Another Handmade Journal inspired by the book Re-Bound by Jeannine Stein

Can you ever really have too many notebooks or journals? I don't think so which is why having a really good book on making them makes so much sense.

Re-Bound
Creating Handmade Books from Recycled and Repurposed Materials
By
Jeannine Stein

Re-Bound shows readers how to take every day materials
from around the house, flea markets and thrift stores, and
hardware and office supply stores, and turn them into
fabulous books. Instead of saying, What can I make a book
out of, readers will be thinking, What can't I make a book
out of? In Re-Bound, a vintage souvenir wallet becomes
a photo album. Last year's trendy sweater becomes a takealong
journal. Even potato chip bags get a second life as a
handy pocket notebook. This fun pursuit is economical as
well as ecological. A variety of attractive, uncomplicated
bindings, how-to instructions, and step-outs bring each
project to life.

Jeannine Stein (Los Angeles, CA) has been making
books for more than 15 years, exploring bindings,
mediums, and techniques. She has studied with
notable book artists Daniel Essig, Keith Smith, Kitty
Maryatt, and Charlene Matthews. Her work has been
featured in such Quarry titles as Pockets, Pullouts,
and Hiding Places, Beyond Scrapbooks, and 100 Ideas
for Stationery, Cards, and Invitations. Her projects
have also been appeared in magazines, including
Home Companion, Romantic Country, and Stamper's
Sampler.

Last month I did a tiny little book with window-screen inspired by the project from  Re-Bound posted here.

Well, I loved it so much I made another one:

It is made from:

window-screen or as I call it hardware cloth

recycled jacket bias tape

a soda can

recycled advertising post cards

Yarn 

2 binder rings

Here is how I did it:

First I cut the large area off the back of an old jacket.

 

Then I cut strips on my Simplicity Rotary Cutting machine (dreamy!) If you like to cut fabric up as much as I do this machine is invaluable. I used the straight cutting blade but it also has a blade that cuts pinked edges.

Then I ran the strips through the bias tape machine, (double dreamy!)

Then I stitched the bias tape around the raw cut edge of the hardware cloth screening. I should point out here that I didn't make true bias tape, bias tape is cut a a 45 degree angle to the grain of the fabric, but as you can see it still worked great!

I die cut a heart with wings with Sizzix die #655794 out of a recycled tin can and stitched it on with a bit of sparkly red yarn.

I used the red yarn with a chenille yarn to whip stitch around the raw edge of the back piece of the hardware cloth just to be different.

For the pages of this book I used a stack of advertising postcards. I just punched holes in them and linked it all together with binder rings. I plan to add a lot of dimensional things to this book so I used really big ones!

Today's question:

How often do you write or add to your journal/notebook? Do you have a system or how do you work it into your day?

As a thanks for sharing you are entered to win a free book!

Comments

[mary]

stef...someday you'll have to do a post giving us all a tour of your studio and your millions of tools/gizmos/machines etc! Ohmigosh...how many do you have?!
p.s. my journaling routine---never--unless it's my own blog which has become somewhat of a journal--altho' the last time i updated it was about 3 months ago!

[Eliane]

I write in my journal almost everyday. I like to write about my day and the things I love.
Your little book is adorable!

[f rush]

sad to say,i haven't written in a journal in quite some time. more recently, i used to keep track of my activities in a small calendar. i guess it pretty much proves how boring my life is. or, maybe i don't have any "stuff" to work through like i did many years ago. but, then again, i could put art in there. thank you for the jump-start.

[Barbara Hagerty]

Your book is WONDERFUL!! Thanks for sharing it! And I fell in love with your bias tape maker, also!

I write in my journal(s) daily! Right now I have 5 going at once and each one is a bit different. If a day goes by without at least a half an hour's worth (usually I put in several hours) of journaling time, I tend to get really cranky. My journals begin as hand-bound books. Some are for chronicling events, some are for sketching and notes for later artwork, some are art journals in and of themselves. My blog is full of art journal pages that you can see by clicking HERE

[Barbara Hagerty]

Sorry, the link didn't work in my comment (above). If you're interested, you can see my journal pages at: http://www.artiphytheheart.typepad.com Thanks.

[Nancy]

Nice Book

[Ariel Del Pinto]

I like this idea and am going to use to make a graduation album from the all "You Graduated" stuff left over.

Very cool idea and I can write about my memories of the day on it too!

[Ina Ftacek]

If I make a special book or journal I write almost everyday or at least draw something. This Book you made is awesome! I especially liked the tin can addition on it..yep..I have that die...going to try that!Thanks!!!Ina

[Katina]

I love what you do with hardware cloth!! I write in my journal about 5 out of 7 days. It's a creativity journal and it's where I write all my ideas, good or bad!!

[Regan Tomlin]

I have been coveting this book for a few weeks now...I love seeing new uses for items we all have around us every day! I am lacking in my journaling lately, but am trying to motivate myself to do more artwork all around....maybe journaling is the key! Thanks for the opportunity to win!

[Meaghan (bonafyde)]

This book looks super inspiring! I have to tell ya, I love making my own books and get much satisfaction from doing so and even more afterwards while using them for my journaling purposes. There's something to be said for creating something from scratch and knowing it is your own creation! I have been rather sporadic in my journaling these days... sometimes going weeks/months full blown into it and then other times hardly touching it at all. My creative solution this has been to engage in a extremely inspiring online art journaling class that has us drawing out inspiration by the great artists that have come before us...it has me itching to get into my studio each day and journaling! It also had me creating a whole new book just to work off of this theme in! :) Good Times Indeed.