Who does the laundry?

This past weekend was consumed with journal making. I created four large journals and four minis. I love being at that place in life to be able to dedicate my entire weekend to my journal making. The only question Sunday evening was "Who does the laundry"? 



White cover with purple ribbon tie. This journal contains five signatures of handmade paper and 20 lb. white inserts.




The cover contains pieces of stems. A button works with a leather strap to close the journal.  This book is called the Envelop journal because there are five envelopes inside.



A simple button holds the string of beads.

This book is my favorite. Can you imagine taking this book with you on a very special vacation? You'll also find this book for sale in my Etsy store.

Here's a mini that is perfect of keeping special thoughts.

Flower power...girl power. This is a great mini that packs a punch.

Trying to decide on the journal's closure method can be a challenge. I found a handful of tiny beaded bracelets that work as a perfect closure for a mini. The bracelet slides on and off with ease.

The France book is secured with a unique button and a slim leather strap that loops around the button.

Inside the France book is a small envelop and an "owner" card. The back cover also contains an envelop.

I love this Coptic stitch method. It allows each book to lay completely open which makes for easy writing.

A unique closure

Close up of the purple ribbon strap

Close up of a unique button closure.

This is the inside of the Envelop Book. Each of the five envelopes contain small cards that can be used to capture memories, or to give away with a special thought attached.

Inside the Envelop Book

Inside the Envelop Book Each envelop and card set is handmade



Inside the Envelop Book. The envelops are glued to then handmade paper.

It was a productive weekend. The laundry, the dusting, and the bed making can wait. I'm happiest when I'm creative. 

Measure Once, Cut Twice

Ok, we all know the saying is "Measure twice, cut once", but I've never been one to follow directions. I can remember watching my dad, who was a carpenter by trade sit and ponder a project. He would measure, then ponder, measure then record, measure then calculate and measure again before he'd cut. Patience was not among the virtues that are within my bag of assets when I was born, so I tend to measure once in my attempt to rush through life and end up cutting twice.

Over the weekend, I made paper. My frame has seen it's better day and is now in three pieces instead of one solid whole. I grabbed an old picture frame and pulled 30 sheets of paper on Friday evening. Saturday, when the paper had dried and I was ready to make a book, I began putting my signatures together, only to find have a light bulb flash in my head. Paper is 8 1/2 by 11 inches. The picture frame is 8 by 10 inches.

Unfortunately, I spent about an hour cutting 1/2 inch off of each side and 1/4 inch off of the top of my white signatures before I could begin making this week's journal.



This week, I created the outer covering for the journal by using grocery bag paper (brown paper) and paint.



Take a sheet of brown paper




Crumple in a tight ball




Fill a small bowl with water and 1 t. vinegar




Soak the paper ball in vinegar water for 5 minutes



Squeeze out excess water

Carefully unwrap paper and lay flat

Choose three-five shade of acrylic paint

Using a sponge, layer the paint (start with the darkest color)

Allow the paint to dry between coats

Once paint is dry add one to two coats of matte medium to seal

Here is the finished journal I made using the above process to cover the outside of the journal.
This journal has a subtle travel theme. 

The front and back cover features a pocket to hold precious memories.
Handmade paper introduces each of the five signatures giving this book over 100 writing surfaces.

A Coptic Stitch compliments the handmade paper and binds the journal.

A "vacation" tag with a ribbon laced through embellishes the front and acts as an anchor to hold the book closed.

Embellishment in the bottom corner

The embellishment enhances the travel theme. You can see the various shades of the paper. The matte medium seals the paint and gives the ordinary brown bag and look of faux leather.









Happy Valentines Day

It has been a busy weekend. I made one large journal, five mini journals and six dozen cookies. 

Friday,  before driving up the mountain to work, I stopped at an art store downtown to purchase bookboard. I can't resist browsing through the paper section. I purchased one sheet that looks like a wood grain. I haven't used it yet, but I have a book in mind for next weekend. The store also had several sheets of paper reminded me of a painted process I've dabbled with in the past.  So, on Saturday morning I started to make my own painted paper from brown paper bags.

Brown Paper Bag Creation
Take a large piece of brown paper and crumble it into a ball. The more wrinkles the better. Place the crumbled ball into a bowl filled with warm water and a teaspoon of white vinegar. I'm not sure of the purpose of the vinegar. I suppose it breaks down any coating that might be on the brown paper and allows the water to soak further into the paper's pores.

Allow the paper about 10 minutes to absorb the water. Remove the paper from the bowl and squeeze out all excess water. Carefully lay paper flat on a surface, but do not press out the wrinkles. The paper is vulnerable, so be very careful unfolding it.Allow the paper to dry about 30 minutes.

Using a sponge and acrylic paint, dabble the paint to the paper. Start with a dark color. Once you add the first layer, allow the paint to dry about 30 minutes before applying the next layer. Do not try to cover all of the surface. The effect you're looking for is a spackle look. The groves and peaks of the wrinkles will pick up different bits of paint creating highlights and low lights. Here's my finished piece from my Saturday project:

I used browns shades, a light yellow and some gold acrylic paints. It's a fun process and you can be as creative as your mind's limitation. After the last coat of pain dried, I applied two coats of matte medium to give the paper a little shine and to add stability to the paper.  Of course, after the paper completely dried, I used it to cover this journal:

Tiny rivets and a leaf designed ribbon complete the outside of the book.

The inside cover compliments the leaf ribbon. The handmade paper that binds each signature together is colored with a yellow napkin and dried red wildflowers were added as inclusions during the paper making process.

Years ago my mom and I visited a Christmas store and I purchased a tiny book that contains the Night Before Christmas story. I love that book. With the book in mind, I decided to create "mini" journals. I made five total that measure 3 inches by 4-1/2.

The red journal is smaller than the mini's I made Saturday. It's fun to make the minis. I can imagine a little child using the journal to write thoughts or draw pictures. The mini could fit in someone's purse or pocket to keep thoughts or random notes.  The minis take less material, but the same amount of time to assemble and sew.

My regular journals are 8-3/4 by 5-3/4. The pink mini is 3 by 4-1/2. The red journal measures 2-1/2 by 3-3/4. I really like the feel of the small red journal, but the challenge is that there is so much cutting involved and there was a great deal of wasted paper that was too small to use. The pink journal involves cuts in a sheet of paper, but there is no waste. Once sheet of paper will produce the four pieces necessary to make a signature.

A 3 by 4-1/2 mini journal filled with pink handmade paper and smooth white paper offers 100 writing surfaces for thoughts, special moments and once in a lifetime memories.

The other method to use on brown paper bag is the simple ink and stamp method. Chose a favorite color and a theme of rubber stamps. After creating a random pattern, cover the artist work with a minimum of matte medium, allowing the medium to dry in between coats.

I embellished this stamped brown paper bag cover with some purple scrap booking stick-ons.

It was a busy weekend. I spent it with the love of my life, doing the things in life I love to do. I'm exhausted but look who took the nap while I worked on my blog:

Happy Valentines Day....celebrate everything and everyone you love. I know I do... 



February Projects

It's February. I cannot believe January is over. I'm not complaining. The quicker Spring arrives, the happier I will be. I'm anxious to work in the yard and in the garden. My tulips and day lilies will harvest and I'll be able to use the greens to make some much needed organic paper.

For now, I'm working in the house on journal creation. This weekend, I created four new books. The saying "practice makes perfect" is my motto for this month. I'm not perfect, but the more books I create, the easier it becomes. I like what I am producing right now. Each book has five to six signatures with the outer signature containing a piece of handmade paper for 100 to 120 writing surface per book.

This blue on blue mathematical cover was fun to create. It contains six signatures bound with a Coptic stitch. The first and fifth holes are secured on the cover with a flat rivet to add another interest point.

You can see the handmade paper. It adds a depth of character to the book and it is a solid writing surface, thanks to hours of pressing each sheet by hand with a warm iron.

Inside cover

Eclectic front cover

Coptic Stitch

Scrapbook keys make a unique front cover

This whimsical key book was fun to make. I found a packet of 12 keys that are flat on one side, making it very easy to glue to the front cover. I used the key hole as part of the latch system. A pocket on the inside cover is a convenient way to hold note cards, stamps, or small pieces of keepsake paper.

Adding a front or back pocket to the book cover adds interest and is a great place to store small keepsakes.

I found this paper interesting. It is the back inside cover of this book

 This is a remake journal. I made it once, last fall. I felt my stitches weren't strong enough so I took it apart and restitched it. I added an envelop on the back cover and added five sheets of handmade paper to each signature. The book is strong and holds more interest.

I'm so pleased that January is gone, but our promised New Year's resolution to be creative each weekend remains alive. My skill is improving and I'm staying motivated and creative. I have seven great journals to show for my hard work. My only challenge is to juggle making six dozen Valentines Day cookies  next weekend and at least one new book.