Adding fragrance to your altered book

When I was creating the altered book about my Grandma Hilda, I made a mental list of what to include. Initially, I started creating the book using small keepsakes; odd and end trinkets that were once hers, such as the cover from her Bible, favorite ear rings or a key chain with her initials.

I wanted the book to stir memories. The sense of smell can be a powerful trigger to unlock memories. The aroma of our grandfather’s pipe tobacco, the scent of fresh cut pine to make us think of Christmas. And for my grandmother, it was gardenias.

My grandparents always had a large gardenia bush by their front porch. Grandma loved the flower, and she would frequently float a fresh cut blossom in a small bowl of water in her home.

When I was creating the altered book, which I would be giving to mom, I wanted to add the fragrance. Fortunately there are various options to recreate the flower’s scent, from fragrant oil to candles. What I finally found were gardenia scented soy chips.

With my word processor, I used a fancy font to write “Hilda’s gardenias”, and then printed it onto the envelope. I placed the soy chips in the envelope and sealed it closed.

I searched the Internet, using Google’s image search tool, looking for gardenia. When I found the pictures I liked, I printed several off, and then cut the flowers out.

I opened the book to the place where I planned to fasten the soy chips. First I used water color, and painted the two open pages green. After the paint dried, I glued the pictures of the flowers onto the pages. Finally, I secured the envelope between the two open pages.

It has been almost a year since I made the book for mom. And still, a gentle hint of gardenia fills the air when the book is open.