This Week’s Give-Away: Another Handmade Journal

In our continued cleaning and sorting, I found a bin of these journals I made years and years ago.

For a couple of years, I worked on these every day. On any given day, there were books in every stage of construction. I made the paper for the covers. I sewed the signatures. In short, I worked for a couple of years to perfect my traditional bookbinding skills.

Of course, I could have learned a lot more, had I kept at it. But when I got to a certain point, where I could consistently create a sewn-signature hardbound book that looked the way I wanted it to and was functional, well, that was it. The challenge was gone, and I was overwhelmed with books.

I had dozens, all over the house. I started selling them—the ones I’m going to give away here, over the next weeks, have price stickers in them from someone who was selling them for me—I have no memory of this, but I know the stickers—and the prices—aren’t mine. I’m assuming they were in some gallery somewhere and didn’t sell. These are the only ones left out of dozens and dozens and omigod dozens. A lot of books, is what I’m saying.

This one has a gold handmade paper cover. I don’t know if that was paper I made or not, but the endpaper covers are:  those are flowers I picked and pressed and used as inclusions when I was making paper.

I don’t guess I need to tell you that I used to make a LOT of paper.

The pages are just colored text paper.

That’s what I was using at the time for my journals. I wouldn’t use it again—if I were going to go to all the trouble to make books completely by hand today, I would get some really nice paper for the pages.

That little gold loop on the top of the spine is for hanging a bead or charm. There are ribbons to tie it closed, a tiny envelope inside the back cover, and a library pocket with a bookmark in the front. Oh—and a tiny page corner bookmark, too. I made tons of these, as well.

Good lord. I sure have made a ton of stuff in my life. Will I ever find homes for it all? Will you help me?

Please?

Oh, good. Thank you!