I completed my first journal since moving into the new home. I’ve already put it up for sale on Etsy, and hopefully it will sell quickly. I really like it, it’s a coptic stitch binding that lets the book lay flat – a huge bonus for people who really hover over the page and don’t want to hold up the opposite cover the whole time. The covers are full green suede, which is a first for me. Suede – leather, for that matter – seems to be as easy to work with as paper, when it comes to gluing it down. But it’s stretchy, in a tough way, and that’s where embossing becomes fun. This is the first book I’ve embossed, and I figured it would be easy enough but I just wanted to start light, so I made a big tree shape in the cover. It’s marvelous. I’ll probably do more of this in the future.

Finally, I finished off the journal with a simple bookmark of linen tape with two small Czech glass leaf beads and one large tumbled leaf pendant sewn onto the end. All in all, it’s a good start for a Summer bookmaking season.