A few years ago I was invited to join a group of creatives wanting to monetize our crafting. We started out with five of us, a couple were Certified Zentangle Teachers.
Trying to figure out a journal to use, of course I had to create my own, using watercolor paper such as Arches Text Wove, and Canson Mi Tientes plus lined pages I made for instructions or thought processing. Here I used Foundational calligraphy.
One day I became inspired while I was in Bed, Bath & Beyond! The placemats seemed perfect for what I wanted to do; I bought a few in different sizes.
I went home, gathered my papers, made a sewing template with 11 stations (holes), hole-punched and sewed in 4 signatures of 8 pages each, totaling 128 pages, using the longstitich binding method. The closed book is 11 inches tall and 9 inches wide, with an inch spine, opens to 19 inches wide. The placemat is 13 inches tall.
I decorated some pages, spraying Tim Holt's distress paint, so the book would not be totally blank.
We met twice a month and worked on creative exercises there or at home.
Wanting a holder for the book, I cut an opening in the back of the placemat for The Creative Entrepreneur, by Lisa Sonora Beam, the book we were using. You can see my end papers matched her book color.
I adhered fabric tape inside and also to bind the opening in back of the placemat, making it a pocket to hold the book.
We met at Beckah Krahula’s house and she was writing books about Zentangling; the group met for a few months before she had tremendous success - way to go Beckah! You can see her books on Amazon here. Tangle Journey is my personal favorite!
I kept my corporate job for a few years; now I’m ready to burst on the creative entrepreneurial scene. This is a fun class I'm presenting this summer at Art Supply on Main in Houston, Texas.
I was reminded of my placemat book while I was reading the Paper & Stitch blog about making two placemats into a handbag.
http://www.papernstitchblog.com/2016/06/01/budget-friendly-diy-crossbody-bag/
From the Paper & Stitch Blog: Craft production and photography by Amelia Tatnall.
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