I want to show off some lovely pastel rainbow journals I made using Boko Undo Suminagashi inks (affiliate link) – and before you leave a comment, YES they are very light in color once they dry! If you are looking for bold, vibrant colorful marbled paper, you need to try a different style of marbling […]
Summertime memory: coming back from the beach during the heat of the day to eat ice cream sandwiches and watch “Saved By the Bell” reruns at my grandparent’s house. And now I live in the same house! But…no TV…and also I’m lactose intolerant now, so no ice cream. But hey, one out of three ain’t […]
Paper from West Palm Beach While I didn’t marble the paper on this book cover myself, I won’t forget where I bought it from. It was a hot afternoon in September and we were driving past West Palm Beach for a follow up appointment for my husband’s Lasik eye surgery. We planned to stop at […]
Inspiration strikes… The thing I love most about these journals is how well the two black and purple papers go together, even though I aquired them years apart. This is certainly a case of me being inspired by my materials. When I get stuck, or run out of bookbinding ideas, a quick trip to (one […]
I’m so excited to unveil a new style of handmade artist book. It features a luxurious Japanese silk book cloth cover, with precision circle inlay that features stunning, one-of-a-kind marbled paper. I like the idea of a book containing a hidden surprise, so I used the same beautiful paper for the inside endpapers as well. […]
This is a very special journal I made all in one go. By that I mean, I was “in the crunch” for at least 8 hours putting the finishing touches on it, adding gold leaf, cutting out birds with an exacto knife, hand-painting in tiny bird beaks. Also somehow I managed to make it without […]
These handmade Temari Ball journals are kind of meta-handmade, because not only is the Chiyogami cover paper handmade in Japan, the colorful toy balls on the cover are also a depiction of a beautiful Japanese handicraft called Temari (手ã¾ã‚Š) Balls. Temari translates as “hand ball” and supposedly were sometimes used in games, but the idea […]
This gorgeous crane paper is one of my new favorites! A big flock of white cranes flies across clear aquamarine sky, with golden swirling clouds. The aqua color perfectly compliments the other paper I used here, a vintage chiyogami pattern of golden clouds on a peach sunset sky. If you look closely you can also […]
Don’t you love how the cherry blossoms coordinate on the two pieces of paper I used on the covers of this “twin journal” ? If you use chiyogami or yuzen paper as often as I do, you start to see trends and themes emerge. (All of a sudden I just pictured someone talking about the […]
Feast your eyes on the rich, saturated colors of these beautiful lay-flat coptic stitch journals that I finished last week. In addition to Japanese Chiyogami paper, I also made a couple journals using some of my favorite new papers featuring hand marbled and hand stamped designs. While their patterns are totally opposite, something about the […]
Ooh here’s a little cross-posting action, from my other blog at Concertina Press with a recipe for inexpensive, nut-free homemade granola. I thought it would be tricky to make granola, but it turns out it’s really easy. Plus I can control what goes into it, for instance I really don’t care for nuts in granola, […]
Yay, at 3:30 today I got an email from the very handy Featurator app at Statsy.org letting me know my miniature submarine book is on the front page of etsy! I took a screenshot because front pages are fleeting, but it feels nice to be loved!
This Saturday 18 participants in two separate classes joined me for a session of Pamphlet Stitch binding at the Falmouth Public Library – these classes were free of charge, made possible by a grant from the Massachusetts Local Cultural Council and additional support by the Library Trustees. Everyone did really well and seemed to have […]
Hi friends – If you’re around Falmouth this coming weekend, why not stop in to the public library for a FREE pamphlet stitch binding workshop, taught by yours truly. There will be two classes back to back (the same class, you don’t have to take both!) because my last classes have filled up instantly! here’s […]
Seven brave women signed up for my spring 2011 Advanced Bookbinding class through the Falmouth Community School, and completed Nautical Chart coptic stitch books as a final project! Great job ladies! Check out the pictures below –
This past week I heard about one of my friend’s coworkers Katie who was trying to fold 1,000 orgami cranes for a Tsunami benefit that a local Japanese Restaurant called Inaho is having tonight (all the proceeds from sales tonight will go towards tsunami relief). A couple of us joined in, and helped make some […]
This March an online group I’m a part of, the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team (or B.E.S.T.) is hosting a drive to create handmade journals for the non profit organization, Chicago Books to Women in Prison. The benefits of journaling, putting your thoughts down on paper, has obvious benefit for women spending time in prison (actually, […]
The final project in my Intermediate bookbinding class at the Falmouth Community school was a long stitch binding. This old German binding uses no glue to hold the pages in, instead the pages are sewn directly onto the cover. All of the books look really neat, especially when put in a row together. Here, Dodi […]
Paper Marbling from Ruth Bleakley on Vimeo. I’ve had a couple of questions from students about the actual mechanics of paper marbling – it’s hard to describe in words, but I’ve created a nice little slideshow so you can see how it’s done! 1. Fill a tray with marbling “size” created from a mixture of […]
Naomi of The Time Is Now offers an eclectic variety of needlepoint, notebooks and papercuts in her shop, all tied together by a cohesive style that encompasses vintage and natural imagery, bright colors and a healthy respect for negative space. I was fortunate enough to interview Naomi about her shop – you can read more […]
