It’s the Wayzgoose Book Arts Fair this saturday!! If you can, take the trip out to Grimsby and join in the book & paper fun! Sprouts Press will be there along with many other talented book artists, paper makers, marblers, small presses and such!
When: Saturday April 29, 2017 9am – 5pm
Where: Grimbsy Public Art Gallery, 18 Carnegie Lane, Grimsby, Ontario
For more information, please see the event page here.
Here’s a fun thing: Etsy has collaborated with House & Home to create a spring decorating quiz and video – featuring many local makers’ products! (Sprouts Press included!!)
Take the quiz, watch the video and see if you can spot the Sprouts Press journal!! And while you’re at it, enter your quiz results to be entered in a contest to win a $500 Etsy gift card!! Woot!
Sound like fun? Take the quiz here. Contest closes June 6, 2017.
It’s Sprouts Press’ first spring craft fair of the year! Makeology is today!
What: Makeology Spring Craft Fair
When: Saturday April 15, 2017 (today!) 11am – 5pm
Where: Hamilton Steam & Technology Museum, 900 Woodward Ave., Hamilton
For more information, please see show website here.
It’s the start of a new space for the Toronto Etsy Street Team at 906 Queen Street West here in Toronto! And I’m so happy to share that I’ll be offering my Bookbinding Sampler Workshop for Beginners at this new space (formerly Graven Feather).
What: Bookbinding Sampler Workshop – Beginner
When: Saturday April 22, 2017 1pm – 4pm
Where: Toronto Etsy Street Team, 906 Queen St. W., Toronto
For more information and to register, please go here.
Today in the studio it’s all business, no bookbinding. Instead, I’m newsletter-writing to share all the great events, workshops and news with folks, maybe like you, who love to hear about these sorts of things.
To get on this list, please register yourself here.
Join me on Wednesday April 12 from 6:30pm – 9:30pm for a beginner class in bookbinding!
Everyone will hand bind their own notebook using traditional bookbinding techniques, and then letterpress print the cover on one of the vintage presses at the museum.
Sound like fun? Go here to register: bit.ly/2o7hQEx
Today’s the day! Sprouts Press will be at the Valentine’s Day Paper Fair!! Expect lots of handmade goodies from myself and other talented, local makers: stationery, greeting cards, enamel pins, journals and more!
PRO TIP: Be one of the first 50 folks through the doors and get a free swag bag!!
What: Valentine’s Day Paper Fair
When: Saturday February 4, 2017. 12noon till 5pm.
Where: Toronto’s First Post Office, 260 Adelaide Street East, Toronto
For more information, please see the event listing here.
Today I’ve decided to share one of my favourite posts about using your journal. It’s a link way back to the beginning of my Use Your Journal series, but it’s timeless.
This post explains a simple use for your journal, but it’s proven to be a favourite of mine as I have more than one book dedicated to this use. Read on to see what it’s all about!
***Note: If you prefer to read the original post, no prob! Just go here to see it.
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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!
Sprouts Press 