Remember how I've been saying that I was making a gift for someone and couldn't show anything about it until they had received it? Well, it's finished and she has, so now I can finally show it off. ;-)
The birthday girl was my dear friend Monk (go check out her blog if you haven't done that yet, she is a really good sketcher and photographer, and she has a cool cat). Seeing that we are both fond of blank books and journals, of course I had to make her one!
The cover is pink and has some owls attached to it, hence I'm calling it Monks Owly Book. I had the intention of NOT making something cute, because she doesn't really do cute, but I just couldn't help myself. It sort of turned out cute despite myself. Sorry.
The owls are ready made store bought iron on applications. I was a little worried they might not stick well, but they were quite clingy, so I'm hoping they will stay that way.
As a contrast to the outside I used a more busy fabric for the inside cover.
I didn't feel like that fabric needed anything extra. Nor did I want to make too much fuss about the pages. Mostly because I want Monk to put her own mark on this book. The book is filled with beautiful handmade papers in natural colors with here and there a more colorful page. I have used my sewing machine to sew borders around the pages. I varied the types of stitches and this was a great opportunity to try out the different settings of my sewing machine. Here's some samples of the spreads in this journal.
I'm hoping that by the time she's finished with it the journal will be unrecognizable and filled to the brim with all sorts of stuff. I hope she enjoys using it without being afraid to ruin it. In fact: I want her to ruin it!
I used a piece of beautiful lace to tie the book up. This adds even more cuteness of course but like I said, I couldn't help myself. ;-) And with all of this I considered the book finished. I'm hoping she loves it.
Wishing you all a very artsy week!