One of the places that sells my wood burned spoons also sells the most wonderful journals. I’m always a sucker for blank journals… the potential! I should go take a picture of them… honestly, I’d buy many! What this lady does is take old books… cut off the spine, and use the covers for the journals. She uses some (or all) of the book pages, depending on the size, and adds in all sorts of paper, so it’s a gorgeously creative mishmash of vintage printed word, lined paper, blank paper, watercolor paper, handmade paper… Then it is all bound with a spiral binding.
Now the library has a TON of used, old, decrepit books… you’d be surprised at the amount of donated old books we receive as a little small town library! We usually have two book sales a year, but that’s been put on hold due to construction. We have more than ever!
I just thought I’d explore the world of spiral binding… and I launched into YouTube research.
I should never do YouTube research.
Ever.
Never ever.
To save you time from wandering… just go look up “eco printing”.
Then wander through your house collecting paper. Then wander through your yard collecting leaves. Then layer them. Then bind them tightly with whatever ya got. I used yarn.
Place in a pan of water with a cup of vinegar. Boil it an hour!
I added a smidge of turmeric because I wanted a yellow tinge to my paper. You should also add some old rusty items to add iron. Unfortunately, I grabbed an old rusty bearing Vernon had sitting on the shelf. When you boil old rusty bearings… grease comes out. Note to self.
An hour later… after watching a new episode of “Anne with an E”… unveil your creative papers!
Some leaves work. Some don’t. High tannin content is good. Purple petunias are awesome. Figure out what works for you! Dry your pages… and create!
What am I gonna do with it? Maybe a poem on top… maybe another autograph from Longmire Days this weekend… maybe the front of a card? I dunno. But I may have to do this with the grands… maybe with their names on it and the meaning of the names?
Go create!
Find me here!
I love Anne with an E!! I find it delightful. Knew we were kindred spirits!