Charity Craft Supply Swap!

Posted on February 21, 2015 by sproutspress

Day 137/365

This evening, support a good cause and have some fun too! It’s the Charity Craft Supply Swap at Arts Market on college!

Where: 846 College Street, Toronto
When: 7:30pm – 9:30pm

I’ve been purging and rounding up some real goodies to swap! (And re-discovering old projects that I’ve started up again! Of course!!) I love swaps and can’t wait to see what everyone else brings.

To participate, just bring an item from their list to donate to the Cold Hands Warm Heart Project in collaboration with PARC. For more info, see the facebook event page here.

Hand-Dyed Washi Journals

Posted on February 12, 2015 by sproutspress

Day 128/365 There are some new journals in my Etsy shop. I’m pretty proud of these journals, they are beautiful and functional. I love how they feel in hand; substantial and serious. Housing 220 pages (front and back) these are working journals, meant for your thoughts and ideas!A close up shows attention to details; like the pop of colour on the spine covering. Who doesn’t love a bit of blue!? Each book is unique, a natural result of hand-dying the washi paper covers. No two are the same!

Interested in learning about the process to hand-dye paper? Check out this post and this post I wrote about my experience.

More of these gems are being added over the next couple of days. To see them all, click here.

Saturday Morning at 906 Queen St. W.

Posted on February 7, 2015 by sproutspress

Day 123/365
It was another successful bookbinding workshop at Graven Feather today!

A huge Thank You to everyone who signed up and came out despite the weather! One person came all the way from Smithville!!

There are more Sprouts Press bookbinding workshops coming up. To see the full workshop schedule click here.

Some Weekend Fun in Toronto!

Posted on February 6, 2015 by sproutspress

Day 122/365

I’m looking forward to teaching a new bookbinding workshop this weekend. This Sunday is Creative Bookbinding at Little House in the City!

If you’ve been thinking of trying your hand a bookbinding this is the class to take the plunge! No previous experience is required and everyone leaves with a finished project. And if your Valentine appreciates your crafty side, it’ll make the perfect gift!

When: Sunday February 8, 2015 1pm – 4pm
Where: Little House in the City, 555 Parliament Street, Toronto

To find more information and to register, go here.
To see my full schedule of upcoming workshops, go here.

The Studio on a Sunday

Posted on February 1, 2015 by sproutspress

Day 117/365 Today I’ve been working on an upgraded version of the Mini Book Necklace. The books themselves will remain the same, just the rest of it will be a bit more fancy. There will be beads, longer chain, some charms and tassels! (yes, tassels!!) I really like the idea of the mini book as a pendant, as an object and a functional book. I also really like the idea of the longer chain as it means writing in it while wearing it!

A couple of prototypes, in the right direction, but not sure they’re quite there yet, what do you think?

Learn the Longstitch

Posted on January 29, 2015 by sproutspress

Day 114/365

I’m so excited to announce a new bookbinding workshop at a downtown location! I’ll be teaching a binding method I haven’t taught in a while, straight Longstitch, so if you’ve taken a previous class with me, this is a new one that you should check out!

What: Creative Bookbinding Workshop!
Where: Little House in the City; 555 Parliament Street, Toronto
When: Sunday February 8, 2015, 1pm – 4pm

As always, you only need to bring yourself; materials are included in the workshop fee, and tools are provided for use during the class.

To learn more and register, please go here.

Learn the Linkstitch

Posted on January 26, 2015 by sproutspress

Day 111/365

There are still a few spots left in the Book Making Workshop I’m giving at Graven Feather. This is the class to take if you’ve always wanted to learn how to make your own journal.

I’ll show you how to hand decorate covers, and then how to bind it into your very own journal! Everyone leaves with a finished project!

When: Saturday February 7, 2015 10am – 1pm
Where: Graven Feather, 906 Queen St. West
Cost: $65, materials included

*You must pre-register to participate.
**Can’t make it on February 8? No problem, more dates have just been booked! The workshop is also running on March 7 and April 11!

***And if none of those dates work, just keep an eye on my Workshops page.

For more information and to register, please go here.

Wintertime Book Making Workshop!

Posted on January 22, 2015 by sproutspress

Day 107/365

Join me and learn to design and craft your own hand bound journal! This workshop will introduce you to the basic process of hand decorating paper for use as book covers, and then how to incorporate it into a hand bound book using the Longstitch Linkstitch technique.

No previous art experience is required.

When: Saturday February 2, 2015 10am – 1pm
Where: Graven Feather, 906 Queen St. West, Toronto

For more information and to register, please go here.

Inside the Journal Adventure Kit

Posted on January 13, 2015 by sproutspress

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

Posted on January 12, 2015 by sproutspress

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.