A Handmade Birthday

My husband's birthday was this past Monday and I ended up making a few of his gifts by hand. I showed you the embroidered gift tags I added to his present here. I have been looking for as many things to embroider as possible, so I combined my love of papercrafts and embroidery with those little gems.

Months before his birthday, I received a request to make him another book using my text block bookbinding skills. This present wasn't much of a surprise since I wanted him to pick out the decorative paper, but he loved it anyways. This time he asked for a little larger book with blank pages that he will use as a scrapbook. My husband tends to never throw anything away, so now he'll have someplace to keep all his tickets stubs and other random memorabilia.

Ever since I got my letterpress kit, my husband has been asking me to make him a bookmark. He reads everyday and for months he has been using an old piece of scrap paper that I used to remind him to set out the pizza dough for dinner one night a long time ago. It is literally a torn piece of notebook paper that says "Pizza Dough" in large writing. It is definitiely time he got a proper bookmark. I thought this would be a fitting gift for his birthday, so I broke out my kit.

I cut a piece of heavy cardstock to 2" x 6" and letterpressed a background in bright green. Then I created a monogram in royal blue at the top. I found a tutorial online for making bookmark tassels and created one with yellow and white baker's twine.

While I had my kit out, I made him a birthday card as well. Using a background plate and yellow ink, I created a large sun at the bottom of the card. I added "Happy Birthday" and "30" in turqoise and affixed the white card to a folded turqoise piece of cardstock.


This picture shows all my little mess-ups, oops!



I got him a few other small gifts, but I tried to make as much as possible myself. I was able to use a bunch of different techniques and had fun doing it. I think it makes gift-giving even more special and I know my husband loves it.

Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo

Handmade Journals

I continually revist projects that I love. Whether it's to create new items or try it in new or different ways. As such, you will see the same techniques over and over on this blog, but I hope to bring a variety to the style of each one. I detailed a scrapbook I made for my sister-in-law using a text block bookbinding technique here. My husband loved it and wanted me to make him a journal, so I decided it would be a great Valentine's Day gift.

I made a 6 3/4" x 9 1/2" tall journal with the decidedly "manly" paper my husband chose from Paper Source and winter white book cloth.

I also picked up a smaller journal for myself to record all those crafty ideas and inspiration that hit me at random. I made a more pocket-sized journal with a lined paper text block, a graphic floral patterned paper and winter white book cloth.

The more I create these text block bookbinding projects, the faster I get. It is a super project for a gift and my husband is already asking for another larger one to use as a scrapbook. Oh the demands of married life ;)

Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo

Text Block Bookbinding

Another new project I tried recently was a gift for my sister-in-law for Christmas. She asked for a scrapbook for her new baby and since my favorite store Paper Source has bookbinding supplies, I thought I'd try my hand at it. Once I had purchased all my materials, I started researching tutorials online. I found two that were extremely helpful - How to Make Books - Paper Source and Binding with Photo Album Insert - The Paper Studio.

At first, I was pretty intimidated by the whole process. It seemed a little complicated and out of my league. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I tend to choose techniques that are simple, straightforward and familiar. This was none of those things to me, but with my husband's encouragement, I went for it. I was primarily concerned because the materials I purchased for my sister-in-law's scrapbook were not cheap and it was going to be my first attempt. It was a gift and I didn't want to screw it up. But I jumped in feet first and after watching the demos many, many times I got to work.

There are many ways to bind a book, but we chose to purchase an extra large, photo album text block that comes with two already cut to size book boards. We chose a pink and cream, cherry blossom Japanese paper and cream colored book cloth. Once I figured out all of the measurements to cut the paper and book cloth, the hardest part about this process is the gluing. You have to get it on fast before it dries, but also not too thick and I had large surface areas to cover. It was a little stressful, but I think the end product was worth the effort.

My first go at this went so well, I am thoroughly confident that I can bind all sorts of custom books and albums. Next on my list are small journals/scrapbooks for me and my husband. Can't wait to share!

Photos by Kyle @ 918 Photo

Coming Soon: Paper Punch Collage