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…read more
I was surprised to find out last Friday that my very first outing as a newborn baby was visiting the cherry trees in Washington D.C. 🌸 “you don’t remember?” My dad teased…but maybe I do remember, in a way, because I’ve always been drawn to cherry blossom imagery like on this Japanese paper – did…read more
Here are some of the beautiful journals I created using the skills I learned in two of the workshops I took in 2018 – Shibori Tie Dye workshop at Aya Fiber Studio in Stuart, Florida, taught by fiber artist Jane Callender and the Making Book Cloth Workshop in Asheville taught by bookbinder Sara Brooks. I love challenging…read more
This lovely blue waves french link journal combines two of my favorite things: fancy stitching and decorative paper! I combined four different types of decorative paper in this book, a blue and gold florentine pattern made in Italy, a blue waves pattern and white flower pattern both made in Japan (this pack of five chiyogami…read more
One of my favorite things about living in Florida is how bright and colorful everything is. No one blinks twice at an aqua or coral colored house, or my crazy purple hair. It’s interesting then, that one of my all time favorite bookbinding materials is this super colorful and vibrant Japanese Chiyogami paper since having…read more
I created these wonderful laser-engraved journals featuring a fearsome grizzly bear and Wiley coyote almost exclusively from recycled materials. The covers are 100% recycled book board, and the inside unlined pages are 100% recycled. The only thing that isn’t recycled is the waxed linen thread that I used to stitch them together, but even that…read more
They’re back! In 2015 I had the privilege of having my handmade journals included in Charlotte River’s book Little Book of Book Making: Timeless Techniques and Fresh Ideas for Beautiful Handmade Books. Doubly cool was that one of my journals was featured prominently on the cover of the Spanish-language edition called Cómo hacer tus propios…read more
If you look back on my Indigo and Gold Branches French Link Stitch Journal post (that’s the journal pictured below in the middle) you’ll notice the beautiful blue, green, gold and black marbled paper that I used on the inside end pages. I can’t pretend to have some kind of top-secret source for that gorgeous…read more
Many years ago, one of my favorite types of books to make were hand-painted ones, but with the discovery of Japanese Chiyogami paper, I got away from that for a while, but now that I have the amazing Glowforge laser cutter, I’m back at the hand-painting game! This fish journal is a great example of…read more
I’m pleased to announce I have a limited number of teflon folders available for sale in my online shop at RuthBleakley.etsy.com. Read on for more information about what makes these bookbinding tools so wonderful and different from regular bone folders. What is a Teflon folder, anyway? Well, a traditional bone folder is a thin stick…read more
Suminagashi is the ancient art of Japanese paper marbling where calligraphy ink is floated on top of water in concentric rings and then a print is taken with handmade Japanese washi paper. I did an extra step with this paper and fanned it before taking the print, which caused the lightly jagged edges. I love…read more
I have a huge weakness for decorative paper – I get stingy when it comes to buying new clothes, but the sky’s the limit when it comes to spending money on fancy handmade paper! Fortunately I can turn that fancy paper into journals, and share it (*cough* sell it) to you! The coptic stitch binding on these…read more
Who doesn’t love a gorgeous map? I found these great vintage topographic maps in a shop while visiting Oregon, and they depict “Geographic Hazards of Clackmas County”. The maps we’re used to seeing are road maps (well, these days with GPS maybe we AREN’T used to seeing road maps…) but these maps show the layout…read more
I live in Florida, so we don’t see much in the way of “fall colors”, so this journal is my tribute to the red, orange, yellow and gold of autumn, but also reminds me of a fiery Florida sunset! You can see if it’s still available in my online shop here: Red Leaf French Link Stitch…read more
This little sparrow journal is the perfect handmade gift for a bird watcher or gardener. I even sewed it with a special type of bookbinding method called Coptic stitch so that it lies perfectly flat when you open it, making it easy to write in. This stitch is impossible to do with a machine, which…read more
This summer I was feeling a little bored with my usual coptic stitch, and I thought I’d look into taking a class at Asheville Bookworks in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina. Last year I took a wonderful week long class at nearby Penland School of Crafts and when I was in Asheville I took a peek into Bookworks…read more
Is there anything more exciting than seeing your name in print? (except maybe in the police blotter in the newspaper) I am thrilled to reveal that I was featured in Charlotte Rivers’ latest publication I Love Handmade Books , also published under the title The Little Book of Book Making in the US. I’m not a big goal-setter – some people swear by writing down…read more
Easter is coming, and that means Easter eggs! Here’s a tutorial I wrote a couple years ago and updated recently about using pretty Japanese paper to cover hollow eggshells, making a decoupage Easter egg that will last forever! This is a great way for paper crafters or bookbinders to use small scraps of pretty paper…read more
This book may still be available for sale, check my etsy shop: Oregon Geological Map Journal Back in 2009 I took an extended trip to Portland, Oregon and while I was there, I came upon an amazing collection of colorful topographic maps entitled “Geological Hazards Maps of Northeast Clackmas County, Oregon” in a thrift store. I…read more
This one of a kind guestbook was created by me for folks getting married at Niagara Falls, with a beautiful vintage nautical chart of the area. I remember one year I got to see the falls twice; once on a beautiful warm May day (on my way to a wedding that took place on a…read more
