Journal Cover

My sister Eleanore and I have talked this year about my experience with The Artist's Way course. She recently bought the book and said she hopes to start it in the coming months. I want to encourage that process, so decided to give her a journal she can use for her Morning Pages.

W-A-Y back in 2000, I stitched Bob the Bear for my sister. It was to be one of three sailor bears I intended to stitch and turn into a bellpull. My sister collected bears at the time. Her husband was in the Navy for years. Putting those two ideas together was the impetus of my idea. Unfortunately, I stitched the first bear, then the idea languished. So for this gift, I decided to re-frame my idea and put the completed bear to a new use.

Here you can see how I hemmed the stitchery

For Eleanore's journal, I decided to sew a reusable cloth cover. This way, if she so chooses, she can put the cover on a different standard 8-1/2" x 11" notebook once the first Morning Pages journal is full. I used a fat quarter of dotted blue cotton to create the book cover. I liked the way the fabric complemented the colors in Bob's pants. Here you can see the pockets on the inside of the book cover that slide over the edges of the cardboard and hold the fabric cover in place.

Next, I trimmed the fabric around the stitching, folded about 1/4" of fabric to the back, and sewed a hem on all four sides. I then covered the back of the stitching with a fusible web. The web is basically a sheet of glue that you press onto the back of the stitched fabric. You then remove the backing paper, and adhere the glued fabric to the front of the book cover. Once glued in place with a hot iron, I sewed the stitchery down around the edges to make sure it was secure.

As a final touch, I attached a ribbon that can be used as a bookmark. I also inscribed the notebook with a special message for my sister.

With the gift complete, I felt like giving it a special wrapping. I wrapped the notebook in yellow tissue paper, to coordinate with the card I made. Then I added some wide blue grosgrain ribbon.

For a final touch, I pulled out my container of paper flowers and leaves. I acquired these as part of a lot of scrapbooking supplies I bought a few months ago. This was my first chance to use them. I found three blue flower shapes that worked well together, and stacked them in place, holding them together with a spot of glue. I added a pearl sticker as the center. Then I found a pretty autumn leaf in among the paper flowers and added it for the final touch.

I even managed to get the package in the mail so it could be delivered on time.

This is one of my favorite kinds of gifts to make. It involves many of my hobbies: needlework, sewing, papercrafting, making pretty packages. It's also a practical gift. Plus, I was finally able to utilize a piece of stitchery that long languished in a box and make it into a gift for the person I'd originally intended to receive it.