Sara Jane's Studio

My Other Little Star Book

Here is the other mini Star Book that I made as part of the Star Book class that I taught earlier this week.  You can see the first one, inspired by the new "Flock Together" Designer Paper by Stampin' Up! by clicking here.

My second book, and probably my favorite (which surprises even me!) was inspired by the new Pink Flamingo Designer Paper by Stampin' Up!.  It is so much fun- so bright, and vibrant, with whimsical images of flowers, flamingoes, and a little blue bird!!

My cardstock cues were taken straight from the designer paper:  Tempting Turquoise, Cameo Coral, and Summer Sun.  The ribbon is the 3/8" twill in Berrry Sorbet from PaperTrey Ink.  (It is a perfect match for the Cameo Coral!) 

Again this book, like the one using "Flock Together", relies on the pattern in the Designer Paper for most of the pages.  I made certain that I cut it so that the flamingo images would be centered properly.  On alternating pages, I stamped quotations in black, and added small Prima flowers as the only embellishment.  My quotations were Penny Black stamps, with the exception of "Seize the Day", which came from Wordsworth.

       

       

      

Click on any image to enlarge.

I love the way this book turned out, and will be guarding it carefully until I can find just the right time to present it as a gift to someone.

What do you think?  Which one do you like better, Flock Together or Pink Flamingo?  I'd love to hear!!

Keep creating!

Star Books

I've mentioned before that Star Books are one of my all-time favorite things to make. They are not only fun as hand-made books, but when fully opened, they form a star-shape (hence the name) and they become sculptural.  They are beautiful to display!!  I've even made one as a mini-scrapbook of sorts, and given it as a wedding present.  You can see the galleries of a few of my Star Books in the right-hand column of the blog.

So, last week I held the long-promised class on making Star Books.  I hope to have pictures, soon, of the ones my students made.  Here, I'll share my mini-version of the book, with a cover only 3" square instead of my usual 6" square.   (I've seen pictures of them made even smaller, and hung on a Christmas tree!  That's next on my list!)

 

I made two small Star Books.  The first was inspired by Stampin' Up!'s new Designer Paper, Flock Together.  The open version is shown above.  I used Flock Together paper for the cover, and for the final "pages".  And I added some nice quotations (stamps from Penny Black) on alternating pages.  Normally I would decorate each page with stamped designs and embellishments, but I decided to take the "less is more" approach on these small pages, and just let the decorative paper do the work.

The cardstock choices were inspired by the Designer Paper- I used Pacific Point (the dark blue), So Saffron, and Gable Green.  The whole piece was finished off with a bright green organdy ribbon closure.

       

Click on any image to enlarge.

The hardest part for most people, and this class was no different, was the coptic stitching for the binding.  It is not elaborate or overly complated, but you do have to pay close attention while you are doing it so you don't get lost during the process.  My favorite thing to use for the stitching is waxed linen thread, and you can get all kinds of colors from Volcano Arts.  It is this particular type of binding that allows the book to be fully opened.

I really love making these books!  And I think these little ones are adorable, and will make great gifts.  For someone.... Someday....

Check back soon for the version I made using the Pink Flamingo Designer Paper from Stampin' Up!

and, Keep Creating!

In Memory Of...

My summer ended sadly this year when I had to say goodbye to my buddy, Truman.  He was my 11 year old standard poodle, and had been my constant companion since he was 8 weeks old.  It took me a while, but I decided that a wonderful tribute would be to make a scrapbook page.  This is the result.

I started with his portrait.  I've been in a certificate program for digital graphic design, and have learned some tricks in both Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.  I used those to paste this portrait of Truman (which was shot with snow in the background) onto a background of my yard in warmer months.  I also had fun adjusting the color of his kerchief, which was originally bright pink!

Then I selected a series of pictures that represented my dear pooch to incorporate into the Tag Pullout Book that is at the bottom of the page.  I made some color adjustments, and cropped them accordingly.  I used these photos to generate adjectives that described Truman best:  loving and lovable, curious, a lounge dog, and playful.  I should have used "handsome" for the last page.  Darn- I just though of that!

The papers were primarily from the "Halfway Cafe" collection by Cosmo Cricket, and a fun plaid from the "Recess" collection by Basic Grey. 

Truman's name is made from Stampin' Up! chipboard, covered with one of the Halfway Cafe "solid" colors.  The "t" is from the retired "Simon Lower case" and the rest of his name is from "On Board Lots of Letters".  I like to use PVA glue to adhere decorative paper to chipboard, and then I used a combination of scissors and my Xacto knife to trim the paper close to the chipboard.  I finished the edges with a little bit of sanding to smooth everything down.

The trio of embellishments includes Trumie's town license and rabies vaccination tags (not very elegant in concept, but perfect embellishments!) and a small chipboard heart.  The heart I covered with Riding Hood Red dye ink (a new InColor from Stampin' Up!) and then Versamark, so that I could cover it wth clear embossing powder.  I thought it should have a shiny surface to go along with the two metal tags.  The trio is mounted on top of a small tag embellishment that in included in the Halfway Cafe scrapping kit.  I mounted the metal tags using extra long eyelets, and the heart with mini glue dots.

The Tag Pullout Book was the most challenging element.  It is interactive.  You pull on the tag on the right to flip each page, and as you do, journaling is revealed on the tag that you are pulling.  I used my computer to create the journaling as well as to label the ends of each of the tag "pages" of the book.

  This is a close up of the "lounge dog" page.  Boy, did he know how to relax!

 

  This is a close-up of the hidden journaling that is revealed as you pull the tag and flip the pages of the book.

 

  A friend of mine took this picture in black and white- I had fun adding effects with Photoshop (which you can't really appreciate in this picture).  The journaling is part of a poem from literature from the pet cemetary.  Unfortunately it wasn't attributed to the author.  This still makes me cry....

 

    This is the full page of hidden journaling, which shows when you have flipped all of the pages.  I used all of his nicknames across the top, in various funky fonts, and then all of the adjectives I could think of that described Truman.

I cried a lot while I was putting this together, but it was cathartic.  And I am so glad to have it now.  My other standard poodle, Margaux, and I, are day-by-day growing more accustomed to our new "pack" size.

BTW- I do teach classes in how to make the Tag Pullout Book.  In fact, I'll be offering it as part of a "Pockets, Pullouts and Hiding Places" class that I will be teaching at the next Croptopia event in Newport, Rhode Island, November 21-23, 2008.  Register for the event and for my class!!

OR, if you can't make it then, and you are local, contact me to let me know that you would be interested in this class.  If you are not local, I'll send you a virtual class!  Contact me and we'll work out the details.

Keep creating!

Christmas Star Book

Christmas?!?  In August?!?!  I know you are groaning, and so am I to a certain extent.  But if you do like to make things for Christmas, be it gifts or cards, it is not too early to start at least thinking about it.  (Groan...) 

And since I seem to be on a roll with my Star Books, I thought I would post this one now.  (You can see my previous post of an Artful Star Book (no particular theme; just pretty!) by clicking here, and you can see one that I made as a wedding gift by clicking here.)

  This Christmas Star Book uses the famous poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas" as well as rubber stamp images and embellishments.  The cover is a heavy, white embossed paper that is reminiscent of snow drifts, and the inner pages are dark blue, silver and white. 

I varied the color theme back-and-forth between layouts, from blue and silver to traditional reds and greens.  And I did my best to match the images with the subject matter in the stanzas of the poem that were on the facing page.

Here are a few more of the pages.  You can scroll through the entire book by going to the Gallery on the right side of the blog, or simply by clicking here.

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house....

 

So up to the housetop the coursers they flew, with the sleigh full of toys and St. Nicholas too...

"Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer and Vixen!  On Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen!"

What fun!! I'm looking forward already to having this out on display on my coffee table for the holiday season this year!

A Star Book in an Irish Theme

When a very dear, young friend of mine got married a few years ago, I knew almost immediately what I wanted to do for a wedding gift.  He married his sweetheart on the Aran Islands of Ireland, which, if you are not familiar with the western coast of Ireland (and I wasn't!!) are an incredibly rugged, dramatic, challenging, and romantic place!  You can reach them by small ferries, or equally small passenger planes- at least when the weather isn't fierce!

Since he was such a special friend (I'd known him since he was 2 1/2 years old!!), I decided that a scrapbook of the event would be a lovely gift.  I collected various ephemera during the weekend: tourist brochures (in English and Irish!) in addition to the wedding invitation and various photos.  And to make it extra special, I made it a Star Book. 

And of course, the color scheme was shades of green....

 

Here are a few of the pages of the entire book.  You can see them all by going to the Gallery located on the right side of the blog, or by simply clicking here.

Their wedding invitation used hand-calligraphy that was beatiful!  It's on the left.

This spread utilizes some Irish language as well as photos from a brochure.  (My pictures were no where near as good as these!)

Here is the young couple riding off in their horse-drawn carriage following the ceremony.

The wedding itself was a joy, but so was being able to relive it as I made this gift, full of love.  And I was honored when I visited the couple the following Thanksgiving, and saw the book on prominent display.

It's one of my favorite things:  making something special for people that I love.  How about you?  What is your most cherished gift that you crafted for a loved one?  I'd love to know!

Keep creating!

Books as Sculpture

Books as sculpture?  Huh??  I don't normally think so, unless you include those stacks of books and magazines that end up on my coffee table or the side of my desk.

But I definitly think so when I look at my Star Books.  These are the most beautiful books, IMHO.  They have an interesting shape, and stand open on your table or bookshelf to proudly display their contents. 

In addition to displaying a lovely star-shaped sculpture, they are great because:

• they can be made in almost any size;
• you can create one based on a theme (or not);

• it can be a miniature scrapbook of a special event.

Here is the first star book that I made, which is essentially a piece of art- no particular theme.

Starting with the cover:  This book used a regular weight decorative paper.  I've also used embossed paper, and you could certainly make your own paste paper, or even use cloth for the cover.  It is standard Davey board, covered in a traditonal way. 

In the class that I took, when I first learned about star books, I recall that some folks had a hard time with sewing the binding, which is a Coptic stitch binding.  I have to admit it is easier to learn by seeing someone demonstrate it.  But once you have learned the rhythm, it is not too bad.  The great things about it are that it looks pretty- it looks like a chain stich, so the spine of your book can be exposed.  But also, and most importantly for this particular book, it allows you to open the book up 360 degrees or lay it flat without damaging the spine.  (And one of these days I'll put up a tutorial!!)

In this book I used a combination of rubber stamping (with stamps from many different sources), decorative papers, pockets, envelopes and embellishments 

I'll show a few more pages here, but you can see the whole thing by going to the Gallery, found on the right side of my blog, or by clicking here.

I do teach classes on star books.  If you are interested in participating, just sign up for my newsletter to stay apprised of times and dates!

Keep creating!

Happy New Year!

Before Christmas, I was looking for just the right project to make for a very special friend of mine who has been instrumental in helping get Sara Jane's Studio off the ground.  I first contemplated a "Gratitude" journal, but couldn't find anything that really spoke to me.  Instead I came across the following (authored by Mary Anne Radmacher) in a book of quotations:

 

 

 

LIVE with intention.

Walk to the EDGE.

LISTEN hard.

Practice WELLNESS.

PLAY with abandon.

LAUGH.

CHOOSE with no regret.

Continue to LEARN.

APPRECIATE your friends.

Do what you LOVE.

LOVE as if this is all there is.

This struck me as the perfect starting place for a journal on "Resolutions", so appropriate for the end of the year and the beginning of a new one.  And I started my project, which was a book made from 4" square chipboard coasters.  On each page is one of the "Resolutions" from above, with an added quotation that enhanced the thought. 

I used the Basic Grey "Blush" collection of coordinated papers to cover the coasters, as well as to make a an accordion-pleat binding for the book.  I printed all of the quotations on Very Vanilla cardstock (Stampin' Up!) in a brown and rosy-red that matched the papers.  I trimmed the quotes down to fit, and inked all of the edges with Chocolate Chip ink, allowing for some intentional smudging.  I also inked the edges of the coasters with the brown ink.  From Strano Design, I purchased some 3/8" grosgrain ribbon (on sale!!) and used that for the closure.  For the finishing touches, I added Prima flowers on the cover, with iridescent green seed beads in a little pile to create the flower center- I cemented those in place with Crystal Effects.  A bronze-colored skeleton leaf added the right amount of red-ish color to balance the design.  The cover and one of my favorite spreads is shown below.

   

Like it?!?

If you would like to buy a kit, you can click here to learn more. I can't promise the exact same papers, but they will be comparable and will all coordinate with one another.  If you have favorite colors you would like to work with, just let me know.

If you would like to buy a finished "Resolutions Coaster Book" you can click here. 

Wishing you all the best for a Happy and Healthy New Year!