inspiration monday

  a while back, i saw teesha moore demonstrate her amazing 16-page journal in this video, and i fell in love with it!  but her journal measures 8x10" and i prefer to work on a smaller canvas, so i made some variations to the template and came up with a journal format that i have since used for my pottery barn journal, and elvie studio journal.  my version is 5x7"and uses only half of a large sheet of watercolor paper......and there's just enough pages inside to inspire me, but not so many pages to make me feel overwhelmed!

this weekend i got out some paper and thread and made a new blank journal, but this time i was inspired to use a 5-hole stitch instead of the 3-hole stitch to bind it together.
if you'd like to make one too, here are a couple of videos showing how to do it!

                        



                        

when you discover a blank journal that rocks your world, it's easy to find yourself with an entire collection of them!  i hope you have fun making these!  :))

here are the supplies i used:

fabriano artistico 140 lb. HP paper

4-ply waxed linen thread

needle

book awl or paper piercer

large paper clips

ruler, pencil, scissors

 {the martha stewart scoring board isn't essential (but it's great, treat yourself!).....

you can read more about it here!}

inspiration monday

now that all the pages in my "elvie journal" are filled,  it's time to create a new

journal!  but this time,  i'd like to do something a little different,  and the great thing

about putting together your own journal is there really are no rules!

 you can use any paper you like, and fold as many pages as you want......

you can add your own artwork to the cover

 (for mine,  i've taken inspiration from my "orange journal").....

you can sew it together however you like

using your favorite color of thread.....

and once you're finished,  you can add any artwork you want
to all those fabulous pages inside!
voila......your very own custom journal!


{this "wings journal" was created using davey board,  
scrapbook paper,  silvertone eyelets,  waxed linen thread,  
140 lb. fabriano artistico HP and CP paper,
pitt pens,  pan pastels,  8B graphite pencil,  
and winsor&newton workable fixative}


{if you'd like to learn how to create your own
coptic journal with a sturdy watercolor paper cover,
please join me over at creative workshops 
for my "life stuff" online class!  you can read more here!}

inspiration monday

one of the many things i ♥ about Christmas is listening to all the wonderful hymns and carols!  i have too many favorites, though,  and there isn't enough room in my little journal to include them all......so,  i decided to just add another page!  i took a piece of the arches textwove paper that i used for the accordion journal,  and folded it randomly.

then, using my microns and koi watercolors,  i added a title to the front.

then i started to add some of my favorite Christmas music titles inside......

until i had filled up the page!

then i added my new page of carols to the accordion journal by matching up the folds and punching three holes down the middle using my needle.

i used a piece of white waxed linen thread to sew my carols-page in,

(i used the pamphlet stitch, shown here)

and then i tied the threads into a knot.

and now i have a little "journal within a journal" that's filled with all kinds of
fabulous Christmas music inspiration!

{materials used:  arches textwove paper, micron pens,  koi watercolors,
derwent watercolor pencils, waterbrush, graphite pencil, waxed linen thread, needle}

inspiration monday

the holiday season is upon us, and i can't think of a more inspiring time of year!  to celebrate all the things i love about the season, i thought i'd create a little booklet......here's how i did it:  take a piece of medium weight paper (i'm using arches textwove that measures approximately 4"x20").......

then fold it in half, and fold it in half again accordion-style until you have a booklet with four sections.

(you can adjust this any way you like and it will still work.....use any size paper, and the more you fold it in half, the more sections, or "pages" you'll have!)

now add some lettering and illustration to your front cover.....

along with some color around the edges, if you like. 

(i'm using some green pan pastel here)

and before you know it, you've created a cover for your new accordion book!

when you open your book up, there will be lots of empty space smiling at you, so

go ahead and start filling it up using your favorite supplies!

i added this Christmas tree on one of the paper folds (because i truly love all those twinkly little white lights!).   i think it'll look kind of neat when the book is folded.......

because you'll be able to see half the tree on each page!

it's going to be fun filling up all that blank space by adding a little bit of artwork here and there throughout the holidays.....and it will be a great way to be creative for just ten or fifteen minutes at a time!

welcome to the holiday season......the most wonderfully inspiring time of the year!!

{this accordion book was created using arches textwove paper, koi watercolors,
micron pens, pan pastel, graphite pencil, uniball signo white gel pen}

inspiration monday

i love to letter quotes in my art journal, but this past weekend i was inspired to do something a little different.....instead of writing the quote in my book, i decided to create a little book just for the quote!

i started with two 3" x 6" pieces of torn watercolor paper and randomly painted a few splotches on both sides using watercolors.  

then i folded each piece of paper in half and started lettering and drawing on the pages.

once i had everything the way i wanted......

i sewed the pages together using linen thread......
and voila.....a dreamy little book.....

"you've got to have a dream, if you want to have a dream come true"

dennis waitley

supplies:  koi watercolors, micron pens, pilot G-tech pens, 6B pencil, linen thread

paper fabulousness

there's lots of fabulous paper out there (and one peek into my stash would reveal that i probably own at least two sheets of each of it!).  but sometimes a sheet of really, really fabulous paper falls in your lap, and you want to do something really, really fabulous with it.....like showcase all it's fabulousness on the covers of an art journal.

but this isn't just any fabulous paper.......

it's paper that was lovingly and skillfully stenciled by my dear fabulous friend and partner-in-art-crimes martha lever.....

and not only is this paper fabulous, 

it's also artsy, genuine, one-of-a-kind, colorful, unique, exceptional,  primo, special, vibrant, one and only, zesty, sparkling,  creative, energetic, and extremely imaginative......much like the fabulous martha-artist herself!

see more of martha's beautiful artwork here!

and you can read more information about this art journal here in my etsy shop

ocean of truth

here's a little sneaky peeky at a book i made using the paste paper from yesterday's post.

i tore it into four pieces and folded them to make the pages. then i mixed up a little bit of dr. martin's bleedproof white and grabbed my favorite calligraphy nib and began lettering a little quote. then i bound it all together using a pamphlet stitch, and added some little white shell beads that i've had in my stash forever.

and for the inside......i'm actually still trying to decide whether it's "finished" .....some of the pages look like they could use a little illustration, but i'm not sure, so i think i'm going to put it away, go back to it in a few days, and then see how it looks!

book finished using paste paper, dr. martin's bleedproof white, eagle falcon nib, waxed linen thread, shell beads

a little sewing

i'm going to spend this afternoon doing a little sewing. i've got some book boards covered with arches textwove paper, and some watercolor papers folded and all ready for their make-overs into blank journals. i really enjoy the cutting and folding of the papers, and the gluing of the covers, but i must admit that the sewing is my favorite part. that's the part when everything comes together and suddenly you have a journal.....and it truly fascinates me every time!

book of play

you may have already heard the buzz in blogland....julie pritchard's new classes have begun! i've seen so many wonderful things from all of you who took her "layer love" class, that when she offered this class about making books, i couldn't resist signing up! it's been a while since i've created any new books, so i couldn't wait to watch julie's videos, get my supplies out, start sewing up the book block....

and then make the covers out of this paste paper that i painted a few months ago....it seems to feed this creative appetite that i'm having for the color orange these days!

julie recommends using fabriano paper for the text pages (which is fabulous paper!), but i decided to use this watercolor paper in my stash. the word "play" was written with my pentel colorbrush....it's definitely one of my favorite toys!

i was pretty nervous punching the holes into the cover so i could do a little hand-stitching....once you punch that first hole, though, you get pretty fearless and just go for it!

thanks, julie.... i'm already looking forward to next week's class!

bright days

here is another book that i made using some of my lettering artwork on the front cover.  my original aceo artwork has been printed on canvas and then stitched to the front cover fabric...and speaking of the fabric, it's probably not the normal "autumn" color combination, but sometimes you just have to go with what you like!  the chartreuse and fuchsia are still hanging in there from the summer,  and i think that bright days are ahead for anyone keeping their thoughts in this journal!

asheville inspiration

i've been reminiscing about the trip that i took to asheville, north carolina last year.  my friend martha and i made the six+ hour drive to the mountains to attend a bookmaking workshop at a place called BookWorks.  and, it was well worth the trip.  firstly, it's asheville, it's the mountains, it's beautiful.  secondly, if your heart starts to race at the thought of vintage letterpress machines, a paper guillotine large enough to take your arm off, wood block lettertype out the wazoo...well, then this place is for you!   and, best of all, the bookmaking instruction is top notch.   it was a great trip.  asheville, i wish you were closer to florida....