Kicked off with a lovely brunch at Betty's - I've never managed to reproduce cinnamon toast just like theirs - then meandered around the shops. Mulberry Hall is an amazing shop to browse, "Ooh" and "Aahh" over unfeasible extravagances and .... actually hold one of Tim Cotterill's limited edition bronze frogs - small, perfectly, beautifully sculpted and deceptively heavy. Nevertheless, an absolute pleasure to shape your fingers around.
It was a marvellous day out. Thanks Mum.
A friend recently had a clear out and I came into a huge pile of envelopes. I wanted to make my Mum something special and decided to have a go at making an envelope book.
I dug out my copy of 'Unique Handmade Books' by Ailsa Golden and using a combination of binding techniques described in the book and studying Donovan Beeson's tutorial on instructables (here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Envelope-Book/?ALLSTEPS ), after rummaging around in my oddments drawer, came up with this:
I made a 5 hole jig template on some cardboard waste and used it to line up the punch holes down the 'spine' of the book, which comprises of 12 complete page faces with alternating page pockets (the backs of the envelopes), and front and back covers.
I used a darning needle and a doubled up length of organza ribbon to bind the spine, covering each punched hole with a lovely velvet flower I threaded through. The hardest parts, I'd say, were the repetitive strain action of punching the 70 holes with my single hole hand-held punch (my thumb pad really ached afterwards), and the effort employed in trying to keep the ribbon from twisting as I worked it through the holes. For a first attempt, the binding was a little tighter than I would have liked, but all pages and pockets are accessible. Here is a picture of the back of the book:
Mum loved her envelope book, and I really enjoyed constructing it.
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