A Valentine Mini Book

I’ve spent quite a bit of time recently sorting out some of the hand bound books from market and art fairs so I can add them to the shop. This meant photographing and numbering each one before uploading to the site. It’s been a while since I made a mini book and this process made me curious to try out something new.

Square

Meet the Square album. It’s a dinky little size at 10.5cm and the inside pages (all 14 of them) are made using Vintage Botanicals double sided patterned papers, originally bought from Paper Pen and Plan on Etsy. If you check them out they’ve lots of paper packs on sale and with my code JAINE10 you’ll get 10% off too! The cover has been covered and decorated with paper and embellishments from the February Sweet Treat box also from Paper Pen and Plan.

It would be perfect for a few Instagram photos and some journaling, personally I wouldn’t want too much to cover up those gorgeous pages.

This is a new binding method for me but I’m now inspired to create something on a bigger scale perhaps.

It sits on a shelf perfectly out on display rather than being tucked away between other books so in that respect it’s more of a decor piece than a simple album.

I haven’t decided yet if I want to keep it or add it to the shop but what ever I decide I’ll be adding to the family.

Happy Valentine’s day,

Jaine xx

January So Far

Despite the on going clear out in the basement, my work table still looks like a bomb has gone off on top of it. It’s littered with projects I’m working on which you’ll get to see soon along with some new craft materials I found last weekend at Expo Creativ in Luxembourg, exciting stuff. I visited Lux Expo with friends taking public transport to get there for a change. Honestly, I have no idea why I don’t do it more often. It’s so cheap and painless and in March it’ll be free too so it’s a bit of a no brainer! We were pleasantly surprised to discover a few new craft stands as well as some familiar faces. We have to continue to support this local event even though it’s tiny in comparison with Frankfurt or Dortmund. It’s still the only event of its kind in the country. Lena keeps telling me I need to have a stand there too, maybe one day!

My A6 bullet journal and cover embellished with materials from the January box from Paper Pen and Plan on Etsy

I’m continuing to use my A6 bullet journal this year, it’s the only one I regularly kept up in 2019. I’m using one called Scribbles That Matter which I found on line and it’s great. I don’t get any bleed through with my pens and I’m mostly using a Micron pen for my doodles. This little one won’t be used with watercolour paints as it’s for carrying around with me and on the go planning so has to be functional and practical. It does come with a nifty pen holder but I’m reusing my hand painted cover so the holder gets lost inside, but I’m sure I can knock something up if I need it.

January kicked off with the first Facebook challenge of the year on the WOW! Facebook page. The new theme is Love, Valentine, Wedding etc so it was a brilliant opportunity to create some hearts. I’m not an obviously, all pink and red hearts sort of person so jumped at the chance to try out some new colour combinations coming up with these two cards. I simply can’t decide which of the purple colours I like best, Royal Crush or Persian Indigo, they’re equally gorgeous. Photography isn’t my strong point and I really wish you could see how wonderful they are. I love that little splash of colour on the top one created by simply dipping a piece of watercolour paper into Distress Oxide inks on my craft mat. It’s a technique I love.

Have a great weekend I hope it’s a crafty one and I’ll speak soon.

Jaine xx

Sale Time

A new year means a tidy up in the basement so I’m having a little sale of craft materials with 40% off until January 31st using the code JAN2040 at the checkout. Time to grab your favourite Distress ink or stencil as well as stamps and much more.

As well as the sale I’ve created a new section, the Bargain Basement where I’ve added all of the paper packs and stickers. This is because once they’ve gone I won’t be stocking any more. I want to take Basement Studio in a different direction this year so I would like to destock the papers and kits.

Jaine xx

Going Back To What I love

Firstly, a very happy 2020 to everyone, I’ve had a tummy bug for the past 24 hours so not a great start to the year, but hey on the bright side I’ve lost those extra Christmas kilo’s! There’s always a bright side.

Remind me next Christmas not to bother with a December journal, even the smaller format didn’t help. I failed dismally and it lies unfinished (unstarted actually) in my box of Christmas crafting bits. I’ve closed the lid and put the box away not to be opened until Christmas 2020! Some you win, some you loose, just as long as I learn from it!

I think maybe this was why I took a long hard look at my planners and decided what it was I really wanted out of them and for a while now I’ve had a longing to go back to using an art journal. I’ve missed it as it used to be such a big part of my life. So in the above photo, on the left is a brand new Dylusions square journal all ready to be inked and painted in. It’ll probably take me a while to dirty the first page but once I have I’ll be off like a rocket.

Next is a bullet journal for every day planning in a rose gold cover I made for it from some amazing paper fabric. The Simple Stories travelers notebook has two Moleskine sketchbooks in as the size is perfect for them. The pink case has a Basement Studio planner to keep me on track, and after that is a hand bound watercolour sketchbook for a bit of watercolour play as the Moleskine isn’t really up to the job. Next comes my calligraphy practice book. The last two books are an A6 bullet journal in a hand made cover for carrying around in my bag and a brand new itty bitty mini travelers notebook just because everyone should have one!

I’ve started the every day bullet journal and had the chance to use my Hearts stencil I designed for Paper Pen and Plan and their January Kit Box. I created this graphic design by simply masking with washi tape and using Distress inks through the stencil. I love how it worked out from such a simple design.

Well that’s all from me today, have a lovely weekend and I’ll be back soon trying to break out of my usual colour comfort zone!

Jaine xx