Book 288 - Pink Leather Fat Journal w/ Glass Dangle - Long Stitch Binding

I like really fat journals. And this one is fat. and I love the pink with black details... reminds me of the '50s, when pink and black were IT. This long stitch  bound journal -- also called the Medieval limp binding--is smallish, just 4" x 5" by almost 1 1/2" thick. It has 8 signatures of heavy artist paper, 96 pages worth (192 pages front and back).

The end papers are a yummy bright red Asian paper with gold brushstrokes. The long stitch binding is done with black waxed linen thread and the book closes with a black leather thong.

The dangle on the end of the thong is really beautiful fused dichroic glass (and a thank you to my friend Shannon for the gift). Not only does it close the journal, but it can also act as a nice place marker.

A simple, pretty and really nice little fat journal/blank book.

Book 235 - Black Leather Mini-Journal with an Asian Touch - Long Stitch Binding

This little black leather mini-journal marks a departure from my recent obsession with making books out of wallpaper samples (if you love them, don't worry, I have a few more in the works. If you hate them, sorry 'bout that.)

This is just a classic little leather journal with a long stitch binding -- also known as a Medieval limp binding because the leather is, well, limp. This black leather is not terribly thin but it is very soft (i.e. limp). It has a nice pebbled texture on the front - softly sueded inside. The Asian touch comes in the use of red leather as an accent in the thong tie, red waxed linen thread for the binding and the Chinese coin as a closure.

This little book measures 3 1/2" x 4 1/2" by not quite 1" thick. It has six signatures and a total of 60 pages (120 both sides) of really nice, thick hand-torn Arches Text Wove paper It makes for a nice fat book. This great art paper will take pen, ink, marker, pencil, charcoal and light water media, so this would be a great pocket sketchbook or art journal.

Book 230 - A Long Stitch Bound Blank Journal from Cork Paper & Leather

This cork paper journal is so pretty. I'm having so much fun rooting around in all my sister's wonderful papers and leathers. This paper is really different. The paper backing is metallic gold. But then the top layer is pieces of cork bark bonded to the metallic paper. As pretty as it is, it can be hard to work with because when you crease it or even bend it too much, the cork cracks. So if I wanted to use it for a soft-cover journal--which I did--I knew I would have to cover the spine with something.

I decided on leather and found this piece of very soft dark maroon calfskin. Since the cork paper was pretty light, I lined it with a piece of textured cardstock. I also added a 3/4" wide strip of leather to the inside of the spine to help it keeps its shape. The book block is 48 sheets of Neenah Sundance 70 lb felt finish paper, making 96 pages. The end paper wrapping the block is a nice maroon with some grassy inclusions.

The blank book is bound with a long stitch binding with lavender waxed cotton thread. I really liked the "starburst" stitch pattern I devised the other day for the brown leather journal so I used it again with this one.

There's quite a lot of this nifty cork paper here in the studio. I think I need to figure out another use for it before I go home.

I'm not getting as much catching up done here as I'd hoped. Caring for my mom takes much more energy and time than it did a year ago. She's got an infection that makes her a little disoriented and needy and every time I'm out of her sight for more than five minutes, she rings the buzzer that hangs around her neck. So most of today was spent sitting beside her watching about 6 episodes of "Planet Earth" and three or four more of "The Human Planet." Gotta love those koalas and narwhals. Tonight I'll be sleeping in a lounge chair beside her bed. I think tomorrow will be better.

Book 228 - Brown Leather Blank Journal w/ Obsidian

Here's another of my long stitch binding leather journals. (This binding is also called the medieval limp binding.) I found this nice piece of leather in my sister's stash. Then I found a box of polished chunks of mahogany obsidian that I knew would look great with the heavy pebbled brown leather.

I used the natural shape of the leather skin for most of the right side wrap-over and cut the cover fore edge clean. For the stitching, I used a light moss green waxed hemp thread. I wanted to try a new pattern. I planned to leave all the exposed stitching straight, but when it was done, the very long stitches worried me. It seemed inevitable that they would catch on something and pull--or even break. So I added a center stitch that brought all four rows together and created the sort of elongated starburst design. And I decided I really liked it.

After I cut a long thong to tie the book shut, I covered the top of the roughly teardrop-shaped chunk of beautiful mahogany obsidian with epoxy, then wrapped the end of the thong around it and tied a knot. Then I added a bit more epoxy. This baby is not coming off.

The paper is a really nice 70 lb. felt finish cream paper. A very nice journal, definitely good for a man.

Book 182 - A Navy Leather Mini Journal - Fat Journal

Time for one of my standby leather journals. I had this lovely piece of dark blue leather, but it was quite small. So... a mini-journal. The book measures 3"x3 1'2" x 1" at the spine. This little book has great depth and feels substantial for all its small size. The hand-torn pages are 70 lb. cream Neenah velvet finish paper. It's one I love the feel of and it has a nice weight. Eight signatures, six sheets each, 96 pages (192 both sides).

The exposed binding is the longstitch done with waxed linen thread in a dark plum/brown. I crossed the threads on pairs of signatures for added interest.

Really a sweet little mini-journal.

Book 171 - An Elegant Smooth Leather Journal with Turquoise

This is a really elegant journal covered in smooth beige leather, another medieval limp binding. The exposed long stitch binding on the spine is threaded with small round turquoise beads. They really look nice.

The leather is split cowhide so smooth it has a slight sheen. The inside is suede. I've used a patterned turquoise paper for an end paper. The pages are very heavy ivory colored art paper, 48 pages (96 counting both sides). It's a good size, 8" x 5 3/4".

This is a beautiful journal I'm proud of.

Book 155 - Tiny Leather Journal-Red Leather for Necklace/Booklace

Darn blogger! It would not let me post this last night. But it WAS made, I swear it.

Anyway, here's a cute tiny book of quotes, three signatures bound with a long stitch binding to a nice piece of red leather. The tiny pages are printed with 16 different quotations about books. The binding is stitched with brown waxed hemp thread, which also is chain braided to create a wrap-around tie to close the little book.

This is going to get a large metal jump ring through a hole at the top of the spine so it can be hung on a chain or cord as a nacklace/booklace. A nice tiny book; it would be a great gift for a book lover (and aren't we all???)

Books 130 & 131

I seem to be on a black leather kick, don't I? Maybe it's the result of returning from the vivid colors and vibrant life of Mexico to the beige/rust/gray/dusty green of the Mohave Desert. But black leather has just been calling to me the last couple of days.

Today we have a pair of earrings. These are actual, complete books, each with two signatures and a total of 20 pages of white text paper (40 pages counting both sides). They are stitched with waxed linen thread, just like my larger books. Then they are hung from hand-made copper earwires.

I first tried making these out of a soft calfskin but it was simply too soft to hold its shape. I had to take them apart and start over with a stiffer leather. I used the softer leather to cut the thongs that wrap around and close these tiny books. Working this tiny can be really fussy and annoying. Things don't want to hang right. Surprisingly, these two little things took almost as long to make as if they were regular sized books. So I'm counting them as two books (to help me catch up).

Hey, it's my challenge and I make the rules. Two earrings, two books. Right? Right!

Book 103 - A Bamboo Trimmed Leather Mini-Journal

You know the old line about how to make God laugh? Make plans. That was my day. I woke up with a drippy, stinky cold and sore throat. Went out anyway and it turned into a day of missed cues, missed friends, foggy thinking and exhaustion. Bottom line? I didn't make it to the open-air market again. Came home and went to bed.

Which is all by way of explaining that my creativity is in the negative column today. Not a single original idea, inspiration, bit of whimsy. Nada. BUT... I came prepared for just such an eventuality. At the last minute, while packing for my trip, I threw in a few pre-cut pieces of leather, just for days like this. So today is another nice little handbound leather mini journal. The other day at the "Mega" I did find a bamboo bead placemat like I hadn't seen before. So now I have a bag full of bamboo beads in a few sizes. I used a longish 3-hole bead on the spine and a shorter 2-hole bead for the closure. I was hoping I could just slide the front wrap-around flap under the bead, but I couldn't get enough pressure to hold it shut, so I added a small strip of Velcro under the bead closure to hold it.

The hand-torn pages are a bright white medium weight paper with vertical ridges. There are 6 signatures with 14 pages each. The liner is a light tan paper.

A nice little book... and I didn't have to think to much about it. Now I'm going back to bed.