Christmas Giveaway Winners

It's been a rather hectic day. I achieved a lot, preparing for a last minute trip, but I also FORGOT about the giveaway. Sorry!

So, what I did was get all the names down and clicked ONCE. This is the list that resulted.

Congratulations to those who won and for those who didn't, please look out for the next giveaway soon, for the Chinese New Year.

Have a blessed evening.

Been rather busy recently....

Yup, I'm still here though things have been rather quiet at the crafting front recently. Made 3 pencil cases out of really pretty cotton-linen fabric that I sourced from a new supplier.

This is a digital print. Cute one at that. Printed on cotton-linen. Paired it with turquoise and white polka dot fabric behind and lined with even more cotton-linen inside. This is a large pencil case. Gigantic.

 

I like this print. Finnish design printed on cotton-linen. I have only a small piece and this is half of it. The other half I made into a similar pencil case (not shown here). The back is also the turquoise and white polka dots and the lining similar to the Fun swimming pool one.  

Made this planner for myself.

I covered the 900gsm greyboard with kraft paper from a paper bag from this gelato outlet that DS and DD like. They like hazelnut and mango, I like rocher. I have monthly views and quarterly views, plain white and colour pages for notes.

Have a blessed day!

Becoming a bookworm

Usually, I bind books in stages, preparing a few books rather than complete one then start making another. Maybe I might do that some day but not now, not when I'm rushing to complete as many before Term 2 starts. 

Stage 1: cut up the board into smaller sizes, usually slightly larger than A5 or A6. I used to use 900gsm greyboards but now I've started using 1000gsm whiteboards. These white boards are easier when the fabric is light coloured and the background of the backing board matters.

Stage 2: prepare the parts of the book - the covers for the covers (LOL!), the pages, signature covers, charms etc. The covers (fabric or paper) also needs to be cut and glued onto the boards.

Stage 3: While the glue dries, I fold and cut paper into the right size, print lines if I need to. This part is quite monotonous and sometimes I do this while watching Criminal Minds or some other show to distract me.

Stage 4: The outside of the cover done, I'll need to do the insides of the cover. This is either a fly page or patterned paper covering the board on the other side. Glue goes on and I wait again.

Stage 5: Sometimes I press the boards after they're dry.

Stage 6: Decide on stitching pattern, draft if necessary.

Stage 7: Find thread and wax it. I've used polyester, cotton and linen. I like linen for it's strength, cotton for the colours. I don't think I'll use polyester anymore, now that I've found linen and cotton threads.

Stage 8: Poke holes in the cover (and flypage, if there is) and pages.

Stage 9: Sew. Attach charm, perhaps?

Stage 10: Press. Sometimes I press for a few days.

Well, there you have it. Bookbinding in a nutshell.

I'm toying with a series of bookbinding classes for the June holidays but let's see how things go in term 2 first. 

Covers: Wilmington's Bunny's Day Out fabric (front), faux suede (back), 1000gsm whiteboard
Pages: 80gsm, 2 shades of green, acid-free, 8 signatures of 10 folios, 320 sides. Unlined
Stitch: 7-hole coptic
Thread: waxed cotton, variegated green
Size: A5

Covers: Lecien's Happy Chihuahua fabric, 900gsm greyboard, 120gsm endpapers
Pages: 80gsm, 2 shades of blue, acid-free, 7 signatures of 10 folios, 280 sides. Unlined
Stitch: woven longstitch, kettle
Thread: waxed cotton, variegated blue
Size: A5

Covers: Wilmington's Bunny's Day Out fabric (front), faux suede (back), 1000gsm whiteboard
Pages: 80gsm, 2 shades of green, acid-free, 7 signatures of 10 folios, 280 sides. Unlined
Stitch: 7-hole coptic
Thread: waxed cotton, variegated green
Size: A5

Covers: Pattern paper, 900gsm greyboard, 120gsm fly pages
Pages: 80gsm, white, acid-free, 7 signatures of 10 folios with signature covers, 280 sides. Unlined
Stitch: 7-hole single needle coptic
Thread: waxed linen, 4-ply, Robin's egg blue
Size: A5

Covers: Korean quilting cotton, 1000gsm whiteboard, 160gsm flypages
Pages: 80gsm, 2 shades of green, acid-free, 8 signatures of 10 folios, 320 sides. Unlined
Stitch: criss-cross kettle/Coptic
Thread: waxed cotton, variegated green
Size: A5

Covers: Laminated pattern print, 900gsm greyeboard
Pages: 80gsm, white (one book) / rose (other book), acid-free, 8 signatures of 10 folios with signature covers, 320 sides. Unlined
Stitch: Coptic, Roman links
Thread: waxed linen, dark chocolate
Size: A6

Covers: Laminated pattern print, 900gsm greyeboard
Pages: 80gsm, white, acid-free, 8 signatures of 10 folios with signature covers, 320 sides. Unlined
Stitch: Coptic, Roman links
Thread: waxed cotton, variegated brown
Size: A5

Have a blessed evening!

Flutter by

I'm liking this combination of book and bag. Maybe I'll make such for the larger journals as I go. This way I'll use up more fabric? LOL!

Yet another coptic-bound hardcover book. I think I have about 10 to go. Ran out of glue and had to buy some this morning. Waxed linen threads have also arrived from Sweden. Fast shipping :-) Problem is, now that I've tried the variegated threads, I don't know if I want to move to linen. Linen's stronger but the cotton variegated threads are prettier. Hmm, why doesn't someone make variegated linen? Or maybe I've not found them yet.

Have a blessed day!

Book sewing fun

Decided to experiment with different stitches today. Deviated from the usual Coptic stitch. I like Coptic but I thought, with the variegated threads that I have, I'd try something new. The stitching isn't as neat as I would've liked it to be but it's a start. I think I'll try different patterns from now.

Added pagemarker charms too, to both of these (top and bottom)

Ran out of thread for the pagemarker. I think I can attach it manually though :-) 

Have a blessed day!

Sneak : quilted journals

Yup, another Pixlr-ed picture. It's fun :-)

These are 3 quilted journals in various stages of completion.

Top: just need to attach the two metal snaps

Middle: quilting done, waiting other side of cover, paper, stitching and snaps

Bottom: everything except for cutting the fabric, LOL!

Have a blessed day!

Don't think there'll be another of this

This is something strange, no? I took 2 green book rings, 2 anodized aluminium jump rings and a barrel weave chain and made this. Wanted to see what it would look like. DD says it's nice, DS says 'no' but DS says 'no' to so many of my stuff anyway. I find it odd. I think I'd rather have just the book rings. :-)

On another note, I tied to bundles of notebooks with twine and ribbon. Can't decide which looks nicer. I think it depends on the print though twine is more versatile. This is in preparation for the 'Cutting Corners Sale'. Rather corny, no? 'Cause I cut/rounded the corners of the notebooks.

I have lots of cardstock left and papers as well. I just don't have the time and focus to finish them at the rate I want to. I've been adding more holes to the saddle-stitch. I think it's a different look from the usual 5 holes. I'll have more pics soon. 

Have a blessed Sunday!

More and more books

 More paper-folding. Hopefully the stacks of paper I still have at home grow smaller. The top 2 book-blocks-to-be are in various shades of blue and peach. The white ones I might just cover with coordinated patterned paper, like the bottom two. You can't see it clearly but the fabric right at the bottom is actually a drawstring bag. The book materials are inside but I don't have the string to bind them :-( 

These are just two bundles of 4 saddle-stitch books. I'm packaging them in bundles for the next sale. It's a preview of sorts 'cos I can't decide what to use to bundle them with - twine or ribbon? Or perhaps, depending on the print? 

I'll need to clear (read: sell all) of these books. I found some just now that I made a year ago. Colours are still good 'cos all the papers are acid free. I have a couple hundred more to go just for plain ones but lesser for patterned cardstock :-)

Have a blessed evening!

Sewing books

First I made the books.

These are saddle-stitched books with cardstock and unlined paper. I have so many shades of green, blue and pink left and even more cardstock.

Then I made the drawstring bag to put the books in. 

Then I made a larger book with a fabric over the cardboard and decided that it'll have it's own drawstring bag. 

What a lot of fun :-)

Have a blessed day!

Coptic-stitched

It's been a long, long while since I made coptic-stitch books. I like making them, it's just that the elapsed time is much longer. Think... stick cardboard to patterned paper for covers then press, stick end-papers, pen-knife cut/fold papers and arrange into folios, punch holes in covers and papers, sew, press again. Each book takes a few days so I usually make them in batches.

I like the larger books this round 'cos I managed to find 3 different shades of pink. I still haven't mastered the camera's features to represent the colours correctly. Looks beige, ya?

Have a blessed evening!

Clearance sale now on on Facebook

I'll be taking on something new from next year for 3 years. It's something I've been looking forward to though I'm still waiting for final confirmation that it's on. It's going to take up most of my time so I'll have less time to craft :-(

I'll still craft though, but I won't be taking any more customised orders.

I'm clearing on-hand stock now on Facebook, selling some items almost at cost.

Check them out!

New life

These notebooks have familiar covers, no?
I like the Prima Deli ones for their thickness and lamination, Kellog's for the colour and Redoxon for it's brightness. Internal pages are all acid-free and bound with antique brass Zutter O-wire.

What do you do with your boxes?

Have a blessed day!

Triangle of Life

I once read an article on the triangle of life applied during an earthquake. The theory is to look for these triangles or voids and take shelter there instead. For example, if there's a sturdy cupboard against a wall, there would be a triangle of life right in front of the cupboard should the ceiling collapse as a single piece. Then, the ceiling would be propped up at one end and on the floor at the other, leaving that void. One of the examples they gave, other than sturdy large furniture, was to look for stacks of paper. Paper cannot be crushed and can withstand a lot of weight. So, it seems, a stack of newspaper would do at such times.

Thank God we don't have earthquakes here.

One other thing I know about paper is that it's heavy. Very. Especially when I have to lug it around.

I brought these to the NUS bazaar. There were a few queries but no one bought them so I'm listing them in Tiffany's Shoppe. Other than these 4, there were many other books so it was really heavy yesterday. Today, I'll just bring a fraction.

Just a bit of update about yesterday. I couldn't decide whether it was a non-event or eventful day, LOL! While there were very few customers, quite a number of people walked over and did a double-take at my stall then proceeded to walk past till I realized that the toilet was behind me. On my left was clothes. In front of me was clothes and on my right was, clothes. I had a quick glance around and it seemed like out of about 15 stalls, about half sold clothes. There was a stall that intrigued me 'cos it sold something that sure looked like bubble gum. I like bubble gum though the constant chewing would result in aching jaws.

But I get ahead of myself so let me do this chronologically. I arrived too early 'cos I went out with DS and DD. I tarried at the bus-stop doing my crochet till it was about 30mins before the official start at 9am. My first impression when I arrived was, is it over? LOL!

There were quite a number of tables/stalls all over the Central Forum. Some had tarpaulin-covered items, some were bare tables. Bare as in bare wood top with collapsible frame. Some had chairs next to these tables, some had none. Also, other than me and a group of undergrads, there were no other vendors. Anyway, I stuck around till on of the students pointed out my stall to me. OK, so with my punctuality, I ended up with the dubious honour of being the kiasu one who set up shop so early. However, less than 30mins after I completed, the rain came. With the gusty winds sweeping through the void of the Central Forum, rain was flying in, stuff also took to the wind. I kept evertyhing but set up shop again about an hour later only to sit there and crochet and crochet and crochet. On the upside, I had an enjoyable time getting to know the other vendors. Perhaps this was my triangle of life yesterday, my breathing space. Well, one more day today. Hopefully it'll be better, yup? *grin*

Have a blessed day!

Pretty in pink

What's your favourite colour? DS' red, DD's green. My three nieces like pink, purple and blue. I like yellow. I think I read somewhere that blue is the most liked colour.

Anyway, these 2 are pink. Bit of overload on pink, don't you think? I opted out of total pink pages. What you see are just the signature cover pages. It's white inside...*phew*, LOL! 7-hole coptic bound hardcover journals made from acid-free papers.

Have a blessed day!

Purple Pastels

DS thought I bought these *grin*!

I have this collection of papers of pinks and purples that are so pretty. Initially I thought the purple hearts in front would be too plain but it turned out just right. Paired with the flowers, the combination just looks so delicate. I don't have thick plain purple paper for the inside of the covers so I just decided to use the back paper for the front cover and vice versa. DD suggested rounding the corners which I think gives it a more brought-together look altogether. Also, this time, I thought I would take the easy way out and wire-bind them but I've yet to master the hole-punching and that's why, if you see closely, one book has 11 holes while the other has 10, LOL!

I can't decide what to do today....sew or bind. Maybe I'll do both :-)

Have a blessed day!
ps: I've not forgotten your orders, don't worry. I just like to optimize the inspiration and mood when it comes and do something different. Thanks for your patience!

First two

These are the first two books of this year, I think. It's been a long while since I've made a hardcover journal and this time I decided to have mismatched covers. Well, almost. I have another 3 on the way so you might see what I mean when I post the pics. I especially like the blue one. The blue sky contrasts with the dark blue denim print of the back cover. I thinking that I like the back cover more, LOL!

Made with acid free papers (except the ladybug paper). White papers are from sustainable forests. 192 pages, 6 signatures, 7-hole, coptic bound.

Have a blessed day!

I forgot about these...

These 6 A5 saddle-stitched notebooks are part of a collection that we started last year but I forgot about them. There are some more and I'll get around to listing them on Tiffany's Shoppe.

Each book is covered using textured cardstock and has patterned endpaper. Number of pages inside is at least 76, all white and unlined and from sustainable forests. Best thing about it, cover and pages are all acid-free :-)

Have a blessed evening!