A few months ago I spent an afternoon with the latest issue of "Pages" magazine from Interweave. I had never been interested in making books, but I had a couple of hours to kill and this magazine was the only time-killer at hand.
When I first saw the article on canvas-covered journals I skipped right by it. The examples did not seem compelling to me. But after flipping by the article a few times, I saw the journals in a different light - "It's the canvas, stupid!" The canvas covers on these journals makes them a perfect project for a painter. Suddenly, I couldn't wait to get home and make one.
The one in the center was my first attempt. I was just doodling with the paint, basically, and having fun. Well, every step of making the journal was fun: preparing the signatures (groups of pages that are sewn in as one), sewing them in, and putting on the button closure. I modified the procedure the article laid out. I added more stitches for the signatures, and embellished the stitching with buttons.
Soon I was searching Etsy to expand my button collection. I ordered better paper than the copy paper I used for the first one. And I was making more and more journals. One of my favorites is the one on the lower left. I painted the entire cover - front and back - as a continuous landscape painting. The more I worked, the more possibilities I saw.
I have made several more of these journals and will soon begin listing them on Etsy. Making them is so addictive, but there only so many I can use myself!
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