Here’s a photo montage of each title and its inside facing pages. My main goal was to match colors and, if possible, theme.

This last one is probably my favorite…not only a cool book title:

But the perfect excuse to use this ethereal scrapbook paper.

Thanks again, Kendra, for asking me to make these for you!

The covers were made from .5″ foam core board wrapped in textured scrapbooking paper (to imitate a leather suitcase). I made a nylon strap to represent the straps folks put around their luggage to keep it from bursting open–”gangly winch-’em-uppers” as my dad calls them Travel stickers were placed on the covers to give it the old-timey travel trunk look.

One of the requirements of every assignment was that we include a colophon which listed the date and the materials used in the project. What better place to include the info than on the luggage tag?

The strap is even fully functional!

With the Venetian Blind binding, two cords run through the covers and every page…much like, well, Venetian blinds. I clamped eyelets around each hole in my pages so the canvas wouldn’t ravel. The cords were made of seine twine (tough stuff often used in sailing.)

Each page was cut from canvas and hand-stitched around the edges to prevent fraying. Photos I had taken while traveling were then printed onto ink-jet fabric transfers and ironed on to the fabric pages.

The Brooklyn Bridge and the St. Louis Arch were there…

Adjoining pages were held together using small silver rings.

From European sights to New York City architecture…

to the courthouse in my hometown (Minden, NE) and the Roman Colosseum…

to the Statue of Liberty to Monas in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Tower of Pisa and an Balinese infinity pool were all represented as well.

Though not a technique that is perfect for just any use, the Venetian Blind binding was a great way to show off some of my travel photography.

To start, I found several inexpensive albums that held at least two hundred 4×6 photos. Needless to say, I snatched them up!

After disassembling them and peeling off their original covers, I covered each album based on Sarah’s preferences. She had come to my studio the week prior, and can I just say that it made this project go SO smoothly. She knew exactly which materials I would be using for the covers and had a lot of input regarding the final product. I love knowing my clients will be totally satisfied!

For the Clarks, I covered their album in my Red Velvet paper and used black facing pages.

Half-inch white satin ribbon closure ties were added.

Metal letters were affixed to the front cover using ruby gemstone brads.

I kept the original spine from the album (complete with bow), as it gave the album an elegant touch.

For Kerr family #1, I was told to stick to very natural textures and colors. I used a natural brown distressed paper for the cover.

I used white marquee letters to spell out “Kerr” on the front cover.

Half-inch brown satin ribbons served as tie closures.

This geometric leaf pattern was used as the inside paste pages.

This book style was different from Album 1, in that the paste pages were attached directly to the first page of photos.

With clear sleeves and space to write in memories or captions, I was thrilled with how this album turned out.

Next, was Kristen’s book. Sarah’s sister Kristen loves childlike, playful patterns, so this brightly colored polka dot paper was perfect for her!

Inside paste papers were a shockingly neon green!

I removed the bow from the original spine…

and instead added a “K” brad.

On the cover, I used neon green marquee letters to spell out Kristen’s name.

Sarah brought me a swatch of fabric to use for her mom’s book. It was this amazing textured paisley. Since the fabric was a bit stretchy, I wasn’t sure how well it would work as a cover. I’m happy to report that it turned out great!

I added 5/8″ black satin ribbons as tie closures

and used black Canson paper for the paste pages.

Black letter brads spelled out the family name.

Book #5 was for Sarah’s sister-in-law. Sarah chose an olive green fabric with chocolate brown polka dots for the cover.

To balance the black photo pages, I used black paper for the inside pastes.

Half-inch brown satin ribbons functioned as tie closures.

A label holder held in place by peridot gemstone brads showcased the family name.

I kept the original spine, complete with bow, as it gave a nice flourish to an otherwise simple design.

Book #6 was for Sarah’s other Sher sister. Sarah chose this purple and turquoise flocked paper from my supply inventory. ((Digging through piles of supplies with a client is the most fun part about a studio visit!!))

To balance the black photo pages, I used black Canson paper as the paste pages.

I removed the bow from the original spine and replaced it with a black satin ribbon with amethyst brads and slide-on letters.

Silver letters beautifully spell out the family name.

Sarah, thank you for asking me to make these albums for your family! I hope they enjoy filling them with photos for years to come!

Two years ago, I made this book for my (then) boyfriend, who is now my husband!…not that the book caused that transition, mind you, but I’m sure it didn’t hurt either.

It was a simple book, really. 8.5″ square, covered in blue velour fabric.

I used letter brads and a mesh heart brad to spell out the following message on the cover:

Throughout the book, I used the theme of “Love…” from 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8. For each “Love…(is patient, is kind, never fails, etc.)”, I placed a photo of myself on the left-hand side of the page.

On the right-hand side of the page, I wrote a sentence or two about my feelings for Andrew and how his love for me (or my love for him) fit that “Love is” message.

Some were just plain silly.

Some were more contemplative.

Some involved inside jokes.

Some were heart-warming (that’s me with Andrew’s two daughters).

My love for Andrew grew even as I put this book together. I am willing to bet that a gift like this would strike a chord with your sweetie as well. You still have time to put together a Love Album before Valentine’s Day. And I can help! Visit the Contact tab in the top right corner of your screen for more information!

Deleise knows that Amy is a big dreamer, a strong believer, and a visionary. What better birthday gift than a blank sketchbook to fill with a multitude of ideas?! I was happy to be able to help give back to someone who has done so much for our community.

Deleise asked me to include Amy’s name and favorite Scripture and to make the design “kinda organic-looking”. Even though Deleise and I joked about the vagueness of her request, I actually love it when I get input like this, as it gives me tons of wiggle room to interpret terms like “biggish” and “kinda organic-looking”.

NOTHING is worse as an artist than being asked to do a piece, and then being told exactly how it should be done down to the last detail. Strict guidelines are one big down-side of doing design jobs for corporations, and leaving all of that behind is just one of the many perks of working for myself!

Now I guess I’d better show you the final product before I get off on a rant about Corporate America.

For “biggish,” I went with 8.5 x 11 pages, blank, so they could be used for both journaling and sketching.

I included her name inside the front cover:

The cover was a crumpled recycled paper which I ran through my ink jet printer to add the verse.

Jeremiah 29:11 is Amy’s favorite verse (and mine as well, actually!) The absorbency of the recycled paper gave the ink a nice soft, stamped look.

Because the cover looked too plain with just the verse on it, I added two brown satin ribbons and held them in place using grass-green brads.

Deleise, thank you for asking me to make this journal! I hadn’t done a sketchbook like this in a long time. Amy, I hope your new book is the perfect place for capturing your vision for the future! All the best!

How about you? What are your goals/dreams/visions for 2010? Maybe you need to get yourself a sketchbook to jot it all down!

My friend Kelly’s first job after college was with Lenox, the fine china/dinnerware company. She was a product and pattern designer, and one piece she made was a particular favorite. She asked if I could use the pattern to make a book for her friend’s birthday. So I did!

The bright blue pages worked well with the muted cool colors on the cover.

The following book is a journal that I made for my friend Lynsie. She was moving to Tennessee, and I wanted to give her a book where she could record her thoughts/plans/fears/triumphs. The cover paper had white waxy dots and was then dipped in bright blue dye. The spots covered by wax remained white.

I used a blue and green plaid for the paste papers, and bright blue paper for the pages.

I added a chipboard letter underneath the cover paper to give it an embossed look.

As you can see, I used to do ink transfers for the logo, rather than white labels. I’ve since updated that process in an effort to be more efficient time-wise.

If I remember correctly, this is the first suede-covered book I made. My dear friend Mikie wanted a chocolate brown/pink combo, and this was the perfect solution.

I made an extra-long hemp bookmark that could also function as a tie-closure.

LOVE this stripey paper! I wish I had more of it! There’s another shot of the ink-transfer logo.

Even the pages were pink!

THIS is my favorite part of bookmaking: seeing the recipient’s happy face when they unwrap their gift!

This last one is the biggest book I’ve ever made. Each panel was roughly 12 x 12, making the finished piece 36 x 12. It was a tri-fold with a leather strap tie-closure.

Words don’t really do this project justice, but I’ll try.

I made this book for a musician friend. He always learned songs by ear. He could learn the music really easily, but always struggled with the lyrics. So I made him this “kit.”

I put together four CDs of songs that he’d been wanting to learn or knew bits and pieces of. The four spindles on the right panel held the CDs. The two left panels had pockets into which I slipped the covers of a notebook. (think Trapper Keeper/binder) I had taken the time to hand-write the song lyrics from the four CDs, and every page of the notebook was filled. Yes, I’m crazy.

That way, my friend always had the songs (to learn by listening) and the lyrics (to actually LEARN). And the whole thing was perfectly packaged in one neat book.

After I had assembled the book, I used the ink transfer method to add lyrics all over the covers. It turned out really well, and took me a LOT of hours.

I wish I had pics of this finished! (**kicking myself**).

Back when I was in college, I bought this book at a thrift store in Savannah, GA:

At first, I was drawn to the retro illustrations and the analogous color scheme.

Equally as amazing as the dust cover illustrations were the illustrations that had been stamped (or done on a letterpress, perhaps) into the hard cover.

And though I have no idea who Walter B. Stillwell, Jr. is, it still felt like this book was a hand-me-down from him to me.

I bought this book thinking I would make a ’safe’ out of it. Do you know what I am talking about? In movies, they always show someone removing a special book from the shelf and when they open the cover, it’s not a book at all, but instead has a hole cut out from the middle that houses super-secret stuff like keys and money and jewels.

Needless to say, I bought the book 7 years ago and have never made it into a safe. But in the past year, I’ve seen several old books-turned-journals, and for me, “creatively making something from nothing” is one of my threads, as my good friend Mandy calls them.

So why not rip apart this old book and try making it into something new? It certainly doesn’t have much purpose currently, seeing as how it’s just been sitting in a box, waiting to be given new life! Best-case scenario: I’d have a cool new journal. Worst-case scenario: my experiment wouldn’t work and I’d ruin a book I had totally forgotten I’d even owned. So…let the experimenting begin!

First, I began by gently stripping the book block from the cover and removing as much of the liner paper as possible.

Then, I cut the printer paper that would become the new book block. As you can see from my scrap pile, there were LOTS of pages! 18 sections of 5 sheets apiece, to be exact! Each page folded and cut by hand (whew!)

Once the pages were folded and cut, I pierced the sewing stations.

Next came the sewing.

This is probably the thickest book block I have ever made, with the exception of my flocked Buttonhole Book! But that one had smaller pages (4.25 x 5.5), so it didn’t seem as BIG.

Once the sewing was complete, I chose paste papers that would complement the cover well and glued them to the book block using acid-free PVA glue (the same glue I use for all my projects–it’s the best!)

Remember this?

Next, I glued the loose sides of the paste papers to the existing book cover. Ta da!

All done! Here’s the top view of the spine. I just love this photo!

Complete with dust cover:

Without dust cover:

Ready for journaling!

I’m really excited about how easily this project went together. Sure, it took some time to cut and sew all those sections, but that was the only ‘hard’ part.

I’ve already got another book in the queue for re-purposing. My friend Alison found a book called “The Adventure of Being a Wife” at an estate sale, and I think that will make for a brilliant journal cover!

If you have any hard-cover books you’d like me to turn into journals, email me and we can talk specifics.

She told me with a smile that they have a nickname…they call themselves “The Bran/Blan Clan” (short for Branson & Blanchard). That proved to be the perfect jumping-off point for their book!

I used the 4-hole Japanese stab-binding technique:

I had metal letters that slide onto ribbon, so I used some turquoise satin ribbon and small brads to add their nickname to the cover. I also alternated two shades of silver to help separate the words.

For the paste papers, I used a geometric patterns in shades of turquoise so the book wouldn’t be “too girly for the husbands to write in.”

Thanks, Lisa, for the opportunity! Hope your book is getting filled up with all kinds of great memories with your family and the Blanchards!

Why not invest in a unique, hand-crafted book that will easily become a treasured keepsake? For this holiday season, I’m offering two options: Custom or Collection

CUSTOM: I love creating one-of-a-kind journals and sketchbooks and can easily customize a design for anyone on your gift list! Each book is designed-to-order, so to guarantee that your book(s) will be finished in time for Christmas, please have your orders submitted to me no later than NOVEMBER 15th. That will allow me ample time to create a design for each of your items, collect the perfect materials, and give each book the amount of artistic finesse and patience they deserve.

Please note: a 50% non-refundable deposit is required up front for all custom orders.

COLLECTION: I also currently have several designs in my inventory available for sale. I have listed images of each book as well as a brief description and price.

“Precious Pink” is 8.5″ tall by 5.5″ wide, hard-bound, 200 pages (pink paper), with a white satin ribbon bookmark.

The cover is made from a wonderfully soft and fibrous patterned paper featuring flowers and dots. The spine is embellished with two diamond rhinestone-studded brads.

The paste papers are a playful pink gingham. This book would be perfect for an expectant mother who is going to have a girl. Cost: $25. SOLD

***

“Beaded Bohemian” is 5.5″ wide by 4.25″ tall, paper-back, 120 pages (pink paper).

I have two of these books available, and I am willing to sell them individually or as a set. The covers are cut from the same sheet of paper, so they are similar but not identical.

The binding is exposed and sewn using canary yellow thread. The stitches are embellished with seed beads. Cost: $8.50 each or $15 for a set of 2. SOLD

***

“Bloomer Sooner” is 8.5″ tall by 5.5″ wide, hard-bound, 224 pages (neon green paper).

Features a recycled paper cover and wild paisley paste papers!

Prisma pencil illustrations and flower brads combine to embellish the front of the book. Cost: $30.

***

“Namaste” is 8.5″ wide by 5.5″ tall, soft-cover, 120 pages (white paper). These book covers were cut from a dark blue yoga mat.

I have two of these books available. I am willing to sell them individually or as a set. Both feature a Japanese stab binding technique known as “Noble Binding”. One binding has been done with blue eyelets and twine.

The other binding has been done with silver eyelets and 1/8″ black satin ribbon.

The yoga mat covers are very durable and flexible. Cost: $15 each or $26 for the set.

***

“Red Velvet” is 6″ tall by 5.5″ wide (a squarish version of the original), hard-bound, 200 pages (red paper) with black satin ribbon tie closures. The Red Velvet cover is made from flocked (fuzzy) wallpaper.

Detail of black satin ribbon tie closures. Cost: $30 SOLD

***

“Stitch in Time” is 6″ tall by 5.5″ wide, hard-bound, 200 pages (lavender paper).

The cover paper features silver stitched spirals.

The book’s lavender pages and heather gray facing pages. Cost: $25. SOLD

***

“Wild Child” is 4.25″ wide by 5.5″ tall, soft-bound, 160 pages (red paper) with silver eyelet embellishments. The Wild Child cover is made from black pleather.

Detail of the silver eyelets and red pages. Cost: $15 SOLD

To purchase any of these books, or to place an order for a custom-designed book of your own, email me or leave a comment on this post.

With either Custom or Collection orders, shipping is available at an additional cost, or the books may be picked up from my studio. I look forward to working with you and helping make your holiday gift-giving very fun and memorable this year!

I created a box from Davy board and covered it in some very swanky flocked (fuzzy) paper I found at the SCAD bookstore, Ex Libris. This box would be my buttonhole book’s home.

To make it easier to remove the box lid, I created a knob-like embellishment by wrapping a metal ring in magenta hemp.

Inside the box, I used the same hemp and another metal ring to create a pull-string that would make it easier to remove the book from the box.

Size-wise, I got much more ambitious with this second book. I alternated paper in mint green and two shades of pink and ended up with a book block that was nearly 2″ thick!

I experimented with embroidery floss for the stitching, using both green and blue thread.

Stitching detail shot:

In all, this was a fun project and I enjoyed experimenting with new materials. Next time I do the buttonhole stitch, I want to make a book that’s slightly larger (perhaps 6″x6″) to use as an address book.

What kinds of books and/or journals do you use in your daily life?