is a four selvedge tapestry
(woven hand spun coffee filters),
and the back,
a scrap of stiff cardboard
(it is nice to have something to lean on).
is Rives Lightweight printing paper.
It's got an odd texture for drawing
and is hard to erase thoroughly,
but I love that it is both thin
(I can get lots of pages in one book)
and highly absorbent
(I can slop watercolors and black ink
on both sides of every page
without any show through).
I decided to use a four needle
Coptic binding --
well actually it is a two needle technique
(one needle on each end
of each piece of waxed linen thread),
and I did it twice.
Here is a link to the instructions
(thanks for the link Velma!),
which are wonderfully clear and easy to follow.
(just a little belatedly)
that if I'd followed the binding directions as written,
I could have had a four color binding
instead of "just" two.
Phooey.
to binding perfection
(as you can see from the pics),
but it is fun to mess around.
Maybe next time.
and with the decrease in size
of these last two books
(from 5" x 4 1/4" to 3" x 2 3/4"),
it's amazingly easy to fill four to six pages
without even really noticing
(rather than than one or two as before),
so if I keep this up
"next time" could come fairly soon--
even with the extra signatures
I added onto this new version.
the big diary on the bottom
lasted for almost four months,
while the one in the middle
won't even make a month and a half.
has suddenly gotten MUCH more exciting.
that the smaller pages
have influenced my style.
of the tiny houses--
though I'm not quite sure how.
is that the portability of the smaller format--
now enhanced by the extreme portability
of this teensy pocket palette
filled with handmade watercolors
created by K. Jodi Gear--
makes it extra easy
to have my materials with me
no matter where I am,