... Homemade Journal ... 2016

[mhguda]

that's lovely... I'd love to count the animals on the real thing...

[TMLee]

that's lovely... I'd love to count the animals on the real thing...

 

[TMLee]

Been thinking about the KIRI Flowers ....

 

What if I do a horizontal accent instead ?

Like so ...

matching washi-on-the-spine too ...

 

 

trying out some proportions ...

I think the red in this one is abit too much .. the KIRI embossed flowers should take the main focus ...

The stitches can alternate , ie, white threads on red washi and red threads on white cover ...

 

 

I didnt draw a horizontal red band ...

Thought a slight slope may be more dynamic ...

 

What do you all think ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mhguda]

I like the roof-like silhouette on the right side at the bottom, but the proportions of the top one seem better... could even be a little less, to keep the emphasis on the embossed flowers.

What about something like a wave? either something like the hokusai wave, or surface waves... just a thought. Or flames, the accent being red. Thinking on the keyboard here.

[TMLee]

Yum ....

 

Buffalo hide ....

Burnt Orange colour ...

Very nice ....

 

 

I can't help but notice that its a very similar shade to a MB Hemmingway Coral Red ...

here's a pic from that thread ...

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm78/FountainPenz/montblanc%20pens/CIMG0004-1.jpg

 

 

 

simply Beautiful ...

 

Cant wait to do a set of covers in this ...

 

and now with the washi-on-the-spine feature, wondering if I can replicate the MB Hemmingway ink window on the spine? ....

 

I think the journal will be crafted to match that pen ...

I wish I have that beautiful pen , simply gorgeous in proportion and aesthetics ...

I held one years ago , at a time when I didnt know much about that pen ....

Huge (girth) pen

Edited January 8, 2019 by TMLee

[TMLee]

Yum ....

 

Buffalo hide ....

Burnt Orange colour ...

Very nice ....

 

 

I can't help but notice that its a very similar shade to a MB Hemmingway Coral Red ...

here's a pic from that thread ...

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm78/FountainPenz/montblanc%20pens/CIMG0004-1.jpg

 

 

 

simply Beautiful ...

 

Cant wait to do a set of covers in this ...

 

and now with the washi-on-the-spine feature, wondering if I can replicate the MB Hemmingway ink window on the spine? ....

 

I think the journal will be crafted to match that pen ...

I wish I have that beautiful pen , simply gorgeous in proportion and aesthetics ...

I held one years ago , at a time when I didnt know much about that pen ....

Huge (girth) pen

 

 

This hide is much thicker.

Skiving down was more laborious .

Being stiffer, it was actually easier to skive.

It still took quite a while cos the leather was thickish, compared to say goatskin.

 

Applied neatsfoot oil round the parts where the foldover was - to soften the leather .

The emboss and deboss edges are run over with the bone folder's sharp edges.

It marks the leather very wonderfully.

(the cover on the left is not marked yet )

 

 

closer view

the colour rendition is off...

not so brown, more orangey in real life ...

 

 

pictured with a teflon bonefolder that burnished the edges first before using the real-bone bonefolder

 

 

Orangey ...

 

 

I don't have the MB Hemmingway ....

 

 

Pictured with the British Tan goatskin on top ...

 

 

now pictured with the ostrich leather , cognac ...

all A6 size ...

 

 

 

Cognac Ostrich Leather at bottom,

British Tan goatskin in the middle ,

Buffalo hide , burnt orange, on top ...

 

 

Edited January 8, 2019 by TMLee

[TMLee]

I like the roof-like silhouette on the right side at the bottom, but the proportions of the top one seem better... could even be a little less, to keep the emphasis on the embossed flowers.

What about something like a wave? either something like the hokusai wave, or surface waves... just a thought. Or flames, the accent being red. Thinking on the keyboard here.

 

Yeah, the embossed flowers should be the main focus.

The quantity of red cannot be too much visually.

 

I am mulling over the idea of a dividing strip of another colour, between the red and the ivory.

Its embossed, so the 2 pieces of paper stops at each side of this strip.

Can't imagine what it will turn out like.

Even of another material , etc , may become too distracting.

 

Wavy lines yes its a possibility too.

Perhaps with other designs and patterns.

Which then means this is another design option that can bring on other further variations and patterns.

[TMLee]

The Blue Sakura is up for sale in the Classifieds in case some of you are wondering...

 

 

[TMLee]

This is another variant of the Maple Leaves washi paper ..

 

Beautiful ...

The white maple leaves are embossed.

Feels very much like latex material, rubbery...

 

This time, the Owner suggested autumn colours for the accents I was thinking of incorporating.

I didn't have bookcloth in such hues as copper red , so I remembered scrapbooking paper, and spent some time sourcing for such hues.

There is such a range ... pretty extensive ...

and I narrowed my choices down to these two hues ...

one is a kind of rust orange. and the other is kind of blood orange in colour.

Both are double-sided , one side has polka dots.

 

 

The rust orange would blend well with the maple leaves that are orange in colour on the washi.

The blood orange would be that accent on the spine.

I had elastic bands in my small stock, one is vermillion and the other a red.

 

 

The colour of the material underneath can affect the shade of the material that wraps over it.

Unless the wrap material is of a colour so dark that it cannot be affected.

So I used a black card underlay , in order to render the washi more true to its colour.

The background of the washi maple leaves is a very light but drab green.

 

 

I used the exact centre of the blood orange to be the spine accent.

 

The spine accent installed

 

 

The flyleaves are rust orange ...

 

 

 

The 3 hues ... all blended well together ...

Blood Orange,

Rust Orange flyleaves

and the dull orange of the maple leaves on the cover washi.

 

 

Next , I wanted to incorporate another accent - the washi-on-the-spine ...

But I didnt have either the blood orange nor the rust orange washi ,

so I had to experiment a little bit ...

I only had red, pink and orange washi , so here you see a trial , using combinations of these colours...

washi is thin and almost transparent, so I was experimenting how different washi would look if pasted over another colour.

from L to R

you see plain colours Red , Orange and Salmon Pink.

The next 3 are combos of

Pink over orange, Pink over Red and Orange over red.

I also apply glue on the spine after everything, and I notice that the colours appear richer with glue over, somewhat like lacquer, cos it cuts out all specular reflections ..

So for each of the 6 samples , half are applied with glue and the other half without glue.

The effect is noticeable.

 

another view ...

The Red (bottom) was too red.

The Orange was too bright.

So that left the Rust Orange (top) that matched closest to the 3 hues.

 

 

Applied the washi on each signature ...

 

another view ...

it blended well with the rust orange flyleaves

 

 

Next came the selection of the stitching threads ...

 

Originally I had imagined using beige threads.

But now with the hues in place, the decision had to be reconsidered.

Decided to go with white threads instead.

 

 

 

[TMLee]

Completed

 

JOURNAL 101G SHINWAZOME CHIYOGAMI - Maple Leaves

 

A5 size

 

my 31st A5 TR Journal

and 93rd TR journal ...

 

 

Front

 

Bands deployed

 

I am particularly pleased with the band becos it had the perfect colour match to the blood orange spine accent

 

 

The washi-on-the-spine ...

 

 

 

 

White threads

Very high quality stitch cords from Italy

The twine is densely wound.

 

 

Full spread

 

With the flyleaves in view

 

The spine accent.

The paper is textured, and it adds to the aesthetics...

 

 

The front flyleaves

 

 

The rear flyleaves and pocket.

I used the cover washi maple leaves to make the hinges ...

This helps to unify the entire journal. A co-ordinated element.

 

 

Not bad, it allowed some light in ,

 

 

The inktestpage

 

 

The Colophon

 

Writing paper is

TOMOE RIVER paper , 52g, Cream

7 Signatures, 10 Folios each

Total 280 writing pages

 

 

 

I am quite happy with this journal cos of the co-ordinated colours all coming together ...

 

Edited February 27, 2019 by TMLee

[rafapa]

When I grow up I want to be like you.

The trouble is that surely I am already older than you

What brand of cord from Spain are you using?

Thanks

[TMLee]

When I grow up I want to be like you.

The trouble is that surely I am already older than you

What brand of cord from Spain are you using?

Thanks

 

 

Hahaha ...

 

Its from Italy , not Spain. My mistake.

Here you go ...

[TMLee]

This is Journal 259B Washi Blooms - Indian Red

 

A5 size

 

Very nice washi paper ...

that can go well with many accent colours ...

 

This one is made with a spine accent that is bookcloth , Indian Red colour.

In this variant, the width of the accent is slimmer than normal, its a mid-size .

 

Front

 

Rear

 

 

Bands deployed

 

 

Nice matching bands

 

 

For this journal, I wanted to add the washi-on-the-spine accent.

The problem was that the washi - I couldnt find a shade that matched the bookcloth spine.

So the next option was to look for a shade that would match the red on the cover graphics.

The red washi was too bright.

So I employed the same strategy in the earlier journal.

I experimented layering 2 washi papers to get closer to the target shade.

 

Here you see Redf washi paper glued over black washi.

 

The red became darker becos of the underlying black shade.

 

Here you see the washi glued, doublesided

 

Cut into strips and glued over each Signature

I opted for this pattern cos it seemed to receive the most approvals...

 

 

Completed

Here you see the washi is lighter red than expected.

This is becos its an illusion. Its placed next to brilliant white paper, so your eyes see a lighter shade than its true colour which is darker.

Also, when glue is eventually applied over the spine like I usually do, the washi will become a richer shade.

This is because the glue cuts out specular reflections. So you see its true colour accurately.

Pretty much the same effect as applying lacquer over something , eg wood, etc ..

 

 

Here is a pic showing the spine with glue applied .

Here, some of the glue is still wet . At the corners.

You can see that the red has turned a richer darker red.

 

Here the spine completed and glue dried already

 

 

The red washi on the spine matches the red on the cover graphics

 

 

Oh Darn ...i Forgot to take pics of the full spread of the opened book ...

A pretty important pic.

Will the owner pls help take some pics for me ?

 

Rice white threads

 

 

 

One of the charming features is to have co-ordinated hinges....

 

 

It helps tie the aesthetics together in a unique way ...

Its a lot less common to find journals carrying co-ordinated pockets

 

 

The bonus is that light can still filter thru the co-ordinated hinges

 

 

 

The spine emboss/deboss accent covered in bookcloth

 

 

As usual, the cover wraps go under the bookcloth .

 

 

The inktestpage

 

 

The Colophon

 

 

Writing paper is

MELLOTEX , 100g, Brilliant White , Smooth

7 Signatures, 5 Folios each

Total 140 writing pages

 

 

Edited March 10, 2019 by TMLee

[mhguda]

Lovely as always.

[TMLee]

Lovely as always.

 

Thanks mhguda

[TMLee]

This is " JOURNAL 261 Butterflies "

 

A5 size

 

This order called for a butterfly themed journal

 

Settled on this one from amongst three designs

 

Its double-sided print but

I only had 2 sheets and so couldn't do more as in co-ordinated flyleaves etc

 

Covers done

 

 

I incorporated the emboss/deboss to seat the threads neatly

 

 

Front

 

 

Back

 

 

Bands deployed

 

yellow bands

 

Chose yellow as the matching hue

 

 

One of my favourite writers - the SAILOR 1911 Profit Large , Summer Yellow.

<F> turned into a stub by Mike Masuyama . Superb work.

Always writes wet, never dries no matter how long its unused .

I dont know why , but remains a delight in my stable. :thumbup:

 

 

Heavy paper always gives me good results on the spine.

The individual Signatures keep their good form - firm and well defined.

Its firmness, helps to keep the hooks and climbs of the stitches tight and well formed after tensioning.

I somehow havent mastered this with TR paper yet. I hope to one day.

 

 

 

Full spread

The powerful graphics made it natural to keep everything symmetrical ...

And the study of butterflies is called ?? ....

 

 

With the flyleaves in view

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matching yellow flyleaves. Heavy paper at 170g. Textured.

 

 

I used the leftovers to form the hinges.

To bring some more uniqueness to this journal

 

 

Inktestpage

 

 

Colophon

 

Writing paper is

NATURALIS , Vanilla White , 135g, Smooth

7 Signatures, 4 Folios each

Total 112 writing pages

 

This remains one of few favourite papers of mine, since my first few journals.

Heavy but smooth , zero shadow, zero bleedthru.

Can take all kinds of sketches.

 

Edited March 11, 2019 by TMLee

[mhguda]

This one too is beautiful.

[TMLee]

This one too is beautiful.

 

Thank you ...

[TMLee]

Just back from JPN , visited the ever beautiful Kyoto and a stopover at that kami shop "Morita Washi" ... and of course the ever stylish and chic ITOYA in Tokyo ...

 

I have a weakness for Tombows ...

 

This deep rust tombow print , has the dragonfly motifs in black and its glossy like lacquered ... (from ITOYA)

The tombow is one of the many popular symbolic motifs of JPN.

Symbolizes change (as in the various stages of metamorphosis of the creature) , and the hope of better things that come with change ...

 

 

Except for the Ginko leaves in green , all are from Morita Washi , Kyoto ...

Orange red basketweave , which I suppose is a nod to the traditional craft of basket weaving ...

The trees in black, I see many other prints in different colours and sizes .. I have forgotten what was the symbolic meaning attributed to it...

The patterns and prints in this shop get renewed quite regularly , I can see.

Everytime you enter the shop, its like your eyes get overwhelmed by the huge variety of colours and designs.

 

 

This is crepe paper ...

lots of golden speckles , very nice, photo doesnt capture its real beauty ...

 

 

I like this set of 4.

The four seasons ...

beautiful ...

 

the leaves have gold outlines

 

The white background is not white but a light cream ..

 

The green variant ...

 

 

The gold outlines reflecting light ...

 

I can't wait to try out the rust dragonfly print.

Its just stunning ...

 

Feel free to ask anything or PM me if you are interested in any of these papers to turn into a journal.

Edited May 31, 2019 by TMLee

[TMLee]

At ITOYA, bought these headbands ...

came in ranges of assorted hues , like blues , and browns which I didnt buy ...

 

Bought the green and red range ...

 

very nice, but so short the lengths

 

 

I have stopped making hardcover books for years now.

Need a huge jumpstart to resume this kind of bookbinding.

More of a mental block, I cant seem to find a foolproof technique of aligning the covers to the flyleaves perfectly square.

How do you guys do it ?