A True Labour of Love (And a Bit of Obsession!!)

I've been working on this journal since before Christmas - step-by-step, that is. 

Before Christmas, I painted on a sheet of Tyvek with acrylic paints: light brown and gold. I marbled it and gave my design some real depth.

Last week I collaged onto my Tyvek sheet, sewed the pieces into place, and cut the sheet down to the size of a journal. I even sewed a piece of crocheted trim onto the bottom of what would be the cover of my journal.

On the other side of the Tyvek, I adhered a piece of map with a spray contact cement. This type of adhesive gives me a completely seamless adhesion that makes my material look like it was always just one layer. 

I made three signatures from plain white paper and sewed them in. 

I used pink string because of the pink in the focal point of the cover - La Dama Loteria card. 

My journal was done! Beautiful with a soft, flexible cover. Or so I thought...

I decided to go further with this journal - customising it even more. 

I bought some pink bias tape, and decided to give the covers a hand-stitched edge. 

This edge made the journal look at lot more finished to me...

I really did hand-stitch the edges. And on each corner I made a little "x" to add even more character. 

This made a huge aesthetic difference, even on the inside. 

So here it is. My finished journal: 60 blank white pages inside, a soft, flexible cover with a ridiculously cute hand-stitched edging around it. 

It took me about three hours in total from start to finish. Three hours well spent, I think! :D

Available here in my etsy shop :)