Awesome Austin Part 2 -

A month and a half later, here is the follow-up post on Austin, Texas. While we were there, we did a lot of shopping on South Congress. Of the many fine retail establishments we visited, my favorite was Uncommon Objects. I had run across this amazing shop when Secret Leaves was still selling wholesale and fell in love with it immediately, so I was excited to visit in person. The unusual antiques and curios they stock are right up my alley:

 

  

Vintage clothing, cowboy boots, antiques, gifts and curios from Mexico and around the world, handmade jewelry, home goods — there were many, many other great shops along South Congress, none of which I can remember the names of now. But no matter, just step out onto the sidewalk and start walking — they’re everywhere!

Next up, County Line Barbecue. After all, you can’t go to Texas and not eat some barbecue, right?

The food at County Line was good, no doubt, but the best thing about it was the Texas Hill Country location with its stunning views:

They have a beautiful patio to enjoy it from:

I loved all the Texas memorabilia on display:

Finally, in one of the highlights of the trip, I met Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips in the airport:

He couldn’t have been a lovelier guy.

There is so much more to do and see than we had time for. I loved Austin and can’t wait to go back again.

If you’re so inclined, leave a comment about some of your favorite places in Austin.

Sharon

Bliss in the studio

make a book, book binding how to, sketchbook, recycled

Last weekend, for the first time in ages, I was able to play in my studio. Not only that, I made something -- something I like. It was NOT an easy project, and I'm happy I stuck with it. I made a longstitch book with a leather cover cut from a pair of old motorcycle pants from the 1930s. It is the second book I've made from these pants. You might remember the first one, here.

 
For this book, I decided to use paper from an old, turn-of-the-century ledger book for the inside pages. Seemed like a cool idea. All of that incredible pen-and-ink handwriting from a century ago, to become overlaid with sketches and writings from the here and now. Layers of meaning and marks and generations.

I designed my own stitch for the spine. Here is the template lying on the leather, waiting to be punched:

Then I punched the signatures (for those of you who are not bookbinders, a signature is a single group of folded sheets):
In this photo you can begin to see a hint of the problem I encounter later.

It's starting to look like a book! Time to start sewing!

OK, this is when the trouble started. Because the paper is over 100 years old, I was halfway through sewing the second signature and the paper started breaking between the holes. Another problem causing strain on the holes was that my thread was too thick.

So I switched to a thinner thread and decided to reinforce the signatures. I wanted to be rather ad hoc and not over-think it -- the way you see old books or old sheet music repaired with no thought for aesthetics, only function. So I reinforced the inside and outside of each signature with drafting tape, which you can see in the fourth photo from the top. I was happy with it and liked the way it looked. But when I went to punch through the drafting tape, it also ripped. Arrggh. At this point, I was thinking I might have to abandon my ledger paper idea. I thought to myself, 'What do I have floating around the studio that is strong enough to reinforce these signatures without ripping?' And I found a roll of espresso brown bookcloth. So I cut it into strips and reinforced the outside of each signature with it:
OK, now we're cooking with gas!

On just one of the signatures, though, the holes were still ripping on the inside of the fold. So I decided to further reinforce them with some vintage postage stamps:

It still ripped through one of the stamps when I sewed, but no matter -- it's a strong enough binding, which was the goal.

 
I finished sewing, tied it off with a couple of tiny, square shell buttons, and finally, the result!





I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I've listed it for sale in my Etsy shop.  It would be such a wonderful journal or sketchbook for someone who does altered books or journaling. 

Sharon

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.


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.)


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


And 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)

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:









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

Sharon

Missouri Botanical Garden Green Art and Craft Show

This weekend, November 13 and 14, Secret Leaves will participate in the Garden Gate Shop Green Art and Craft Show at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The event will run Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the upper level of the Ridgway Visitor Center.

If you've never been, the Missouri Botanical Garden is a wonderful place--one of my favorite places in St. Louis. And the gift shop, the Garden Gate, lives up to the standards of the rest of the garden. Beautiful plants, books, stationery, bath and body items, home and garden decor and more, expertly curated with a garden theme.

At the Green Art and Craft Show, I am focusing on affordable items and lots of holiday goods: gift tags, gift wrapping accessories, gift boxes, gift bags, etc. Here are some of the items Secret Leaves will offer:


Christmas stamp cards


An assortment of gift tags


Muslin gift bags perfect for small gifts like jewelry, candles, soap, etc.


Vintage Paper key tags


Gift enclosures and place cards


Greeting cards, stationery, journals, notebooks and more...

My friend Jen from Angelina Accoutrements will be there too, offering her lovely recycled cashmere pieces:







Lots of other vendors will be plying their recycled and eco-friendly wares, including jewelry, sculpture, handbags and more. I hope to see you there!

Sharon

An Etsy treasury or two

I have been featured in a few Etsy treasuries lately, which inspired me to create a couple myself. Here is my second treasury, Inkadinkadoo, which I like quite a bit. The theme is, of course, ink.

Here are a few highlights:


Pen and ink drawing from Nan Larson

 Vintage ink bottles from Sushipotparts


Vintage ink bottle from TwoVintageAvenue
Here's a look at my first treasury, titled, appropriately enough, Secret Leaves:
I paid a lot of attention to the color palette of this one.

Some highlights:


Fern leaf halter from Inleaf. This toddler tog was a collaboration between Inleaf and periwinklebloom.


Vintage leaf buttons from The Rusty Pig


Embroidered leather business card holder from Bees'Netta
I keep seeing such wonderful items while doing this post, that I am going to sign off now and do some shopping on Etsy.
Happy autumn to you,
Sharon

Missouri Botanical Garden - one of my favorite places

Last weekend, we had company visiting from out of town. As I always do when I have out-of-town visitors, I took them to the Missouri Botanical Garden. And why wouldn't I? Within walking distance of our house, it is one of my favorite places not only in St. Louis, but one of my favorite places, period. I didn't take many photos this trip, but I did get kind of fixated on dragonflies in the lily pond facing the Climatron. Here are a few of the shots. As always, click for larger view:

Black lily pond, which faces the Climatron at one end and a beautiful little glassed-in pavilion at the other.


Dragonfly perched on a tropical water lily




Dragonfly with what I think is the ecto-skeleton of one of his comrades.



Elsewhere in the Garden:

The peaceful and meditative Chinese Garden. One of my favorite spots.


Green bud festooned with a spider web


Scarlet-red coneflower

If you are ever in St. Louis...
Sharon