Ink Stained Book Arts

Vintage Photo Journal

Among many flea market finds I find hard to resist, vintage photographs may be number one. There's something about an old photo that is both beautiful and haunting, fascinating and mysterious. 

When I make these photographs into books, as I've done here, I like to think that I'm honoring the subjects in some way. No, I don't know who they are, and I'm sure they weren't all saints who led exemplary lives. But they captivate me just the same, and although they are anonymous, they are not forgotten.

This is an open-spine book with a modified long stitch binding sewn over lavender grosgrain ribbon (sorry I didn't show it, but I had a limited time with sunlight that day). The cover is accented with vintage buttons and lace pieces, and the closure is made from strips of natural linen. The back is covered with linen bookcloth (a great find from Hiromi Paper) and the six signatures are wrapped with vintage sheet music.

The book is bound for Glitterfest on March 10th, and I hope someone admires and appreciates this lovely woman as much as I have!

 

 

Leather and lace

This book was made from a pair of vintage cowboy chaps circa 1940. I found them at a flea market and couldn't pass them up. I love using vintage items for books because they have such a history to them--I wonder what the cowboy (or cowgirl) who wore these was like, on what ranch or farm they lived and what horses he or she rode.

I wanted to add a touch of femininity to this book so I sewed on a piece of antique, hand-crocheted lace to the flap. And although the cheesy lyrics to the Stevie Nicks/Don Henley song kept running through my head as I made it, I really like the combination of the tough leather with the soft, graceful lace.

The pages are great for writing or drawing, and it closes with a hand-plied cord made from waxed linen thread that wraps around an antique button. A small silver heart charm dangles off the end.

This book is bound for Glitterfest next month, along with others I'll be featuring in the next couple of weeks. If you live in the Southern California area, check out the show, which is in Santa Ana on March 10th. I'll be sharing a table with the very talented jewelry designer Jan Lindstrom, so please come by and say hello.

I'll also be doing a free make and take at the show, courtesy of my publisher, Quarry Books, and Craftside. A photo of that project will be up soon.

See you at Glitterfest!

 

I'm interviewed on Artistically Speaking Talk Show!

I hope you can tune in to Artistically Speaking Talk Show on Sunday, Feb. 19th, when I'll be interviewed by host Rebecca E. Parsons. I'm thrilled and honored to be a guest on her show, which will air at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, 5:30 p.m. Central time and 3:30 p.m. Pacific time. 

We'll be talking about my new book, "Adventures in Bookbinding," and all things relating to books and book arts. So please join us, I'm sure it will be a lot of fun.

CHA Winter 2012, part 2

Let's jump right in with more highlights from the CHA winter 2012 show. I'm always excited to see what new things 7 Gypsies has come up with, and they never disappoint. But their displays and sample projects are also terrific. This mood board caught my attention as I walked through the booth.

I love needle felting, but most projects I do are two-dimensional, like the needle felted book in "Adventures in Bookbinding." I've made some attempts at three-dimensional things like flowers, but I don't think I'd ever attempt anything truly sculptural on my own, since I'm sure I'd make a cat with five legs or something.

But EKSuccess has come up with an ingenious way to make sculptural needle felted projects that even someone dimensionally challenged like me could do. The kits are called "Little Felted Characters" and they're due out in May, according to the company's website.

Instead of leaving crafters on their own to concoct a cat or dog, they've made two-part molds that are also felting blocks, so you can needle felt right into the mold. When you have the two sides of the animal you felt them together and add other details such as ears, spots and stripes. So darn smart.

I can't wait to try this. What great gifts these would make, too. After all, what animal wouldn't love to see its likeness made out of wool felt?

Also at the EKSuccess booth were these beautiful embroidered projects. Not sure if these are kits as well, but I hope so--they're gorgeous.

I spotted this clever display that used just a vintage book and empty frame to create something eye-catching. Can't wait to try this idea.

And last but certainly not least, I met a bunch of great people at my book signing on Saturday and caught up with some old friends. My signing was right after Jenny Doh's, and she was so nice to give me a copy of her great new book, "Creative Pilgrimage."

It was great to see Amy Barickman again and Kaari Meng and Kim Caldwell. I haven't seen Kim since Sweetpeas & Snapshots days. I also met some terrific bloggers, crafters and authors who came by. It all went so fast but was so much fun. Thanks to Quarry and the always fantastic Stefanie Girard for setting that up.

And then there were these two funsters, Jennifer and Kitty O'Neil, sisters and authors of the new book "Steampunk Chic: Vintage Flair from Recycled Finds." Not only are these two women incredibly nice and fun to be around, but they're also amazingly talented. Please check out their book, it's got some fantastic projects in it.

That's it...in the next few weeks I'll be posting photos of books I'm making for Glitterfest in March. The workshop is busy!  

 

 

Craftcation make and take

We interrupt our regularly scheduled recap of CHA 2012 to bring you this Craftcation-related message.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm teaching a bookbinding workshop on Saturday, March 24th at 2:30 p.m. at Craftcation, the upcoming four-day indie business and DIY conference in Ventura, California March 22-25. 

But wait...there's more! I'm also doing a free make that's being hosted by my publisher, Quarry Books. We'll be making this little mini-book with four pockets that can hold business cards, receipts, or anything else you need to organize.

No bookbinding experience is necessary, all materials are included, and a good time is guaranteed. Did I mention it's free? So if you're considering attending Craftcation, go to the registration page and sign up. You know you want to. I'll see you there!

CHA Winter 2012, part 1

CHA was a blast, as always. The book signing flew by and we gave out all of the copies of "Adventures in Bookbinding" and I still have some to send out. My feet have recovered from walking the convention, but the blisters were worth it--it's such a great show and I always feel inspired. In fact, when I'm there and looking at all the new products and samples I'm torn between wanting to look more and going home and making stuff.

I shot a few photos of some things that captured my attention, and I'll space them out over two posts.

One of my absolute favorite finds was the new French General collection for Jolee's Boutique, part of EKSuccess. I want to create with it, I want to wear it, I want to live in it. Sometimes you just connect with a product line, and this one was it. I actually had to go back a few times to look at it.

Fortunately, one of those times I ran into the amazing Kaari Meng, the woman behind the French General, and she was very generous and gave me a little sample packet of embelllishments. I was over the moon.

Do you see what I'm talking about? It's so French and vintage and wonderful and although I wish I could go to France and find things like this at the flea markets there, that isn't going to happen anytime soon. So luckily, Kaari has done the next best thing and brought all the wonderful stuff to us. I will wait very impatiently until March, when the collection will be released.

I also spent some time at Ranger booth gazing at Claudine Hellmuth's great new stamps, Wendy Vecchi's amazing Art Parts and Tim Holtz's everything. Look. At. Those. Wheels. Is there a way to put wheels on a book? I am sure going to try.

And the faucet knobs. Oh my freaking god. They're the perfect size for books. I'm always looking for masculine embellishments for books for dudes, and these definitely fit the bill. What guy doesn't like hardware?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also love me some dress forms, and these were dressed up by various artists for a designers' showcase. This one was by Paula Cheney, who is on the design team for 7 Gypsies. I love the watch face at the collar and the details in the belt.

This one was done by Debi Adams, who works for Sizzix. Love the layered skirt and all the textures. She also put the dress form on a glass pedestal. 

That's it for now, more soon!