Nearly forgot!

As I was sorting through the papers on my desk, I came across the map I was intending to include i my journal.  It wasn’t easy finding one which included all our destinations on one manageable sheet and I’d tucked it away carefully so I wouldn’t lose it.

You know what happened to it then, don’t you ;-)

Measuring slightly over 6 inches by 8, it was too big to fit in a journal pocket as it was, so it was time to relearn the Turkish Map Fold. 

Though I’ve done it countless times before, I can never quite work it out from scratch and always have to refer to one I made earlier, or the excellent instructions on the website.

Of course, as noted there, folding a rectangular map isn’t quite so straightforward as folding a square one.  But hey, why make life simple?

Suffice to say that we’ll now know where we are, where we’re going and possibly, see where we’ve been too.

But we still have to pack our bags.  26C in Hong Kong today, 1C in Beijing.  I think we’re talking layers, don’t you?

Lazy Sunday afternoon

Well, far from lazy, actually, but that song just prompts me to put the L word in there!

So, humming The Small Faces, I’m pottering about the studio this afternoon, enjoying the post OFSTED glow and offering the occasional 2p as my Hero navigates the nether regions of Windows 8.

 

I’m actually working on my pocket journal, which reminded me that I haven’t shared my nifty method of transferring complex shapes from Silhouette cutting mat to page, by means of a strip of washi tape.  It’s not really rocket science.  I simply remove the cut pieces from the mat with a short piece of tape (or two, if it’s larger)

I turn over the tape and apply a small amount of adhesive to the reverse side of the cut shape, before turning it over, sticking it down to the page and carefully peeling away the washi tape.

See?  I said it wasn’t really rocket science!  But I’m not sure I could have got those tricky Chinese characters down any other way.

The journal’s coming along nicely and I’m happy with it.

I especially like this last folder, for our souvenirs from Hiroshima.

I made good use of the print from the paper collection I chose, handily named “Konnichiwa”.

Oh, I got a new toy to play with too.  Lucky girl!

A green world

Well, it’s pretty brown and muddy in places and the rain is unrelenting too, but it was good to open the curtains this morning and see the grass again.

I’ve been progressing with my travel journal, pottering about my studio in between doing bits and pieces of work; making sure all is up to date and everything is tickety boo.

Not only was the weather enough to keep me at home again, but I felt I really needed to be around today, just in case.

I kept my work internet connection open and my phone in my pocket.

Just in case.

Then, just after a quick chat with a colleague, who agreed that, yes, it was surprisingly quiet

(considering)

the phone rang to arrange the expected – the inevitable – meeting with OFSTED.  Yes, we have four days of fun at work again this week.  Still, 48 hours notice doesn’t allow much time for panic.  Does it?

Meanwhile the journal pages are coming along nicely, I’m enjoying fiddling about with bits of coloured paper and now I’ve discovered a nifty way of getting the small pieces of a Chinese character from one place to another without muddling them up (clue:  washi tape…) I’m on a roll.

Still talking about the snow?

Because the sun came out this morning!  Hearing from friends in baking-hot Australia and –22C in Sweden makes us feel fortunate indeed, the more so when we looked outside and saw one or two icicles and heard the unmistakeable sound of dripping water.  It’s going to take some time, though, because there was a hard freeze overnight and that lovely soft snow has a distinct crunch to it today.

Anyway, the postman arrived (yes, in shorts ;-) to bring a parcel of pretty things for me and I could begin work on my pocket book/travel journal at last.  I don’t normally buy the whole collection like this, but since it was all half price, it seemed a good idea to go for it.

My first thought was to maximise the double-sided print of these papers.  If I cut and folded the papers as in the prototype, then each pair of pages would be the same – and I preferred them all to be different.  Time for a slight redesign, then, after which the Silhouette was cranked into motion.

What I did was cut the pages in half and make a joining strip with the binding holes from a different print.  There was the challenge of finding the right glue for the job – always key to the success of a project, I find – and having discovered which one worked best (Zip Dry) I made the six pairs of pockets. I chose a particular print for each destination and tried to keep them in order, so that they’ll follow our journey. Hope I got it right!

Sorry, dreadful picture, but I wanted to show how pretty the spine was at this stage.  How could I cover all of that up?  Surely, it’d be good to see that part?

So, after a couple of false starts, I cut a spine piece and a liner from a sheet of clear acetate, using my Japanese screw punch to clean off a couple of the holes that the Silhouette didn’t quite manage to cut right through.  Rather than stitch each pair of pockets in separately, I used a kind of cross stitch binding, which secured it all nicely.

Next bit was to add the card covers.  I’d already covered both sides with some of the pretty paper, sanded the edges and cut them to size.  Attaching them to the acetate spine was going to be the next problem – until I remembered I had a tape runner for vellum.  Perfect!

Except it wasn’t…or rather, I wasn’t!  I had forgotten how vicious that stuff is and as soon as it comes anywhere near a bit of paper, it sticks like..well, glue!  I made a real mess of it and had to pull it apart again, but fortunately managed to hide the damage under that Orla-Kiely-esque border!

I cut the folders to slide into each pocket and gave myself a pat on the back for remembering to fit that ribbon tie in the binding, because this little book is going to be very stuffed!

There we are.  Now comes the fun bit.  With a box full of bits and pieces to titivate it up, I’m looking forward to adding a few embellishments.  I’ve already printed off quite a few journalling cards to pack into the sections and am resisting the urge to fill the whole thing up before we’ve even started!

Update on Friday, January 25, 2013 at 4:07PM by Gill Thomas

In answer to Dorothy's questions below:

Yes, I too like the Kraft paper one, but sadly, every greasy fingerprint is revealed.  I'm not sure the paper is strong enough to withstand the journey, sadly - but this was cheap manilla card and not "proper" paper.

The pockets are large enough to comfortably contain a 3x4inch journalling card.  The book measures about 4x6 overall.

I haven't found an equivalent to ZipDry glue, sadly.  It's new to me too - one of my Philadelphia discoveries - and is unlike anything else, except possibly a thinner version of Bostik?  (It's flammable and a bit stringy)

Hope that helps!

The prototype

Having seen that attractive pocket/accordion book on the Evalicious site, my mind began to work.  I looked through my Silhouette library and remembered that I’d got one of Lori Whitlock’s designs which might well fit the bill.

It was a little small for my needs, but resizing is easy and I had a stack of manilla file folders there, so I could make a prototype using my Silhouette to cut the pages.  Doing this kind of thing using a digital cutter is a delight, because everything turns out so precise!

Twelve pockets needed – that’s one for each destination plus a couple of extras for more general travelling tales! 

Now to bind them together.

During the Christmas holiday, I made another of Lori’s projects: a little box album with a string tied binding.  I really liked this simple construction, so made a few more changes to the design and gave it a try.

I had to make the spine a little bigger and respace the holes for the binding, to take into account the thickness of six double pockets.  Actually, I didn’t do it quite enough and need to add a little more space for next time.

But the thing is neat and holds together so well.

Mind you, I did discover that it’s not a good idea to use hand cream before handing manilla folders, which reveal every trace of greasy fingertips!  But hey, this is a prototype, right?

Even if, by this time, I was so pleased with the book that was taking shape, I was wondering if this might be “it”.  No, I told myself, it needs to be stronger, better, prettier!

I found the pockets to be rather deep though…and how was I going to retrieve little things that might get stuck in the deepest, darkest corners?

I quickly designed a folder to fit in each, which allows plenty of space for the 3 x 4 inch journalling cards which fit in my plastic pockets, as well as for all kinds of folded bits and pieces.

I cut twelve of those and slotted one into each pocket.  At this stage, I’m wondering if each needs to tie or clip closed?  That might give me an opportunity for a bit of journal bling…  Perhaps I’ll punch holes in the end of each one, just in case.

For now, I have a great book made from twelve pockets, each one the perfect size to contain a folder of bits and pieces, including the journalling cards which will fit into my plastic pockets when I get home.  I’ve ordered some pretty paper and a few bits and pieces which are destination-appropriate and on sale too!  So, later in the week, hopefully I’ll be able to put together a rather more beautiful book to take with us and in which to stash all the little things which make for great memories.

Isn’t it great when something turns out well?