Win a little leather book

My journals made from a pair of red suede pants have been incredibly popular online and at art shows, and now you have a chance to win one.

Elena, one of my good friends from high school, is hosting the giveaway on her fashion blog called caffeinerd. (PS- Elena got engaged last week to an ultra-talented photographer. Congratulations to them both!) You can enter the contest right here, now through Tuesday, December 7. To enter, just leave a comment on her blog mentioning your favorite item from my etsy shop. And for three extra chances to win, you can sign up for my newsletter, follow my blog, or become a fan on facebook. Good luck!

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A journal for Thea

I completed a slew of custom books this fall, like this one, which I'm slowly but surely posting to the blog now that they've been given to their new owners. And all surfaces in my studio are currently covered with an assortment of beautiful papers as I get to work on many new personalized books that will be given as gifts this Christmas.

I'm accepting orders for personalized holiday gifts through Friday, December 3. If you're interested in having me make a custom book for you, please e-mail me at linenlaidfelt [at] gmail [dot] com and we can discuss all of the details.

The same customer who asked me to make a personalized photo album this summer also commissioned this orange and yellow journal which she gave to her friend Thea as a birthday gift. I love the orange paper with the white spirograph pattern that I used for the cover. This is one of my new favorite papers, and I've since used it for another similar journal which is listed in my shop.

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Congratulations, Leah and Chris!

I've gotten a bit behind with sharing photos of my custom orders on the blog, but I have some great posts lined up over the next few weeks to showcase some wedding guest books, journals, and photo albums. I'm starting off with a book that might just be one of my favorite custom books I've made this year.

Leah asked me to make a wedding guest book for her October 16 wedding to Chris. She had some specific ideas in mind about the guest book, so we worked together to come up with a design that fit her needs. This book was slightly more involved than some custom orders, so it really gave me the opportunity to learn about the couple which made the process even more satisfying for me.

Most of my wedding guest books are made with blank pages, but Leah had envisioned something with designed and structured pages. The pages provided guests with spaces to answer specific questions about the couple and to draw pictures.

In addition to designing the question and answer pages for the book, I also created a series of original flower illustrations that alternate throughout the book. A lot of care was put into determining the order of the pages before binding to ensure that the book has a nice balance between the pages with text and the pages with the various illustrations.

The book was handbound using the Coptic stitch. I chose handmade lokta paper in blue and purple for the covers and the guards (the paper that wraps around the sections of pages and are visible on the spine of the book).

Their names and wedding date are featured in a recessed cutout on the front cover of the book. I also cut two bird shapes from blue paper and attached them to the cover, in keeping with their love bird and wildflower theme.

In the end, this book turned out exactly how I hoped it would, and Leah was quite pleased with it as well. Here is the feedback she left for me on Etsy after receiving her book:

"LinenLaidFelt made the guestbook of my dreams! It seriously came out amazing. I basically just rambled aimlessly about what my dream guestbook would be and somehow she captured it and made it a reality! It's amazing!"

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