Use Your Journal! No.1

Posted on January 9, 2015 by sproutspress

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!

Inspiring Things (these days)

Posted on January 3, 2015 by sproutspress

Day 88/365

After the conclusion of a large project, or the close of a busy holiday season I often find myself searching for what’s next. Obviously I’ve got all the ‘business’ things to keep the left side of my brain busy these days. But what about the next steps for the creativity that drives Sprouts Press, what will the next collection of journals be? What function will they serve or what questions will they answer, if any? Will they just be pretty objects that also happen to be books or something else?

I’ve found myself circling around a few topics and activities over the last couple of weeks that seem to be influencing these decisions. While I’m not going to share what they are, (yet, sorry!) I’d love to tell you how I reached them, with the hope that other kindred spirits are also on this type of quest and might find it useful.

So, this is what I do:

1. Go to the library. Take the library bag. Spend around 2/3 of the time in the non-fiction section and 1/3 in the fiction section. I like to choose books that are a combination of inspiring and instructional, and books on things that I’ve never tried before (ie. traditional Norwegian knitting!! So beautiful!). And while I probably won’t actually learn traditional Norwegian knitting, I will certainly enjoy the craftsmanship and detail of the pieces in the book.

Gather enough books to max out your library card. Seriously. (It doesn’t cost anything, unless you don’t return them on time. I *may* have done this once or twice). While it’s nice to know exactly what you want to look at, it’s so great to just wander the stacks and see what pops out, what titles catch your eye.

2. Drink tea in the sunshine. This one requires a bit more patience, for me anyways. To find a sunny window and really enjoy a cup of my favourite tea while not thinking about anything else, just the tea. I will be honest, it’s rare that I can do this for an entire cup of tea. Usually it’s just half the cup, then I get sidetracked/eager to look at my library books. I still enjoy the tea, but more in a gulping look-at-that-awesome-piece-of-artwork kind of way. In the summertime this is an outdoor/backyard/cafe patio activity!

3. Tidy up the workspace. I’ve said this before, but a tidy workspace really is so inviting when starting a new project. Everything is easily found and nothing needs to be moved out of the way to clear another corner of the desk. I suppose it’s the same idea with a journal; the blank page is uncluttered and prepped for your ideas and creativity.

On days when I do these things in the morning, I find the rest of the day just flies by with me working away and before I know it, it’s time to start dinner. I get completely lost in designing or creating or researching, and I love it! Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 25, 2014 by sproutspress

Day 79/365

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

About being creative

Posted on January 31, 2014 by sproutspress

In my last post I talked about how wintertime pulls me outside for a bit, and then pushes me back inside once I’ve had enough. While a nice cup of tea is always something I look forward to after a day spent outside, it’s not all. For me, being outdoors helps to clarify my ideas, of which I have too many. Sometimes I cannot focus on one long enough to achieve it before being overrun with the next idea or three. So when it’s time to go back in, I look forward to writing down my more-polished ideas, (I say more-polished because, of course, they will change several times more).

And then the real fun begins: pulling out the possible materials and seeing what fits the bill, what is the right colour, texture, pattern and thickness for my ideas. Of course, I’m talking about paper! So, please, bear with me while I share some of my favourite photos of my stacks of handmade paper.

This is a mix of the lot; mumble-jumble, mish-mash, all mixed up. While I don’t make paper too much anymore, I always used to use pigments rather than dyes, for more vibrant colours.

These papers were an experiment: hosta paper (yes, I hacked off and chopped up my parent’s hosta garden to make them into paper. Thanks Mom and Dad!) There’s some pine needle paper and then on top my lovely cotton & abaca black-blue super sparkle paper. I’m almost out of all three, so I choose my projects carefully these days.

I have many now because I’m in full production mode as I’m participating in the One of a Kind Spring Show & Sale in March of this year. This is my first year for this show and I’m pretty excited to be in the Etsy Section! I’ll be posting more on this adventure leading up to it, I’m sure there’ll be a few interesting things to talk about!

For now, I’ll leave you with this one last paper photo. Enjoy the deckle edges and fibers!

Enjoying wintertime.

Posted on January 22, 2014 by sproutspress

It’s wintertime and it’s cold out.

I’m grateful for the snow this year as we missed good, lasting snowfalls last year. But as many people do, I have mixed feelings about winter. I eagerly look forward to the first snowfall, packing snow and enjoying a day of cross country skiing out of the city.

Yet I’m not so enthusiastic come the end of February. I suppose it’s about finding balance between enjoying the season and doing a bit of hibernating, which usually leads to reflection. For me, it’s about books and tea. Reading books, crafting books, repurposing books, sketching and writing in books, even re-organizing the books, you get the idea. And, of course, what goes best with journalling and reading? Discovering new teas and enjoying my favourites! (Mine is chai, by the way. What’s yours?)

This winter will be a busy one for me as I have big plans for 2014! Some of them have been in the works for a while, others are brand new. I’ll share them with you here, but not just yet.

In the meantime, if you crave learning a new skill while staying warm inside, the lovely folks over at Graven Feather are hosting a book binding workshop I’m teaching here in Toronto. It’s one of my favourite classes to teach and is great for all skill levels (don’t be shy, it’s quite a lot of fun!) Hope to see you there, enjoy the weather if you can and be safe.