A Sparkly Custom Journal for the Glitter Lover's Soul

Hello, everyone— and thank you for your wonderful comments and emails regarding my big 'ole life changes. Since the last post wasn't all glitter and sunshine, I thought today it would be fun to share something that is literally only glitter and sparkles— my most recent handmade book! For those curious, this is called a "buttonhole binding" and yes, it was extremely fun to make :-)



This custom glitter journal was a birthday present for my close friend, Haley. She's a really amazing person and feels very much like a sister to me. She is extremely talented and tons of fun to be around. She has amazing handwriting, makes really wonderful watercolor drawings, and is almost always writing a list of some sort. She had a Whoopi GOLDberg themed birthday party and is also obsessed with mermaids, so I used those facts as jumping off points to create the perfect surprise journal for her.

I found this awesome heavyweight sparkly paper that is perfect for creating softcover books. It's thick enough to protect but light enough to keep the book from weighing your purse or bag down. I had a vision of a glittery gold book with a detailed exposed spine, but I wasn't sure what other color I wanted (or what would "work" with the almost over the top gold). But then I found this dreamy teal paper with it's own, more subtle sparkle and just ran with the whole thing.



I had actually picked out some awesome jewel purple thread with sparkly accents to bind the book, but somewhere between the thread aisle and my house it completely disappeared. I didn't have time to go back to the store, so I just thought, "If you were making this for you, what color would you choose?" and then obviously decided to bind it with some peachy pink instead.




Since I know Haley likes to use watercolor, write with fun pens and markers, and make collages, I went with a nice and thick multimedia paper. It's not quite as heavy as watercolor paper, but it's hefty enough to really span a lot of different mediums. And as a fellow list-maker, I had my heart set on something high-quality because it's a huge bummer dealing with ghosting while you write. The paper is also hand-torn to size, which gives the book that dreamy deckled edge that I love so much. . . Anyway, I'm going to move along now because I could drone on about paper for far too long!



The last small detail I added was the heart button that helps keep the whole thing closed. Haley actually bought that little button while she lived in Africa, and she gave it to me months ago after deciding she didn't know what to make with it. I could just tell that it was special to her though, so as soon as I found out her birthday was coming up, I knew whatever I created had to incorporate it. I think I made the right call because there may have been a few happy tears shed over while receiving this book.



So there you have it— the goldest, most glitteriest book I have ever made. I hate to sound obnoxious by swooning over my own work, but honestly, I am in serious love with how this book turned out! It's something I never would have created for myself but now that it exists I kind of want one in every color, ya know? This glitter is just so much fun— I couldn't stop smiling the entire time I was making this book.



Ps. Here's a super secret I'm gonna let you in on: Haley and I have decided to collaborate on a zine together! I've always wanted to write one, and this random idea finally popped into my head that would be perfect, so we are gonna go with it and see where it takes us— I'm super excited! I've also finally convinced her to start a blog (coming soon) so can she share all the awesome lists she makes, so hopefully y'all will be able to meet her soon!

Custom: Coptic Bound "Do-si-Do" Book (Photo Heavy)

The Dos-á-dos binding, more often called the "Do-si-do" book here in America (yes— like the square dance!), is basically a way to create one book from two. The "two books" share a back cover so when you look at it from the top, the covers form the letter "N" (as pictured above). The translation is from French which literally means "back-to-back." You would open the front cover and begin writing in it as usual. Then, when you get to the end, you close the book and voilá — it's another blank book waiting for you to fill it up again. Pretty cool, huh?


Sidenote: There is a similar book form called the "Tête-bêche" where two texts are bound head-to-tail. This means that one of the books would actually be upside-down in relation to the other. BUT Tête-bêche bound books only have two covers so they look like a normal book except when you finish the text of the first book, the next page would be the upside-down last page of the second book.

If you think of Do-si-do books as "conjoined" and Tête-bêche as "two in one" then it helps to keep them straight and understandable. These two book forms were often created for complementary works such as the Bible's New and Old Testament.


So, now that the history lesson is over, the photos I'm sharing today are of a custom book that I was commissioned to make. I'm a problem solver by nature, and so making custom books that fit someone's specific needs is literally my favorite thing. My client* wanted me to create a blank book that she could give to a friend for her birthday. Her friend's husband had passed away and my client wanted the family to have a place to capture and record not only wonderful memories of previous birthdays and holidays, but also their future celebrations together. I suggested a do-si-do book and she loved the idea.


The other problem I had to solve was that my client already had a very specific idea for the covers. This is only a problem because if someone already has an idea of what they want in their head before you start the project then they have already created their own set of expectations for you. So the risk is that if you don't deliver exactly what they want then they will be disappointed with the end product no matter what it is.

Luckily, I realized this beforehand and was able to work it into the design of the book. So I used papers that she chose for the end pages (end pages are the papers that are glued onto the inside of the covers) and I created neutral covers that she could later adhere her own design onto.

The last design decision I made was the coptic style binding. This binding style is perfect not only because it's a very pretty exposed stitching, but it allows the book to lie flat when open so it's really convenient and pleasant to write in.

So after I addressed all those problems, this is the book I came up with. I'm so happy with the way this book turned out! I only broke two needles while sewing it together but at least I got lots of practice ;-) This book is unlike any other I've made before since it addresses some things I've never had to think about before. I learned so much from it and I love the fact that no one else in the world has this book besides one family. It's completely unique to my client's friend, just like her husband.


*I use the term client throughout this post but for the purpose of full disclosure I don't mind that anyone knows that this book was commissioned by my boss! I just didn't feel like saying "boss" or "friend" was quite right for this situation (though she is both to me!), so in the name of professionalism, I chose "client." She knows I'm preparing myself to open a bookmaking business so I'm so excited to have this opportunity to work through a real-life client situation and figure out some of the hiccups along the way now instead of when dealing with strangers. Also, I normally wouldn't create a book so minimal on the covers, but since I got to talk with her at great length about what she wanted, I was super comfortable and happy to accommodate her wish to create her own covers. I actually really like that it will end up being a collaboration between the two of us!


So there you have it— a little peek at my process and what goes into creating a custom handbound book for somebody. I also got to play around with potential packaging and product photography, though I'm not 100% satisfied with either of those yet. Do y'all think these pictures are acceptable for product shots on a website/Etsy store? I can't decide what I want to do. My heart wants something "real" like these indoor photos that I just snapped at my desk. But sometimes my brain wants "classic" photos taken on a plain white background. . .  Ugh, I don't know y'all! Do you find yourself drawn to one or the other when shopping online? Give me all your feedback because I am really indecisive and when I start to over-think things I get really anxious.

Thanks for taking the time to read all this and letting me share my passion with you! There's nothing quite like watching someone's eyes light up when you give them a handmade item. Honestly, it makes my spinster heart grow a size and lets me know I'm definitely on the right path to doing what I love for a living. Until next time, jenna

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