Day 99/365
Wordless Wednesday 14.1.15
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Day 99/365
Author Archives: sproutspress
Inside the Journal Adventure Kit
Day 98/365
Today I’m taking you on an insiders tour of the Journal Adventure Kit!
If you’re like me, you love packages of paper products that have an air of mystery to them. For instance, the Journal Adventure Kit. It is sealed and thick with paper and ephemera surprises. So, today I’m going to open one up, at random, and show you what’s inside. However, please note that they are all a unique combination of papers, colour palettes and other tidbits.
First off: handmade tags. Some with reclaimed vintage dictionary pages and fancy papers. Other tags are stamped, punched, washi-taped or feature hand drawing or mark-making. 
Inside there’s also a handbound notebook with label, origami creature, and a stack of papers: vintage, maps, Florentine, fancy printed, ephemera papers, etc. This is a nice thick stack of papers for you to play with and really decorate your notebook, inside and out.
Hint: it’s also fun to wrap a strip of paper from the inside of the front cover to the outside and paste it down.
Lastly, and possibly my most favourite, is the cutie pie mini envelope! Yes, it is cute on the outside, but on the inside you’ll find a handful of Shakespearean insults!! Also tucked inside are some super mini letter-writing papers, for secret notes to be pasted in your notebook or given to someone special (or not so special if you include the insults!)
Want your own Journal Adventure Kit? Click here!
Cityscapes
Day 97/365
It’s that time of year when folks who live in places like Ontario dream of warm places with beaches and palm trees. Did you know that Sprouts Press makes custom travel journals?
I hand-stitch the covers to depict a cityscape of your destination, making it a perfect keepsake when you return!
Usually I put watercolour paper inside, to encourage creativity when travelling, but if writing’s your thing you just prefer thinner paper, I’m happy to help.
The Studio on a Sunday
Day 96/365
Today in the studio it’s all about Valentines Day! Many shades of pink, red and white are floating around here, all in the name of books of course.
A sneak peek at some new designs for a series of Star Cross’d Lovers Book Ornaments.
With inside pages from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, of course. 
Keep your eyes peeled for these to be released in my Etsy shop next week!
Journeys In Winter: a series
Day 95/365
This is one of the books from the ‘Journeys in Winter’ series, from a couple years back. When winter in Toronto was more mud and gravel than snow. It was a bit disappointing for me as I do love some winter sports, but I didn’t mind the milder temperatures (mostly it hovered around 0 degrees celsius, give or take).
There were several books in the series, and I have a few left. They are based on the idea of combining printmaking, painting and bookbinding, which I’ve discussed here. But I also really like the structure of the book; a matchbox! 
The binding is a Japanese Hemp Leaf binding, which is great for single sheet pages.
You can see from a side view just little snippets of the page papers: maps, graph, lined, blank and colours! It really is a great little book for a winter journey!
Since I hand paint/print the covers, every book is different. Even the front and back covers are different on the same book.
Use Your Journal! No.1
Day 94/365
As you may have noticed from my previous post, I’m on a bit of a hand-lettering and calligraphy kick these days. I’m also enjoying the idea of a few posts that promote journalling, sketching and using journals in general. When I first had this idea I immediately pulled my quotes journal from the bookshelf, and decided to share a few of my favourite pages. 
I will admit that this is a big step for me, I don’t usually share the contents of my journals and sketchbooks. But these are just quick, pretty little notes that I jotted down in less than 10 minutes. And that’s the idea, you can do it too! 
You can find quotes all over the place: online, via a ‘quotes’ app (there are many!), at the library, etc. Sometimes the best are snippets of conversations overheard in passing, or by looking at groupings of book titles on shelves to see if they form a sentence. It’s also fun to pick up a book and open it to a random page and see what you get, like a box of chocolates! (Well, maybe not quite like chocolates, but you get the idea) 
Fun pens and markers are also a welcome addition. A bit of colour or shading can give your page just the right tone.
If you want to try this yourself here are a couple of tips:
-Choose a quote that isn’t too long, make sure it fits on the page and that there’s room for a border to be drawn around it.
-Make sure to jot down the author of the quote so you can give credit and search for more inspiring words by that person.
-You can put a ground of colour down first with markers (as in the last photo above), and then write your quote on top.
-Feel free to use a simple, minimalist border or to get more creative and swirly. Really whatever you feel like is what goes!
-Don’t try to make it too perfect, this is meant to be a quick exercise that is fun and enjoyable!
Do you have any other tips for quick quote-taking? Have fun!
Smorgasbook!
Day 93/365
It’s a book smorgasbord! A smorgasbook, if you will!
Take a look some of the lovely handbound books that have found new homes over the last few months. Maybe one of them is now yours? I’d love to hear your favourite journalling topics and techniques!
Wordless Wednesday 7.1.15
Day 92/365
Show Posters
Day 91/365
As I look to possible shows for 2015, I found my folder of show posters from 2014.
I thought a collage of some of the best were in order, as a tip to new sellers for great shows/markets to participate in. But it’s also a shameless display of the poster-making talent found in Toronto! I especially like the hand-lettered poster for the Toronto Etsy Street Team’s Springtime Marketplace. (I know, I know, I’m on a hand-lettering and calligraphy kick lately). I also love the letterpress printed poster for the Wayzgoose in Grimsby!
While I missed the OCAD Book Arts Fair this year, the student-produced, hand-printed poster is usually a showstopper. Check out the previous years posters below.
Poster from 2012:
Poster from 2013:
Old-New
Day 90/365
Today has been all about dusting off my old calligraphy stuff. It’s old in age, but new again to me! I’m starting pretty much from scratch, with some great titles from the library to inspire and guide me. I will admit that I actually dusted this stuff off during my OOAK prep as a way to find peace and calm amidst the chaos and stress. But it was short-lived and pretty much just the act of putting paper to pen. Now I’m focusing on my skills and the creative possibilities of hand lettering.
I’m hoping to use this as a springboard to more posts about growing skills to use your journals and sketchbooks. So, follow along and learn with me, I promise it’ll be fun!
Sprouts Press 