Gone to the birds!

The theme for my local book arts group this month is crows. I stewed this one over for a long time and really struggled. One afternoon I went out and hit the craft stores in town on my very last stop I finally found something I was excited about. I stumbled onto a product marketed towards scrapbookers called In Stitch'z. They are little templates that you poke into you paper and then sew the design on paper. I found a great little bird and took the pack home with me.
I then promptly sat down poked all the holes realized that I didn't have a clue how to embroider and the directions that came with the pack said "use your favorite stitch". I didn't think rationally and go get my laptop to google a solution, nope I sat there and stumbled my way through figuring out away to make it work.
With a practice bird under my belt I started in on the final project. I had originally planned on sewing an accordion to make a more formal book structure but came across the Venetian Blind Book while flipping through Creating Handmade Books by Alisa Golden. It solved my problem of hiding the stitches on the back and looked like a fun structure to try out.
Each bird is sewn black embroidery thread and they sit on brown embroidery thread branches. The yellow paper accents is a thin handmade paper with some sort of long grass/fibers in it.
I think my next step is to try sewing one into book cloth.

Mmmm Studio Time

I finally got some studio time in the other day and just finally gave my Etsy store a little life. I just listed the first in a new line of mini photo albums.
I don't know why but I just have a thing for anything in miniature form.
These little books are 3.25" tall and have 4 little frames inside to hold photos. I was feeling rather bright and chipper so the one with the cherry ribbon got listed first. I have 3 more completed and even photographed. I just need to finish getting everything ready for Etsy's image requirements and they will be going live.

This morning also brought completion to a leather journal I had started ages ago. I still need to photograph it before it will go live. Now that I've had my fun I need to crack down and get to the homework. Just wanted to share my excitement in my new line of photo albums!

Smoke & Aces

Well mostly smoke and not a lot of aces around here. We have two major fires burning in the Southern Willamette Valley and unfortunately I'm very sensitive to smoke- killer headaches and super nausea has been the story of my week. It's rather amazing in the 8 years that I've been here I've never seen anything like this, every morning I get up and brush a layer of ash off my windshields.

I feel like a total slacker but all I've gotten done lately is a few pair of earrings and for the life of me I can't seem to get any good photo's of them. I'm blaming the smoke, maybe the camera....

I got my ATC's off this week for the Book Arts Forum Swap this week, they are titled
"A Tale of Two Fishes" I will share pictures once I get my packages back as I don't want to spoil the surprise for those of you who also participated. ATC's were an interesting challenge for me, as a bookbinder I don't consider my self an artist. I struggled for awhile but finally came up with something I was proud enough to send off.
I've also been working on some new silk screen designs. I have one design with flowers I sketched up in illustrator that I'll be burning as soon as we get some sunlight again. I haven't decided if it's going to be books, bags, or both!

Time to Slow Down

I've been working pretty hard the last few weeks and now I finally have the pictures to prove it! The pictures in this post is part of the wholesale order I've been feverishly working away on. I love the picture of all the leather journals. The red one in the middle is by far my favorite. I didn't purposefully mean for it to be centered and the eye catcher of the picture, but it's funny how your subconscious works like that.

In other news I need to start getting ready for the classes I'll be teaching in less than 2 weeks! I have all the materials set aside at Mecca, I just need to go in and do some prep work so the covers are cut and the pages are all the right size.

It's been grey and kinda rainy since we had our heat wave and it's been kinda nice. Not to hot and surprisingly not to humid either. It's been a nice change, albeit rather strange. One of my brothers ended up in town on business yesterday and had a long lunch so we went to play some disc golf and I ended up with totally soaked shoes as the course was covered in standing water.

Now that I've completed the large order I need to go restore order to my studio and get some work done for my own store!

Bookbinding Team Sale

The Bookbinding Etsy Street Team is having a sale this weekend! As I'm leaving town for the weekend I'm a little ahead of the game and have everything already set up and on sale!
My sale for the weekend is 15% off my case bound books, which includes this lovely recent addition to the right!
I've already marked everything down so no need to wait for an adjusted invoice or a refund!

If you've been lusting after one of my case bound books this is the weekend to pick it up. My sale will run today August 7th- August 11th, the teams sale runs the 8th-10th.
Stop by the BEST Blog tomorrow for more details on specials from other shops!

Scrumptious Leather

The award giving caused quite a stir around here yesterday and I couldn't be more pleased! I had a record setting day for site traffic and possibly for comments as well!
Which could be viewed as the motivation for today, but it isn't- today I have this scrumptious leather journal to share with you. This journal, along with all the leather journals I will be posting and making for the next few months, are made from upholstery scraps. Which while they are luscious leathers sadly I have no information about them. I don't know what kind of animal they are of what kind of a finish they have on them.
This book is the structure I will be teaching in my upcoming classes at MECCA. MECCA should be releasing more details soon, but the first class will be September 9th and the leather workshop will run September 23rd and 30th.

My local Etsy street team held a meeting last night and we had a special guest stop by and I got some really fun toys. I don't have the energy or pictures to discuss it yet, but it's exciting. I'm packing up for a weekend trip to the Coast and Portland so I'll see you guys next week!

Ready to go

I've always loved that song by Republica, it's..ahem... an older song now.... but it still rocks really hard. I should put that on my ipod....

Anyways now that I'm rocking out in my own head I would love to talk about this little lovely on the right side of the page. I *love* this book! I splurged on this paper awhile back and had been waiting for the right design at the right time. It's a ribbon hinge journal which is constructed like a traditional book, but instead of gluing the text block on to the case the ribbons tie on the outside and hold it in place. This book also features a matching tie on the edges of the cover to keep it closed. The inside paper is a rich royal purple paper with a fantastic metallic sheen.
See I'm so in love with this book I'm already writing an amazing product description!

I've got a really stuffed set up for the show tomorrow so lots of options for those who can stop by!

Brief Hello!

Well the good news is that I survived the nuclear chemistry midterm! The bad news is that due to my faulty, totally warped screen I am totally behind in silk screening!
This lovely little book to your left just got some new pictures and a renewal. I'm hoping these pictures help a little bit- this fabric is a real bear to photograph. It ends up looking awful & grainy when really it's lush fabric that I love.

This second lovely book is my swap book, it's going to Canada and hopefully the new owner doesn't pop over here before she gets it!
I would hate to ruin the surprise but I'm not sure I'll get too many updates in before school is over and I wanted to share it. June 12th here I come!
Anywho back to the book! It's my second attempt at a ribbon hinged book. I really like how elegant they look but I'm having problems with the spines on the block slanting. I let this one dry for two days before I put it in the case and it still slanted. I love it none the less. I used the bike path map for Eugene to make both the inside and outside covers. On the inside pages I glued pictures and facts about Eugene and Lane county. It's probably the closest I've come to making an artist book, and I'm pretty proud of it.

Cheating?

I was thinking about making a book for my shop tonight... I really was, and then I remembered the other 1 million commitments I already have and figured I should work on one of those instead. However I was still feeling terrible & awful about how neglected my shop as has been so I dug up and changed and old listing for a custom order Kimono book. I feel a bit like I'm cheating because I don't actually have the book done... but once someone orders it it will go on the list of things to accomplish by the end of the week and I'll have the motivation to get it done. The listing is live now so if you have any interest in one of these lovely books roll on over and check the listing out.
I'm gonna go find some dinner and then working on getting my stuff together for an earth day celebration display. Enjoy the weekend and hopefully I'll have some pic's of my contribution to the display up by the end of the weekend.

"Little" Update

I still haven't adjusted to my new schedule and haven't had time to do much serious binding lately..... However I did find some time to make some absolutely adorable mini books. I made one pair into earrings and I love them. I wore them all day on Saturday which is a *huge* thing for me. I wear the same hoops 24/7, 365. I might have to start making an exception for these. Make a few pairs and change them out to match my outfit.

I also found a little time this evening to make a book for the Emerald Book Arts Monthly Swap (my local book arts group). Our theme was Spring, and with Earth day around the corner I wanted to use something recycled also. I drug home another sheet of Kenyan paper from work and made this lovely little notebook with a delicate flower stamp on the covers as well as each page.

As school this term is proving to be much more time demanding than my other terms I think this poor little blog will be reduced to a weekly updating. I really wanted to update this weekend but didn't get the chance as I was doing homework all weekend. My poor shop is just as unloved, so it's nothing personal. *fingers crossed* I'll adjust soon and be able to do more binding and blogging.

PS- I totally forgot to give credit where credit is due! As usual the inspiration for the little books came from Rhonda and I picked up the pattern in Dingo's store!

Time, I need more time....

This past week was the first week of class and the first week of my new schedule and it knocked my right on my rear.
The good news is that I love my silk screening class so far, the bad news is it is detracting from my book making time. I had to bring my screen home this weekend to get it ready for the first layer of color on Tuesday- I'm really really slow and messy with painting screen filler. As you can see from my colored fingers and loaded glue brush. It's funny with books and pva/paste I'm the cleanest person but I get screen filler everywhere!

My screen is starting to take shape for the first layer. Our first print will be a reduction so this is the starting and the next layers will be smaller and smaller.
Everything assigned for class is going to be huge (11x14 printed) so if I want to do anywork for books this term it will have to be outside of class time. I've already decided that I want more than one screen so maybe I'll buy a few and start a side project for book covers in my non existent free time. I've been thinking more and more about printing right on to binders board instead of paper and then pasting it down. The more I think about it the more it grows on me. We have to keep a log book for class so naturally I just made mine.... (why I didn't photograph that I'll figure out later).... and I left it blank board so I could screen on it one day if I felt so inclined.

Incommunicado

I'm getting ready to pack my laptop into a box and send it out for service. She's got a small crack in her case that keeps getting worse and I can't let it go any longer. Hopefully she won't be gone for more than a week but I've got no promises from Apple.

I had a great day yesterday, made a lovely new book that I think is perfect for spring. It's another Celtic Weave featuring a Fabriano sketch weight paper. I love the inside paper almost as much as the outside! I also love the striking difference between the black and white thread in the weave pattern.

Yesterday also brought me my book from the second BEST swap! The books are slowly being revealed on the team blog, so hop on over there and take a look at all the great books! My swap book was the first shown so you'll have to scroll down a bit to find it.

The book I received I absolutely love! It is a long stitch with a really funky old laxative cover, the inside end sheets are from an old science magazine and are a hoot! The book comes to me from Jodi of Scodioli. She has more available in her store if you are interested one of your very own.

Well I think thats about it for a week or so! Have fun and if you need something to read please check out some of the blogs in the links section!

Where has the time gone?

I can't believe how busy I have been this past week! Where to start... I last left you with the Blizzard book which I have had a blast playing around with. I took the business card holder to my local Etsy street team meeting and it was a huge hit.

I also have been fighting with the cold from a few posts back, the cold has gone but it left me with the lovely parting gift of a sinus infection and ear infections in both ears. I spent most of the weekend on the couch sipping milkshakes courtesy of my wonderful husband. I did however have my first adventure with the longstitch this weekend. As you can see I used some of the kimono remnant fabric I had around and I think all things considered it came out pretty well. I also recently attended a mini workshop on leather paring and I think I've decided that I'm ready to try leather for the first time. I think I'll start with a simple longstitch like this one and work my way up. I don't own the proper tools to start doing leather spines but it is something I am thinking seriously about investing in.

In between studying for my last test this week, and for my final next Monday I started work on a custom order that will match the photo album shown to the right. I am making a larger album to accompany this album. I also got a few other projects started using some wonderful Fabriano artist paper, look for more details on those books coming soon!

I also got new glasses and a very long overdue hair cut, if I get the time in the coming days I'll try to get a picture of myself up.

Blizzard Books

A few weeks ago Rhonda of My Handbound Books posted on her blog about a project she was working on involving the Blizzard and Crown Book Structures. I had never seen these structures before and needed to know more!

After some digging on her blog I found that Green Chair Press sells a kit to teach the binding.
The first little book in front is the one that came in my kit and the one in the back is a business card holder I made with the directions sent with the kit. The front book is tiny at 1.5" square! I can't wait to play with the dimensions and make some larger books!

You make my day!

Rhonda, of My Handbound Books blog has passed along the "you make my day award" award to me a few days ago and I've been to sick to acknowledge it!

The award comes with some rules so here they are:
-Write a post with links to 5 blogs that make your day
-Acknowledge the post of the award giver
-Tell the award winners that they've won by commenting on their blogs

Ok so five blogs I read with some sort of regularity.... I hate to admit that I don't get to read the blogs I want to as often as I want to.... So.... eighty8words is a blog that I always enjoy reading. Other blogs I frequent are the BEST team blog, the Kilgarlin Center at UT Austin, and recently I've started reading the Library of Congress Blog. Ummm one more blog.... I often check the Unofficial Etsy News pretty often.

I'm gonna break the rules as this point and not pass it along as the only blog that I think might respond to it is eighty8words and I 'm honestly too sick to tag everyone.

I did manage to finally edit some photo's while sitting in my sickness and the lovely photo album above is now up for grabs in my store.

Sticky Fingers

I finally got to spend some time playing in my papers again today. I made an absolute mess of my work space, got glue everywhere and in the end had some very sticky fingers from trying to wipe it all up with my hands. Needless to say I had some serious fun this afternoon.
The fruits of my labor is this great little brag book and the start of a new photo album. The covers for the new photo album are in the press drying right now and I have the paper cut, punched, and ready to just be sewn in.
My time in my studio today reignited my love for fine Japanese papers. The photo album I was working is made from a wonderful Japanese paper- but I honestly don't know enough about it to let you know what it's really called. I've seen the same sheet of paper labeled as washi, yutzen, and chiogami in different art stores and don't have a clue what the difference between them is. I do know that I love to work with Japanese papers and I might start burning through the stash I have hiding in my paper closet! Look for details of the photo album later this week!

More about me!

Chelsea of Eighty8words has a great interview with me up on her wonderful blog. I absolutely love her work and can't wait until I have the money to splurge on one of her amazing pendants. I think the one pictured to the right is my favorite she has listed right now. Be sure to stop by her blog to read about the things I don't think to post on my own blog!

Busy Girl

I've been so busy with school and work for the past two weeks that I had almost forgotten about my poor lonely blog!

I haven't been doing much binding at all lately and was really starting to get me down. I had my book arts group Tuesday night and it was just what I needed to get moving again!
I taught this great little structure to the rest of our group. It is done using a very simple linked stitch which can be seen in greater detail here.

The books pictured here are for my co-workers. I made them from a paper that our products from Kenya often come wrapped in. I've been wanting to make books with the paper for a long time but it is too waxy to take glue, and when I learned this structure last month I knew it was perfect. Each book is folded down from one sheet of paper and the cover forms a pocket that you tuck the other part of the paper into. Hard to explain in words, but works out to be very neat. Fingers crossed that everyone at work likes these little blotters as much as I do!

All about me!

Today I was featured on the wonderful blog of Quirky'nBerkeley, it's a great quick read all about me and why I do what I do. Quirky'nBerkeley's has some great cards in her shop but my favorite item by far has to be her adorable origami boxes! (seen to the right)

In other exciting news I'll be in Seattle this weekend! While that may keep me away from my great paper stash that I got for Christmas, it will be a much needed vacation before school starts. It's been a crazy start to the new year at work and I could use some serious decompression time before school starts on Monday!

Home Sweet Home

I have to say it's good to be home. I had a lot of fun on vacation, but it is good to sleeping in my own bed again. I spent some time with my mom, went to a wedding, and spent some quality time on the Oregon Coast in the pouring rain. I got some really great pictures between some monster storms, had some great cheese and ice cream in from Tillamook.

Upon arriving home I ran straight to my studio and created a new little folded photo album. I love the bright orange in this book, its a nice difference from the grey skies we have been having in Oregon. This new book has already been listed in my shop! In other exciting news I recently got a great deal on some larger paper to start making 6" square origami books with! I've had several requests so look for those coming soon!