4 posts tagged “cute”
Today I listed a new item in my Etsy shop: a boxed set. A cute fabric-covered box unfolds to reveal a matching journal. These elegant sets are the top-of-the-line items in my shop.
The process of making the book and its box is quite time-consuming, but makes for a lovely end result. First, I need to make the backcloth. Fabric cannot be easily pasted to the book boards, so it needs to be backed with paper to make it stronger and easier to paste. This takes about a day for the fabric to dry and be ready to use.
Meanwhile, I make the signatures for the book, folding and tearing the paper, then grouping the leaves to make the signatures. Then it's time to measure and cut the boards for the covers. Once the backcloth is ready, I measure and cut fabric for the covers, a bit for reinforcing the spine and three little strips for sewing the book. I punch the holes for sewing the signatures and once the book is sewn, I reinforce the spine with a bit of gauze. Finally, I cover the boards with fabric and paste the signatures to the covers.
Once the book is ready, I measure it so I can get precise measurements for the box. Then I cut the boards for making the box, as well as the fabric and endpapers. I always use the same paper for the signatures and the endpapers in the box! I cover the boards and assemble the box. Before covering the inside, I attach the ribbon ties. Finally, the book and the box are left to air dry for a couple of days, and voilá! A new boxed set is ready.
I have made five of these boxed sets since I learned how to craft them. As you can see, they take a while to be ready, so they become a major project for my bookbinding sessions. I hope you enjoy them!
In January, I took a wonderful class on handbinding techniques. It came as a surprise how much I enjoyed working with paper: folding, tearing , sewing and pasting papers to make colorful little books soon became a much needed distraction from work! I've always collected unusual papers and it was finally clear what I could use them for.
We learned many different techniques, from simple butterfly and album style bindings, to beautiful Japanese sewings, exposed spine bindings and we even made our own bookcloth for a boxed set.
Since then, I've tried to make time for a little bookbinding every once in a while. I still find it extremely relaxing, and it's always a great experience to be able to work so closely with paper, fabric and thread. I started learning on my own: I purchased some books (Keith Smith is a great teacher!) and started trying some interesting sewings. Soon, I realized that I enjoyed coptic stitching the best, and created a line of cute little journals that used this beautiful stitch.
My Washibooks combine some materials I find particularly enjoyable to work with: Costa Rican banana paper, which has a great texture and is also good for the environment; Japanese washi papers, which feel almost like fabric and have some of the most beautiful designs I've ever seen; and cotton and hemp threads in many colors. I especially love putting together the combinations of papers and colors that will make up each book. The covers, back covers, endpapers and thread can feature wonderful harmonies or vibrant contrasts.
The loving process of tearing the paper for the signatures, covering the boards for the covers and sewing the book together is a wonderful experience, and it always produces a cute little book that can be carried around, admired, and used for writing or drawing whenever the inspiration strikes.
You can now find my Washibooks at my new Etsy shop!
Hello!
After a crazy long time, I finally decided to write something on this blog. I've been extremely busy with a couple of projects that are not my jewelry line, for a change. :)
First of all, we're getting married in less than a month!!! That alone should explain why you haven't seen me around! We're excitedly finishing the last things from our wedding to-do list: talking with the florist, learning to dance bolero and looking for some decorations for our site.
We'll be getting married at the Villa Caletas Hotel, in Costa Rica's Central Pacific coast. Here's a picture of the gorgeous site. :)
My thesis is due in June, so I have lots and lots of work ahead of me. The project consists of two parts: first, a theoretical study of the relationship of art and fashion, fashion as a form of communication and the relationship between fashion and women. The practical part of this thesis is an exploration of the concept of artistic dress through three dresses that have oversized, constrictive and impractical proportions. Right now I've almost finished one of these dresses and the other two are still in progress.
And last but not least... we have a cat! Please welcome little miss Lana, a tiny but astoundingly cute Himalayan cat. She's been with us for about two months now. She loves to keep us company and to closely supervise any activity, especially those related to my thesis (yikes!). She's very energetic and playful, likes to talk a lot and is just a sweetheart. A little bit after we got her, we learned that Lana is affected with feline leukemia virus. This was probably contracted through her mom and dad, and has caused her to be quite susceptible to infections and the like. This whole situation made us extremely sad, and so I urge all cat owners to have your kitties vaccinated against this disease. Lana is under close supervision from her vet and we hope that with lots of loving care she will live with us for many years. :)
Here's the official portrait of Her Royal Cuteness!
Show us something with wings.
The other day my mom found something strange hanging on a branch in our backyard. She pulled the branch closer to take a better look and she discovered two baby hummingbirds laying on their tummies, eyes closed, in a nest that most closely resembles an ancient sake cup, unearthed from a very, very old and moldy tomb.
After the initial freak-out, my whole family has been obsessing over the two tiny little birds and their very shouty and agitated mama hummingbird, who is not thrilled with all the attention. Ricky grabbed his video camera and proceeded to film a six-hour video (no kidding) of the hummingfamily from our terrace, which he later turned into a DVD, complete with chapters entitled "Mama comes home", "Here she comes again", "Again", "Guess what? There she is again".
He even managed to extract seven minutes of hummingbird activity and uploaded the video in YouTube, which I now present to you.
The hummingbabies have grown quite a lot now, and they almost don't fit into the teeny tiny nest. It's fun, because all you can see are two fat birds staring at you from a cup. I guess they'll learn to fly soon...
