Journals

OK, so here's my journal problem: I LOVE the paper in the Moleskine sketch. It's smooth, it doesn't curl or buckle when I paint in it, it loves my PanPastels and my Prismacolor pencils, I can erase pencil very easily. It's awesome paper, for reals. However, it's small. I use the "large" one and it's pretty small. The next size up is HUGE - letter size pages - and the paper is horrible. It's thin, tears easily, buckles, and the buff color erases off. So if you're erasing your pencil lines, the color erases and you're left with white smudges. How annoying is that?? So I've decided it's time to just make my own. Now, I've made and posted a few on here, but I use those ones for a different purpose. Sometimes I don't feel like arting, or my brain feels fuzzy and scattered and I just want to WRITE in a journal, but I hate the really thick ones with the lined pages where your words seem to stare back up at you accusingly the next day. So I make then with white cardstock, paint the pages, line them with scraps ala Teesha Moore, and stick a picture on there to doodle and write around. I could just do that in my regular journal, I know, but these pages are already prepped. The whole journal it ready and just waiting for my doodles and ramblings and I don't have to wait for paint or glue to dry.

ANYWAY (I tend to babble. I think it's from lack of adult contact - I spend twenty-four hours a day with a three-year-old who likes to argue and it gives me brain damage.) I want to start making my regular journals. So, I got some paper. Three different types: Stonehenge, Fabriano Artistico, and a cheap one (maybe Canson?) that I forget the name of, but have in my notes. I cut the papers down into 10x14 strips, folded, punched, and bound two 10x7 journals with one signature of each type of paper. I labeled them A, B, and C, and I'm not telling Kelly which is which (and I've already completely forgotten, so no worries there) so we can test them.

OK, here they are:

Front

Back

Kelly's front
Kelly's back

I've already learned something. The importance of endpapers. If you've never bound books or don't read a lot you're probably thinking "What the hell are endpapers?" Well, they're important. Just so you know.

I made this smaller one from the leftover Stonehenge and it's about 5.5x7. I'm thinking about using it as a travel journal for my upcoming trip to Florida. It's in my bag already, but I'm not sure that I'll actually use it.

And this one I made from two sheets of Fabriano Artistico. It's the same size as the others, 10x7, but is quite a bit thinner. I'm thinking this will be a Christmas gift.
They are all hard bound, very sturdy. I'm pretty excited about using mine and testing all the papers. Pretend you're excited for me, OK?