I want to show off some lovely pastel rainbow journals I made using Boko Undo Suminagashi inks (affiliate link) – and before you leave a comment, YES they are very light in color once they dry! If you are looking for bold, vibrant colorful marbled paper, you need to try a different style of marbling […]
Summertime memory: coming back from the beach during the heat of the day to eat ice cream sandwiches and watch “Saved By the Bell” reruns at my grandparent’s house. And now I live in the same house! But…no TV…and also I’m lactose intolerant now, so no ice cream. But hey, one out of three ain’t […]
Paper from West Palm Beach While I didn’t marble the paper on this book cover myself, I won’t forget where I bought it from. It was a hot afternoon in September and we were driving past West Palm Beach for a follow up appointment for my husband’s Lasik eye surgery. We planned to stop at […]
Inspiration strikes… The thing I love most about these journals is how well the two black and purple papers go together, even though I aquired them years apart. This is certainly a case of me being inspired by my materials. When I get stuck, or run out of bookbinding ideas, a quick trip to (one […]
I’m so excited to unveil a new style of handmade artist book. It features a luxurious Japanese silk book cloth cover, with precision circle inlay that features stunning, one-of-a-kind marbled paper. I like the idea of a book containing a hidden surprise, so I used the same beautiful paper for the inside endpapers as well. […]
This is a very special journal I made all in one go. By that I mean, I was “in the crunch” for at least 8 hours putting the finishing touches on it, adding gold leaf, cutting out birds with an exacto knife, hand-painting in tiny bird beaks. Also somehow I managed to make it without […]
These handmade Temari Ball journals are kind of meta-handmade, because not only is the Chiyogami cover paper handmade in Japan, the colorful toy balls on the cover are also a depiction of a beautiful Japanese handicraft called Temari (手ã¾ã‚Š) Balls. Temari translates as “hand ball” and supposedly were sometimes used in games, but the idea […]
This gorgeous crane paper is one of my new favorites! A big flock of white cranes flies across clear aquamarine sky, with golden swirling clouds. The aqua color perfectly compliments the other paper I used here, a vintage chiyogami pattern of golden clouds on a peach sunset sky. If you look closely you can also […]
Don’t you love how the cherry blossoms coordinate on the two pieces of paper I used on the covers of this “twin journal” ? If you use chiyogami or yuzen paper as often as I do, you start to see trends and themes emerge. (All of a sudden I just pictured someone talking about the […]
Feast your eyes on the rich, saturated colors of these beautiful lay-flat coptic stitch journals that I finished last week. In addition to Japanese Chiyogami paper, I also made a couple journals using some of my favorite new papers featuring hand marbled and hand stamped designs. While their patterns are totally opposite, something about the […]
So just a quick note to say I’m super psyched that Jad Abumrad, co-host of the awesome NPR show Radiolab autographed the poster I created for his talk yesterday! I am officially an NPR geek haha. Check out the full story over at my OTHER blog Concertina Press where you can see the different versions of the […]
I had my last craft fair of the season yesterday so I spent the week making lots of these awesome notebook sets out of nautical charts. I live right near the ocean and have acquired quite a collection! I’m going to have a GIVEAWAY this week [UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed! Congratulations, Amanda from […]
I received a commission from a return customer who wanted to get another journal for his son Colin’s upcoming travels around asia. I wanted to make something that reflected both where he came from (Cape Cod) and where he was going (Asia). I really love complex stitching patterns and this Marionette Japanese Stab Binding Tutorial […]
Easy DIY Cat Bed out of a Pizza Box! (Your cat may have already MADE ONE without you even knowing!) Step 1 – Place a small pizza delivery box on the counter, preferably empty. Step 2 – Turn your back for *one minute* Step 3Â – Ta-da! That’s it! Haha, ok so maybe this isn’t the […]
I used seven different kinds of handmade papers to create this totally unique garden inspired journal for a local librarian who was retiring after 37 years on the job.
I’ve always been interested in the super ornate decorative bookbinding technique called the Caterpillar stitch – it looks like it sounds – actually, it looks a bit more like  a centipede…but bleeegghhhh centipedes are so gross! I’d rather say it looks like a caterpillar! Anyway, for an upcoming gardening themed book I’m making as a […]
I was honored to be invited to guest post on Jenny Doh’s blog Crescendoh.com for the week of June 3-9. I hope you’ll hop over there and read my essay about everyday creativity! Here’s an excerpt: OK, I’ll admit it: I have a creative compulsion. For me, the need and desire to create new things […]
So with so many bookbinding fans out there, I thought I would do a weekly roundup of some of my favorite handmade books out there on the internet, many of which I’ve conveniently rounded up on my Handmade Books + Journals Pinterest board. This week: Pamphlet Stitch Bindings! Yuzen Pamphlet Stitch Books by Ruth Bleakley […]
So with so many bookbinding fans out there, I thought I would do a weekly roundup of some of my favorite handmade books out there on the internet, many of which I’ve conveniently rounded up on my Handmade Books + Journals Pinterest board. This week: French Link Stitch Bindings! (it’s that lovely “X” stitch) French […]
Oooooh, I just love it when a book comes out just right, and the photos come out just right – that’s how I feel about this awesome washi tape journal. not sure what to call it – maybe “Red and Gray Stripes” “V journal…” in any case it’s one of a kind – you’ll notice […]
