practice, practice, practice

i've been wanting to make some books with a coptic binding for quite some time now.  and i've discovered that like most things, it takes a lot of practice.  so, i've been practicing.  and practicing.  and now that i'm working through my tendency to pull the stitches too tight, those little chain stitches are finally starting to look a little more consistent.  
i'm going to keep practicing...and hopefully you'll notice along the way that they're starting to look better!  :)

belgian goodies

my husband returned home last night from a trip to belgium to visit his family.  look what he had in his suitcase for me...yummy dark chocolate, two rubber stamp sets, and mouth-watering waffle cookies made by his tante marie-elise!  does this sweet little dutch boy know the way to my heart, or what?!  

fireworks batik journal

sometimes i fall in love with a fabric, but that doesn't guarantee that it will look good on a journal (kinda like when i go shopping and that "to die for sweater" looks better on the hanger than it does on my body).   today i got lucky...i think that this batik fabric is the perfect fit for this journal!

rich in golds, greens and amethyst, this batik fabric reminds me of a dark sky filled with fireworks.  i sewed five signatures of hand-torn italian velata paper to the inside using a bright yellow waxed linen thread.  the two green buttons on the front are slightly mis-matched in color, which bothered the perfectionist in me at first...but then the pollyanna in me said "hey, be glad that you had two green buttons instead of only one!".  i just love pollyanna, don't you?!  :)

online journal class - week four

would you believe that the cover of this journal started out as a paper bag?!  this is the fourth project in my online journal class with sue bleiweiss.  the wrap-around construction is similar to that of our project from week one, but this time instead of using fabric for the cover, sue taught us a technique using a brown paper bag.  and it seems that not all paper bags are alike...i used a lunch sack because it's a little lighter in weight, but i think that next time i'll use some of that brown craft paper on a roll (the type that's used to wrap packages).  it's much heavier in weight and it would be interesting to see the difference in the two journals.
for the inside cover, i used a piece of decorative paper that has a collage of postage stamps all over it.  i also wrapped a smaller piece of handmade paper around each of the three signatures, just to give it a little interest.  just like my other projects with sue, this was a fun book to put together.  i'll keep you posted on my next journal! 

inspiration monday

  the tag line over at little brown pen reads:  just. add. paper.   it's perfect because this is an imaginative company that offers fabulous printable stationery and gifts!  but after frequent visits to little brown pen, here's what i'm thinking:  pure. simple. genius.   the pure and simple are in their sweet, colorful, eye-catching digital designs.  and the genius (actually, geniuses) behind the operation are evan and nichole robertson.  

armed with adobe illustrator and a ton of cleverness and creativity, evan and nichole create stationery, bookplates, calendars, and gifts....all sent to you in a printable pdf file.  which means that you can print them, cut them, fold them, and give them as many times as you like!  this is a whole new spin on "the gift that keeps on giving"!   need a gift for your babysitter?  done.  want to give a little something to that nice man who does your dry cleaning?  done.  this is inspiration at its very best!

                     

this video shows how easy holiday gift giving can be this year.  it also illustrates how much fun evan and nichole are having making little brown pen the success story that it truly is.  click here to be inspired...but i must warn you, it's addicting.  and treat yourself with a visit to their blog ...beautiful photography and great information!  thanks evan and nichole...you truly inspire me!