Happy New Year!

And here we are to New Year's Eve already! I want to wish each of you a very happy, healthy, creative new year in 2012!

I thought I would round out this year's posts (my 200th, in fact - wow!) with some images of gifts I created over the holidays. I was bracelet-crazy this year and had a wonderful time making these for friends and family:

Double wrap in 1.5mm brown leather with 4mm sodalite beads and a dark blue button closure.

Double wrap in 1.5mm brown leather with 4mm sodalite beads and a pearly button closure.

Double wrap in 1.5mm brown leather with 4mm lapis lazuli beads and an antiqued gold metal button closure.

Single leather wrap with 6mm flower amethyst beads and a cute purple and silver button closure.

Red leather macrame bracelet with a cute candy-cane striped bead for the closure.

Double wrap with 1.5mm dark brown leather 
and gorgeous 6mm Tiger's Eye beads and a swirly brown and tan button for closure.

Double wrap black leather with elegant 4mm cat's eye quartz beads and a black button closure.

 


Another double wrap with black leather and 4mm cat's eye quartz beads, this time with a cloth-covered black button closure.



  



Double wrap in 1.8mm black leather with beautiful, vibrant green malachite beads and a faceted black button closure.

 

Double wrap with dark brown leather and 4mm Charoite beads. The swirls of browns, earthy greens and golds in the beads matched very well with the leather and gold metal closure.

 

Double wrap with 1.5mm black leather with fun snowflake obsidian beads and a silver metal flower button closure.

I also did a couple of additional jotter journals with some of my Spoonflower fabric swatches.

This is small jotter, approximately 3" x 3.5" made with 32 blank pages for notes, lists, doodles, etc. I used waxed linen bookbinding thread to sew in the pages and added a few white beads for embellishment. This is quilting weight cotton fabric in my roses pattern.

This small jotter is also approximately 3" x 3.5" made with 32 blank pages for notes, lists, doodles, etc. I used dark green s-lon beading thread to sew in the pages and added some flower amethyst beads on the spine for embellishment. This is quilting weight cotton fabric in my cyclamen pattern.









I am looking forward to a new year of creativity, drawing, beading, and perhaps more bookbinding. I am also interested in opening an Etsy shop, and I have some of my own ideas of what I'd like to include...what things would you like to see there?

Well, stay tuned for more creative adventures. I'd love to hear about the new things you are hoping to try in the new year, too, so let me know!

Happy New Year!

More Jotters! Wrapped Edges and End Papers.

These are for you, Anita! :)

My friend Anita made a comment on yesterday's jotter journal post about my edge-fraying problem. We both agreed that wrapping the edges of the fabric around the card stock would be a good solution. I wasn't sure if it was worth the time to do that and include end papers since this is such a quick project. However, I decided to try it today and it worked beautifully! It really did not take much longer to do and I think it gives a much more finished look to the journals.

So, in today's experiment, I created two new little jotters. Both were done using my Tree Stripes fabric in cotton silk. It has a lovely sheen and gives a slightly fancier look to the finished product. 

The first is about 3" x 3.5" and in addition to wrapping the fabric around the edges, I also sewed the pages in a bit differently, adding a large, decorative bead at the bottom for a little embellishment.

 

After gluing the card stock to the fabric, I trimmed the edges an prepared to glue them down. I also cut end papers to fit. What isn't shown here is that I had to trim diagonally across the corners leaving about 1/8" fabric so that when the edges were folded there wasn't too much bulk.

 

 I glued the fabric edges down using my glue stick and after they dried a bit (under some waxed paper and a heavy book), I trimmed up the little bit of extra sticking out in each corner.

 Finally, I glued down the end papers, again using my glue stick and pressing it under some waxed paper and a heavy book to dry.

 The finished product! The quarter is in the photo for scale.

The second was inspired by the work of Louise Thompson, an artist from New Zealand, who makes incredibly beautiful and often miniature leather-bound journals. Check out her sites - she has a blog as well as an Etsy shop. Her shop is under the name Bibliographica. If you enjoy bookbinding at all or miniature things, you will really love it.

Anyway, my mini jotter is just 1 1/4 " square. It was made using the same cotton silk fabric in the Tree Stripes print. 

Both journals have 32 pages of blank paper inside for little lists, notes, doodles, or thoughts. Also, the mini is very handy for my 4-year-old daughter who is using it as a book for her stuffed animals. :)

NOTE: I did both of these earlier today off and on with interruptions from the kids, drying time, etc. It really was a quick project. I can see me doing lots more of these.

Holiday Fabrics! Poinsettia now available.

And here are a couple more for you! I took advantage of the recent fat quarter sale at Spoonflower and ordered a length of my poinsettia fabric in organic cotton sateen. It turned out beautifully! It's an elegant, simple design in black and white, based on my original pen and ink illustration of a poinsettia flower. 

 

I also ordered a length of linen cotton canvas in my holly print.

Either of these would be great for holiday decor (placemats, table cloths, etc.) or even as reusable wrapping for gifts! 

Hope you are enjoying the season so far!

SALE - Two for One! Fat Quarters at Spoonflower.

All this week, Spoonflower is running a 2-for-1 fat quarter sale. Get two fat quarters for the price of one. It's a great time to stock up on different designs or order a tea towel calendar!

Looking for a unique gift for the sewing or crafty person on your list this holiday season? I have 92 designs ready-to-order. 

Or maybe you want to stock up for your own projects? Here are two of my designs, but you can find much more at my shop - have a look!  

Red and yellow tulip squares                                                           Maple Tree Buds on Green

                                                 

FREE Standard Shipping for 24 Hours! Spoonflower Custom Fabric.

Check it out! Spoonflower is offering FREE standard shipping on all orders for 24 hours!

My shop offers custom fabric designs featuring my original illustrations available in 9 different types of fabric including a wonderful organic cotton sateen, new cotton silk and a limited quantity of cotton poplin. 

Take a browse through my shop to see if my designs fit any of your project needs! 

Here are just 3 of my 51 currently available designs. If you see something and would like it in a different scale (smaller print or larger), just let me know.

Happy shopping!