and given me the confidence to be a bit more playful with my Holga. I have started to put together my book now and its really coming along. I'm using mainly cardboard and brown parcel paper and i have tried out using ink and acrylic although i feel at this point its not really the right direction for this piece, i want to keep it quite simple and let the images, textures and text speak for themselves.

The Digital Photographs

I can't believe I've managed to create a photo slide show for my blog, and use the scary Html box!

Here are all of my digital image versions of the photographs i took with my Holga. I decided to use a slide show because there's 36 photographs all together and that's quite a lot! By using my digital camera, i was able to experiment with different angles and close ups before deciding which to imitate for the Holga shots. I have now received my prints back and some of the photos have come out really well for my first attempt, others were quite blurry and some didn't come out at all (i think i may have left the lens cap on by mistake). As the majority of my developed photographs worked well, i am going to use them for the final book. There are one or two missing memories but i don't want to spoil the look of the photography by mixing in digital photographs. All that's left to do now is make my book.

The Back Up Plan

I have now taken my photographs with my Holga and sent them off to the lab to be processed. I decided to use some small props in some of the photographs, but generally used what i could find at home because i want the book to have a homely, childlike feel. I decided to use the following memories:

• Dressing up as a snowman for the year 6 disco
• When my brother flush my head down the loo
• Crying at play group because i had to sit next to a smelly boy
• Wearing my mums high heels and walking up and down the stairs
• The hours of fun i used to have, pretending to be a cat
• When i got head butted by a goat at the Miniature Pony Centre
• My fear of planes after learning about World War 2 in primary school.

The Back Up Plan

The back up plan is basically that i have backed up the photographs i have taken with my Holga with digital versions of the photographs, as i am a pretty unexperienced Holga user and i have no idea how the photos will turn out. It's making me nervous! So after this post i will upload a few of these digital images, and then my Holga photographs (I've been told i will get a free CD!) and compare the two.

Some Book Making Research

Well after 4 attempts at trying to rotate the two bottom images i have given up! so you may have to tilt your head for those two but anyway, i thought i would upload some photos i took in one of the book making sessions of books that caught my eye and that i really like.

Shawn Wilder Sheehy - Welcome to the Neighborwood: A Pop-Up Book.

I love the colour's used in this book and the cut outs of the pop up. The actual pages are quite simple but the pop up is very beautiful and intricately done so there doesn't need to be a lot going on with the actual page itself.

Marc Goman - Exhale

I was drawn to this book because i really like the style he uses and it reminds me of the materials and colour's i like to use in my own work. Its got a really 'recycled' feel and i love that about it.

Frances Watson - How We Lost The Mermaid's Song

(Tilt your head to see the image!)

This books a great example of how black on white illustration and type can be really effective. I wanted to show this book because in my own book i plan to use just black pen, along with the photographs and its quite inspiring.

Patricia T. Hetzler - Woman of Substance

(Again, please tilt your head to see the image!)

I like the idea of making a book thats interactive with the viewer, and the pull outs in pockets in this book gives it more texture and goes outside of the edges of the pages and book cover which makes it feel more three dimensional and a slightly scrap book feel, but a very well done scrap book!

Sock Monsters - The Making of... (continued)

The Spotty Legless Monster

Again, with this monster i used what i had learnt from making the previous monsters and created it without designing it first. I like the idea of seeing something in its simplest form - a sock - and visualizing what it could become. I knew straight away with this sock that i wanted it to have really long arms or legs (and later on stuck with arms).

• For this monster i used two socks instead of one. Below is the sock cut into the pieces i needed for each body part. The 'toe' part of the sock was not needed for this monster. I then folded the two longer pieces inside out and in half.

• I then sewed up the edge of the long piece of sock and left a gap for the stuffing and repeated with the other long piece. I then stuffed both arms and put them aside. I wanted this monster to have a plump mouth so i turned the main body of the other sock inside out and placed some stuffing where the heel is. I sewed around the lips and through the middle to keep it tight and to keep all the stuffing in place.

• I used buttons for eyes again and sewed 2 above the mouth. To try and get a tidy finish with sewing the arms on, i turned the body inside out and made two holes for the arms to poke through. I sewed around the edges of the top of the arms and into the body. When i turned it back the right way round it worked fairly well but i had to touch it up a bit and get the arms to attach tighter.

• After attaching the arms, i had to sew up the top of the head, which i did inside out and sewed in a half moon shape to make a rounded clean stitch head. I then stuffed the body with cushion stuffing.

• I then sewed up the bottom and tried to make sure there wasn't a lot of fabric sticking out so that the monster is able to sit up alone (this sort of worked...)

And here is the finished Spotty Legless Monster!

Sock Monsters - The Making of...

I have now finished making my sock monsters, below is a picture of the 5 finished toys. I made the first monster for the last project. The next two monsters i made in reading week (green and black stripes and purple ladybird) with a little help from a handy friend with a sewing machine! However, this means that the quality of these two is a lot better than the others. For the first 3 sock monsters i used the same basic design found on both the Blue Peter website and, quite randomly, the Monster Munch website - (see bottom of post for links)

The Fish Sock Monster...

For this sock monster i didn't really use any of the templates from the previous sock monsters, but the basis of the templates aided me to visualize what type of monster the sock would become. It wasn't really designed before hand but came to me as i went through the process of making it.

• Take one sock and place it flat down with the heel at the side. Cut upwards from the opening of the sock to about half way between the end and the heel. These will become the tail fins. Then turn the sock inside out and sew up the end of one of the halves but leave a gap at the bottom for the stuffing. Do the same for the other half.

• This is optional but here i have sewn a small circle of fabric for the eyes, just to add a bit more character. It can be quite tricky to sew on to one side of the sock without going through both sides so use your other hand to hold the inside of the sock wide open. I have also stuffed the end of the sock (where the toes go) to make plumped lips, and then sewn through the middle and around the outside.

• Here i have just sewn the buttons on over the small fabric circles to create the eyes.

• Now stuff the fish (i used cheap pillow stuffing) as fat as you like, i think i slightly over stuffed my fish because you can see the material stretching. Sew up the remaining gap and add any last touch ups if necessary. For example i used a simple stitch in the heel (top fin) of the fish to make it more defined.

Blue Peter Website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/bluepeter/thingstodo/makeit/sockmonster

Monster Munch Sock Monsters:

http://www.monster-munch.com/how-to-make-a-sock-monster/