Awkward's aPOPcathery

Halloween is next week (!) and though I might be a little behind on my own costume, I have been working hard revamping my booth setup for Awk's next show. Black Market SF has titled this event "Night of the Living," so that is clearly a sign to go weird and halloween-y (right?). Awkward Affections may be a little thematically disjointed (bright pop cynicism thrown in with old vintage styles and packaged in hot pink and gold). I have never been great about sticking with a branded theme (call it art kid defiance) but I am making this booth costume tie everything together. I am calling it "aPOPcathery," hoping to blend the vintage weirdness of a witchy/apothecary with (pop) bright colors and bubbly letters. Part of this process is making props that are odd but also fun: there will be hot pink pumpkins, cloche jars containing illustrated oddities and some vials filled with the anatomical remains from my studies (unicorn hairs, phoenix tears, etc).

Here is a quick peek at how I am turning my portfolio books into creepy old leather bound props! I enjoyed this process if you want to learn more.

I used cardboard and measured out the front, back and spine from the book I was covering. You might want to give yourself a extra little room to be sure. This is a ghetto bookbinding shortcut here.

use a strip of paper to bind the pieces together (allowing room for the book to close)

Then crumple brown paper to get a crinkled, leather look

Cover your cardboard entirely with glue and press the crinkled paper down. On the inside you can fold the corners like a present. 

Paint the paper with acrylics: I used purples, reds, burnt sienna and umber

Once the paint is dry, seal with Mod Podge (or another finish)

I added flaps on the inside to slip my Itoya portfolio in and not ruin the actual book

And voila! (ooo)