Collecting the mail

I've been collecting used mailing envelopes from a few different sources and recently realized that the collection had grown almost out-of-control. I save the envelopes to make journals, where the envelopes are used as the pages. With my current supply, I was able to make seven journals, with some envelopes left over. So I started with stacks and stacks of these:


And finished with these:


The covers are decorated with various bits and pieces saved from old mailing materials, like this one which uses a green security pattern for the decorative paper embellished with some clipped postal marks and stamps from Japan.

Or in some cases, the embellishments are printed directly onto the envelopes, like this junk mail sweepstakes example.

And all of them have envelopes for pages, with all the security patterns, plastic windows, and stamps in tact to make for a very interesting journal-keeping adventure.

Available in the "Recycled Journals" section of my Etsy shop!

Snow Storm Hardcover Journal

I made this journal a couple days ago for the Trans Canada Etsy Team's February Challenge. The theme of the challenge is Snow since we still have lots of it around the country, even if it was scarce for a few days in Whistler!

Visit the TCET blog to vote for your favorite item in our snow-inspired challenge (hint: pick "D"!)




This journal has a white leather spine and the covers are finished with beautiful Japanese Chiyogami paper that has fine gold and silver bursts that remind me of whirling snow during a blizzard. There are 256 pages of gorgeous snow white cotton paper with torn edges. Vote!

And a little more repurposing

I have two more books made from repurposed materials to show you before I move on to other things.

This first one is a hardcover book, using reclaimed bookboard in the covers. The spine material is cut from a discarded pleather jacket. The paper on the covers is from a red paper bag, and the pages are all cut from brown paper bags. (And it's just a pretty red book, very nice to share today on Valentine's Day!)



This next one is made entirely with discarded paper. The cover of the book and slipcase are cut from the cover of a large sketchbook. This is the "Crossed Structure Solo" binding structure. The pages are all from the recycling bin and include previously used papers that are still mostly blank, as well as some lined pages from discarded notebooks, etc.

More repurposed materials for bookbinding

I have a few more items around here that I have made with garbage, er, I mean, repurposed materials. This first photo shows two small tea-bag notebooks, bound using a simple pamphlet stitch. The covers are cut from tea boxes, and the pages are actually the paper wrappers from the tea bags that came in the box. So these two little items were a long time in the making, as I drank my way through all the tea.


I saved all the seed packages after planting our vegetables last year. Some of the seeds came in little boxes and some came in paper envelopes. I transformed the little boxes into notebooks, then I made a cardboard slip case and covered it with the envelopes. Perfect for the gardener who likes to keep track of his veggies!


This next one is a bit odd. I had saved an old calendar that was full of photos of houses. I used the house photos to make this house-shaped book. It is basically an origami house structure, with a hardcover on each end. Not sure what practical purpose this serves, it was just an experiment that didn't come together very well. Old house photos aside, the structure might work well for a special greeting card or as a display format for some kinds of images.


(If you want to make an origami house, check out www.origami-instructions.com.)

Repurposing materials for bookbinding

A while back, I asked Pegg, of fiveforty.etsy.com, to help me come up with some ideas for making books with repurposed materials. Pegg is a weaver, and so she wove two book covers for me to play with.

This first one is woven plastic - this is the kind of plastic that comes wrapped around products at grocery stores before they are unpacked and shelved. Pegg collected the plastic at her local grocery store, took it home and wove it on her loom. Then I used it to make a photo album.



Pegg also made another one for me, using lotto tickets. She cut them into strips, stitched them, then wove them together to make this book cover. It made a very sturdy book cover and I was able to case in a text block (consisting mostly of reclaimed papers in reds and blues) and have a wrap around cover with a button closure.



Thanks for working with me on these projects Pegg! Check out Pegg's recycled textile rugs, woven using pre-used sweaters, t-shirts, jeans, etc in her Etsy shop, at FiveForty.Etsy.com.

Thread the needle - followup

So based on that poll I had here last week, most people with a clear opinion, said that the needle should be threaded using the end that was just cut from the spool. Although a clear majority of all respondents seem to be sure that either end of the thread is fine!

But I had a comment from Suzanne, which seems to resolve the issue for me. She said:

Which end you thread from has to do with which direction the twist is in the thread. You want the thread to travel in the direction of twist. BUT you don't have to get all technical and microscopic about it - there's an easy test.

Holding on to one end of the thread, take it between the nails of the thumb and forefinger of the other hand and quickly run down the thread - sort of "stripping" it. If it bunches up - thread from the bottom end, if the thread stays straight, thread from the end you are holding. If you observed which was the spool end - so much the better.

Thank you Suzanne!

Actual poll results:

Thread the needle

I have conflicting information about how to thread a needle. I mean, which end of the thread to put through the eye. To reduce tangles and knotting, of course. For a long time I followed the advice that I should thread my needle using the end that I just cut from the spool. Then I got entirely opposite advice from a knowledgeable individual. But neither of my sources had a very good explanation for their preference. If you have a preference, you can cast a vote in this little poll (edit: poll now closed). If you have insight or explanations, please leave me a comment!

Folding Tools a la Randy Arnold

My bone folder collection is not extensive in comparison to many bookbinders. I have a few rather ordinary bone folders (I think they are all cow bones) and I have one Teflon folder. Thanks to this Christmas present from my mother, I recently expanded my collection to include an ebony folding tool, made by Randy Arnold. So here's my new folder:


(Photos by Randy Arnold)
Of course, Randy also makes unique boxes for the folders to live in, so my new folder arrived in this:


I have already been using it and it is a wonderful tool. It is lightweight but very solid, since ebony is a very dense wood (apparently one of the few kinds of wood that will sink in water, just fyi). Its density also allows ebony to be highly polished and resistant to scratches and such. I took it to a recent dinner with a group of other local bookbinders to show it off and they were all understandably jealous. I'm looking forward to using it in a variety of ways; the reverse side has a thinner end that will be handy for some poking and shaping. Thanks Randy, for making such beautiful and functional tools! You can find Randy on Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/randyarnold

Happy New Year

Somehow it has become 2010 already. The last few weeks have blown by in such haste that I hardly noticed the passage of time. In spite of my near silence here in blogworld and my little hiatus from Etsy over the holidays, I was working on a few things. So until I get some new projects underway, I'll share some books that I did in the Autumn and leading up to the holidays, for customers and friends, which didn't get mentioned here previously.

This custom steampunk journal was made for a writer who wanted a special journal in which to write her own steampunk-style fiction.


A model Nag Hammadi blank book, with exposed papyrus in the covers (although I used some Old Masters paper from Saint-Armand for the pages, rather than papyrus).


Two hardcover autograph books for my niece and nephew who are planning a trip to Disney World.


A red leather journal featuring the High School Musical cast on the inside, a hardcover chain-stitch journal with a soccer motif, a tan leather journal with a bead closure, and a set of box-board notebooks made from a Don Julio Tequila box.


I have big plans for the new year... well, I resolve to finish some of the projects that I started last year, and the year before...

Merry Christmas

I just finished a little Christmas bookbinding project where I bound together some previous year's Christmas cards. I don't get very uptight about saving cards, but I also don't like to throw them away. Sometimes I will cut them up to make gift tags but there are always some with letters written inside or other reasons why I want to keep them. So I decided to make a book, at least it will be easier to keep them in this format! They are just sewn onto the ribbons with a layer of PVA on the spine.


Let me know if you have other creative uses for old greeting cards! And have a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday too!

Books by PrairiePeasant

Laura, known online as PrairiePeasant, is a bookbinder in Winnipeg, Manitoba. We have met through our memberships in both the Etsy Bookbinding Team as well as the Trans Canada Etsy Team.

Much of Laura's work involves using eco-friendly materials to produce eco-friendly journals. Laura told me, "I love the challenge of finding usable materials at thrift shops and garage sales and I love using old maps and unloved books in my work." This unique journal is part of her Anatomy Series:


The covers are reclaimed book board and the images on the covers are pages from a vintage medical textbook.

From her Rebound series, using the covers and some pages of a discarded reader, she transforms an unloved book into new, cheery, and colourful journal:


Laura also has a second Etsy shop called PrairieThreads where she has her eco-friendly fibre arts, like these awesome little knitted stockings, made using 100% salvaged yarns, recycled from previous projects and treasures found in thrift shops.


You can check out more of Laura's work by visiting her Etsy shops (just click on the images above and there's still time for Christmas shopping, espcially if you're ordering within Canada!).

I also highly recommned Laura's blog at PrairiePeasant.blogspot.com. She documents so many of her creative projects, including bookbinding, calligraphy, quilting, knitting, and many other things she is doing!

Check this out

Super nicey blogger, rikrak, over at therikrakstudio just did a little feature on my shop, showing off a little collection of mine! Check it out for a chance to win one of my weekly planners.

Marbling again

Just want to share some recent marbling attempts. I have just started trying to mix my own marbling paints using acrylics and this has introduced some new challenges (compared to using pre-mixed paints purchased from the professionals who actually know what they are doing!). But after much experimentation, some good results were still possible. So much practice required, so little time!







Some of my marbled papers are available at MyMarbledPapers.Etsy.com.

Free Shipping and more prizes to win

Apparently this is the big weekend to have a sale, so my Etsy shop is offering Free Shipping to all Canada and USA locations. All other countries can get half price shipping. So, Free Shipping at MyHandboundBooks.Etsy.com, until Monday night (Nov 30th)!

On top of the free shipping, and on top of the 12 Days of Christmas promo that I mentioned in my last post, there is yet one more fun thing happening. The Bookbinding Etsy Street Team presents the...

BEST Holiday Book Event!
You can get all the details at www.bookbindingteam.com. Basically, by shopping in any of the participating Etsy stores, you get your name into a draw for prizes (shown below). Books made by our team members and a couple of gift certificates are up for grabs!



So if you still have some shopping to do, get at it! Best to get the online shopping done as soon as possible so you aren't victimized by the postal system too. (I think this is the end of my own holiday promotions, I promise I'll get back to some more interesting bookbinding-related stuff soon!!)

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway

Be sure to check out the 12 Days of Christmas promotion that the Trans Canada Etsy Team is having right now. For the next 12 days, you can get your name into a draw for this rather fabulous prize - consisting of handmade goodies from 22 different artisans across Canada.

During these 12 days, each shop will be featured on the TCET blog sharing favorite Christmas memories, recipes, and traditions so you can get to know us all a little better.

Ballots for the prize are earned by shopping in the participating Etsy stores, and you can get one free ballot by writing your letter to Santa and telling him about three particular items you would like to have from the participating shops. Check out the details, find the list of participating shops, and leave your letter to Santa here: transcanadaetsyteam.blogspot.com