Useful Books Handmade Journals and Blank Books

The Happiest Place on Earth

2011-08-30T17:31:00.000-07:00

Last month, my sister and I spent a week at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. This was my second trip to the Folk School. The first was four years ago when I learned to make BOOKS! This visit was more of a sister trip than anything else. And what a wonderful sister trip it was.

We heard the Folk School described as "a little cruise ship in the mountains" and "a corn pone Brigadoon" among other things. Set in the idyllic Smoky Mountains, far from any place in particular, the Folk School transports you to a world where music, art and storytelling are the things that really matter. For all its down home feel, it's a big place with some state of the art teaching facilities. (Don't judge it by my photos! Go visit them at their website.)

We were there during music and dance week so everywhere we went, musicians serenaded us. The folk music of choice here is thoroughly American, rooted in these mountains, but it resembles Celtic music more than the bluegrass you might associate with the deep south.

My sister took a raku pottery class

.

I learned a smattering about screen printing and surface design.

We ate like kings,

made cool stuff

and enjoyed every evening watching the fireflies flickering in the woods and listening to the birds' evensong.

We hated to return to the harsh world of televisions and road noise. But we came back refreshed and more in touch with each other and things that really matter most.

I'm getting published! Twice!

2011-07-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

I told you a month or so ago about listening to April Bowles-Olin's "Achieving Your Creative Dreams" talk from the Etsy Success Symposium in February. She really inspired me to set some higher goals for my creative business. I told my accountability partner the very next week that I wanted to be published in 2011. It seemed kind of an outrageous thought to me. Like many other creative types, I discount my own work and have a hard time seeing myself as a "real artist." I just make books. But I decided to go for it and committed to submit a book to GreenCraft, a Stampington & Co. magazine that focuses on art made from recycled and reclaimed materials.

But just a few days later, before I'd even started on my GreenCraft project, I got an Etsy convo from a woman at Lark Publications asking me to submit two of my books for a book they are publishing next year about handmade mini-books. Out of the clear blue sky, just four days after I had spoken my goal aloud to my friend! I was completely blown away. I ended up submitting five books, and two were selected. Not the two she had originally requested but two different books. They chose one of my little record books made from a transparent red 45 record. You'll be familiar with these if you've followed my shop for long.

And also a small variation on my versatile travel journal. What a blessing! The book won't be out until April of 2012. I'll blog about it again when it comes out.

So in March, I followed through and hopefully packed up one of my creations to send to GreenCraft. The submission guidelines said they get thousands of submissions, you might not ever hear anything and they may keep submitted work as long as a year. So I was SHOCKED when I got an email a few weeks later that they had selected my book for the August issue! I'm happy that I'd snapped a picture before I sent it off. It's not a great picture, but it's something!

I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to get my work out in a whole new way! I'm excited for what this year will bring.

Dark Roasted Guest Book

2011-05-31T15:00:00.001-07:00

A young friend of mine asked me to make a guest book for her graduation out of a Starbucks gift bag. Another excuse to play with kraft paper! I prepared the bag by fusing tissue paper to the back with iron on adhesive so that the glue wouldn't bleed through. I was pleased with the way the bright green stripes lined up on the spine and edges. It turned out to be a rather elegant little book to hold well-wishes from her many friends as well as some photos of a special day.

I love using Starbucks bags because of the invitation they print right on their bags to reuse in any way you can.

A Special Special Order

2011-05-19T16:50:00.001-07:00

I don't do a lot of local work in my small town, but a friend recently commissioned me to make eight journals for a group of friends who are going through the book "One Thousand Gifts" together. One of the challenges of this book is to write down literally one thousand things that God has given you for which you are grateful. Good, bad, easy, hard, painful and pleasant. It's quite an undertaking with the potential to totally transform a life.

So these are the books that will hold each ladies' 1000 gifts. They're made from my "better-that-leather" material made from painted, stamped, printed, glazed, distressed kraft paper layered with Tyvek and more kraft paper. Layered vintage images are printed onto heavy paper for the cover adornment, which is layered over more kraft paper (I love kraft paper) and anchored with snaps on the corners. They're stitched around the edges, and the cover wraps around the text block and fastens with a closure so they can be carried safely tossed in a bag.

I printed various verses and phrases related to gratitude on the covers as well. I'll eventually have some of these for sale in my shop. Let me know if you'd like something specific.

Thanks to my friend who took these beautiful photos.

A Book Review and My Elephant

2011-05-17T10:11:00.000-07:00

In February, Etsy broadcast a success symposium featuring speakers talking about various aspects of creative business. I particularly enjoyed April Bowles-Olin's "Achieving Your Creative Dreams." (You can still see that talk if you like here.) She spoke in part from a book called "Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard" by Chip and Dan Heath. I highly recommend this book! Though it has a somewhat "business-y" slant, I took away some great personal application that has really made a difference in how I approach my business and other areas of my life as well.

This very engaging book is a study of change, why it's hard, why we fear it and what might be done to make it easier in multiple contexts. A metaphor the authors use throughout has stuck with me. They suggest that in order to make successful change, we must have our Rider (our rational side) and our Elephant (our emotional and instinctive side) working together to make progress on the Path (the environment where the change will happen). If my Elephant isn't on board with my goals, my tiny little Rider won't be able to keep him on the Path. Which is why you will eat that cookie even if you're "on a diet" unless your motivation is very strong. There must be a strong "why" that motivates on a deep level. We have to engage our mind, will and emotions and tweak our environment to make positive change happen. Of course, there's so much more than that! Read the book.

Here's my Elephant as he was: Old Mossback George. Half asleep, rooted to the ground, not exactly nimble and lithe. Having worked with him for a few months now, he's getting much more lively and engaged in the business at hand. We've been able to set some ambitious goals and actually accomplished some of them! More on that soon . . .

The Big Brother Expandable Travel Journal

2011-02-03T07:23:00.000-08:00

I've had several requests over the last few months for a larger version of the versatile expandable travel journal. After chewing on the possibilities for a while, I've created its big brother!

At 9-1/4 x 6-7/8, this journal is sized for an epic trip or multiple smaller journeys. It has 52 pages (104 front and back) and lots of pockets and envelopes for all the little bits you collect along the way. It lies flat for easy sketching and writing, and the luscious Italian paper I used is acid free and heavy enough for art, collage and holding your precious photos.

As with the smaller version, the front cover has a window cut in it. This one is about 3-1/2 inches square. Any photo, artwork or text you affix to the first page shows through and becomes your cover design.

The accordion structure of the original journal really doesn't lend itself to a large format book. So I decided to build this journal on a concertina spine. Made from substantial 200 gsm paper, the concertina allows for extra room to grow by providing heavy tabs between each signature. Two of the four tabs have been left open and can be used as is or cut lengthwise or crosswise to allow for taping or gluing in postcards, itinerary and the like.

I've used the other two tabs to sew in some envelopes for more tucking away of treasures. Here two business size envelopes form four 4-3/4 x 4-1/4 pockets, perfect for ticket stubs and other small items. The reverse of the envelopes inside the fold also form a nice surface for writing or art.

The other group of envelopes starts with a 9 x 12 clasp envelope cut at the bottom and folded in half to create two 5-1/4 x 9 envelopes. Inside is stitched a 6 x 9 envelope, also cut and folded to make two pockets. I used a piece of linen tape to attach a coin envelope alongside for the smallest inclusions.

They all fold together, nestled inside the flap of the outer envelope, and fasten with a button and string closure made from circles punched from maps fused with kraft paper and tyvek to make them substantial enough for the purpose.

One last pair of pockets is made from folding and closing in an extension of one of the pages of heavy paper.

Now about that paper. I've used my favorite Velata paper in two different weights for the text block. If paper matters to you, you will find this to be really special stuff. It's produced at the Cartiera Magnani mill on the banks of the Pescia River in Italy. Among the oldest in the world, the mill dates back to the 15th Century and counts Napoleon Bonaparte and Picasso among its past customers. This subtly-textured, ivory paper is a delight for both writing and art. Out of the 52 pages, 22 are from the heavy 200 gsm paper I used for the concertina the book is built on. This paper is almost like watercolor paper and is strong enough for pretty heavy collage work. In fact, I use it with watercolors in my own art journals. It curls a bit if you really soak it down, but it dries flat, and there's never any bleed through. The remaining 30 pages are from the lightweight version of the same paper, identical in color and texture but not as thick. It is still excellent for most purposes, including all of the markers I have personally used and even watercolor and acrylics if you use a light hand. I have a number of artists who return for my books time and again just because of this paper. Of course, the pages are all ripped by hand to provide a the texture of a lovely deckled edge.

Artists, photographers, scrapbookers and serious journalers will all find something to like about this journal, designed to be a keepsake of journeys worth remembering in a special way. I'll be listing some of these in my Etsy shop in the next week or so.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to be entering into 2011! I admit, I'm a sucker for a new year. I highly resolve many things in January. Since I actually got a start last fall on a few of my biggies, I'm hoping they'll stick!

One thing I resolve to do is design NEW books so I don't get stuck in the same old ruts! So here's my first offering for 2011.

I'm on an envelope kick these days, so these tiny little books are made from coin envelopes folded in half.

I've cut the tiniest bit off the bottom so that the envelope actually forms two little pockets that I've slipped some little blank notes from coordinating scrapbook paper into. The teensy text block has 8 pages made from scraps of ivory drawing paper left from versatile travel journals.

The covers feature copyright free vintage images from PeggyLovesVintage on Etsy. I love images from the 40s and 50s! They're so quaint and kitschy. Peggy's got loads of really nice ones.

Once filled with all your little love notes, a red ribbon ties the little book neatly at the back. Another another envelope, embellished with a circle cut from the same design, holds it perfectly for giving.

These are available in my Etsy shop here. Hoping to see more of you here and on your blogs this year! Happy 2011!

A Christmas Gift for Generations

2010-12-02T06:23:00.000-08:00

I had the privilege of making a very special book recently. A customer wanted a book for her elderly father-in-law to record his stories and memories for his grandchildren. He has lived in a small town in Nebraska for his entire life, so she wanted a map of his home state on the cover. She even had a title for it. I cut a window and placed the words on the title page so they would show through the cover.

She and her husband presented the book to him at Thanksgiving, and he was very touched by it. What a treasure that journal will be to the next generation! It was a gift to him this year but will be a gift to those who love him for years to come. My mom passed away in 2000, and we still thumb through her old journals every year when we get together.

Remember what's important this holiday season and spend some time listening to your aging loved ones.

NEW Versatile Photo Album Scrap Journals

2010-11-05T13:15:00.000-07:00

I am having a lot of fun with my versatile travel journals. (You can read about them here, if you like.) I have made 40 of them for happy customers so far, and they have visited literally every continent with the exception of Antarctica. (Hey, I've got a map of Antarctica. Anybody going?) Folks who've bought them have been really pleased with the way they integrate journaling and photos, as well as all the little pockets and envelopes for keeping things along the way.

I was thinking, if they work so well for traveling, why not offer them to commemorate other important events that generate photos, journals and bits that beg for saving? So here's my first attempt at that: versatile photo albums/scrapbooks/journals, personalized for babies. I guess they're really more for moms & dads, aunts & uncles, grandmas & grandpas that the actual babies, but you get the point!

The designs are created using copyright free vintage images from old greeting cards, purchased from Peggy Loves Vintage on Etsy. I absolutely love the old fashioned feel of these images from the 40s, 50s and 60s. Not fussy and Victorian, they're just homey and sweet to me. Maybe because they look like my baby book!

The window in the front cover will, of course, reveal the first glimpse of the adorable baby that you're honoring with this little book. The 4-1/4" x 6-1/4" pages are specifically designed to accommodate 3-1/2 x 5 photos with captions or 4 x 6 without.

Like the travel journal, the basic structure is an accordion book made from heavy weight 200 gsm (equivalent to about 140 lb) Italian velata paper. Not only does this provide a great substrate for the other elements in the book, it takes paint and collage work very well.

There are separate closures on both sides of the book so that you can open it either way to expose the section you want or you can open both sides and spread the whole thing out.

I've modified my travel design just a little at the suggestion of scrapbooking friends. The pamphlet sections have fewer pages made of the same heavy paper as the accordion substrate so that they can be used for photos or journaling. Instead of tabs, I've included a fold out section that opens out for more photos. That page is 16" long, so there's lots of room for photos and writing.

The envelopes and pouches are still included so you can safely tuck away precious bits of this and that. My favorite inclusion is a manila catalog envelope that has been cut and the bottom, folded and stitched into the book so as to form two envelopes, concealing when opened two small coin envelopes inserted between them. I've added a wrapping closure to keep everything secure.

Each one of these will be custom made so that they can be personalized with the name and birthdate of the special baby they're going to. These would make wonderful gifts for new parents or for new parents to fill with pictures and notes to give to loved ones far away.

Happy Birthday to My Dear Sis

2010-10-18T11:57:00.001-07:00

As usual, the first breath of fresh fall air is bringing me back from my annual summer blog hiatus. Unlike many creatures, I hibernate in the late summer, when the heat becomes unbearable and we southerners need gills to breathe. But the leaves are turning now, and the days are delightfully cool. Windows open, I'm ready to re-enter the blogging world!

My sister has just celebrated a birthday this month. No need to mention which one. Let's just say it was a milestone. And as ever must be pointed out, she always remains older than me. Skies are her favorite thing in all the world, as I noted in a previous blog entry. So I made this book for her in celebration of the night sky.

She actually asked for this journal on a clear night last fall at our father's house. He lives in the middle of nowhere in southern Alabama, and with no street lights or homes nearby, there are more stars visible there than anywhere I visit. "That's what I want on my journal! Stars!" After a few false starts, I was so happy to send her this as a gift. Happy birthday, Barb!

Class Over

2010-07-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

I finished up Laure Ferlita's Artful Journaling Foundations class this week. This scan is kind of the "first fruits" of my class. I discovered a wren on my screened porch yesterday morning and got such a great picture of captivity and freedom in watching his struggle to get out. Six weeks ago, I would have been frustrated in my attempt to illustrate my insights, but I was able to sit down and quickly make this page.

Here are the last couple of pages I did for the class itself:

I highly recommend this class for anyone who is drawn to a certain type of art journaling. It's far more precise than a lot of things out there right now. It's not the deeply layered, collaged type of journaling where it seems you just let the page take you where it wants to go. She teaches the foundations of drawing, presents super helpful video lessons on the basic principles of watercolor and walks you through borders, backgrounds and planning a layout for your pages.

I wasn't sure how I'd do in the class, but soon discovered that I had more drawing and "seeing" skills than I'd given myself credit for. Again I know this is not great art for publication or anything, but this is exactly what I had hoped to be able to do. I have a long way to go, but Ms. Ferlita has given me a place to start. I definitely plan to take the followup course in the fall.

Thanks, Laure!

More from Art Journaling Class . . .

2010-06-25T10:24:00.001-07:00

The assignment for this lessonwas to create a word in an artful way. I also incorporated a lesson on making creative borders.

The so-called "scary" parts are in the middle, but they're hemmed in by the cool, clear truth on either side. This is a bit more "cartoon-y" than I would normally like, but it gets the point across. I had a blast with this assignment!

Laure turned us loose on this one. In previous lessons, she created the painting for us on video as an example to follow. We were on our own this time! It was definitely challenging but I'm fairly pleased with the results, considering I'm new to watercolors.

Artful Journaling Class

2010-06-16T17:41:00.000-07:00

I've left Ms. Trout for a time to take my very first online class: Laure Ferlita's Artful Journaling Foundations. It's quite challenging for me as not only am I learning more about how to draw, I am dabbling for the first time in the magical art of watercolor. I generally work in acrylics, and watercolor is COMPLETELY backwards from acrylics. I am having to learn how to think and see all over again. It's definitely stretching me!

Anyway, I figured I'd share a couple of my early efforts so far.

I'm not going to win any competitions, but learning something new is ALWAYS good, right? I've got new synapses firing all over the place!

Little Recycled Remnant Notebooks

2010-06-14T10:53:00.000-07:00

You can probably imagine that paper scraps pile up pretty quickly in my studio. I literally have an entire bookshelf that holds just "book innards" leftover from reinvented journals. I can't stand to throw them away. These little stab bound notebooks are an effort to use some of these leftovers in a creative way.

Everything used here, except the thread, has been recycled. The 20-ish blank pages are made from stationery that a local realtor discarded. The remaining 30 or so pages are made from leftover scraps from other projects: pages from old books and encyclopedias, as well as primary, graph, legal and ledger paper.

The front cover is a vintage library card embellished with some old postage stamps left from my sons days of "collecting" and rubber stamped for a little added interest. Of course, you know I can't resist a theme, so I've tried to coordinate the stamps with the title of the book on the library card. I can't help myself! The card is scored at the bound end to make for easier opening. The back cover is either part of a manilla folder (again salvaged from another project) or a remnant of card stock. It's all aged a bit with ink and bound together with red linen thread.

These are available in my Etsy shop for $10 plus a nominal shipping fee. By the way, all return buyers now receive free shipping to US addresses. I hope these go well because they were a lot of fun to make! And, of course, they lighten the scrap load. :)

Interview on Bookbindingteam.com

2010-06-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

Friends of UsefulBooks may be interested in the interview featuring yours truly on the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team blog.
Welcome, to the BEST interview series. We interrupt the showcasing of the contributions to our book swap for an interview with the swap organizer Cindy of Useful Books. She is located in Toccoa, Georgia, USA, in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains 2 hours northeast of Atlanta.

Hi Cindy, thank you for the chance to getting to know you a little better! I am always interested to know: How did you choose your shopname?

I enjoyed reading children’s classics to my sons when they were young, and we particularly enjoyed A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh. (Not the Disney anti-Pooh—the real thing!) In one adventure, Pooh was very proud to find a Useful Pot for Putting Things In. My shop name is taken from that. My little bunny mascot is an original design which I drew and painted. He is meant to be evocative of an illustration from an old children’s book as well.

Read the rest of the interview here.

BEST Collaborative Book Project Sneak Peak

2010-05-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

I'm participating in the first ever collaborative book project hosted by the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team (BEST for short). About twenty book artists are making pages for three different themed books. Each one in my group is producing the same page seven times, one for each participant and a show piece for the team. All of us will receive a full set of pages to bind into our own artist book. It's a very cool idea which I understand is done regularly, but this is my first. I've been a little anxious about my pages but they're done now and leaving for Utah tomorrow!

The poem upon which my book is based is titled Desert Lizard by one of our artists. I don't know if I have the right to print it here, but basically its got a desert-y, rusty feel to it, and trains and oil tankers figure in as well. Lots of cool imagery. My page is actually made from a sheet of sandpaper. The gritty side is painted with acrylic paints in hot desert colors. Since sandpaper cracks when bent, I've covered the fold with linen tape that's been painted with a textured rust paint. The tape wasn't sticking very well, so I used copper stained glass tape to cover all the edges. I like the shiny element the copper tape adds.

To the other side, I affixed a magazine page that had been treated with Citrasolve a la a CPS article from a few months ago. They're all different, but most are dark, suggesting to me a night landscape. I actually had these already and was just waiting for a place to use them. I painted and stamped the page just a little and added a clunky embellishment made from a big rubber washer and a couple of smaller metals ones that I aged, glued and wired together with copper wire. I was thinking "train" when I made these, but it's possible that they would stand in for the sun as well.

Can't wait to see everyone elses' contributions!

The Amazing Versatile Expandable Travel Journal

2010-05-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

I have been pondering the Perfect Travel Journal for several months. Something you can write in, draw and paint in, personalize, store photos, scraps and memorabilia and that would just be fun to use. Something equally useful for artists, scrapbookers and journalers alike. Neither too large not to small but just right. I'm thrilled to finally have completed a form that I think works on every level.

The basic structure is an accordion book made from heavy weight 200 gsm Italian velata paper. Not only does this provide an excellent substrate for the other elements in the book, it takes paint and collage work very well.

At 4-3/8 x 6-3/8, the journal perfectly accommodates 4 x 6 photos. There's window in the front cover so that you can personalize it with a title, artwork or photo of your own choosing. Whatever you affix to the first page becomes your cover image!

There are separate closures on both sides of the book so that you can open it either way to expose the section you want . . .

or you can open both sides and spread the whole thing out.

One section on each side consists of a pamphlet book with 20 pages (40 front and back): 12 from plain light weight Italian velata (120 gsm) and 8 from graph, ledger, legal and primary paper for variety and a touch of whimsy.

There are also two pockets made from a manila business envelope and four tabs made from sturdy manila folders which you can use to add in photos, brochures, menus, anything that fits, as separate "pages" in the book.

My favorite inclusion is a manila catalog envelope that has been cut and the bottom, folded and stitched into the book so as to form two envelopes, concealing when opened two small coin envelopes inserted between them. I've added a wrapping closure to keep everything secure.

There are also some blank pages of the heavy paper left open for your art or photos. And because it's an accordion, you can keep adding stuff till your heart's content and it will grow with you.

These are available at my Etsy shop here. They can be covered with any kind of paper for uses other than travel. The possibilities are endless! Contact me for more information.

My Critic from Journal Spilling

2010-04-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

I've been looking at the page that contains this exercise for a while. It's just been open on my desk. I finally decided to tackle it tonight, and the only thing I had in my mind was a magnifying glass. I so over-scrutinize, over-analyze and parse my work. It's exhausting. My critic got a name in the process: Scrooge. Tight-fisted, nose-to-the-grindstone, stingy, miserly Scrooge. The balance came in as I thought about how I measure myself against "better" artists. I'd love to say I thought of the verse in Daniel about the writing on the wall, but it was "A Knight's Tale" that brought the line to my mind: "You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting." Painful words I have spoken to myself regularly.

So here's what I have to say to Mr. Scrooge: Dude, lighten up! It's just art.

Lessons from Walkies

2010-04-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

I developed a wonderful habit of walking a few years ago, and learned to really enjoy it. Missing a morning made me sad. But then we went on a 3-1/2 week vacation, and I completely lost the habit and have never picked it back up. I went yesterday for the first time in ages and had such a nice time! My weimaraner, Griffin, got to go along this time, but I don't think he enjoyed it much. My two short little legs just don't set a pace his four legs can adjust to. I got some excellent insight into myself from watching him though and enjoyed journaling about it when we got home.

Wordless Wednesday - Goldfinches

2010-04-21T05:17:00.001-07:00

Art Journal Page: Your Inner Critic Part 1

2010-04-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

Continuing through "Journal Spilling," the next few exercises involve "Taming the Critic." It's an old cliche that we are often our worst critic. We analyze our work in excruciating detail and stamp it "Not Good Enough" compared with some vague and indeterminate vision that we alone possess of what it "should" be. While we'd never dream of judging someone else's work by that same ethereal standard, we discount our own without prejudice.

Since I am a great lover of words, I did a little study of "criticism" and related words. We generally think of the first meaning: judging harshly or finding fault. But it also has an evaluative meaning as in simply making an assessment. A critic evaluates and issues criticism, which can be negative or positive, as in "critical acclaim." Another interesting word from the same Greek root is "criterion" which is the standard by which something is judged. When a critic evaluates, he is measuring against criteria, broad or narrow, specific or general, for success.

It's really not possible to "silence the inner critic" as some suggest. We will always evaluate our own efforts, and we should! Without reflection on our work, we will never have the insights needed to learn and grow.

What we can change is the criteria against which our inner critic judges. If my standard for success is to create, learn and enjoy the process, then I only fail if I don't create, don't learn or don't enjoy.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-07T05:23:00.001-07:00

For more Wordless Wednesday, look here.

Open Door Tryptych Book

2010-04-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

I took a class a couple of years ago and learned to make this unique book. It makes a great statement displayed open, so it's perfect for a special art journal, scrapbook or wedding guest book. I've had couples use one side as a guest book and the other for candid photos from the wedding. The coptic binding allows it to lay completely flat for signing, painting or journaling.

I've been snatching up all the pretty books I could find with identical front and back covers just for the purpose. Old Readers' Digest Condensed Books work well. Not the waxy ones from the 80's but older. Anyway, I've finally gotten on a roll and made a few that I wanted to share.

The trick to making these is getting the angles in both the covers and the paper to match perfectly. If you have a paper trimmer sturdy enough to cut binder's board, I've discovered a method that gets it right every time. I started by marking the angle I wanted on one cover and carefully cutting it on the band saw leftover from my woodworking days. The little triangle you remove becomes the key to getting all the other angles right. I couldn't begin to give you step by step instructions for the rest of the procedure, but a picture is worth 1000 words . . .

The only trick is marking the height of the spines from your first cut on the other front cover piece and adjusting the paper guide on your cutter so that it lines up to cut the right height. Once that adjustment is made, the back cover is a cinch. Prepare and fold the signatures, then cut them the same way, reducing the height by about 3/16 with one further adjustment of the paper guide.

More Journal Spilling

2010-04-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

I was so happy that Journal Spilling author Diana Trout found my little blog and commented on a couple of posts! Be sure to spend some time at her Hub Bub blog. She's got some great video tutorials and wonderful encouragement for art journalers and artists. Thanks, Diana!

Last week, I created some background with a few different techniques she suggests. The first is just to make a page NOT WHITE! I started with some marbled paper scraps and just slapped on paint. The second was alcohol spatter and the third salt sprinkled on wet watercolor paint, a look I've always liked. Here are just tiny pictures of all three methods:

Here's another page that didn't specifically come out of an exercise in the book but ended up being fun. I was thinking about what it means to be disciplined and diligent, common themes for me these days. I'm a competent, rational adult, but there are a few areas of my life (diet, exercise and time management) that I seem to continually struggle with being disciplined in. I was thinking about what it takes to actually make a change. As I painted the background, I noticed a figure emerge. I sketched it out, and the rest grew from there:

Reinvented Journals in Action

2010-03-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

One of my wonderful customers sent me some pictures of journals that I have made for her to show me how she's using them. It made me so happy to see the blank pages filled with stories and pictures from her life! Living in the Boston area, which is apparently the used book mecca of the US, she sends me the most amazing books to be made into journals for her own particular purposes. Always beautiful and often with a sense of humor, they portray a woman with a sense of her own personal style.

She and her husband took this journal . . .

on a trip to Germany last year for her 40th birthday. She said it was great to write about the trip and store memorabilia WHILE the trip was happening rather than try to do it after the fact.

I like to use "found pages" in my journals, themed with the book's title or purpose if possible. She sent me some pages from an old German child's book to include, and I added some maps and pages from the Germany section of an old encylopedia. Generally these pages aren't big enough to form a complete folio, so inserting them results in a 1 - 2 inch tab in the signature opposite the page. She said those turned out to be really useful for attaching brochures.

I understand that even in the big city, she's quite the farm wife, growing and preserving her own veggies a la little house on the prairie. This is her garden journal . . . .

She also has a journal for use at work meetings, one to record the bird action in her yard and, my personal favorite, one for she and her husband to keep track of compromises that they make so it is "in writing." I'd keep that one in the safe deposit box just in case!

Her husband is running scared these days, since she recently sent me nine (yes, NINE!) more covers to make into journals. Judging by the titles, most of them obviously intended for travel. I'm trying to make a deal with him on the side to dole them out slowly as his travel budget allows!

Thanks, Lisa! I'm inspired by you!

Journal Spilling 3

2010-03-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

The suggested subject for this exercise was trust, but I wrote about the frustrations I experience in my creative process. The instruction was to write quickly without stopping or thinking too much about it for 5 minutes. After a watercolor wash, the author suggested writing some big simple words and boxes or frames.

Since my writing had turned to boxes and boundaries anyway, it was easy to go with that theme. Even though I've heard for years that one can learn much about oneself through this type of exercise, I was surprised to learn so much in one simple two page spread.

I think I used every medium I had in this one! Watercolor, gesso, oil pastels, wax crayons, acrylic paint, sharpies, gel pens, you name it! I had quite a mess to clean up before I was done. I'm feeling more comfortable with the different tools and learning what to expect from them a little more each time I use them.

I am nowhere on my artistic application yet, but I can see that the process of journaling this way, reflecting on the words and embellishing insights with whatever visual impressions come to mind, could be compelling. I definitely ended up with more to think about than when I started.

Let me also say that I almost chickened out on my recent promise to share this process with a few million of my closest friends! (Not that many people visit my little corner of Cyber World, but it's out there for anyone who happens by.) It feels a tad vulnerable right now. BUT my purpose is to encourage you in your own creativity, so I'm keeping my pledge. For the time being at least!

Journal Spilling 2

2010-03-12T17:04:00.000-08:00

The second exercise encouraged the reader to play with watercolors. I have never used anything other than acrylics so definitely have a bit to learn about watercolors.

I pulled out my old lucite cookbook stand to hold the book in place at eye level, which was quite helpful. A styrofoam plate served well as a palette.

When I spritzed the paper with water as suggested for the second part of the exercise, I found that it curls quite a bit when substantially moistened. I just held it down while I spread on a few colors of paints. It dried flat pretty quickly. Then I just kept toying with paints, pens and color sticks with no thought as to how it looked. I discovered which pens will write on what, that I’m not a big fan of Caran d’Ache crayons dry but really like them wet and I am unexpectedly fond of the shiny set of 24 Niji pearlescent colors I bought for only $6 recently. Watercolors behave very differently than acrylics, which is certainly not a surprise but will take some adjustment on my part.
I'm using a set of 12 Sakura Koi watercolors I bought for only $20. A couple of reviews I read said they were a good buy for the money. After a serious case of sticker shock at the price of the most highly recommended watercolor paints, I happily settled for these. Having nothing to compare them to, I am quite satisfied. I found that most of the brushes I've been using for acrylics work fine for the watercolors, but I will need to invest in a watercolor wash brush.

This exercise taught me a lot, loosened me up and gave me some much needed confidence in handling my tools. The resulting pages are not particularly inspiring, but I promised to post ALL my work. So here they are!

"Journal Spilling" by Diana Trout

2010-03-10T09:08:00.000-08:00

I got this book for Christmas so it's still fairly fresh for me, i.e. I've only looked through it about a dozen times. It's a very practical book, nicely laid out. The back page says, "Go ahead--make a mess!" So here we go . . .

The warm up exercise was to gather some basic materials together that most everyone will have: journal, writing implement, glue stick, any kind of color medium, scissors, paper scraps. Nothing intimidating. She then walks you through a little exercise that should take no more than 10 minutes, just to get something down on a page. I tore out images from the first throw-away type magazine I put my hands on, glued them down, added some scribbly color and wrote stuff down that came to mind. It really took 10 minutes. And it was fun!

I don't want to infringe on Ms. Trout's copyrighted material, so I'm not going to give you her specific instructions from this point on. But this little exercise was so basic, I hope it will encourage you to sit down and do the same.

First Things First

2010-03-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

The first thing I need to begin my art journaling is a journal. I decided to make a quick book using some nice heavy paper I just got in the mail a couple of weeks ago. Grabbing the cover of an old book that had been languishing in my book pile for years, I just start writing with as little thinking as possible. I grabbed the first pen in my jar and with my very own, scraggly, non-calligraphic handwriting, wrote whatever popped into my head all over it.

This book had a tree design embossed on cover. I'd been thinking I'd like to try acrylics on a cloth book cover. So again I grabbed the first paints that caught my eye and started filling in the little design. The paint didn't do exactly what I expected and kind of soaked in to the fabric. Good to learn on something that didn't matter!

Ok, yes, I have a few journals on hand I could have used. But I wanted something specific for this inaugural venture. Something NOT PERFECT. I also knew the process would be easier for me with heavier paper. And hey, I'm a bookbinder, so I could do it! Just grab anything you have on hand and get started. Anything will do!

Art Journaling for the Average Procrastinator

2010-03-10T07:52:00.000-08:00

I love art journaling. Ever since I discovered it several years ago, I pour over everything I can find. I've bought dozens of books and magazines about it and lingered for untold hours ooh-ing and ah-ing over websites like teeshamoore.com and countless blogs on the subject. The lovely images, textures and inspiring words are so enthralling.

But I don't do it. All those beautiful, inspiring, lovely images have left me completely frozen in my own feelings of inadequacy as an artist. Since I'm a bit of a perfectionist (not paralyzingly so, but enough), I have high standards for the finished product of my efforts. That works well with bookbinding, where one must hold to a certain amount of precision and attention to detail to turn out an excellent product. Not so well with art journaling.

So I'm going to chronicle my efforts as I work through some of the more practical books I've collected on the subject of art journaling. As humbling as it may be, I'll promise to post ALL of my pages: the good, the bad and the ugly. Not only is this a challenge to myself to stop my cowardly procrastinating, but I sincerely hope to challenge and encourage you with the baby steps of an average, not-spectacularly-talented person who desires to develop as an artist.

Bunnies from the Bin

2010-02-26T11:52:00.000-08:00

It's been a hard winter for a lot of folks in the US this year. Lots of snow and cold and nasty bugs going around. Let's all take a quick break from winter, shall we? Even though it's a bit too cold to venture into the garden, now's the time to lighten and brighten your creative life and make beautiful things in preparation for spring's arrival. It'll be here before you know it, with its attendant tulips, dogwoods, butterflies and chocolate. (Oh, don't play dumb. You know the Easter Bunny is coming, and you KNOW what he's bringing.) So to celebrate the not-as-eminent-as-we-might-like arrival of spring, here are a couple of remarkable bunnies made by super clever artists on Etsy from unlikely recovered materials. You know how I love recycling!

This charming bunny pendant from BettyJoDesigns is made from scraps of salvaged linoleum and embellished with vintage buttons and bits of doilies.

Loranscruggs has made a perfect pink pull toy rabbit from a reclaimed almond roca tin. What a great alternative to a chocolate bunny! Wait . . . what am I saying? What a great gift to give along with a delectable chocolate bunny!
I hope these inspire you to start thinking about the lovely things you can create now to be ready to welcome spring when it comes!

Unclutter Your Creative Brain

2010-02-25T10:45:00.000-08:00

The utensil drawer in my kitchen recently reached critical mass. Grabbing a wooden spoon had become an unwelcome exercise in frustration. When I finally reached my limit and tackled the long overdue "sort and purge" necessary to reclaim the space, the reason for the chaos became immediately clear. There were some seldom-used tools which could be relocated from prime real estate to a less convenient locale, along with a certain amount of true junk, things no longer serviceable that needed to be thrown away.

But the primary culprit was a mass of colorful twist ties from bread bags: tiny, innocuous pieces of wire and plastic, mindlessly tossed into the fray with an expectation of usefulness at a future time. And they can be useful; when you need one, nothing else will really do. So they continued to collect until they ruled the drawer. Once the problem was revealed, it took surprisingly little time to restore the natural order, giving the utensils a neat place to live and drastically reducing the annoyance level during the hour before dinner.

It occurred to me, looking at the snarl of twisties impinging on that important space, that this is what had happened to my creative mind recently as well. I found myself completely stuck because I had so many ideas--so many small, shiny threads of possibility--that I couldn't do anything at all. They were all jumbled together in a messy, indistinguishable knot, rendering each one effectively useless until they could be disentangled and made sense of.

Enter two recurring heroic characters in my creative life: Pencil and Paper. I set aside a quiet hour to download the disorderly heap of ideas into a notebook. Predictably, the first few drafts were a mess! But as I sorted through the pages again and again over the next few days and continued to write and sketch--combining, refining and defining the ideas--inspiration began to emerge. There also, I found a good many twist ties--good ideas for some time for someone, but not for me, not now. I tossed those out, gathered the choice parts that fit my own artistic vision, and began to focus my attention on specific concepts that motivated me to create.

Here's how I've discovered you can keep your artistic mind clutter-free on an ongoing basis:

1. Carry a small journal in your bag just for the purpose of capturing inklings of ideas. Try to record every flash of inspiration in some form, every picture that pops into your head. They are so often fleeting vapors that will escape if allowed! Trap them when they come.

2. Once a week or so, sit down with your book and cull through the ideas. Discard the twist ties! You know if something fits your own artistic vision or if it's just a nice idea. Be true to yourself. Record ideas that have promise in a different notebook for further attention later. Things that you are particularly excited about should be sketched out and put in clear view, tacked on a bulletin board for instance, for immediate development before you lose enthusiasm for them!

3. The fertile soil of your happy brain is left clear for the next concept seed to take root, or at least land safely without being swallowed up by weeds--or twist ties.

August: Last Month of Summer

2009-08-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

August is my least favorite month of the year. I lose the will to accomplish in August. It's just too hot. I long for the first cool, crisp days of autumn, which are in all likelihood still two months away. September brings the autumnal equinox and the hope of a pleasant day now and then, but fall doesn't start in earnest until October here. So we muddle through August savoring the sweet consolation of cantaloupes and peaches and thanking God many times a day for air conditioning.

I think much of the nation must feel the same way about August, as it is short on holidays. With the exception of this coming Sunday night, which is Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Night, a favorite with gardeners everywhere, there's not much to celebrate. So here are some books I think are cool. (Oh that word!)

National Clown Week - August 2-8

Here's your word for the day: coulrophobia (n): the fear of clowns. Let's be honest; clowns are scary. I don't know a single person who doesn't think so. Setting aside a week to celebrate them is likely a desperate public relations effort to redeem them in the public eye. But this little book from Jungae, embellished with an art postcard featuring the cover of a vintage piece of music, is very unique, and I like it quite a bit. Except for the clown.

Books from Guys

Etsy is almost entirely peopled by women. We know this. So I'm going out of my way to show you a couple of exceptional books from some male artists I admire.

This stunning book from Neilsenhandmade is titled Out of Balance. He harvested book cloth from obsolete and discarded books and stitched them together for the cover design. This is the only book he has for sale in his shop right now but all of his work is standout.

I also admire Jason's work at Jwaggone. The text paper in all of his journals is not only 100% recycled but also: processed chlorine free, "made carbon neutral", and both FSC and Green Seal Certified. The cover of this particular journal is made from plywood that he has painted with milk paint, which he says is "the greenest paint there is." Even though it's blue.

Summer Skies

2009-06-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

My sister recently named her favorite thing in all the world as skies. When we're together, situating ourselves in a beautiful spot where we can watch the sun set, hopefully with a refreshing beverage in hand, is a Big Deal. She often notes that she doesn't get skies in Texas like we get here in Georgia. Sitting on my deck at dusk recently, I decided to take special note of the skies overhead. Here's what I saw:

many chimney swifts, chattering loudly, darting after one another, ravenously gobbling mosquitoes (I hope) at every breakneck turn;
quite a few bats, equally hungry, less gregarious and just the tiniest bit creepy;
several airliners (full of people going somewhere for as many reasons as there are people), climbing to altitude after leaving Atlanta, one catches the sun and shimmers brilliantly in the darkening gloom, contrail flowing behind;
a handful of quietly emerging stars and planets, reminding me how small I am and yet how blessed to share with the angels in enjoying the beauty of the universe;
one moon, the same one visible tonight in Dallas, Florida, England and Iraq, anywhere a person takes a moment to look up and observe.

I read some verses in the Bible that I think explain why the skies never cease to draw us and inspire us to awe and wonder:

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. Ps. 19:1-4.

They're telling us something that we all instinctively, whether we acknowledge it or not, want desperately to hear.

Have Ants, Will Travel

2009-06-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already the last full week of June. Next week, the year will be half over. It's way too hot here in Georgia for the end of June, so I'm dreaming of cooler places.

Carpenter Ant Awareness Week - June 25-28

I'm not exactly sure why we need to be aware of carpenter ants, but I'm doing my part to spread the word right here! It's not clear whether the ants on this leather journal by Kreativlink are carpenters or just your garden-variety, unskilled ants, but they're busy as ants should be.

Cool off in the Faucet

I remember how a faucet and hose transformed a hot summer day when I was a kid. Doesn't this book from Donnalda make you feel a little cooler? And the words are a perfect reminder of how to really chill all year round.

The Saddest Book

2009-05-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

A young friend of mine passed away in her sleep a couple of weeks ago. There was no warning, she had no known health problems and had not been ill. Her husband went to wake her one morning, and she was gone, leaving him and three young children to face a new world without her.

Everyone that experiences this kind of sudden, unexpected loss is faced with a stark reminder of his own mortality. There are no guarantees. Eternity awaits each of us. I don't fear death because I am reconciled to the One who waits there through the blood of His only Son, Jesus Christ. My friend is with Him now, and I'll see her again, and my sister, and my mother. But here on earth until then, I'm reminded to live in a way that will matter at the end, to leave an eternal legacy in the lives of the people around me. God, help me to remember.

I made this book with many tears to serve as a book of remembrance for guests to write in at her memorial. I hope the family will treasure the memories of friends who gathered to honor her.

While I was making this book, I received an email from a customer who had purchased a journal from my shop. She is going to use it as a guest book at her wedding for people to write their best wishes and advice. What a striking juxtaposition of the place that books can have in our lives.

Blue Jeans and Tiaras

2009-05-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

Blue Jeans Patented - May 20, 1873

Thank you , Levi Strauss, for single-handedly clothing the world. Made from recycled jeans, this very groovy retro-book is from VeronicaArts. Levi could never have imagined.

International Tiara Day - May 23

International Tiara Day celebrates women everywhere who have struggled to find their own path to success and have made it. The motto on the official website is "Real Leaders Wear Tiaras." This stunning book by newfry would be welcome by the most successful of women.

Arthur Conan Doyle's Birthday - May 22I hope that you both see and observe this interesting little book celebrating the legendary Sherlock Holmes created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle from GreenChairPress. Perfect to toss in your bag to keep track of the details of life.

The Merry Month of May

2009-05-11T10:41:00.000-07:00

NATIONAL BIKE MONTH

From A Fain books, a small journal fits perfectly into this vintage cigar tin, embellished with a bicycle image. Annie Fain Liden is an extraordinary book artist who taught my first class in bookbinding. There is not an ordinary book among her works. Don't miss a visit to her shop.

This very unique book is made from the bike inner tubes, which the artist promises have been cleaned well. What a unique way to recycle! And US buyers will only pay $10 to have this shipped all the way from Denmark. There are a number of these to choose from by PalePink.

ROOT CANAL APPRECIATION DAY - May 13

Hard to believe, but true. This date must have been visited upon us by the Sadistic Dentist Association, no doubted headed by Orin Scrivello. (If you're singing "Son Be a Dentist" right now, you watch too many movies.) No surprise that there are no books on Etsy glorifying the root canal, but I did find this very interesting book covered with advertisement from a 1922 orthodontics journal. From BrooklynBookbinder.

The last book for this week is in honor of L. Frank Baum, author of the children's classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, whose birthday is May 15. Actually, this book does double duty, because this week is also Children's Book Week. This cute little journal is in such happy spring greens. Perfect for both occasions. From Ragnazidnar.

Kathy

2008-10-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

February 29, 1948 - October 6, 2008

Intrepid indomitable cantankerous straightforward untamed hilarious independent generous frank brave unpretentious loyal tenacious adventurous fearless gracious inquisitive impudent irreverent nonconformist stubborn childlike eccentric solitary creative confident-in-God tenderhearted anglophile dog-lover particular leader motivated efficient organized opinionated detailed accepting industrious optimistic self-reliant impetuous encouraging rocker quick-to-laugh flamboyant loving beautiful

SISTER DAUGHTER FRIEND

A Different Kind of Art

2008-08-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

August has come on the heels of June. July is a blur! My husband and my two dear sisters set off unexpectedly on a whirlwind cruise of the British Isles and Northern Europe, thanks to a generous gift from my father to my oldest sister, Kathy. What a trip! Please allow me to depart from my usual book arts to share with you a few photographs from the trip. While I would never represent myself as a photographic artist, these few compositions make me very happy.

Fauna . . .

And flora . . .

Iconic images . . .

Ancient monastic ruins . . .

And cliffs overlooking the North Sea . . .

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to enjoy these beautiful places with my beloveds on this trip of a lifetime! But now it's back to the books.

Generation Gap?

2008-06-09T11:54:00.000-07:00

One of the things I've enjoyed most about making books is that my younger friends like them. Even my kids and THEIR friends like them. So I'm apparently a cool old lady. (Okay, not that old. Don't ask.) Anyway I made this book for my young friend Matt's 18th birthday and high school graduation.

He came up with the idea of putting the quote along the spine, which I really like. The cover material is another of my paint/glaze experimentations. I really like the way this one came out, though. It looks like old leather. The Shakespeare quote was Matt's choice. I put in pages from my old Shakespeare book and used paper made to look like an old map for the endpapers.

I like how classic this look turned out. And I'm really pleased Matt thought it was cool.

Happy Earth Day!

2008-04-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

In honor of the occasion, I've been focusing on recycling! Of course, all of my reinvented journals are recycled, but I'm always looking for something new to make into a book. Here are three journals that are actually made from grocery bags. The green one is from a Whole Foods bag, and the funky Tiki ones are from a bag from Trader Joe's. The pages are not actually recycled but are made from scraps I've had leftover from other books.

Here's a mini-journal made from a transparent red 45 record! I really like the way the music shows through the hold. And it makes a perfect little place to highlight the coptic stitching. More proof that, if it's flat, it's in danger of becoming a book!

I have to confess that I have not always been very "eco-minded." But as time goes on, I am seeing that we must take our God-given responsibility as stewards of the earth seriously. Now I really am looking for places to make a difference.

Alas, poor Yorick!

2008-04-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

Know the next line? It's not, "I knew him well." It's, "I knew him, Horatio." Your trivia for the day.

My hubby was genuinely concerned when he saw a page full of skull clip art on my computer. Not my norm to be so dark. But don't worry; I'm not going goth. This is for the world book day challenge the Etsy Bookbinding Team is doing.
What can I say? Shakespeare means tragedy to me. Yorick popped into my head when I first read about the challenge and I couldn't get him out. About half the pages are tea-stained and splattered with brownish-red paint. I've also included about a dozen pages of dialogue from Hamlet out of an old Shakespeare textbook. The end papers are from another old textbook.

It's a little morbid, but we can't really make Hamlet cheerful, now can we?

The Etsy bookbinding group is also sponsoring a sale for World Book Day starting April 23 and going through April 26. My shop will be included, as well as many other really wonderful book shops! Go to the team blog at www.etsybooks.blogspot.com to link to participating shops and to see the other Shakespeare challenge books created by members.

39 Happy Little Journals

2008-04-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

I made one of these tiny, 20-page journals for each lady that's going to my church's ladies' retreat this weekend. I love the happy spring colors. The cover is just scrapbook paper from a pad I got half price at Hobby Lobby. (Doncha love Hobby Lobby?) They're filled with plain and pastel copy paper that is just cut in half to make pages 5-1/2 inches tall. I don't think I'll ever go into mass production of anything, though, because I was fairly tired of them after making 39. But I put them away for a couple of days and now I love them again.

Haz Mat Would be Proud

2008-03-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was marbling day. My family cringes a little when I announce plans to marble for several reasons:

1) No food will be served. In fact, there will be no access to food for the entire day.

2) Mom's mood on marble days is uncharacteristically volatile, depending on the mood of the Paint Muse.

3) The rakes & combs make an ooky scraping noise on the bottom of the tray that make some members of the family feel like fingernails on a chalkboard.

4) It's a mess.

I try to plan my days so as to minimize everyone else's discomfort. Like on Mondays and Fridays when everyone else is at school or work. But there's no place for me to go!

I am still pretty stressed when I marble, because I'm really not that good at it yet. I LOVE working with the colors, and it's so great when I get a really nice sheet off the size. But there are inevitably quite a few sheets that don't turn out as desired. I always have a picture in my mind of what I'm going for. It's amazing how often it doesn't translate in paint. Hopefully I'll get better at it as I have more experience.

Even with my herculean efforts at protecting my kitchen from paint splatters, I end up with the scrubby pad getting it off the tops of the cabinets. Love slinging that paint HIGH!!

Book Police

2008-03-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

Meet my conscience. He is the first one to greet me when I come home from a book hunt to check out my acquisitions and approve each one for my use. Some he rescues from my "murderous clutches" to take up permanent residence on his bookshelf. (He has quite a nice vintage book collection, himself.) The one he's holding is actually a first edition Tolstoy. Unfortunately, in a moment of irrevocable decisiveness, my sister in Dallas dissected this one in Texas before sending it my way. Even though it's just a shell, my son was so offended by its destruction that he would not allow it to be made into a journal. The corpse sits appropriately alongside his Edgar Allen Poe collection.

For the record, I have great respect for the old books I recycle into journals. I feel that I provide a dignified end to their usefulness in life. Each of them has inevitably been discarded by a previous owner to end up on the shelves of a thrift store or antique mall. I bring them home, carefully deconstruct them, fashion beautiful marbled paper to coordinate with their covers and give them new life as a journal that someone will trust with their reflections and memories. Surely they will end up as a personal treasure to their new owner, and perhaps even for those that come after them. My sisters and I love thumbing through my mother's old journals. It's like hearing her voice again after many years of missing her.

So it's not murder. It's Extreme Makeover Book Edition.

My New Addiction

2008-02-16T10:55:00.000-08:00

Greetings! I've been gone so long I couldn't remember my password. Very sad! But I'm back and excited about reconnecting with my friends in cyberspace.

While I've found very little time to be creative so far this year (how DID it get to be February 16??), I have developed a little problem with antique malls. Those of you who've frequented those musty, cluttered places for years may be amazed that I never had any use for them before. I would go occasionally with friends and really "not get it." Who wants to sift through 1500 pieces of junk to find the one item that you really want? The thrill of the hunt eluded me.

Ah, but now! NOW, I have a quarry that is worth the trouble. Now I am smitten by a deep desire for just the right vintage books. I can't really quantify what I look for in a book. There are various qualities that will endear one to me: cover art, great titles, interesting color combinations or a sense of humor. Now they call to me from the dusty shelves in second hand stores and antique malls wherever I go.

And the end result? I have now acquired 68 books, my friends. 68 books are waiting patiently in my studio to be made into journals. I certainly hope that selling everything I had on Etsy at Christmas time wasn't a fluke, or I am in big trouble with my husband! (Not that I expect to sell every single thing I list all the time, but hopefully I can sell SOME books.) Every time I walk in the door with a bag of books and get "The Look," I say, "It's for my business." That's pacified him for now, but I definitely have to reverse the flow and start getting some books OUT of my house instead of in!

Happy hunting to all ye similarly afflicted!

Small Success on Etsy

2007-11-22T09:08:00.000-08:00

I'm so encouraged by the success I've had on Etsy my first month. I fully expected to join the ranks of the many talented people who have to wait months for their first sale. But God has really blessed my efforts! I've sold all but three of the thirteen books I listed! A tremendous boon occurred last week when this little journal was actually selected to take a turn on the Etsy front page. I had no idea why I made four sales in two hours (nothing for some but HUGE for me!), until one of the buyers told me later what had happened. I feel so honored! So now it's nose to the paper cutter to make some more books pronto!

Coffee-Stained Papers

2007-11-11T13:12:00.000-08:00

I had a lot of fun last week trying out a new technique I saw in a magazine. It has that great layered look we all love so much, and it starts with a lowly cup of coffee! I started out very tentatively, but by the end I was slinging coffee all over the place! I ended up leaving one side just stained, so you can see the effect of just the coffee in some of these pictures. I especially like the effect I got when I sprinkled a little salt on the coffee. Very crystal-y where the salt chased the coffee away!

After the coffee, the paper is glazed with cream colored acrylic latex to soften all the edges. Then color can be added. Here I've added a couple of shades of soft aqua. I did another in peach tones. Some I left plain.

The finished result reminded me of illustrations in an old French textbook, so included some of those pages in a couple of little square journals I made with this paper. You can see the at my etsy site. www.usefulbooks.etsy.com

Open Door Coptic: Class Sample

2007-10-20T11:09:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd post pictures of the open door coptic or triptych book I made in the class with Annie Fain Liden a couple of weeks ago. The text blocks came out a little too far apart in the middle, but other than that, it's pretty close to how it should be. The back cover is a magazine illustration and some dried leaves that have all been stitched for some continuity.

Books for Sons 2 & 3

2007-10-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

These are the books that I made for my other boys. As it turns out, their books fit their personalities pretty well. Nate's is the old French book--kind of quirky and light. I brought home the second year of that same French textbook recently, thinking I would rebind it to list on Etsy, but Nate immediately laid claim to it, even though he hasn't written a word in the first one. Clay's is the one with the old encyclopedia illustration--a bit morose. He's science-y and wants to go into nursing, so it fits him.

Book for Sons

2007-10-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

One of the great joys of making books is that I finally have something that I can make for my sons that they actually like! This is the one that I make for my oldest from an old (very old) math book. He's a writer, so his is already getting full. I'll add pictures of the others another time.