Handmade Kindle sleeve

So, after years of resisting the Kindle, I got one for Christmas. And, even though I am an avid reader and still love solid books(obviously), I am really enjoying the ease of use and portability. Having said that, I must also say nothing will ever replace my book obsession. Anyway, I think anyone with a sewing machine can make a Kindle sleeve. I used upholstery fabric lined with felt. It is a quick, super easy sew, and makes your Kindle much safer without having to buy another accessory.

Winter journal

I used a brown barren-tree fabric for this journal, and brown waxed linen thread. I love sewing the headbands, it's my new favorite thing in life. I use the tutorial from the book Making & keeping creative journals by Suzanne Tourtilott, pg 35. It is the best tutorial I've found. :)

Journal with Coptic headbands & banana flowers

This fabric reminded me of monkey tails and banana flowers. Cute, eh? I covered each of the six signatures with a piece of red card stock. I used the coptic stitch to bind it and then added the headbands afterward. Very fun to make. I can't get enough of the headband practice. I wonder if I could use this method in other mediums...

Flower mini notebooks

I wanted to make some mini notebooks with a monochrome color scheme. I like how they turned out.

I used corresponding colors for the end pages.

But mostly I've been busy with the girls doing Christmas activities. We are home alone for a while, while Jeremy is in Scotland at Pop Fest 2011 with his band. We have made an ice wreath, decorations, Christmas cookies, of course present shopping and listening to music of the season. Happy Holidays!!

Wonky ornaments part III

Some more ornaments made for the tree 2011. Josie made the blue one with the Christmas tree on it, and Sylvia designed the green one with the mama and baby. I attempted to make a pinecone but it looks a bit flat, I like the Dala horse a lot, and the partridge in pretty cute. They were a lot of fun to sew. :)

Windows Journal

Cute fabric, and headbands. I hope to sell these in my Etsy shop. Happy days are here again, since I was able to quit my lame job doing data entry. Yay for crafting time!!

Suede Journal w/long stitch binding

I used suede to make this journal and the long stitch method for binding. The suede is super soft, and I followed an Etsy trend by adding some original artwork to the back of the journal. OOAK :)

Journal with coptic headbands

So I finally took the plunge and tried my hand at the coptic headbands. I thought I did pretty well for my first try. It takes lots of time and concentration, but I love the look. I will definitely be adding these to more journals in the future. :)

Koi pillow project

Lately I have been obsessed with Japan. Especially the visual aspect, as in the images that originated there like the yin-yang, Koi fish, Hello Kitty etc. Anyway, I started this embroidery and have really enjoyed the calm of hand stitching. I free stitched the bubbles and used my personal sketches for the fish. I was going for a Koi look, but they must be babies because Koi are actually much longer than this. :)

Paisley fabric/criss-cross journal

I wanted to try something new with my binding and liked the idea of making exes. The size of this journal makes it perfect for its intent, a sticker album for a four year old. :)

Butterfly Journal

I made this for my niece. I hope she likes it. It turned out pretty cute. I used seven signatures of heavy drawing paper with a cool swirly paper for the first page. I was sorta sleep deprived while sewing this so its definitely got that handmade "charm" as they call it. :)

Leather journal

Made for my brother in law. Super fun to make and hold, even though it's leather and I'm a vegetarian. It was kinda creepy at times, but I got used to it. I am approaching my four year mark with no meat. I don't even think I could digest it now. Anyway, this was my first attempt at making a mans journal. I think it turned out kinda cool. :)

Masked bunny cuteness

Sooo cute!!! I made this for a birthday present from a Hillary Lang, Wee Wonderfuls pattern card. I still need to make the scarves. Made of wool felt. I love these little dudes. :D

Gettin' crazy with the waxed thread

Not really...but still. I wanted to try a new design so I made this up. I think it's kinda cool. :) These pictures were taken with our new camera!! I think they are kinda nice, but I need to learn how to make them bigger (more kb). My old camera stopped working out of the blue, pretty lame if you ask me. The remodel from the flood is almost done in the Master bed/bath. I can't wait to be able to sleep in my room again after 3 1/2 weeks. Booya!

wonky toy

I keep forgetting to take photos before giving away the toys I'm making for gifts and then it's too late to show you what I've been up to. Anyway, here's one I made for E.M.'s ninth b-day. Sooo mushy and fun to squeeze, plus there's the wonky homemade charm. :)

Wedding guest book

Whew! It took forever to make this because after 6 years I finally went back to work...but that is a different story. Anyway, my sister is getting married April 9th!! At first I volunteered to make the cake, but after flopping colossally with fondant, I asked if I could make her guest book instead. Luckily she said yes! So, this is the end result. Her colors are charcoal grey and celery green so I tried to incorporate them into it. I hope she likes it!! :)

New binding!

I wanted to do something different so I tried a new binding method which involves cutting slits in the front and back cover and putting ribbon or, in this case, vinyl strips through and sewing the book together with them in place. It was so fun to see the results, and I learned so much. I can't wait to make a few changes and have it work out better next time!

I heart plants!

I made a little garden of plants to sell in my shop. Handmade of fleece. I added uncooked popcorn plus stuffing to make them extra heavy and fun to hold. As cute as they are, I don't think they are really baby proof. I hope I can sell some at the ColorCube. :D

Linen sachet with lavendar buds

I hand stitched these flowers on a green linen cloth then sewed them into a sachet for a lingerie drawer or whatnot. They are generously filled with dried organic lavender buds imported from Provence, no other fillers or artificial additives are used. The smell is divine, if I do say so myself. I think this would make a great gift.

Herbert, the plant that never dies...

Hand made of felt. I hope I can get a whole bunch of these made to put in my shop. This is my rough draft and there were a bunch of ways to make him cuter, like adjusting the leaves to look like his hair is parted in the middle, and making it like a bean bag by adding uncooked popcorn in the base. I love plants, especially house plants, so this guy is going down as a favorite. :)

Khaki and lovin' it

Similar fabric as the last one I made, only this time it's khaki. I have been asked to put my journals in a store!! It's called ColorCube and it's an all ages music venue, with an arts and crafts shop inside. I hope to get some exposure and some orders too. So if you live in Boise, go check it out!! :)

Linen journal

Muted shades, understated cool.

A new year

I am really searching for inspiration to start a new path with my bookbinding this year. I am seriously considering doing my own fabric prints and then making journals with them. I made this mini notebook yesterday and the whole time I was thinking of how to solidify my identity as a bookbinder. I hope I can figure it out soon. Until then, I think I will fill up my shop with some more felt notebooks. :)