September 5, 2023 Journal Cover

So how was your last holiday of 'summer' or the first holiday of 'fall'?  Ours was quite busy!  Several days traveling to the Catskills for hiking and sight seeing.  

Are you ready for fall and the slide into the holidays?  The time always seems to gain speed as I am getting ready for them.  

One of the things I did these past weeks was to stop by Barnes & Noble to check on any new issues of the two magazines I enjoy reading.  While there I purchased two that will help in preparation for the holidays...

One of the things I want to do is make my gifts this year.  I normally make holiday decorations...this year I want to make eco-friendly and organic ones.  I especially like the decorations in the 'Eco-Crafts for the Holidays' so I decided to make one or two a week and share them on my blog.

As this is the beginning of the month it's a good time to take a look at the goals you set in January 2023.  How are you doing?  Mine were in five areas:  Weight, Finances, Organization, Exercise and Etsy.  I am doing well in finances, organization and exercise.  Weight, not so much.  I have lost some but not enough. And I haven't spent much time getting the Etsy Shop up and running!  Three out of five is better than average, but the only person I am in competition with is myself!

So I am continuing with the plans for the three that are going well and drawing up new plans for the remaining two.  How about your goals?  Going well, or do you need to do some readjustment like I did?

And as promised, I did finish the cover for my current journal and I added beads.  The only thing left is to add some yarn and/or ribbon to some of the journal cards!  For the cover, I used two layers of low loft batting on the outside...

I used fabric on both the inside of the cover and the outside by cutting a piece large enough to wrap around from the inside of one side, all of the outside and the inside of the other cover adding one inch all around.  I glued a one inch hem on the fabric edges on the long sides to make a finished hem but I did not glue the fabric to the cover at all.  Wrapping the journal cover,  I folded the raw edges of the fabric to the inside on the top and on the bottom making sure that the batting on the book back was covered then pinned it in place...

Using a needle and thread, I sewed the edges together on the top and bottom of the journal.  I then glued the lace all around the front cover with thick tacky glue and I added the beads to the string that attached the signatures to the cover...

On the back cover, I cut lace to go completely around the cover but only glued down the outside so the lace on the inside can hold the notebook...

Almost done!  And it looks really nice.

That's it for today.  Check out the new word for the month, new question for the week and new thought for the day on the sidebar.  Remember to use the web version when reading the blog on your phone in order to see the sidebar.

Talk with you tomorrow...