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All done!

In the above order: Four-Hole, Noble, Tortoise Shell, and Hemp Leaf Japanese Stab Bindings.

The first two covers are made from pieces I created using pressed leaves. I cut both pieces of art in half, so that the inside-fronts have each other's other half.

The next two are made with purchased handmade paper. They're all filled with a variety of paper. I used ribbon and waxed Irish linen thread to sew them together.

This was A LOT of fun work, but my fingers don't agree 🤕 especially the first one I did with ribbon. All the rest got larger holes so I didn't have to struggle so much. Speaking of holes, there were so many to punch, I had to use a compass to measure distances. Since the patterns are the centerpieces, I wanted to get them as perfectly spaced as I could.

The corners of the book blocks are covered with pretty fabric. Although you can't see a lot of it, I think it was a nice touch worth taking the time to do.

I enjoyed making these more than I thought I would, and I'm super happy with how they turned out.

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I recently swatched all of my fountain pen inks and I'm pretty happy with how the swatches look! (Please note that I just have tiny samples of most of these inks - NOT full bottles.)

I wasn't impressed with the Col-o-Ring "Dipper". The colorful green chain that came with the cards was too large for the cards to slide along it easily - fortunately, I had a smaller one handy. I ended up cutting a bunch more cards from mixed media paper, so I could certainly have created the whole thing myself (and with larger holes so I could use a book ring instead of the pesky chain).

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Wood Engraving Wednesday

Here are a few delightful wood engravings from a recent gift showing the various processes that go into binding a book. This little pamphlet is entitled A Short History of Bookbinding and a Glossary of Styles and Terms Used in Binding … .printed in London at the Chiswick Press for the bookbinder Joseph William Zaehnsdorf in 1895.These images were probably printed from metal plates that were made from the original wood engravings. The engravings are not attributed, as was the case for most commercial engravings.

Click or tap on the images to see the definitions for these activities as provided in the booklet’s glossary. 

View more posts with wood engravings!

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Well sewing on the side panels did not take as long as I expected. Panels 1 and 2 are now attached to the mother ship. Panels two and three will follow as time allows.

[craftdiscoveries]

You’ve heard of “don’t monetize your hobbies”; get ready for "don’t master your hobbies".

Your hobbies are here to help you decompress and have fun. They do not have to be disciplines you toil over for expertise, unless that is something you genuinely enjoy doing.

It’s okay to enjoy language-learning without ever becoming fluent, or even conversational. It’s okay to like playing guitar even if you only know a few clumsy songs. You can read books and never finish them, bowl without ever scoring even halfway to perfect. We’re here to explore and play, and we cannot do that if we’re chasing perfection in everything we do.

[craftdiscoveries]

They look quite the mess at first, but after doodling and fussy cutting them, they make great additions to cards, art journals and other mixed media projects.

Even the pressed leaves are extra pretty! I'm going to give them a light spray of varnish to see if I can preserve the colors.

This has been a fun project, but next time I'll be using freshly picked foliage. I think they would adhere better to the watercolor layering.

Credit goes to Andrea Nelson Art for the inspiration to give this another try.

It was fun to discover what was underneath.

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For Messy May. Sisterhood. Collage, watercolor.

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." -Helen Keller

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I did my first ICAD in 2016, so I’m gearing up for my tenth year!

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‘Form follows function’ 😀 - When we add decoration to design, in the form of patterns or ornament, we make design more human, and often more beautiful.

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Working out helped take that zombie wall down--I should have thrown around some heavy weights yesterday!!

I came home and water colored pages to use in future journals. One is a practice page but I still might make a junk journals with it.

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Large cooking spoon I made from some holly donated by a friend who lives in Colchester, Essex.

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All done!

Part 6, a little sewing.

I finished this one late last night. The shiny gold fans on the origami paper make it difficult to get clear photos.

I may still put a closure on it. It's filled with 140 lb. watercolor paper, which is heavy, so it tends to spring open.

I like that it opens flat.

I almost finished a second one last night, but my brain and fingers had had enough for one day. I'm very pleased with how this one turned out.

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@winifredrose and I drove about an hour away to take a class at A work Of Heart studio last night. It turned out to be just what we needed, so fun.

We free-formed watercolors and turned the pages into adorable books. One of the best parts was that we didn't have to haul a bunch of stuff to class, everything was provided.

We're so tickled with how our books turned out. I even bought another kit so we can make more. I'm sure we'll be taking more classes from Andrea.

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Part 5, a little paper trimming.

I haven't used my daughter's paper trimmer very much, so if I look like I don't know what I'm doing, I don't. 🤪

I'm hoping to sew at least one of the three books I trimmed here today.

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The art journal I used for the #cozyartcollective March prompts, now completed (started in 2018 and worked on intermittently until this month).