Day 325/365
In just over 2 weeks I’ll be at Graven Feather teaching the beautiful and surprisingly fun Arrow Stitch! It’s a hands on workshop where everyone will leave with a finished, hard cover journal they made!
What: Hard Cover Arrow Stitch Journal Workshop
When: Sunday September 13, 2015 1pm – 4pm
Where: Graven Feather, 906 Queen St. West (beside Trinity Bellwoods Park)
For more information and to register, go here.
Day 318/365
Introducing the newest addition to the Indigo Journal series! I’ve tried something a little different with this cover, opting for a more organic colour block effect. I love how it turned out!!
As always, the covers are hand-dyed by yours truly, and the book is also handbound by me. I love this series of journals, they’re the perfect size to throw in a daybag and take with you, and pretty enough that whatever you put on the pages will feel special!
For details and more photos, go here.
Day 315/365
A few Studio Sundays ago I shared some ‘in progress’ photos of a custom wedding guest book I made. I thought it would be fun to follow up and share some photos of the completed piece. I’m really pleased with the finished product and so were they!
I especially like the deep purple along the spine, which plays many important roles in this binding. First, it looks good (if I do say so myself!) and picks up the floral pattern on the covers, it really showcases the stitching along the spine and adds a bit of durability to the binding. However, those familiar with the coptic binding, also know that it’s an exposed spine binding. This means that there’s a small gap between the signatures when the book is open. This is just the nature of the binding. But by adding the purple along the spine, it seals the gaps and allows the possibility of tucking paper ephemera and other mementos between the pages!
I love unique projects and welcome custom orders, however holiday season is just around the corner and a busy time! If you have an idea for a special gift, get in touch soon so I’ll have time to make your book and avoid disappointment. To start, just answer a few questions here, then I’ll get in touch with a quote and we can work from there. Easy peasy!
Day 312/365
I’m pleased to announce that the Fall schedule of bookbinding workshops is now published on my site! I’m excited by the mix of different classes and can’t wait to share more with you!
Things you can learn:
-How to make your own hard cover journal from scratch, using traditional bookmaking methods!!
-How to deconstruct discarded library books and bind them into new, unique journals! (bonus: this class happens AT the library!!)
-How to decorate your own paper and then craft it into a one of a kind journal!!
For more information, locations and pricing, please go to the Workshops tab along the top menu bar. Hope to see you there!!
Day 307/365
It’s that time again – Sprouts Press eNewsletter sign ups!!
Once a month I send out an eNewsletter with various bits of news and bookish information, and usually a little something extra just for subscribers!
Example topics include: Latest Projects, Sales, Upcoming Shows & Workshops, Contests and sometimes an excerpt from a favourite blog post. It’s fun, tasteful and not information overload, just the right amount to inspire your creativity!
If this sounds like something you’d like to try out, go here to sign up. If you try it out and don’t like it, just unsubscribe, no problem!
Day 304/365
The latest project: a custom guest book/travel book for a destination wedding! 
This is an exciting combination of scrapbooking, memory-making, journalling and special messages to the happy couple! Imagine what an incredible collection of memories it’ll be to share with family and friends for years to come.
I’m always so honoured to work on projects like these. Especially when given a bit of creative freedom and people put their trust in me to create a book that not only captures the memories of the special day, but also the atmosphere and vibe of the event.
If you have an idea for a special book, click Custom Order along the top menu bar and send me some information about your project! I’ll get back to you with a few more questions and then follow up details – easy peasy!!
Day 293/365
Today I’m going to talk about using your watercolour journal out in the field! It’s fun, I promise!!
I recently took a few days off to enjoy some time in the woods, near a lake and I decided it would be fun to do some sketching. So, today I’m going to talk about my tricks and tips for watercolour sketching when camping/cottaging/hiking.
Disclaimer: I am not even going to try and pretend that I’m any sort of expert at watercolour painting. This post isn’t about how to paint with watercolours, but rather, how to enjoy watercolour painting (and maybe even just sketching), in a handbound sketchbook while out in woods.
6 Tips for Watercolour Sketching In the Field:
6. Choose appropriate paints. For example, I use watercolour pencils, because they aren’t messy, are easy to transport and easy to use. Also, I like to use a refillable watercolour brush, the type where you fill the handle with water. I take a couple of them, pre-filled and I’m set for a day of sketching and painting! If you prefer pans/cakes of watercolour paint, consider getting one of those nifty little travel boxes with foldout trays, and put it in it’s own zip-top bag (no leaky paints!!).
5. Bug repellant. Pretty much assume that there will be bugs that want to bite. Mosquitos, black flies, etc. There are lots of repellants to choose from, do some research on what type of bugs will be at your destination, what types of repellant work best (and are most friendly to the environment and your health) and go from there. Trust me, it’ll be a much more enjoyable experience.
4. Waterproof everything, especially if canoeing is involved or rain is probable. This is simple though, no fancy equipment needed. Just put your sketchbook and paints (especially if you use pans/cakes of paint) in a tough, thick, freezer zip-top plastic bag. Also, if you keep this bag in an outside pocket of your backpack, then it’s really handy for quick-sketching! (Note that my ‘waterproof freezer bag’ makes an appearance in the photo above, it’s underneath the book as it had just rained and the moss on that rock was not quite dry)
3. Don’t be afraid to take your nice sketchbook. I took a full fabric watercolour journal (pictured above, and found online here) and am so glad I did. Not only was it tough enough to handle a few days of camping, but it looks really good on the coffee table after the trip. As long as you follow the previous tips and take the steps needed to protect against things that can damage any sketchbook (fancy or plain), then you should be fine.
2. Slow down, open your eyes, and look around. There are fascinating things everywhere in the woods, all sketch-worthy. For example, hiking one day I passed by a large rock with circular patterns on it and thought it was neat, but carried on. Someone else wanted to take a photo of a rare flower, so we stopped and I thought of the rock again. Going back and inspecting it more closely revealed it was some sort of moss or lichen, with teeny tiny trumpet-like flowers in ash grey. It looked like a beautiful underwater landscape!
1.Take your sketchbook with you everywhere on your camping/hiking trip. You never know when someone else might need to take a rest, or find a patch of wild raspberries and want to stop and pick some, giving you a chance to sketch the local flora and fauna; flowers, stone formations, rivers, lakes, trees, little forest critters, etc.
*Important: if you’re out in bear country just know that berries are bear food. Keep your eyes peeled and leave some for others (human and animal). And of course, know the rules and laws for the land you are hiking/camping, the poisonous plants of the area, local warnings, etc. I’m just sharing this info because I’m a girl guide forever: Be Prepared!!!
And that’s it, those are my tips! I’d love to hear any other tips or exciting art-hiking-camping stories you might have, leave them in the comments below!
*To read more ‘Use Your Journal’ posts, go here for the latest list.
Day 287/365
The next bookbinding workshop is coming up – this saturday, July 25! I’ll be teaching the new class: Hard Cover Arrow Stitch over at Graven Feather on Queen St. West here in Toronto.
In this workshop we’ll be making the binding shown above, as a hardcover book and there will be a couple of colour choices for participants.
Also, a few of you have been asking about the size of the book we’ll be making. The finished project will measure 14.5cm x 10cm and be around 2cm thick at the spine. It’s a great book to use as an art journal because of it’s handy size. But also because the spine has room to allow for paper ephemera to be added. Fun!!
For more details and to learn how to register, go here.
Day 286/365
Today I’m reflecting on one of my favourite projects to date; the painted journeys journal!
These journals are a combination of painting, printmaking and bookbinding. I’ve written about the joys of creating in multiples and mixing mediums before on this post, but I haven’t talked about all three series together.
It all started with the set of pink journals in the bottom left corner, these were my first foray into this series. It was a lovely afternoon of painting, printing and then bookbinding. After they all found new homes (excepting the one I saved for myself as a photo prop) I wanted more! Then the blue series happened! This time, I made a different shape and size, and used the off cuts to make cute little mini books, which is all I have left of this series. Lastly, the most recent are the Journeys Journals in brown. Inspired by a not-so-Canadian winter that left my snow boots more muddy than icy. I plan to write a more detailed account of these books, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, you can take a look at the Journeys Journal in the Artist’s Books section of my Etsy shop, there are a couple left.
I’ve enjoyed working on these books as they develop in slightly different directions with each series. I switched up the binding for the blue series, but went back to the Japanese Stab Binding for the Journeys Journals. I really appreciate the construction of the matchbook cover and the geometric shapes created by the stitching.
Day 285/365
The last couple of weeks have been the start of holiday production time here at Sprouts Press. I talked about this a little while ago in this post. Today I’m making ornaments, thinking about the last time I made ornaments, which wasn’t for Christmas at all!
This is an ‘in progress’ shot of my Valentines Starburst Book Ornaments being made, with pages from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. I really enjoy pairing up appropriate literature to the holiday to make these decorations. Last year I used Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, which I plan to use again, but I’ll have an additional choice this year – stay tuned!
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