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Nowhere to Go

There is nothing to do
and nowhere to go.
Accepting this,
we can do everything
and go anywhere.

In NOLA June is the start of hurricane season, kids, snowballs, kids, summer rain, kids, festivals, and KIDS!!!  Kids are everywhere!  Even in my house!  Hey...how did they get there?
Better yet...how did I get here?  Ha!

June has been the month of change for me.  So many different things to accept and to let go.  Needless to say I have not been able to do a thing in the studio.  Which is making me pretty crabby.  Argh!!!   

I was able to be alone in the studio this past weekend and had no idea what to do.  So I just sat there looking at stuff.  Moving things from here to there not accomplishing much of anything.

One thing that has been lurking in my mind is this burning desire to make a journal using coptic binding.  Why?  So I can open that baby up 360 degrees and use my most absolute FAV paper...Fabriano paper.  It feels so soft and smooth and can withstand just about any medium.  
My old Moleskin journal
Do I know how to coptic bind?  NO!  But I have made journals before.  How hard can it be?  I also have a BIG book on how to make books by Esther K. Smith.
For the first go at it we experimented with Long Stitch.  The directions were fairly easy but the pictures did not help us at all.  It was difficult to see the stitch with the colorful background of the box in the example.  Buuu!!!  So we winged it!
Dan Eldon's Journal (Left) and Pop Up popcorn Box using long stitch.
Next it was time to try making a coptic book using old cards (Merci Kook and Becky!).  Again the book did not help me much.  So I turned to YouTube!  Merci beaucoup to Daph Life for making it all clear!

For these two example journals I used card stock instead of my lovely Fabriano paper.  I also placed tape at the edge to give it more support.  Not too bad for a first go at it.  Ha!

Here are some other great examples of handmade books by Jesse Bert.
Jesse Bert
Jesse Bert
  Now it is time to let go of the fear, use the good paper, and maybe use leather for a cover.
Yes...I think it can be done!

Namaste
Kalaya
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  1. Mystic IndigoJune 12, 2012 at 9:35 PM

    Ha! June is a month of change for me too! Love the idea about the books...I was in Asheville over the weekend and fell in love with some homemade books...books will be vintage in a few generations...as will old fashioned stick a stamp on it and mail it (maybe quicker then a few generations!).

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