Saturday, January 29, 2011

Bookbinding | papercrafting tools - Teflon folder

bookbinding, paper arts, paper crafts, cool tools, bookbinding tools

If you are a paper crafter or book artist, you have most likely heard of the bone folder. I have a bone folder, but haven't used it once since I purchased a Teflon folder. The advantage of a Teflon folder is that, unlike a bone folder, it doesn't leave a shiny spot on your paper.

Burnishing an embellishment 1000
The Teflon folder is used for burnishing. If you are gluing a piece onto another piece, it is the perfect tool to burnish it down, making sure the edges adhere and that there are no bubbles or wrinkles. (Snowpea has decided to help me today.)


Teflon folder 1000 It's also invaluable for making folds nice and sharp.


Burnishing turn-insAnd it is absolutely crucial when turning in the edges of the paper while covering bookboard for a hard-cover book.

I purchased mine here.


Until next time,
Sharon (and Snowpea)

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Closed chapters and fresh starts

Hello all. I want to let you know about some changes to Secret Leaves and to this blog. I don't think I've mentioned it here, but 8 months ago I took a full-time job. I am working in the Office of Public Affairs at Washington University in St. Louis (which also happens to be my alma mater) and I love it. The downside has been that I am finding it far more difficult that I anticipated to continue operating Secret Leaves as a business. I sent an email earlier this week to friends, customers and supporters to let them know I will no longer be selling wholesale and plan to limit the number of custom projects I take on as well.

I will, however, still be selling items in my Etsy shop and maintaining this blog. Until now, one of the main reasons for the blog, frankly, has been to promote Secret Leaves. But since Secret Leaves is no longer a business and is now more of a hobby and personal pleasure, I want to change the focus here.

In the coming months, I plan to feature more how-tos related to bookbinding and paper arts; useful resources; artists whose work I admire, and the people, places and things that provide inspiration to me and, hopefully, to you.

I hope you will come back often, become a follower if it suits you, and tell others if you think they might be interested. The images below are a preview of what you can expect to see moving forward.

   Robin by Anna-Wili Highfield
  Artists / Blogs / Websites - Robin paper sculpture by Anna-Wili Highfield


pamphlet stitch  
How tos / Tools
- the simple, versatile, wonderful pamphlet stitch


linen ric rac from Papier Valise
  Resources / Materials - Linen ric rac from Papier Valise


Mini notebooks Etsy
 Stuff I've made / Etsy - Mini notebooks in muslin gift bag


hydrangea petals
 Inspiration - Hydrangea petals


Montmartre Paris
Personal / Travel - Montmartre, Paris, France

Stay tuned...

-Sharon

Sunday, January 2, 2011

My Hipsta studio

My friend Ria, of My Mommy Manual, visited the studio last week with her little ones. The kids and I made books while Ria took Hipstamatic photos of the studio. Here are a few of them:

Hydrangeas

Books I have read adj


All that's left adj


Stamps


Pretty cool, huh? For more information on the Hipstamatic iPhone app, click here.

Sharon