Marsala

Day 101/365

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I’d like to introduce one of the latest additions to my Etsy shop; the Marsala Journal!

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This book is part of my Starburst Journal series, and also happens to be the Pantone colour if the year! Besides being a really lovely two-tone red hue, the beauty of this journal is that it lies completely flat when open. This is perfect for sketching, writing and generally pouring your heart onto the pages of your journal.

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Marsala not your colour? See this book in a more neutral colour here. New designs are being added soon!

The Studio on a Sunday

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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.

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A sneak peek at some new designs for a series of Star Cross’d Lovers Book Ornaments.

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With inside pages from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, of course.  DSC_0710

Keep your eyes peeled for these to be released in my Etsy shop next week!

Merry Christmas!

Day 79/365

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Greetings!

Happy Holidays, wishing everyone a great holiday season!

I’d like to thank everyone for their business, support and general awesomeness this year as I really pushed Sprouts Press to the next level.  I love receiving your feedback so I can grow and learn and keep Sprouts Press flourishing!  Keep it coming!!

I look forward to 2014, to designing and creating new items and journals (already have a few projects in the works!) and giving you more pen-to-paper options throughout the year!

Have a wonderful, happy and safe holiday!
Cheers,
Carolyn ~ Sprouts Press

Even More Projects!!

Day 41/365

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Today I’m posting about a project I’m pretty proud of: books that are case bound using bookcloth I made!  This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while now, especially with all the fabric choices out there.

I decided to stick to solid colours, with linen and linen-like fabrics, I love the texture and richness of the colours.  photo-10

I finished these journals with sewn-in ribbon bookmarks, and corners to protect against wear.  I focused on two styles: a landscape journal filled only with 140 lb watercolour paper (I want one!!) and a portrait-oriented daily journal with a lovely large page surface to capture the day’s thoughts.

Since they are a limited edition binding (only 10 of each style) they are only available at the One of a Kind Show from November 27 – December 7, 2014.  If you want one, come find me at booth D49 in the Rising Stars section!

The studio on a Sunday

Day 47/365

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It’s been a packaging kind of day in the studio. Packaging and organizing.

More Projects!

Day 47/365

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In the spirit of productivity I’ve decided to post more ‘in progress’ notes. Above, the dried and pressed boards from yesterday’s post Continue reading

Production

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I’m in the thick of production for the One of a Kind Show, which is just around the corner.  So I thought it appropriate to share a bit about my process, about what it means to create a book by hand, from scratch.  So here’s a mini step by step photo series to explain.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Once the pages are cut and folded by hand, they are collated and stacked in nice, neat, tidy piles, called signatures.  (If you look closely at almost any book you have handy, you’ll see at the top of the spine the pages are divided into groups like this.  The exception are ‘perfect’ bound books, which aren’t perfect at all but rather simply glued on the ends, so no signatures).

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After marking where to sew each signature, I use this as a template to punch holes, making it easier to sew the book.

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You can see the holes in each signature line up nicely with each other, creating a lovely and symmetrical pattern in the sewing along the spine.

This is just the first part of handcrafting a book; sewing the text block (group of signatures) into a case binding.  After this I would attach the text block to the case, and voila – the book is done!

The Studio on a Sunday

Day 33/365

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Today I’m working on the largest books I’ll be making all season.  Not quite the largest books I’ve ever made, but for a long time at least.  I am reminded that I prefer making smaller books.

Measuring 8″ x 10″, the ample page space is great for sketching or writing in long paragraphs.  I’ll be featuring these books at the One of a Kind Show at the end of the month.  (I’m at booth D49, stop by and say Hi!)

A Book of Plenty

Day 10/365

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No, this isn’t really all of my journals.  It’s just the most organized-looking photo of some of my favourites and currently in-use journals.  What I want to talk about today are some of the uses of my journals, maybe they’ll inspire you too!

Some of these are books that I’ve handbound, and others are books I’ve collected over the years, from other hand binders.  There are several from Italy (Florence, Venice and Rome), and many from other binders here in Toronto and across Canada.  I feel I should come clean and admit that I don’t use all of them.  A few are in the queue to replace books with only a few blank pages left.photo-8

While I have journals for: ideas, to-do lists, sketches, favourite quotes, dreams, ramblings and other categorized observations, I usually have one daily journal.  This is the one that goes everywhere with me, fits in my purse, is rugged and tough yet beautiful enough that I sometimes use it as ‘advertising my craft’ when out on the town.  It’s also the test-run of my new indigo journals and is pictured above.

It’s pretty liberating to have this book as a catch-all for everything, no stress about perfect penmanship, clean sketches or having the best ideas.  I use it for everything: to-do lists, measurements of projects, contact information, ideas, sketches.  It’s a lovely snippet of this time in my life.  Looking back on my other, older, daily books, it’s interesting to see what my focus was at the time, what my inpirations and dreams were all about.

If you have a book that you really love and want to use but just aren’t sure, this is where I suggest to start; a book of plenty.  I’d love to hear how it goes!