Following my previous posts about my bookbinding tools/materials and preparing my journal cover, this week I want to share some information regarding choosing and preparing the paper that will go in your handmade journals. It’s it certainly a personal choice, regarding what type of paper or papers you choose to include in your journal. After all, if you’re making something custom, why not experiment? You can include found papers, printer paper, thicker cardstock, watercolor paper and a variety of other artist papers on the market.
PAPER FOR YOUR JOURNAL
Know that you will need to cut your paper to size, so that when folded in half they make up the size of your journal. A couple of sheets folded and stacked together make a signature and you would usually include several signatures, depending how many pages you want in the final journal. What is important to consider is the thickness of your paper as that will more or less decide how many sheets go in each signature. If you are using regular printer paper, you want to go for at least 6 or even 8 sheets in a signature. That will ensure that the signature is sturdy and can hold up to however you stitch the signatures into your journal cover. If you only had a sheet or two of thin paper, your thread would surely rip through!
On the other hand, if you are using a very thick cardstock, you want to use less sheets per signature. In fact, as you stack them together, you’ll notice that the open edges look a bit diagonal. I don’t mind the inconsistencies, but many folks prefer to stack up their signatures and then trim off the excess so that they have an even edge. It’s up to you!
THE GRAIN OF PAPER
Once you have decided on your paper and cut them to size, you’ll have to fold them in half and stack up your signatures. When it comes to folding paper, there is technically a right way to do it! Paper has a grain to it and you’ll be able to tell especially with thicker papers when you start folding. When your fold paper parallel to the direction of the grain, it will fold nice and crisply. If you fold perpendicular to the grain, you might notice more resistance and a crackly, ragged edged fold. This is because the fibers of the paper are giving you resistance.
However, if you are using regular printer paper, you might not be able to tell much of difference at all. Paper with less fiber and less thickness simply doesn’t resist as much. I usually only run into a problem with really thick 300 or 400 lb painting paper. Normally, I don’t even check for the grain of the paper! Being in the more practical and economical boat, I usually buy white cardstock printer paper in A4 size and just fold in half to make my journals. However, I do use a bone folder to smooth over edges… makes it easy on my fingers. If you don’t have a bone folder, use a spoon! It’s totally works!
CHECK YOUR JOURNAL
Once you have your paper decided upon, cut them size and folded them into signatures you are ready for the actual construction of your journal. Before moving on it’s really important to put your journal together and take a look to make sure everything checks out. Do you have enough signatures to fill up the journal as you envisioned? Do you need to take away a signature or add more?
If your journal cover wraps around, you’ll definitely have to check to make sure enough room is allowed… you don’t know how many times I’ve simply forgotten about the spine taking up space and thought that my journal could have been much thicker! Here’s a look at my mock-up journal, not yet sewn… but looks good to me so far. Join me next week for the final step of putting it all together!
Why kind of papers do you prefer to put in your handmade journals? I know that junk papers are especially popular for those who will cover up the pages with paint and ink… get creative! Feel free to share in the comments below…
It’s probably no surprise that Lenka is a huge success – you’ve probably heard her songs and seen her videos on MTV and such. I was immediately drawn to her voice and cutesy pop style, but especially her point of view. I think it was in large part because of the time in my life when I first discovered her famous song, The Show.
I felt like the song said exactly what I wanted to say, being a bit lost at the time and wondering what my life meaning and purpose should be. There are times when we all feel a bit like that, just caught in the middle and it’s all so overwhelming. Perhaps they are really just universal feelings that we can all relate to at some point in our lives. My little default girl drawing is my interpretation of listening to this song. Just me and you know what? It’s totally okay.
You can enjoy the cute video above and sing along with the lyrics below…
I’m just a little bit caught in the middle
Life is a maze and love is a riddle
I don’t know where to go, can’t do it alone
I’ve tried and I don’t know why
Slow it down, make it stop or else my heart is going to pop
‘Cause it’s too much, yeah it’s a lot to be something I’m not
I’m a fool out of love ’cause I just can’t get enough
I’m just a little bit caught in the middle
Life is a maze and love is a riddle
I don’t know where to go, can’t do it alone
I’ve tried and I don’t know why
I’m just a little girl lost in the moment
I’m so scared but I don’t show it
I can’t figure it out, it’s bringing me down
I know I’ve got to let it go and just enjoy the show
The sun is hot in the sky just like a giant spotlight
The people follow the signs and synchronize in time
It’s a joke nobody knows, they’ve got a ticket to the show
Yeah, I’m just a little bit caught in the middle
Life is a maze and love is a riddle
I don’t know where to go, can’t do it alone
I’ve tried and I don’t know why
I’m just a little girl lost in the moment
I’m so scared but I don’t show it
I can’t figure it out, it’s bringing me down
I know I’ve got to let it go and just enjoy the show
Just enjoy the show
I’m just a little bit caught in the middle
Life is a maze and love is a riddle
I don’t know where to go, can’t do it alone
I’ve tried and I don’t know why
I’m just a little girl lost in the moment
I’m so scared but I don’t show it
I can’t figure it out, it’s bringing me down
I know I’ve got to let it go and just enjoy the show
Just enjoy the show, just enjoy the show
I want my money back, I want my money back
I want my money back, just enjoy the show
I want my money back, I want my money back
I want my money back, just enjoy the show
To follow my previous post about bookbinding cover materials, this week I would like to share the beginnings of my process in creating a brand new journal. I’m very often inspired by the leather that is available here in Tuscany, Italy. When I come across a beautiful material, I naturally want to make it a part of my next sketchbook. For this journal, I have been inspired by a piece of double-sided leather…
It’s a medium weight black leather with a copper metallic layer on the other side. Beautiful! I decided to use the metallic color on the outside and black on the inside. First step is to decide on the size of my journal and how I will bind it, in order to cut the cover material to size. I most often use regular-sized paper folded in half, A4 in my case and since the piece of leather is pretty small in size, I really can’t go larger. Then I have to decide how many pages of paper will be included, so I know how much cover material is needed for the spine. I decided to go with a wraparound cover using the longstitch binding to use as much of the leather as possible… so calculating the size and using a piece of paper as a guide, I went ahead and cut my leather to size.
When not using another material to line the inside of my cover, I often just fold over the raw edges of the leather to double the weight. I actually like keeping my journals soft and malleable. Also, the double-sided feature of this leather brings some of the color inside which is a nice effect.
Using just regular PVA glue, I secure the folded portion of the leather and let it dry under a heavy weight. It works great for me and never had any trouble of it peeling apart.
With a final check, I can see that my cover is all ready! Next week I will share my process of preparing the signatures of paper and sewing the journal together…
Is there a cover material you’d like to try using? Please feel free to create your own sketchbook along with me and share your comments below! Enjoy!
I first heard Jess Penner in a few youtube videos and I liked the song, so decided to investigate further. And I’m so glad that I discovered more of her music, because I totally fell in love with her sweet and happy style. It’s definitely feel good music and I seem to gravitate towards one song called, Sweeter. It just makes me happy.
No matter how gloomy the day might be, a bit of happy music definitely brightens my day a bit. I suppose that my emotions are easily swayed by the sounds around me!
Listen to the music above and read along below…
I will never forget the way you rescued me from summer heat With eyes as cool as the sea yeah I would drown all day if youʼd stay with me Oh wouldnʼt it better if we we decide to stick together Give me something sweeter oh oh oh, something to show, show that you love me I want something sweeter you see, something to show, show that you love me Time is not on our side no she donʼt wait for anyone the stars or the moon and you You shine like the sun you will kiss me before this day is done Isnʼt it much better when we we decide to stick together Give me something sweeter oh oh oh something to show, show that you love me I want something sweeter you see, something to show, show that you love me All your kissing Iʼve been missing hold me closely they canʼt stop us now Now no no no no no no oh no no now
Now no no no no no now no no no Give me something sweeter I donʼt know something to show, show that you love me I want something sweeter you see, something to show, show that you love me Give me something sweeter I donʼt know something to show, show that you love me I want something sweeter you see, something to show, show that you love me
You can listen to clips of her happy, day brightening music via
I know that it may seem like too much to sign up for another social media community. But I think ignoring all the innovations of today puts you at a disadvantage, especially as a creative who wants to share and get their work out.
I think the key is to experiment and figure out which community works for you. You might abandon those that just aren’t a good fit… but stick with those that work to your advantage. So I’m going to try out Instagram since it’s visual based and seems like a perfect way to share my drawings. I’m tortagialla on Instagram, so follow me for visual journey of my cute, whimsical doodles. Enjoy!
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Is there a cover material you’d like to try using? Please feel free to create your own sketchbook along with me and share your comments below! Enjoy!
