Just A Card – Indie Week. Day 1.

To kickstart my return to blogging I’m taking part in Just A Card‘s #indieweek.

Day 1: All About Me.

Who I am: My name is Emma, I’m in my late thirties, born and raised in the same area of NW London in which I still live (which makes me something of a rarity these days I think).  I have a dog, a somewhat obsessive love of JK Rowling’s Wizarding World, and the attention span of a butterfly.  I tend to write the same way as I speak; waffling, going off on tangents, and rarely using one word when three can be shoehorned into the same place.  You’ll get used to it.

What I do: Flit from project to project because I have about as much focus as a concussed duckling? I kid, although in truth that’s actually pretty accurate.  I do turn my hand to a variety of crafts (including lino printing, print gocco, embroidery, and knitting and crochet) but predominately I’m a bookbinder and painter.  My style varies quite a lot (check out my Instagram to see all my paintings, and my Etsy shop to view my notebooks and other stationery) too and depends vastly on my mood.  I like that my work is versatile, but I have to admit that it makes it a little difficult to build a recognisable brand/look!

How I do what I do: Ok, you’ll have to pop back regularly to find out.  One of my intentions going forward is to share the design and making process for some of my past work.

 

Where I do what I do: I have a studio at the end of my garden, and that’s where messy things like bookbinding and printing take place.  And I have a desk in my bedroom, which is where I paint (because the studio is lovely but the light is much better in the loft!).

And that’s me!  Do follow me on Instagram, and follow Just A Card too!

 

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Adventures in eco-printing: part 2

Ok, this isn’t really a proper part 2 (which I said I would write in January but never did get around to).  Part 1 is here if you missed it.  What this is, is a quick heads up that the first batch of eco-printed books are now available in my Etsy shop.  I added nine last night and one has been snapped up already so go and take a peek as each one is unique.

dav

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Wednesday WIP

I’m still decluttering my studio, which is taking forever: I have so much stuff in there.  Yesterday I rediscovered a pack of replica vintage garden ephemera that I bought at the Chelsea Flower Show many years ago.  I’ve used a few bits from it, but the rest had been chucked in a drawer and forgotten about.  I’ve chosen a few cards with which to decorate my studio, and today I turned the remaining bits and bobs into a notebook.

Let’s just take a moment to appreciate how useful a curved needle can be, especially when one is binding envelopes into a book.

I ended up using the biggest garden leaflet to make the cover (which is lined with card from some posh shirt packaging that came into my possession), the leftover garden bits and some repurposed paper (brown paper that had been used as packaging in something I received in the post, and some squared paper from an old maths exercise book) became the pages.  I found some old envelopes lurking in another drawer so those got thrown in too.  It’s turned out beautifully!

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Wednesday WIP

Actually these are from last week, but let’s not be picky eh?  I’m still slowly trying to slimline my studio and struggling because I can’t bear to just throw things out, so it leads to quite a bit of head-scratching to come up with creative ways to use things.  I thought that these saddle-stitched exercise books were a good way to use up three things: some coloured paper that’s been languishing on a shelf for years, some book cloth that I’ve always struggled to team with anything (the blue, the orange is actually offcuts from some previous books), and old ordnance survey maps (of which I have, er, quite a few).  They turned out beautifully: deceptively simple on the outside, but interestingly colourful within.

I won’t be adding these to my Etsy shop until next month, but if you’d like to reserve any of them then let me know.  The A5 blue ones will be available in two sets of three, and the A7 orange ones in a single set of four.

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You can never have too many…

…bridesmaids.  This is something I learned recently when I was asked if I would make notebooks as gifts from a bride to her bridesmaids.  Sure, I said, no problem.  How many bridesmaids?

Nine.

I can’t lie, that threw me a bit, but in the end it turned out to be terrific fun because I got to design nine different notebooks.  The bride wrote down a few words about each woman, and off I went to select papers and binding styles.

An eclectic mix, let’s show off each notebook individually so you can have a proper look.  Although it was occasionally challenging to find the right paper for each cover, it was very satisfying to rummage through my studio trying to find ‘the one’.  Even more so to then decide which binding style would be best, and of course the question of thread, and inner lining – oh the choices!  These books have been made using everything from scrapbook paper through to a repurposed paper carrier bag, and some of the vintage linen thread is older than I am!  I hope that the bridesmaids like them as much as the bride and I do 🙂

Here they are all wrapped up and waiting to go.

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Beatrix Potter back in stock

Beatrix Potter notebooks now back in stock.  This includes a few Peter Rabbit ones, which are usually the first to sell out so grab them while you can! Click here to visit my shop.

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Composition-style notebooks

These sweet little notebooks are, once again, a result of using up leftovers.  Slightly dented/creased signatures of paper teamed with scrapbook paper, random cardboard, and offcuts of bookcloth for the covers.  Voila, two composition style notebooks.  Available in my Etsy shop for a bargain price, click here to view the listing.

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Lighthouse

Another little book that was made using leftovers. I’ve had this lighthouse charm lurking in my studio for years, so it’s lovely to have finally used it!  The leather is one of my favourites, so sumptuously soft that it just invites being stroked.

Available in my Etsy shop, click here to view.

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A little commission

I made this book in October but haven’t been able to blog about it because it was intended as a Christmas gift.  The lady who ordered it asked for something feminine and pretty, and for it to feature her friend’s name.  Sorry the photos aren’t great, I made the mistake of sending the book off before checking the photos were straight!

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Scrabble books

Finally got some decent light for photography, so these two books are now available in my Etsy shop.

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