Storque!

Etsy, the glorious venue where I sell my journals, has a community blog called The Storque.   The articled are fun to read and informative.  I have always wanted to be included in one and I was - yesterday!  I was scrolling down the list of articles when I noticed:  Etsy Finds:  One for the Memory Books.  I thought hmm a post about books and sure enough they had my chalkboard accordion photo album.  Yeah!

This accordion photo album is covered with a black oilskin cloth that acts like a chalkboard.  I've seen them used in restaurants.  I had a piece leftover from a project I did for a client so thought I should make something out of it.  The material is very thick and a bit tricky to work with but the results look great!

First Craft Show of the Season!

Last Saturday I shared a booth at the Crofton Craft Fair.  It was a beautiful day and the first craft fair of the season!  Here is the tent with my booth partner Katie - she makes gorgeous bags, wallets, headbands and more!  

While the show was not terribly well attended it was a pleasure to spend the day chatting with Katie and her husband John.

A close-up of the booth with a smiling Katie.  Her crayon rolls sold well! 

These headbands are awesome - beautiful and durable!  (I bought one for my daughter last year and it is going strong.

Katie not only makes the bags she also came up with a great pattern for the wristlet - available at her Etsy shop.

A new product for my shop - travel journals.  So far I have one for Scandinavia and one with a French/Paris theme.  Just need to photograph them and put them in my shop.

I Gocco printed these cards a while ago but have never listed them on Etsy - but I will soon. 

Custom Work

I received a lot of custom requests after the Daily Candy piece.  Here is a fun example of what a custom binding can look like.

This is a journal for someone going to Burkina Faso with the Peace Corps.  I took an image of the flag and a map of the country and printed them onto ink jet printable bookcloth.  I really like the results.  The name of the Peace Corps volunteer is stamped on the front cover in silver.  A fun project!

Daily Candy Profile - In a Bind

On Friday the D.C. edition of Daily Candy profiled my work in a piece called In a Bind.  The response has been terrific!  The best part is that it was in the Friday edition which means it sits on the site until Monday morning.  

The curious thing is that this piece has generated so much more interest than the Country Living article.  I think the reason is because, in addition to being on a website, the article was delivered to subscribers as an email newsletter.  

Anyway I am thrilled!

In Praise of My Kwikprint

I was asked just last week what services I offer that are unique. What a great question! It got me thinking about my journals - they are unique in and of themselves but do not qualify as a service. Then I thought about my years of experience as a bookbinder and the terrific equipment I have amassed. One piece that is unique for a small bindery is this Kwikprint machine.


This hand machine enables me to personalize my journals with names, wedding dates, or just fun images I find by searching eBay for lead type.


Basically you place the letters or dingbats (see below) in the type holder you see above. Then you place the item to be stamped on the platform and wait while the heating element heats up the type.


Here are examples of "dingbats" as they are called. They, and the type, are cast from lead. It is a fairly soft metal so I keep the heat on the lower side so as not to melt the pieces. Brass is more duable but hard to find and more expensive.

When the machine is heated up I place a piece of silver or gold foil onto the journal I am personalizing. I then pull the big lever and Voila - personalized items!


These are some examples - a guest book with the name of the family and a book Christmas ornament with a star dingbat on the cover.

More Wallpaper Projects

So I have all this great wallpaper leftover from the Country Living project. I made some wallpaper covered accordion photo albums. A friend suggested framing some of the pieces. What a great idea! I have loads of vintage frames and a mat cutter. So I went to work. Here are the first three results:


An awesome vintage 1940's pattern. It was too brittle to use in the accordion photo albums and I had very little left over.


This is a great Rhodadendron paper in one of my favorite vintage frames.


Lastly is my favorite French paper - I may have to keep this one!

The Print Issue is Out!

Here it is the long awaited for April 2009 Country Living Magazine! Here is the cover and underneath it page 117 - the spread with my large accordion photo albums.




This is the title of the article "Garden Variety" on page 116 and my albums on page 117. The credit is in the resource guide at the back of the issue. I am so excited and thankful to the editors I worked with on this project.