Fall, New Journals, and Lots of News

well, I am back after a more extended end-of-summer break than I intended. I always take a few weeks off at the end of the summer, to regroup and recharge, but this time, I think my fairy godmother gave me a hand ;) Until October 14th, you can see two of my journals as part of the amazing Janice Charach Gallery GREEN show in Detroit. I'd love to go but being in Atlanta, I have only seen pictures. If you live close enough, check it out for me! You can find more details here:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/57053987/vintage-inspired-copper-rhinestone

and you can now find my journals, vintage text candles, and so much cool, unique art that I don't know how they got it all into one building at HomeGrown Decatur Art Gallery, here in Atlanta. The gallery opened three weeks ago, and they are ramping up for the fall season with a grand opening on October 9th. I really feel humbled and blessed to be in the company of so much great art! www.homegrowndecatur.com

And last but not least, I have got new listings for fall up now in the store, including a very fun journal line made from vintage pulp fiction novels that I will be adding to over the next couple of weeks. I'm pretty excited about that, as well as a whole lot of new things that are coming up over the next couple of months. Stay tuned and if you have a favorite author from the 1980s, please pass their name along to me via twitter ( www.twitter.com/firebirdhouse) or through the comments here. I really want to do some 80s book journals....

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All that Glitters

I couldn't resist sharing this flashy, sparkly piece of 1940s glamour! Its been so hot here, I thought a little pop and sizzle would be all too appropriate :)

You can find it here-

http://www.etsy.com/listing/52763691/vintage-aurora-borealis-crystal-ring

See the full gallery on posterous

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Want to try Bookbinding?: What's in my toolkit

I have a ton of great books on bookbinding, and they all have recommendations about what tools to use, etc. When I was first starting out, I had a hard time figuring out what I really NEEDED vs. just wanting. That was a couple of years ago, and after lots of trial and experiment, I've gotten my own personal toolkit down to a few essentials. If I was stranded on a desert island to make books for the rest of my life, this is what I would wish to have with me-

-a wooden, nonfancy bookcradle for holding signatures while punching holes
-2 awls, one fatter, one thinner. -a soft lead pencil -2 types of glue, one thicker and one in a narrow-tipped bottle, both neutral Ph
-a small, flat edged, square painter's brush for gluing
-a pair of small, high quality craftsman pliers with grip at the ends
-a glass mat
-a bone folder
-a 15 inch or longer, cork-backed, sturdy metal ruler
-needles for sewing leather
-waxed linen thread in black, brown and cream
-a pair of scissors
-a small mat knife

That's basically it. As I got into making the kind of journals and books I create now, I added ultrasuede and leather to the list for tapes, but that's actually about it, since I repurpose old books for covers. The great part about these supplies is that you can find them all at either www.dickblick.com or at www.hollanders.com, which is one of my favorite places to buy supplies, or even at Hobby Lobby or Michaels.

For needles, I like the needles I find in the leather craft department best because the eyes are larger for accomodating the waxed thread but still narrow so they don't make huge holes in the signature. Another plus is that beads often will fit over the narrower eyes if you want to bead the spine. Bookbinders needles are often too thin for me and can break, so I switched to the leather needles for the most part, and have them in several sizes and lengths. I do keep unwaxed linen thread on hand that has to be waxed before use, but is much thinner, and bookbinders needles for times when the holes must be extremely small. The metal ruler can serve as a quick and dirty ripping blade for to make torn edged pages, and the glass mat is one of the best things I ever bought. You cut on it, measure on it, pour glue on it to use with a brush, and apply paste or glue for endpapers on it, but at the end of the day, all you have to do is wash it off. Plus its very environmentally friendly because you can use it forever :) Oh, and paper...reams of it, if you're making journals. Recycled, decorated, scrap, whatever your heart's desire, as long as you have enough to make as many signatures as you want your book to have, and you are ready to roll.

See the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Firebirdhouse 's Nest

Want to try Bookbinding?: What's in my toolkit

I have a ton of great books on bookbinding, and they all have recommendations about what tools to use, etc. When I was first starting out, I had a hard time figuring out what I really NEEDED vs. just wanting. That was a couple of years ago, and after lots of trial and experiment, I've gotten my own personal toolkit down to a few essentials. If I was stranded on a desert island to make books for the rest of my life, this is what I would wish to have with me-

-a wooden, nonfancy bookcradle for holding signatures while punching holes
-2 awls, one fatter, one thinner. -a soft lead pencil -2 types of glue, one thicker and one in a narrow-tipped bottle, both neutral Ph
-a small, flat edged, square painter's brush for gluing
-a pair of small, high quality craftsman pliers with grip at the ends
-a glass mat
-a bone folder
-a 15 inch or longer, cork-backed, sturdy metal ruler
-needles for sewing leather
-waxed linen thread in black, brown and cream
-a pair of scissors
-a small mat knife

That's basically it. As I got into making the kind of journals and books I create now, I added ultrasuede and leather to the list for tapes, but that's actually about it, since I repurpose old books for covers. The great part about these supplies is that you can find them all at either www.dickblick.com or at www.hollanders.com, which is one of my favorite places to buy supplies, or even at Hobby Lobby or Michaels.

For needles, I like the needles I find in the leather craft department best because the eyes are larger for accomodating the waxed thread but still narrow so they don't make huge holes in the signature. Another plus is that beads often will fit over the narrower eyes if you want to bead the spine. Bookbinders needles are often too thin for me and can break, so I switched to the leather needles for the most part, and have them in several sizes and lengths. I do keep unwaxed linen thread on hand that has to be waxed before use, but is much thinner, and bookbinders needles for times when the holes must be extremely small. The metal ruler can serve as a quick and dirty ripping blade for to make torn edged pages, and the glass mat is one of the best things I ever bought. You cut on it, measure on it, pour glue on it to use with a brush, and apply paste or glue for endpapers on it, but at the end of the day, all you have to do is wash it off. Plus its very environmentally friendly because you can use it forever :) Oh, and paper...reams of it, if you're making journals. Recycled, decorated, scrap, whatever your heart's desire, as long as you have enough to make as many signatures as you want your book to have, and you are ready to roll.

See the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Firebirdhouse 's Nest

All Papered Up and a Giveaway

I love old paper. I really do. I have used it for everything from covering journals to making the jewelry tags that I use for the shop, and I never thought I would have enough. Until I started bookbinding. Now I have an abundance of antique paper, in every shade and size, making it the perfect paper for mixed media, collage, journaling, and wrapping. Its too perfect to hoard, so I am sharing it in bundles of 100 pages in my shop. You can find the first listing here-

http://www.etsy.com/listing/51933665/antique-book-pages-bundle-100-sheets

and I plan on adding some themed bundles and some smaller ones as well. I got into recycling book covers as a way of saving books that were close to or already falling apart, and I would love for the text pages to find a new life as well. Some of them are so cool-! Giveaway DETAILS
In fact, I think these are so cool that I am going to give a bundle away to a lucky person chosen from the comments below by Random.com. Tell me what your favorite use is for an old book page by leaving a comment on this post between today (Jul 20) and midnight, Wed (JUL 21)and you'll be entered into a drawing for a 100 page bundle. Its that simple. Please make sure that I have a way to contact you in case you win, either via email, Etsy convo, etc :) May the craziest paper addict win ;)

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New Journals

I was thrilled (and a little overwhelmed) by the postive response to my recycled book journals. This is truly something that I love doing, and it is my plan to continue adding them regularly to the shop. I have listed three new ones tonight, including one using cover boards from a very rare 1878 book that I really love, which you can see here:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/51449155/reclaimed-vintage-book-art-journal

and an incredibly happy journal in some seriously bright colors, here:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/51451752/reclaimed-vintage-book-art-journal

I will be posting some eco-friendly bookbinding explorations tomorrow that i had a lot of fun doing, using ideas from Terry Taylor's cool book Eco-Books. I will also share some more journals, so stay tuned. And thanks so much for all the postive comments and encouragement!

See the full gallery on posterous

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Introducing Vintage Book Journals

I absolutely fell in love with bookbinding and journal-making, and it didn't take me long to realize that I wanted to keep making them, so I have launched a line of journals for the shop that uses reclaimed vintage books. I do the whole book by hand, from cutting the books apart (carefully!) to sewing and binding them, and I really love the fact that I am able to save these gorgeous book covers and give them a new life. I am researching sources for renewable paper, too, and hope to eventually use recycled paper for the interiors. The tapes may be vintage ribbon, sturdy paper, or reclaimed suede from a purse manufacturer that is gorgeous stuff. Of the pics below, the Art Nouveau Blue Book can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/50556512/reclaimed-ornate-vintage-book-art and the red one here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/50555074/reclaimed-vintage-book-art-journal The Our Lady of Guadeloupe journal is spoken for, but I will be listing a couple of others this week, and would love to custom create one. The sky really is the limit here, and my plan is to keep them reasonably priced and one of a kind. So that's all my news, and its all pretty exciting. I am buried up to my eyes in papers, boards, suede, and a bunch of new jewelry to list, so hopefully I will be getting caught up in the next week or so!

See the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Firebirdhouse 's Nest