Cabin Fever Handicraft

Holidays are over and the mad crush is done. As a business owner it’s doubly crazy. I’ve been preparing for Christmas since August!

Now it’s time to breathe deeply, slow down and do…nothing? Well, not nothing but I’m giving myself time to work on personal projects, not business ones, such as these beautiful journals taught by Liz Constable of Book Arts Studio and Ali Manning of The Handmade Book Club.

The class walks you through painting and collaging a canvas, cutting it up into book-cover sized pieces then making three hand-sewn journals out of them. I love this process! I painted the canvas more than a month ago then had to set it aside as I got too busy.

I found some latex house paint testers that had a little brush attached. Prefect!

I love using corrugated cardboard as a stamp.

I enjoyed the warm color palette since I often get stuck in my favorite green/teal motif.

After a bit of swearing and finger stabbing I finally got the hang of the stitching on the first book and I love how it looks!

A simple belly band as closure finishes the journal neatly.

For the pages I used recycled brown papers in various weights, some painted, some plain. I’m pretty pleased! You can see the others in the background, waiting to be sewn together. So happy to add another pretty book to my shelves!