Housecleaning

 My granddaughter just spent the night with us. She wanted to spend time in my studio with me, making a new leather journal for her 12th birthday. She remembered every detail about folding the paper, stitching the book together, setting rivets, everything!  I was so proud of her!  This is her new leather journal filled with Canson Mixed Media paper.....

Immediately after she finished her beautiful journal, I put her to work cleaning my house from top to bottom.  She was a trooper! She moved furniture, she vacuumed my 3 story Victorian. She scrubbed the bathtub, repaired furniture, cleaned the huge rug in the music room, hung pictures on the walls and did it all with a smile on her face!  

She even vacuumed the shingles on the roof!  Who does that for their Gramma?

Fall Leaves

For one reason or another,  I skipped a few pages here and there throughout my sketchbook.  I am eager to start a new journal but before I do,  I am making myself completely fill this one. 

We normally don't have many trees that turn bright colors here but this year we were blessed with a few days of beautiful color!  Gus was very happy to help, so we took walks around the neighborhood and picked up the prettiest leaves we could find and I came home and painted them into my sketchbook.  I found the perfect empty page across from berries I had painted last month.

New Sketchbook!

I just finished making a new watercolor sketchbook.  I filled it with Arches 140lb cold press paper and I used a skeleton key that my sister sent to me for the clasp.  I am very happy with the way it turned out!

 I used a very distressed part of the leather I had for my book so I could use the better pieces for other journals.  But I love the distressed look and think others may like it too.

The back of the book.

The binding.

The first page is handmade paper that I purchased.

Leather Journal Completed

A few days ago I posted the beginning work on my handmade leather journal.  Now it is finished.....I think.  I wanted the cover to feature the rough edges and curves of the natural cowhide.  But now I am not sure I like it because it tends to curl up.  What do you think?

 I found this metal piece at Michael's.  It is supposed to be used on a bracelet, but I hammered it flat to use as a closure for my sketchbook. I love the look of the long wrap around lace of the leather journal that I bought from Iona, but when I am sketching, the long lace gets in the way or in the dirt or once, my puppy chewed on it. I was trying to come up with something that wouldn't get in the way.