Suminagashi Marbled Handmade Journal

Suminagashi black and whtie Journal handmade by Ruth Bleakley

Suminagashi is a gorgeous type of paper marbling invented in Japan over 1,000 years ago. I wrote a post a while ago when I taught a suminagashi marbling class at Clark University and you can see every step of the process. Basically you float rings of black sumi ink (I really like using this Yasutomo brand [...]

Chevron Washi Tape Chain Stitch Journal

Chevron Washi Tape journal handmade by Ruth Bleakley

I love Washi Tape! A friend from Japan sent me a huge care package of washi tape, a thin Japanese masking tape with designs printed on it ( you can even get washi tape on Amazon)- I used the tape to create this pretty striped pattern on raw book board, and then sealed the whole thing [...]

Blue Bathymetric Handmade Journal

Coptic stitch books ready to be sewn by Ruth Bleakley

These blue chart journals are always a huge hit at craft shows – before my Christmas fairs this year I made at least 10 and they all sold out! The bathemetry charts I used are underwater topography maps and show the elevation of the sea floor – the local NOAA office was going to recycle them [...]

Bookbinding Tutorial Single Curved Needle Chain Stitch Binding

coptic stitch bookbinding tutorial

It’s tutorial Tuesday! I am sharing great bookbinding tutorials I’ve found around the web on Tuesdays – today’s tutorial is about a very popular but tricky style called chain stitch (also known as coptic stitch). This step by step tutorial by Shelly at Cat-Sidh has tons of photos and detailed directions though - click on the link [...]

Rocky Mountain Travel Journal

National parks animals themed travel journal by Ruth Bleakley

I made this book specially for a friend who went traveling around the national parks out in the West and wanted to document her trip. I wanted a woodsy feel so I went with raw book board – I also did a little hand-drawn woodgrain pattern on the inside with black and gold pen.

The animals are [...]

Bathymetric Chart Coptic Stitch Journal – Rough Draft Chart

Coptic Stitch Journal Up Close - Ruth Bleakley

I live in a tiny town next to the ocean on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and one of the perks of living here is that I know plenty of people who use nautical charts day to day and so I have lots of fun creating things out of charts donated my way.
This is a very special [...]

Sewing Colleen’s Garden Themed Journal – Caterpillar Stitch

Handmade Journal for Colleen - Caterpillar Stitch Binding by Ruth Bleakley

I used seven different kinds of handmade papers to create this totally unique garden inspired journal for a local librarian who was retiring after 37 years on the job. [...]

Washi Tape Handmade Journal

Washi Tape Journal by Ruth Bleakley

Oooooh, I just love it when a book comes out just right, and the photos come out just right – that’s how I feel about this awesome washi tape journal. not sure what to call it – maybe “Red and Gray Stripes” “V journal…” in any case it’s one of a kind – you’ll notice I [...]

Plum Blossom Handmade Journal

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Behold! My latest in what I like to call my “Yuzen Book” series. I wanted to showcase some of my very favorite Japanese Chiyogami papers by making journals, but I didn’t want to simply cover boards with the paper – boring! I decided to pair my favorite papers with lovely handmade paper on the spine that [...]

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