The creative part of the Story Pieces business has come easily to me. I am always thinking about the next piece to make or a new technique to learn. A big learning curve for me has been the website. I have decided on best colors for the great logo made by my daughter. I’ve tried out various fonts. I’ve learned the best background and lighting for photos. I’ve measured and weighed pieces to figure out shipping costs. I have cracked the code on listing multiple varieties of coasters in one listing. I work on precise and fun descriptions of the pieces. I am proud of what I have accomplished and hope you enjoy exploring.
Category: The Process
Color Matching
I use acrylic paints to enhance my Story Pieces in a variety of ways. In the Ada Twist, Scientist footstool, I used paint to extend the pictures to flow over the edge. Eloise has its signature pink and red throughout the book, and I have done my best to match those colors. For Guess How Much I Love You, I used a shade of green that makes the lovely illustrations pop. There’s a lot of fun trial and error in the process.
Step-by-Step Guide to Revamping Playskool Wagons
One of my favorite Story Pieces to work on is vintage Playskool wagons. I’ve completed a few sets now, sometimes using the original blocks and sometimes new ones, as shown below.
Backs and Bottoms
When using one illustrator’s pictures on one piece, I give credit in a few ways. The first is by having the author or name of the book in the shop’s website listing for the item. The second involves decoupaging the title of the book onto the back or bottom of the piece. Additionally, I add the author and illustrator’s name. I wouldn’t have Story Pieces without the stories, after all!
Splatter Paint
I paint a solid background color (usually white) for many of my pieces. For This Day in June I splattered/flicked the paint from a brush to represent the confetti in the illustrations. I love the result. I think it captures the joy of the pride celebration depicted so wonderfully in the book by Gayle E. Pittman (illustrated by Kristyna Litten). This piece makes me happy–so much that I’ve kept it, and it sits near my workspace.
Book Treasuries
Sometimes a piece calls for illustrations from multiple authors. My favorite go-to for a compilation of classic stories is, The 20th Century Children’s Book Treasury. I’ve used pictures from Harry the Dirty Dog, Madeline, A Snowy Day, Goodnight Moon and Goodnight, Gorilla, just to name a few. In the photo of the books, you’ll see multiple copies. This is so I have the option to use illustrations on both sides of a page.
Precision Cutting
My decoupage cutting process starts with small scissors (I use EK Tools Small Precision brand). Fun fact, I’m left-handed, but I cut with my right hand–trained by years of using what was available–right-handed scissors. The struggle is real for lefties! The X-ACTO knife (on a Cricut Self-Healing Cutting Mat) is for the (really) small spaces, as shown below.
One Piece One Book
I have completed a few pieces where I’ve managed to show almost the full book. My first was a chair using the book The Cat and the Hat, by Dr. Seuss. After repainting the chair so that the story pops, I cut out all of the pictures and text. With the help of painter’s tape, I positioned and re-positioned the story on the chair until I was happy with the look.
After all of the pieces fit, I glued with Mod Podge and painted colorful borders around the text, using the familiar colors of this classic Dr. Seuss book. I used every part of the chair, including the bottom.
The customer who bought this fun, colorful piece has it in a little children’s reading nook at their summer cabin.