How I bind my journals

I thought this week I would try and show how I bind my books. I don't use a lot of proper tools, I haven't gotten around to buying them so I use what I do have...so a nail and hammer instead of an awl and regular embroidery thread instead of stronger bookbinding thread, these things seem to work good enough for me...
I will show a few photos and then instructions at the end...

1. first I gut the book by cutting out the pages with an exacto, along the front seam where they attach and then the back, leaving just the hardcover and spine intact.
2. then i cover the book with the images i want and i like to use washi tape on the spine.
3. cut or tear your paper down to size and create the signatures , i usually do three or four sheets per signature and about four signatures.
4. fold each sheet and use a bone folder to smooth, then gather the sheets in a stack and clip them 
5. measure for the holes, i do every inch
6. poke the holes along each signature and and on the book spine too
7. use embroidery thread through a large needle and begin at the bottom going up the spine in and out and then down and tie a double knot when you reach the bottom. 

I hope these instructions help somewhat and if any one has any questions I'd be happy to try and answer them :)

spring journaling pages...

I haven't done any collage art journaling in over a month and it's always enjoyable to get back to it, I also switched to a different size, a few pages leftover in another journal. I feel like goldilocks trying to find the right size for everything : ). I tried a few pages in a small journal, and then a few in a large journal and now I'm back to a medium size that I like best. Today I will bind a new art journal and do the cover for it, I always enjoy making a new journal.

These are some pages to celebrate spring, the temperature still isn't very warm but it does feel more like spring here, finally...

"the colors of spring emerge with the first sweet sounds of song birds to fill our wintry weary souls: bringing hope, new beginnings, and inspiration."      unknown quote

I hope your beginning to see some signs of spring, it's been a  long winter, hasn't it?

Sketchbook...

I am now doing sketches in my large journal it's about 11x8, a few months back I said I preferred a smaller 5x5 size, but now I think I like this best. I am so inspired by other people and other styles that it has been an up and down trial of trying to really find what I do like best and what feels like me, so now I am mixing drawing with some doodles and lettering and it feels calming and enjoyable so I will see how it goes. I guess sometimes you have to try out a variety of things but I really just want to find my preferred way of working. Has any one else gone through this or did you have your style pretty well down from the beginning ? Or do you like to constantly try something new and not think about it so much?

Paper Love Blog Hop

Today is a special Blog Hop for paper lovers. I love paper and stationery so much and I have since I was very young, also magazine clippings, ideas and articles that I have always saved for years. Paper is definitely one of my favorite things.

For this blog hop I decided to do my post about my love of paper planners, Daybooks and binders.
I am showing some pages from my seasonal daybook first and then my idea binder that I fill with things I clip and save from magazines, I just recently organized it all into a binder with categories.

I also love making my own little paper labels and pretty To Do lists.

More paper love blog posts on the blog hop
Majo Bautista / Tona Bell / Louise Best / Cathy Bluteau / Jennifer Bomgardner / Giova Brusa / Lindsay Buck / Beka Buckley / Joanna Caskie / Jonathan Chapman (Mr Yen) / Halle Cisco / Sarah Clare / Cathryn Clarge / Dawn Clarkson / Rhiannon Connelly / Jenny D'Fuego / Molly Dhiman / Ian Dudley / Ayisatu Emore / Akmal Farid / Monika Forsberg / Claire Fritz-Domeney / Louise Gale / Chrissy Gaskell / Julie Hamilton / Emma Hawman / Rachel Hazell / Holly Helgeson / Claudine Hellmuth / Kim Henkel / Sarah Hoffman / Joanne Hus / Paula Joerling / Beth Kempton / Julie Kirk / Eos Koch / Katie LaClair / Kristy Lankford / Michelle Manolov / Doreen Marts / Rosie Martinez-Dekker / Tori Mears / Maria Mederios / Lise Meijer / Debbie Miller / MaryJane Mitchell / Suzy Naidoo / Grace Noel / Hannah Nunn / Camilla Olsson / Jo Packham / Rachelle Panagarry / Monette Pangan / Melanie Paul / Nicole Piar / Jen Pitta / Liz Plummer / Julie Reed / Michelle Reynolds / Lisa Rivas / Angee Robertson / Natalie Ryan / Aisling Ryan / Elisabet Sapena / Kyrrha Sevco / Jamie Sprague / Elizabeth Steele / Terri Stephens / Juniper Stokes / Mary Tanana / Maike Thoma / Linda Tieu / Gabrielle Treanor / Tammy Tutterow / Deborah Velasquez / Jordan Vinograd Kim / Cat Whipple / Brooke Witt / Katie Wood / Amelia Woodbridge