Seinfeld in Pop Life Smashed - Red/Orange Pocket Style

Seinfeld is one of my all-time favorite shows. It has been sixteen years since the last episode aired and I still reference it on a weekly basis. I smashed some pages by cutting up a tribute issue of Entertainment Weekly that I had saved for eons.

These caricatures were too fantastic not to use and I included a list of all the petty reasons Jerry dumped his girlfriends.

The facing page is one side of a large kraft envelope. I love this image and I thought the negative space was a good spot for my ticket stub signed by Jerry Seinfeld. I saw his stand-up in 2003 and stalked him outside the theater for it.

 For the next spread I focused on the supporting players on the show. The envelope contains an article and quiz about the show.

 

 

Adam Lambert in Pop Life Smashed - Red/Orange Pocket Style

Adam Lambert is one of my favorite people on the planet. I've been obsessed with him ever since he appeared on American Idol with his unbelievable voice and ultra-glam fashion sense. I see him as a throwback to the 70s and 80s when men in music rocked eyeliner and wore outlandish outfits, before grunge came along and ruined everybody's fun.

 
I used magazine photos, text, and some washi for these spreads. The smaller pink page was a large envelope that I opened up and slit the sides so I could use the interior.

The quote on this page reads "I'm just me. I am flamboyant. I am gay. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

Here is the inside of the envelope I deconstructed. I thought it was the perfect spot for this two-page spread from Rolling Stone. I printed the text of a few of my favorite lyrics and added washi for extra sparkle.

Movie and Concert Tickets in Pop Life Smashed - Red/Orange Pocket Style

My idea for this spread started with the page of clear plastic pockets. Since I'm dedicating this book to pop culture I thought this would be the perfect spot for concert tickets I have saved over the years. After that the text on the page seemed to be calling for movie stubs. I added a little color by cutting some patterned paper to fit inside the glasses.

Duran Duran in Pop Life Smashed - Red/Orange Pocket Style

Duran Duran has been my favorite group since I was old enough to discover hairspray. Their music and style has had a major impact on me and their anti-machismo provided the template for what I look for in men. I saved only a few things from my 80s fandom but thanks to the interwebs I was able to create this full 2-page spread.

For the first layout I copied a page from a book of song lyrics I own and added some printed images and washi tape. I don't remember the brand of these newsprint alphas but they were so nice to use, really thin and textured almost like vinyl.

A small bag is bound between these pages so I decorated it with more images, song lyrics, and this fun infographic I found about the guys' hairdos over the years.

I cut a sheet of double-sided paper to fit inside the pocket and made a collage with a picture of Nick from a magazine article and some washi. The reverse side is saved for journaling.

On the facing page I added images of the guys, a graphic I made of their last names, and some red lace washi for a pop of color.

Wonder Woman in Pop Life Smashed - Red/Orange Pocket Style

When I first picked up the large pocket folio (red/orange) on clearance I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. The pages are so big! But then it occurred to me they are the perfect size for the magazine articles and full-spread photos I have saved over the years about my favorite musicians, movies, and TV shows. I started the book with my original pop culture idol: Wonder Woman.

The birthday present page is copied from a fill-in-the-blank kid's book. I wrote this when I was 5 and a young fan of the Lynda Carter TV show. I was hoping for the Wonder Woman doll for my next birthday. I completed this page with some printed images, Smash tape, and magazine text.

The photo of Lynda Carter lifts up to reveal some journaling about what the glamazon super heroine has meant to me.

The facing page was completed with printed images. The text in the right corner reads "Be Bold, Be Wonder Woman".

Smashing in the 80s

I thought it was appropriate to start this blog by taking a look back at my past. People have been saving bits and pieces from their lives and sticking them in books long before there were fancy embellishments and gorgeous patterned papers and SMASH*books. I've kept a journal at various times throughout my life and one from high school incorporated some ephemera, mostly magazine clippings. The cover is one of my favorite pieces of memorabilia from that time of my life. Design in the 80s was so great and so horrible, wasn't it?