Bookmaking Adventure...

More books.... we have a fair coming up at our local cat sanctuary... so I thought I'd make a few topical sketchbooks, in my usual manner with beaded signatures. Instead of using my collaged textiles I bought preprinted fabric and wadding for the fronts...

I printed one of my doodles on the end page to give the owner something to do if they are bored!

Book of Days journal

Well, I simply had to do it, saw it and couldn't resist!!

I came across the Book Of Days 2012 project and thought it would be good for me too, with Milliande's Seed journal project exploring my potential and attitudes, this will go some way to consolidating my self-analysis and healing processes. So looking forward to it this year, it's something I keep putting off.

Now I'm making books on a regular basis I decided to use one of my already made signature sets and just make the covers...

So here's the finished (maybe) journal and opening pages. The covers are mixed media (rather than my usual textile/embroidered ones) because I wanted to really build up the layers and interest in a different way for a change.

Covers, collaged papers, netting,wool,perspex,inks, leaves and beads

Title page and envelope, alcohol inks, pastels,stamps,embossed letters,charms,silks,sharpies

The back page has an envelope too, for things I want to forget/throw out/release from 2011. Now I just need to go through the videos and catch up a bit on prompts.
It's a free project, so pop over and have a look, it promises to be great fun, judging by the comments of those who started on day 1!!

I've added the process in the how-to's- books section in case anyone fancies trying one for themselves.
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Seed Journal 2012

Milliande started this prompt Seed Journal 2012 earlier in the New Year, but as you know I've been busy playing on other projects....

But , true to form I did sneak a day off to make my journal cover, first with the fimo seeds, and then to paste,etch and later ink the front. I quite like it in the white too...

white fimo and modelling paste on canvas

 But I had to colour it to make it right...

finished with acrylic inks and matt varnish

 

It might keep me inspired to pick it up often, inbetween a multitude of other projects.

17-17-17 becomes 15-15-15 +1

Well, yesterday was a shocker!!! Our swap host turned out to be a devious, needy, selfish individual who despite pleading difficulties and illnesses galore on our 17-17-17 swap, begging for patience and support which we willingly gave- in abundance! was accidentally found out to be doubling up exactly the same on a different community art site.

Sadly she forced us into taking the robin into our own hands, having pretty much done so from the beginning anyway, due to lack of steering and communication. So 17 became 15, and 1 came back, so now we are 16 at last! http://15-15-15.blogspot.com/

So we continue our journey... a load lighter and with positive future. Roll out those journals!!!

Sketchbook fun

I'm still working on my textiled sketchbooks, my current creations are A5, I'm finding that's both a nice size to work, and a reasonable size for sketching.
As well as creating these for sale, several of them will be going to unsuspecting friends for christmas, I can't wait to see their faces when they open them!

This is one of my favourites, spirals and blues. 72 pages of artist quality cartridge paper, yummy, I shall have to make one for myself  after the xmas rush. Here are a few of the others...A5's and A6's

Little Rainbow notebooks...

I'm certainly on a roll...

Having made the previous 5 books I had a desperate urge to make some more...this time playing with the contents and papers. Some have mixed coloured papers, some watercolour paper in different weights or coloured writing paper...

With a beaded spine this little notebook is colour coordinated inside and out....

This is a pocketsized watercolour book, now there's no excuse not to paint on the go...

and this 3.5 x 4.5 inch watercolour book is even more cute and lightweight

This is an A5 notebook with matching yellow pages....

 They are all such fun to make, I just love how a white piece of fibre can be transformed into a quilty, soft, intricate story of colours and threads. I try not to predetermine the pattern for a cover- I do too much of that at uni- this is a purely extravagant venture into abstract and intuition. Such joy!

Now I need to set up an Etsy store....

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Little handmade notebooks....

I love making books from scratch, and as I needed a new book to keep a record of my online swaps I decided to make another series. This set has my inked/stitched babywipes as the cover material. There is a photo tutorial in the "How to... books" tab.

Four of these are a cute A6, perfect for your pocket. The rainbow book is my new swapbook, can't wait to christen it!!  

I'm taking orders now for Christmas pressies, made to order for one-off colour/size/page combinations.

You can contact me via the contact page....

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