Eco-Friendly Journal and Some Other Stuff

Here we are in the depths of January, and I think I'm trying to deny it by making books with trees and birds and other things that make me think (prematurely, I'm afraid) of spring.

This is a journal I just added to my Etsy store that has eco-friendly paper. This paper is made from a mix of coffee fiber and recycled papers, and it has a kind of marbled or antiqued look. I added a leather bookmark with a tree of life charm:






This one has a little ceramic bird pendant on the cover:

I've also been making some new quote books. This has a quote on the first page by George Bernard Shaw -- a little inspiration for the new year:

"You see things, and you say 'Why?'"

I see things that never were,

and I say 'Why not?'"

New Hippie/New Age/Nature Journals

The ol' brain has been working overtime lately, and I've come up with some new leather journal designs. These are all kind of hippie, nature, and spirit - themed journals.
I've added leather bookmarks to some of them, and also, in this one, used eco-friendly banana fiber paper for the pages:

I've been planning to use some eco-friendly writing papers, but it took me some time to find papers that I liked. The banana paper has a nice, natural color, and little brown flecks:

I'm also doing some journals with ceramic pendants on the covers. This one has a wee owl design:

Away You Go...

Recently finished a big (24 notebook) order for a business. They will be giving them out as gifts to visiting speakers and other guests. I boxed up my little children and sent them off to their new home, but now, sadly, there's no time to sit around drinking eggnog and eat rum-soaked cookies, as the holiday shopping season is here, and I am busy making many more books for my Etsy store. Not that I'm complaining--it's good to be busy!

I vaguely remember reading a story when I was a child about elves who came at night to make shoes for a cobbler and his wife. When the cobbler woke up in the morning, lovely shoes would be finished and waiting. Where are those elves when you need them? :)

New Quote Journals

Has is really been two months since I posted here? Where did the time go? Well, I haven't been lounging around (ok, well some lounging, but not too much, anyway :) . Among other things, I made some new quote journals.

This one has a George Bernard Shaw quote:

"You see things; and you say 'Why?'
But I dream things that never were;
and I say 'Why not?'

And this Writer's Inspiration Journal, with a quote by Ernest Hemingway:

"My aim is to put down on paper
what I see and what I feel
in the best and simplest way."

The Thread that Binds, Part II

I finally finished binding my copy of The Thread that Binds. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had thought about doing a wooden cover, as a tribute to master bookbinder Jim Croft (who is interviewed in the book) but as often happens, went charging off in another direction altogether.

I created a medieval-style leather binding that emphasizes thread and stitching, which seemed to fit the content of the book:



This copy of The Thread that Binds will have a home in my ever-growing collection of books on bookbinding.

Small Universe

This is my latest coptic stitch book with wooden covers (you can see some others here). I'm working on a series of books that are interpretations of random designs that I find in nature. The cover of this book is based on a pattern of naturally occurring lines in a piece of mica. The name of this book is "Small Universe".

This was the first time I'd worked with milk paint -- lots of layers of colour, then working my way down through them to reveal the design.

Book Arts: Edinburgh

After spending a few days in Sterling, our next stop was Edinburgh. I'd briefly visited Edinburgh years ago, and was glad to have several days there this time. Book arts-ish places that I visited included the Owl and Lion, located at 15 Grassmarket in the old town (a hint if you plan to visit them--if you think you're at the right address, but there's a sort of dance studio where the booksellers should be, try looking across the street). They make silkscreen covers for their handmade journals, and have lots of lovely things to look at. Here you can see some of them in their front window:

Also in that same area (at 102 West Bow) is Analogue Books. They have a variety of zines on display:

I also visited the National Library of Scotland, but have no photos to share, alas. If you know of any other good book arts-related places to visit in Edinburgh, I hope you will post them in the comments.

And finally, to continue the animal obsessed portion of my journey, here is a photo of a little dog outside an antique shop. The owner has him tied up there, and if you squint at the photo, you can see above him a picture of Greyfriars Bobby, a famous former citizen of Edinburgh. Bobby's master died, and for many years the little Skye Terrier kept watch over his master's grave. The dog in the photo is also a Skye, and looks about as long suffering as the original Bobby must have been.

Other book arts related places to visit in Edinburgh are:

The Centre for the History of the Book http://www.hss.ed.ac.uk/chb/

The National Library of Scotland http://www.nls.uk/

[NOTE: if you know of any other great bookbinding/book arts places to visit in Edinburgh, please do share them in the comments. Book arts - obsessed people like myself would love to know about them!]