A meeting of Paperlove - Part 2

Gosh - where has this year gone?! While thinking about my next post I suddenly realised I did not return to my trip to Bute as planned. And as this is still in mind and one of my happy memories of 2017, I will put that right. If you missed (or want to be reminded!) of how we came together in August this year you can read about it here.  

I mentioned in that post some of the things that we shared in Ruth's studio. And here is some more:

On our walk to the beach and in the garden we collected flowers and plants for eco-printing. My friends had been generous in their gifts, bringing old books and papers for us to share. These made beautiful backgrounds for our prints. 

We also learnt a new binding stitch.  The instructions were translated from Swedish so there was some confusion over translation, but we all got there in the end, amid much laughter! 

I was also introduced to Litho Printing, using Coca-Cola. This was an interesting idea and my own prints were somewhat dubious. However, some of the other examples were more promising so I need to experiment more with this. 

We also did some stitching. Ideas were shared, fabric and threads exchanged, and more beautiful work was produced. This is such a talented group of people! 

We also got to explore more of the island. One of our members is a poet and university lecturer, who came up with some wonderful ideas during our time together. She was inspired by a poetry form that was easy even for non-writers, and many of us gave it a try. 

We also took photos, sketched, took notes and just sat quietly, appreciating this special place.

One of our other visits was to Mount Stuart House. I had never heard of this house before going, but was amazed by the history, and stunning beauty. Paul McCartney's daughter was married there, and it it was sumptuous without feeling imposing. We were given a tour of the house and enjoyed afternoon tea in one of the private rooms. 

My neck ached from looking up at the ceilings! There was so many with paintings and ornate carvings. Breath taking is the only word to describe.

And the grounds are impressive too, with landscaped formal gardens, woodland and coastal walks, a huge glass house and vegetable garden. If ever you get the chance to go, don't hesitate!! We enjoyed our visit so much that we returned on our own, to explore some more. 

Ruth, our host, booked a different place for us to eat each evening so we were lucky enough to experience more of the island and time together.  Husbands joined us to eat, and then we returned to the studio to work into the evening. Lifts were shared and arranged, and it truly was a magical time. I feel blessed to be part of such a diverse and interesting group, and while we live too far a part to meet regularly we do maintain contact online and there has been some wonderful happy mail exchanged this Christmas. We are also arranging monthly projects and I look forward to seeing what 2018 brings. 

This reminder of sunshine and holidays has brightened my day and if you have read to the end, a big thank you! I hope it triggers your own happy memories of holidays and friendships. 

Happy Christmas 2017!!

Christmas wishes to you!

However you celebrate this time of year, I hope you are having a wonderful time. Thank you to everyone who has visited my blog, commented or taken part in my monthly 5 in 5 posts. It would be a lonely place without you.

Enjoy the rest of this holiday period! 

5 in 5 - December 2017 - Making books using Eileen Hull Journal die

Welcome to '5 in 5' where on the 5th of

each month I post 5 photos that I have

taken in 5 minutes.

I make lots of books and journals so I was intruiged when a number of friends bought the Eileen Hull journal die. It seemed a good opportunity to try it out and so while I was on a retreat I had fun making a few:

 On this one, I added a pocket on the front cover

And I made some half pages to add interest

The detail on the spine. The cover is not finished yet as I may add a fastening or more on the front, I sometimes like to live with my work for a while until I know where to go next with it. But I am happy for now.

I wanted to make a smaller version, inspired by the die. I cut the cover by hand and used the Crop-o-dile to make the holes.

I enjoyed the opportunity to use the die and experiment with soft and hard covers.  It is not unlike Modori-style journals I have made in the past, and it is always good to try new things.

Thank you for popping by!  I have made lots of new books lately so I must get round to sharing more. But for now, thank you to everyone who has taken part in 5 in 5, and I wish you, and my visitors, a very happy Christmas.  I would have liked to be more seasonal with this post but by the time you see this I will be in India, on a creative course, learning how to dye and print fabrics. I might take a few photos while I am there! So I wsh you and your family a very Happy Christmas and look forward to sharing more 5 in 5 photos in the coming year.

It is always fun to have company in this photo challenge so a big

thank you to Mary-Lou, Maggie, Melanie, Karen, Nan, Green Tomato and Borqna for taking part last month. And to all those who visited and left comments.

And YOU would be very welcome to join in too, so I hope you are inspired to get out your camera. Here is the plan:

1.  Choose a location.

2.  Have your camera ready.

3.  Set a timer for 5 minutes (I use my mobile phone).

4.  Take as many photos you can until the time is up.

5.  Choose 5 photos to download and share by using the link tool below.
                         
You have until the 25th of the month to add your photos.