Elise's Pieces: A blog about everything

Yay!!

2012-01-14T13:39:00.000-08:00

I received an email on Etsy about selling my handmade books at a local Book Store. I'm really super excited about it! We had a meeting a one of the ladies bought two of my books right then! I'm working hard at getting some stock built up for them. Can't wait to see it in the store!!
- Elise

50,000 the Day Before Thanksgiving - Nanowrimo

2011-11-25T14:37:00.001-08:00

I am almost finished with my novel. Just one chapter left to go. But, as it is, I already have my 50,000 words. I don't know how it happened - I didn't feel food deprived - I was pretty social - Went to work - Wrote every night and finally I was there. 50,000 words and I was a week ahead of schedule!

I'll try to post an excerpt soon. It's not easy to type out an excerpt on my phone, so I'm not even going to try. =)

-Elise

Black Friday Weekend Deal on Handmade Journals and Notebooks

2011-11-24T04:48:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!

I've added a coupon code to my etsy shop, http://snailmailkingdom.etsy.com.

You'll get 15% off when you use it, so don't miss out.

The code is located just under my store banner. It'll be up at least until Monday... longer if I forget to take it down. But, if you have use for a handmade journal or two, now is the time to get one! I'll send out any orders made this week on Monday.

- Elise

Who recycled their brand new sweater?

2011-10-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

As I was searching, once again, through the recycling bins for Coke Rewards (I feel like I'm dumpster diving, every time I tell you guys about this... It's nothing like dumpster diving.), I found a mens sweater.
I was going to just leave it there, due to the fact that it might have been some sort of evidence in an investigation... I've had some weird experiences with recycling lately (see post below), so I have a right to think like that... So, I picked it up to check for blood stains and realized it was brand new! Price tag was there and everything.
So, if you're missing a green American Rag sweater, size small, I'm probably wearing it.

- Elise

Planning for National Novel Writing Month

2011-10-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to plan out my storyline for the novel I'm writing next month (12 days from now!), so I sat down last night and wrote approximately 3,300 words trying to get my storyline onto paper. I know that I'm going to be going back and adding more to that before I actually even get started on the book. I think that 3,300 words is enough to get something going, though, even if I don't add a single thing to it before then.
I was working on an outline for the story, but there needed to be a storyline before I could even start outlining... so I think I'm going to ditch the outline and just work on the storyline and work from it. Use the storyline as my outline.
It's going to be hard figuring out where to put chapter breaks in, but I hope it'll all make sense to me sometime before the end of Novemeber. 50,00 is daunting. We'll see if I make it...

- Elise

Recycling People

2011-10-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

I jumped off the bus at Friendship Square on Main Street. It was 5:42 and the bank would close at 6. I still had about three blocks to walk and a busy intersection to get across, and it was raining. I pulled on my hood and walked quickly.

I hate arriving at businesses just minutes before they close, but when it comes to my paycheck, I’m not going to wait till the next business day to get it taken care of. So, at ten minutes to 6 o’clock, I rushed into the bank and over to the table which harbored the deposit slips. Once the check was deposited safely into my account, and it was still a little before 6, I was happy to go back out into the rain and walk home.

Between my house and the bank is the Recycle Center. I like to swing by every once in a while and check the mixed paper bin for Coke boxes being recycled. These boxes usually contain unused Coke Rewards, because the person who bought the case of Coke did not realize how awesome Coke Rewards can be. With the points I collect, I get several free beauty and fitness type magazine subscriptions every year. It’s fun getting magazines for free!

I visited the Recycle Center. It was getting dark out and I was walking alone, so my mind started freaking out on me just a little bit, creating scenarios that I really didn’t care to think about. As I was walking into the parking lot, I pictured myself looking down into one of the bins and jumping out of my skin when I found someone sleeping there.

After checking the bins, no people inside and no Coke Rewards, either, I walked the rest of the way home with those thoughts about people living in the recycling bins still running rampant in my mind.

When I got to the house, my older sister told me how her day had gone. Included in her ramblings was the story of how she was walking along and turned to see what looked like a dead person back in the trees along the pathway. He was lying on his back and staring up at the sky. She wondered whether she should call 911, but decided against it. A little later on, when she returned by the same path, the man was gone. She assumed it was just a homeless person who needed to take a little rest.

That night, I dreamed that I was hiding out inside one of the recycling bins at the Recycle Center when two dead people were suddenly tossed in with me. Instead of screaming, I chose to remain silent, buried with the bodies inside the bin, playing dead.

It’s Saturday now. I spent most of my day being lazy. In fact, I took work off just so that I could be lazy today. I haven’t had a Saturday with nothing to do in a long time, because I normally spend them at the shop, working.

I woke up late, went grocery shopping, watched a movie, and took a long walk around town with my sister. On our way home, we were passing right by the Recycle Center again and I figured, why not stop by and see if I can find some points?

As we were walking into the parking lot, Ami mentioned that there was a car parked there. I scanned the entire area for any sign of activity – over by the book recycling bin, free buckets, across the lot at my mixed paper bins, glass, tin, cardboard, newspapers, and magazines. I heard a man’s voice coming from some distance away and wondered if maybe the car belonged to someone who worked at the Center. Or maybe the car had broken down and the owner left it there and found another way home.

I was wrong.

As I made my way toward the mixed paper bin, I noticed a head sticking up from the newspaper bin. I decided not to check that bin and walk past so that I could look in the other mixed paper bin, and it actually took me that long to realize the significance of finding a person inside of one of these bins.

It was a crazy thing inside my head just the day before, but now it was almost like a dream that came true. This person wasn’t homeless, or sleeping, or dead. In fact, I’m really not sure whether it was a man or a woman. I think it was a woman. And I have no idea what they would want inside the newspaper bin. Coupons, maybe? But, this was living proof that my fear from the day before and last night’s dream could turn into something real.

You CAN find people in the recycling bins.

NaNoWriMo

2011-10-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

So, I went ahead and signed up for National Novel Writing Month. I'm gonna do it. I'm going to write one long, crazy novel in one month... It starts in 21 days. I will probably showcase some of my stuff here... or at least give you all a link to my profile once I start writing... So, keep an eye out for it.

Oh, new computer. Actually, used computer... from my sister. I hope it lasts me for a while.

-Elise

Hi guys!

2011-10-03T15:07:00.001-07:00

It's been so long since I posted! I'll update soon... I just moved to a new place. No internet. I only get online on my phone at the moment. I'll be back soon to say something more interesting. :)

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

2011-09-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

The GRAND PRIZE goes to CHRISTINE
She gets to pick one book priced $12 or under in my shop.

Silvia and Kimberly will each receive one of my bookmark books!

I've emailed all three of you at the email addresses provided!
I hope that you enjoy your prizes.
Thanks so much for entering my giveaway!!

- Elise

CLOSED - Elise's Pieces: My First Giveaway!

2011-08-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

Handmade Book Giveaway
First of all, since this is my first giveaway, I'll only be shipping prizes to the United States.

First Prize:
Pick any one book in my shop that is $12 or under!!
(Available books may vary)
(At the moment, only one of the books below is in my shop. The others have been sold. But there's plenty of others to choose from!)

Runner-up Prizes:
There are 3 runner-up prizes. Each runner up will get a bookmark in the mail.

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How to enter:
You must be 18 years of age or have parental consent to enter this giveaway.

**Qualifying Entry**
All you gotta do is provide me with your first name and email address to enter. (1 entry)

**Bonus Entries**
(1 extra entry per item below)
~Post a Tweet about my giveaway on Twitter. Leave me your Twitter username. I'm EliseDesigns.
~Post an entry about this giveaway on your blog. Leave me your blog address.
~Follow my blog.
~Heart my shop SnailMailKingdom on Etsy.
~Give me a thumbs up on my Creative Gifts for Crafty and Artistic People lens on Squidoo.
~Give me a thumbs up on my Handmade Happiness lens on Squidoo.

(5 extra entries per item)
~Buy an item from my shop SnailMailKingdom.
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Just post a comment below with your qualifying information and then tell me which (if any) of the bonus entries you did, and that's it!

--------------

The way I will decide the winner is to throw everyone's entries into a bowl and have my little sister draw out three names. Call me old fashioned... Haha. :)
The first three names drawn are the runner-ups!
The last name drawn will be the First Prize winner!

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Winners will be announced on Thursday, September 1st. (I'll send each winner an email, be on the lookout for it!)

- Elise

First Time Mentioning This!! I'm gonna have a giveaway!

2011-08-10T00:06:00.001-07:00

I just wanna mention that in the next week I'll be posting a giveaway here on my blog.
I'm a book maker, so, obviously, the top prize is going to be a book. :) That's all I have for now. I'll get the giveaway worked out and posted within the next week!

I'll have all of the details up on Monday afternoon... I'm working everything out as we speak!

I'm excited! (If you want to get a head start, follow my blog.)

- Elise

2011-07-23T17:10:00.001-07:00

I'm wearing braids!!!

2011-07-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

Homemade stationery at its weirdest?? Probably not. =)

The end of my 365 project

2011-07-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

Suddenly life has gotten so busy that making a book a day isn't working out for me. I ended up making approximately 125 books, some of which are available on my Etsy site.
SNAILMAILKINGDOM.ETSY.COM
I wish I could have continued making them, but some of the time I felt like I wasn't putting as much work into it as I felt like I should have. Maybe I'll start a project soon where I do a book a week, rather than one a day. :)

I've been gone from my blog and from Etsy for the past couple of months. Etsy has changed a lot! They've gotten rid of their chat room, and their Alchemy site where customers could post "wanted" ads for custom items, and then sellers would bid on the ad by telling the customer what they would do for them and how much it would cost.
I thought it was a pretty interesting way to find out what customers were looking for... I really never used it, but I'm still kind of sad they took it away.

- Elise

Arizona – Today’s Book (119)

2011-05-08T23:42:00.001-07:00

So, I’m taking a trip to Arizona, very soon. I’m super excited. I’ve never been to Arizona.

Today, I was doing research on what you can bring in a carry-on, how early we should get to the airport, and even whether or not an underwire bra would set off the metal detectors. I found no definitive answer to that last question, either. I hate setting off alarms, so it’s a pretty important question, really!

I ended up printing a lot of pages of stuff about what you can bring on the plane, carry-on weight and size, and prohibited items… I printed our itinerary and receipts for our tickets and car rental and hotel stay… It’s a lot of papers. So, I decided to make a book for them.

If any other papers or maps need added, I’ll probably cut the strings and re-sew.

I’m bringing one of the books I made forever ago – not as part of this project – as a travel journal. It has little pockets in it, so I can put receipts, tickets, and other small souvenirs in them.

And, now, I’m going to sleep. I feel like I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a while… and I’m guessing tonight won’t be too peaceful, either.

- Elise

Books 116-118

2011-05-08T22:50:00.001-07:00

Book 118 – May 7 – This one has blue, green, and purple pages, and a light blue glitter paper cover! I really like it. I’m a little sad that the glue turned out kind of messy at the spine, but that doesn’t mean it’s not useable. It’s still really cute.

117 – The cover is a canvas covered board that I bought from Michael’s. I painted it with acrylics and cut it in half. I added some colorful pages and bound it with rings and voila!

Book 116 – Black and red glitter paper with red pages.

Woo. I’m caught up, now! I hope you’re all still with me! I’m sorry for the weeks without a single post. It’s been hectic! I’m hoping I’ll be better at it again once school is out. =)

- Elise

Lots More Books

2011-05-08T22:43:00.001-07:00

Here’s some more!

Book 115 – May 4 – I sewed pages on top of a hard piece of cardboard and added elastic to hold the pages closed.

Book 114 – A tiny bookmark book with graph paper for keeping track of where you’re at in your readings, taking notes on whatever, little thoughts that you have. It’s shimmering too.

Book 113 – May 2 – The pages of this book are brown kraft paper squares that come off of newspaper bundles. My mom is a paper carrier… she saved me some. I thought putting a comic strip spine would be fun.

Book 112 – May1st – This is my Bloomsday 2011 bib number. I thought it’d be fun to make it into a book.

Book 111 – April 30… The cover of this is the package from some gum I had. I measured it and I was SURE I cut the pages to the right dimensions, but when I folded them and put the cover on, the pages stuck out way farther than the cover. Haha… oh well.

Book 110 – I made this one while I was at work studying for my eating disorders class’ final (I got an A on my final, in case you were wondering!). It’s just two pages, and I used some tape to hold everything together and then wrote down the answer to one of the questions on my take-home exam.

One more post and I’ll be pretty much caught up… Then I have to figure out what I want to do for today’s book. (As soon as I wrote that I figured out what I wanted to do!) =)

- Elise

Books 102-109

2011-05-08T22:16:00.001-07:00

Sorry it’s been so long. I hope those of you that have been trying to keep up with my books are still around. I’m so bad about posting lately.

It’s mostly because I’m in my last weeks of school. This week starts finals week – dread!

Book 109 – I made this book on April 28, my sister’s birthday. She picked out the paper (actually, she found it lying around in the art building), and told me I should make a book with it. So, I thought it was fitting to make the book on her birthday, since she picked the cover.

It’s a hand-painted snowy cityscape. I made the book pretty tall, maybe 10 inches, and about 3 and a half inches wide. It’s pages are graph paper.

Book 108 – April 27 – I tried to put each signature of papers about a half an inch to an inch away from the others. It didn’t turn out quite as well as I hoped – the book is too thick to stay closed…

Book 107 – April 26 – This is another one of my own style of homemade ring bound book/binder.

Book 106 – This one is a white cover with blue pages. Very simple. The glue I used to stick the cover to the pages ended up causing the pages to curve. I think I should have pressed it while it dried.

Book 105 – Easter Sunday – This one is a simple tiny folded book. It has three pages and purple duct tape covering the spine.

Book 104 – This one is weird… I folded a piece of yellow paper in half and then on one side cut it into strips, then I placed signatures on either side of the WHOLE part of the page, and made the strips the covers.

Book 103 – I tried to make a duct tape sleeve for this simple little black and white book, but it didn’t turn out quite the way I wanted it. The book fits a little bit tight.

Book 102 – Another book with a duct tape cover. This is my favorite so far. LOVE. I used silver eyelets for decoration and red duct tape. Turned out just the way I wanted it to… and it has notebook paper on the inside.

Another post coming up in a few minutes with the rest of the books I haven’t posted yet… There’s around 17 of them! It’s been forever!

- Elise

Painting outside the classroom

2011-04-21T18:14:00.001-07:00

So, our assignment for the next few days is to paint outside of the classroom.

My first painting didn’t turn out so well. I painted it while sitting on the muddy ground and resting my feet on an olive tree. The whole thing just doesn’t look right to me. Very messy, I guess.

My second painting, just painted it today, turned out a lot better. The entire class went and sat in Memorial Gym and painted.

I chose to paint a stairwell going down and the stadium seating (which is really just a big cement staircase). I really like this painting.

I used colored canvas and stapled it onto a heavy block of wood. When the teacher noticed how heavy it was, he handed it to the teacher’s assistant and the teacher’s assistant said, “Wow, you can’t hang that on a wall.” and the teacher replied, “It is the wall!” …which, you can probably tell because I’m quoting it, I thought was funny.

Here it is.

Alright… Goodbye!

- Elise

Lots of Books!

2011-04-21T18:05:00.001-07:00

I’m behind. I’m going to start at 101 and go backwards! Here we go.

101 is my favorite. I’m beginning to like duct tape covers a lot. I think I should do a line of duct tape covered books. And also, I think I should do a line of fairy tale journals.

Anyway, back to 101. I have several pictures of it. It has lined notebook paper, plain paper, graph paper, and a few pieces of vellum in it.

101:

100:

I hand-lined the pages of book 100. It’s just a tiny book, but I think the colorful lines make it pretty fun. I just don’t know if they’re useful for writing on. They look like they would be… but some are a little bit crooked.

99:

I think the print is dandelions. Whatever it is, it’s a gorgeous paper. The pages are yellow.

98:

I sewed the word “Hi” into the cover of this folded yellow book.

97:

This is the brand tag off of a pair of my jeans. It is cloth and lace, and it has a cute little metal (which is actually plastic, I think) heart on it. It was even attached with a little tiny safety pin, which I used to keep the ribbon around the book, after I took this picture… I should have taken another, but I didn’t.

96: Just a plain price tag from Ross.

95:

A heart book.

Yes, it’s a book! Can’t you see the pages? =)

It’s taken me a while to get these posted! Hope you enjoy them. :)

Oh, look how full my bucket is getting that I keep my books in! I don’t know where I’m going to put the other 264 of them when I’m done!

- Elise

Eggstatic

2011-04-15T00:20:00.001-07:00

Today, the teacher was gone for our painting class. He showed up for the first few minutes to tell us what to do, and then he left.

I had a lot of fun with this assignment… I like having an assignment, but not feeling like I’m being watched while I do it, maybe.

Our first painting was supposed to be the egg whole, the second was the egg broken. I really like how these turned out. I wish they were on canvas…

Speaking of canvas, though, my sister and I went to the on-campus woodshop today and made a bunch of canvases… some for fun, and a few for our last couple of assignments also.

Now, I just need to buy some more paint.

- Elise

Finished Tiger and Apple Ice Cream Paintings

2011-04-13T23:48:00.001-07:00

I finished up my tiger painting this week! Here it is:

While I was waiting for my sister to finish her painting, I painted another picture.

The painting class that is held on Mondays and Wednesdays had painted ice cream cones as an in-class project on Monday. They left their cones in the classroom, so I decided to get in on the fun.

There was no ice cream, so I improvised. =) I used a plastic apple.

- Elise

Book 94 – My Design

2011-04-13T23:43:00.001-07:00

I feel extra super cool today because of this book. I cut the covers out of some plastic and pieced the entire thing together into a kind of flip-book of index cards. It was a lot of fun. This design is new for me. I might have to do more only in larger versions.

I might be able to make it into a refillable binder-type book. That would be absolutely amazing.

I’m going to have to work a bit more on my design, I guess!

- Elise

Books 92 and 93

2011-04-13T23:38:00.001-07:00

April 11, 2011

I was at the art building putting the finishing touches on my tiger painting and I noticed a gigantic poster hanging on the wall.

The poster was out of date and very pretty. It had a large sepia colored city scene, with some colorful swirls in some places. Quite a bit of text also.

I thought it would made a cute book, so I took it home with me and made a book and pieced together a little collage of letters into a poem on the front.

It would probably work really well for an art journal, collage style.

April 12, 2011

I used felt and paper together to make this little book.

- Elise

Books 88, 89, 90, 91

2011-04-11T14:54:00.001-07:00

April 7, 2011 – Book 88

This one is just a ring bound, index card sized book.

April 8, 2011 – Book 89

I picked out black, orange, and blue square sheets of paper and folded them up with the black sheets on the outside to create a simple little book.

April 9, 2011 – Book 90

This one was fun. I’d never thought of covering a book with regular kitchen foil before. And, the little robot guy is a new stamp. I think I’ll cover the entire cover with Modge Podge eventually, so that the foil won’t wear as badly.

It has graph paper pages.

April 10, 2011 – Book 91

I tried to melt red sparkles on the spine of this one (not pictured), it really didn’t turn out so well. I found some cute colored index cards to use as pages.

- Elise

85, 86, 87

2011-04-10T23:39:00.001-07:00

April 5, 2011

Book 85 was made out of a candy wrapper.

I like candy… It seems to be apparent in my bookmaking, too. Haha.

The little leaf-looking things on the lower half of the book are foiled in a gold color. (I didn’t do it, the candy came that way.)

The pages are purple – you can just barely see it over the cover of the book.

April 6, 2011

Book 86 is made out of aluminum.

I like drinking diet cola… Have I ever mentioned that? I’ve used Shasta cans at least twice now, I think!

I cut the can and then folded the edges so it wouldn’t be sharp and added 4 pages. I drew a boy smiley face and a girl smiley face on the center pages.

April 7, 2011

This is book 87. It has mainly white pages, but there are a few black pages here and there. All of the black pages extend farther than the cover.

I wrapped red string around the spine. I wish I had a better picture of it, so you could see, but I think it turned out pretty well!

I’m a little behind on showing you all the books! I’m sorry. I’m going to try and take pictures of the rest of them on Tuesday. =)

- Elise

Book 84 – Though small, even it’s pages are duct tape!

2011-04-04T14:31:00.001-07:00

I’d say the best thing to write in this book would be a permanent marker… probably black, since the pages are colorful. :) It’s pretty small. I feel like making a gigantic on that’s pure duct tape, so I should see if there’s an extra wide roll of duct tape that I can purchase somewhere.

Wouldn’t that be fun?

- Elise

We Painted Cadbury Creme Eggs, and Books 82 & 83

2011-04-02T23:05:00.000-07:00

The teacher in my painting class brought each of his students a Cadbury Creme Egg to first paint, and then (if we didn’t ruin it too badly) eat!

Here’s some of the paintings… The bottom row on the far right, that one is mine.

These are the first two books of April. It’s really crazy to think that I’ve been doing this since January!

Book 82 has a pretty pink and black floral design, and green pages. I think it’s very springy. Our April Fool’s day was bright and warm and sunshiny, but I think it was just a trick, because, wouldn’t you know it, the crazy weather started up again today!

Book 83 is a small one with cute little bubble-like stickers on the pink cover.

Books 80 and 81 – Love Book and Purple Sparkles

2011-04-01T00:34:00.001-07:00

I love the “Love” Book, but the purple sparkles book is my favorite by far… in fact, I’m thinking about keeping it all for myself! :)

And here’s a few fun shots of my hair blowing in the wind today… I took a video and then made what’s called an “action shot” of the video.

- Elise

Book 79 – Purple Duct Tape Book

2011-03-29T22:29:00.000-07:00

It’s just a tiny little book… about 3 x 3 inches and 18 pink pages! I put purple duct tape on the cover. :)

What do you think? …I think it’s kind of cute. =)

- Elise

Book 78 – Purple Rain

2011-03-28T22:21:00.001-07:00

Tall book, 4” x 8”.

12 blank, purple pages.

I didn’t get great pics. The cover was made from a paper that got stepped on while it was laying on my floor… I doubt I’ll sell this one. =) I’ll use it for fun.

- Elise

New Books!

2011-03-28T20:48:00.001-07:00

Hey, sorry I’m not posting every day anymore… I think I ought to, but I’ve been so busy the last week that it hasn’t been working out. I’ll try to post my new book tonight, but for now, these are for the last 4 days.

The polka dot book is 74 – It has really thin white pages from a sketchbook of mine that’s made for markers… so markers don’t bleed through, I guess. It’s a new paper pad, so I haven’t tried it yet. The paper itself reminds me of tissue paper, or toilet paper, that’s how thin it is.

The yellow one is my sunshine book. It has yellow pearlescent cover and embossed vines on it.

The next one has purple and blue pages. I think it’s really cute.

And the last one, 77, is my receipt from Walmart from yesterday. It has lined paper in it. =)

- Elise

Oh, and I sold two of my project 365 books yesterday! My yellow sparkles book, and my Scribbles a Heart book. =)

Books 71, 72, and 73

2011-03-24T14:10:00.001-07:00

March 21 - The TINY book

My kitty looks huge compared to this little book. It’s 1 inch tall by 1/2 an inch wide. :) It was fun to make. I put sparkles on the spine area of it.

March 22 - The folded pages book

The pages of this one are each one regular sized piece of paper folded in 4ths. I didn’t do much to this one, no cover art or anything. Just plain white cardstock.

March 24 – Make Your Own Comic Strip Book

OK, so I really like this one.

It has white cardstock pages and each page has six 1 1/2 inch boxes on them so that you can draw your own little comics. And, then, I made the cover out of comic strips… I thought it was a good idea, maybe help get the ideas flowing when you’re out. :)

- Elise

2011-03-24T01:15:00.001-07:00

Sorry I haven't been posting pictures the last couple of days! Everything is going well, just busy. I'll try and get the new books up by tomorrow afternoon!

Book 70 – Red Pages

2011-03-20T23:13:00.001-07:00

I put red pages in a plain brown cover. I like how it turned out, especially with the sewing on the outside.

Sorry for the awful picture quality.

Have a great night! I’m gonna head to bed.

- Elise

Yellow Sparkles Book!

2011-03-20T01:10:00.001-07:00

Can’t believe it’s already the 19th of March. This is fabulous! I’ve made a lot of books!

I used graph paper again, today… I had to. I had just a bit left and I figured I might as well use it now! I put some of my dyed elastic on it… the elastic didn’t turn out so great, only one piece of elastic held its color like I wanted it to… the piece on this book is not a nicely colored piece, but looked at closely, it’s kind of tye-dye looking… I guess. :)

And, Facebook isn’t letting me post pictures, so I’ll have to tell you guys about the cats, instead of my Facebook people. :)

So, my cat, Cymbalina, is in love with my mom’s cat, Mr. Amber. Mr. Amber is a cute little orange guy, he’s a total brat! He chases Cymbalina around the house practically all day and she claws and hisses and growls… but she really likes him… which is why I can catch moments like these on camera. :)

I especially love this bottom one! Cymmie is such a cutie pie!

- Elise

Book 68 – Argyle!

2011-03-18T23:37:00.001-07:00

This book is 7 inches tall and about 5 inches wide, so it’s a nice size! I realized with graph paper that all you have to do is cut the holes off (if you want), and turn the paper sideways and you can get much bigger pieces of paper than you can with lined paper… lined paper only goes one way. I know I probably sound weird, but I’d just never thought about it till today! :)

I spent my night making this book and dying elastic for books! The elastic dying didn’t turn out so well, though. I soaked it for over an hour and when I rinsed it the dye pretty much all came out… so I rinsed it lightly after that, and now I’m letting it dry, and hoping the color will stay!

---

I bought 4 pillows yesterday.

They’re going to be used as floor pillows, for when I sit on the floor and watch movies in my room.

---

I’m really loving my book project! It’s going well. I can’t believe I’ve lasted this long, actually. I think I’m loving it more and more every day, which is crazy! Normally, I get tired of having to do anything on an every day basis… but this has been a really great experience so far!

---

I’m planning a trip for my birthday. Chicago would be awesome, but depending on how much money I save, I may have to settle for a summer road trip to somewhere I’ve never been!

I am really excited about this plan, so if things go as planned, I’ll definitely be figuring out where to go within the next few weeks. I’ll keep you posted. :)

- Elise

Book 67 – Happy Saint Patty’s Day

2011-03-17T22:47:00.000-07:00

Green and blue polka dots, green and blue pages.

My cat really wanted to be in these pictures, and it didn’t help that my cord was hanging down from my camera… It was pretty fun looking, apparently!

- Elise

Book 66 – Another Crazy Book

2011-03-16T23:58:00.000-07:00

This is another of my ragamuffin books, like my skunk, beaver, and flower books!

It has yellow and white pages (96 of them), hidden in between cute printed cardstock papers.

I just painted my fingernails green for St. Patrick’s Day. It’s my sister’s birthday tomorrow. I plan on wearing a party dress of some sort, just for fun! :)

Wait, actually, I think my painting teacher said it was his birthday, too… Interesting.

I love it when St. Patrick’s Day isn’t during Spring Break, because then, while I’m at school, I can look around and see who does the silly “green tradition” (like me), and who has not a clue what day it is… :)

Have a beautiful night, and don’t get pinched tomorrow! –

Elise

P.S. I guess I’ll make a green book tomorrow!

I forgot to post pictures of Book 47?

2011-03-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

I don’t even know how I did this! I posted pictures of book 47 on facebook, but apparently forgot to show it to everyone at my blog. The only reason I noticed is because I was posting a few items on Etsy, and this book happened to be one of them! I hope you like it…

Book 65 – Sunrise, Sunset

2011-03-15T23:42:00.000-07:00

I love sunsets. I’ve seen many sunrises, but they just never seem quite so colorful as a sunset!

I spent a couple hours making the cover for this one… I worked with ink and chalk, Modge Podge (matte and shimmer), and glitter glue. When the book is opened, you can look at the covers and see the entire picture.

The pages are red, white, pink, purple, blue, and golden shimmer paper (like sunlight!).

- Elise

Book 64 – Sketchbook

2011-03-14T23:09:00.000-07:00

This one is specifically a sketchbook… mainly because I used drawing paper for the pages. :) I used the package off of a set of folders as the cover and I put an elastic band on it.

- Elise

A Walk in the Forest – Book 63

2011-03-13T23:59:00.000-07:00

I really like this one. It has a beautiful forest scene on the cover, in black and white. The pages are white. It’s small, but not so small you can’t write in it.

There you have it… :)

- Elise

Book 62 – Red and Black

2011-03-12T23:37:00.001-08:00

Sparkles! I thought it was time for another sparkle book to be added to the collection…

My fingernail polish is pretty crazy right now. It’s blue and neon green just painted really randomly. I would like to swirls some colors together on my nails someday and see how that turns out… probably won’t be pretty. :)

- Elise

P.S. Remember to SPRING FORWARD tonight… That means you need to go to bed early or you’re gonna have to get up an hour earlier for church. I’ve decided instead of going to be earlier, I’ll just get an hour less sleep… I’m not good at going to bed early. I think I was born to stay up way past my bedtime. =)

Book 61 – Cat Eyes are Cool

2011-03-11T23:31:00.000-08:00

Hey guys… So… I have this cat book, right? It has little proverbs about cats in it, and many, many cat pictures… and so I stole a couple of the pictures to make this book! Enjoy. :)

And while we’re on the subject of cats, MY cat was digging around in a little Valentine’s bucket that I had on my bedroom floor and found herself a sucker.

She’s so cute. :)

- Elise

60!

2011-03-11T00:14:00.001-08:00

Wow, 60 books, you guys! I need to start selling these on Etsy or at craft shows or something!

I haven’t been to a craft show in so long. Actually, the last time I was at one, I made beaded lizards to sell! It’s been forever!

I used vellum pages and colored on them with colored pencil and then shone a light on the book from behind to see if any of the colors would show through… It didn’t work too well, but hopefully you understand what I was TRYING to do!

- Elise

Book 59 - Cherry Blossom Book

2011-03-10T00:25:00.001-08:00

I made this one as an extra in someone's Etsy package because they had sent me a message and it took me 4 days to actually get onto Etsy and reply. By the time I replied, they had already ordered the book, so I just through in this one as a gift! I hope they like it.

Book 58 – Coin Envelopes

2011-03-08T23:05:00.000-08:00

This book is made from ten tiny coin envelopes. I found these envelopes at the bookstore on campus at the beginning of the semester. I was so excited about them and I couldn’t wait to make a book out of them, but it took me two months to actually do it!

I made a case so that the book can be put away in a somewhat compact manner.

I left the barcode stickers on the envelope for personality’s sake. :)

Have a good night!

- Elise

Book 57 – Whiter than Snow

2011-03-08T00:50:00.001-08:00

I’m going to fill this book with as many verses as I can find with the word “white” in them.

The first verse I picked was Psalm 51:7, “Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”

The pages are see-thru (vellum, I think).

I like this bottom verse here: “…is there any taste in the white of an egg?” Job 6:6 :)

- Elise

Book 56 – Crazy Pages

2011-03-06T23:08:00.001-08:00

On this one, I did weird things. Each pages is really two pages, cut in half, pretty much. I don’t know how else to explain it. They’re all colorful greens and blues and the cover is a flower, and the back cover is an upside down flower! :)

Enjoy!

God bless you all, and goodnight!

Oh, and please pray for me this week. I have so many things to get done for midterms, and one of them is due tomorrow and I’ve barely started it. I’m so bad when it comes to procrastination, yet I barely ever turn anything in late. Just pray that I work hard, and that I get the grades I deserve (which may or may not be ‘A’s).

- Elise

Books 54 and 55

2011-03-05T23:00:00.001-08:00

Book 55 is on the left, 54 on the right. They’re both put together the same way, just paper and glue, but the one I did today is quite a bit thicker than yesterday’s. :)

- Elise

2011-03-04T23:41:00.001-08:00

Well, guys, I made a book tonight, but I've come down with an awful cold and I'm really not having a good day, so I'll post pictures for you tomorrow! =)

Book 53 – A Cute Little Hoot Owl

2011-03-04T01:16:00.001-08:00

OK, so I’ve kind of fallen in love with this type of book. I might have to start buying my paper this size all of the time! This one features a cute little owl on the front, tree branches with birdies on the back, and five other blue-themed prints inside, along with graph paper as the pages.

I’ve used up all my graph paper now… so either I buy some more, or I use my colored papers.

Has anyone noticed that my pictures have drop shadows behind them now? I’ve started using a program, um, Windows Live Writer to be exact, and I really love it. I can write blog posts on my computer and get them ready to post even when I don’t have an internet connection… I just can’t post them until I’m connected. :)

But, yeah, I really love it. I have cute little drop shadows and it makes my posts look nice… at least, I think so. :) Well, I hope you’re all having a nice night. I’m headed to bed, so God bless and sleep well!

- Elise

Book 52 – Duct Tape Book!

2011-03-02T23:37:00.000-08:00

I’ve been wanting to make one of these duct tape books for a long time… I never had any Duct Tape!

The first picture shows the pages up really close, they’re pearlescent. I looooove these papers that I used. You might remember that I’ve used them before… then again, you might not.

I hope you all have a lovely night. God bless!

- Elise

Snow and Book 51 – Tiny Guitars

2011-03-01T23:24:00.000-08:00

Here’s my non-snow day day. See the snow above that person’s head? It looks like it could avalanche down at any second and kill someone!

This is book 51 - Tiny Guitars.

This one reminds me of my friend, Chad, probably mostly because today is his birthday…
The book is only 2 inches tall. I decided I’d go small today. I would like to make another full size one soon.
- Elise

2011-03-01T12:35:00.001-08:00

Sad news, no Snow Day. Would have loved just a nice long free day. I only ended up getting about 4 hours of sleep last night. I think I'll take a nap!

Books 49 and 50

2011-02-28T12:55:00.000-08:00

I didn't have internet at home last night, so I wasn't able to post book 49! It's always sad when the internet goes crazy and I have no way of uploading these books.
I hope you enjoy these.

Here's book 49. It's got regular brown paper covers, but around each signature of pages, there's a flower printed piece of paper. I think it's quite fun really. :)

I'm kind of in love with book 50! It's got neon yellow pages, and a sparkley purple cover. So bright and cheery!

The bottom picture shows the book drying. It's not quite dry yet. :)

--

It's been SNOWING like CRAZY here the last couple of days. It's been around 35-38 degrees outside and the snow is just coming down in fluffy white puffs. It's been snowing since this afternoon and we've accumulated at least 4 inches in that amount of time, on top of our already large amount of snow that we aquired last week. We must haver 12 inches on the ground now!

I love the snow, but I'm wishing for a snow day at my university... I don't think it'll happen unless there's a power outage.
I could pray for a couple more feet. That'd be fun, but I think it'd cause more damage than good if we had that much snow. It'd all rain off in a day and we'd have a horrible flood...

I still want a snow day... :)

Well, I have to wake up in five and a half hours, so I guess I should go to sleep so I can!

Have a beautiful, safe, snowy night, everyone.

- Elise

Book 48 - Foiled the Flower

2011-02-26T23:59:00.000-08:00

So, my stamping technique was not the greatest on this one, but there was really no way to fix it because I stamped and, without really thinking, poured embossing powder all over it. So, it's a little funny, but I kind of like it, at the same time.

The pages of this one have print on one side and color on the other. I used the mild prints, so they're able to be written over. If I had used an extremely loud prints, it would have been really hard to pick a pen color that wouldn't blend in with the print, haha!

I hope you like this one. Here's book 48!
- Elise

Book 46!

2011-02-24T23:58:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry about the quality of these photos. I was in a hurry to make the book, and then I brought my camera out of my purse to take pictures, and realized it had been sitting in the car in 20 degree weather for 3 hours... and it was very cold, so as soon as I opened the lens, it fuzzed up.. So, the pictures in turn have a bit of fuzziness. :)

45 - Green Felt

2011-02-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

This is a cute one! It has a button and elastic to keep it closed, and the cover is neon green felt! This is the first time I've tried a felt cover, but I think it turned out alright. :)

Book 44 - Black Glitters and Heart

2011-02-22T19:49:00.000-08:00

I keep forgetting to post these to my blog. I'm going to remember that I need to post at my blog first, and THEN post a picture on facebook.

This picture was just for fun. I wanted to see what it looked like with my pink glow stick beside it. :)

This book was made without needles or thread, just a Xacto knife and glue. I weave the pages through each other and then created a little slot in the cover and stuck the first page through the cover... The lumpy thing on the cover is the first page of the pages, it's glued there... And then I put black ink on it and sparkled it and then I embossed it and put a pink heart on it, and it was fun! :)

- Elise

43 - Paint Daubs

2011-02-21T22:36:00.000-08:00

Actually, it's not paint on this book, it's just stickers. :) But they're great stickers. I have lots of colors. Found them on clearance at Michael's. I love clearance. :)

I've realized that I really drink diet pop way too often! It's crazy. I drink it like water... actually, I drink it instead of water. That's how weird I am.

:)
Elise

42 - Fuzzy Little Animals

2011-02-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry it took so long to post these pics! I'll post up book 43 as soon as it's finished. :)

41 - Apply

2011-02-19T12:28:00.000-08:00

So, I'm taking application for "somebody to love." Haha. :)

This is a tiny book and shows my keyboard... if you know keyboards, you'll notice the letters are not quite right here. A S V F... My V and my D are switched around because my sister's cat tore my keys off a week or two ago and it took me an hour and a half to put 3 keys back on, so by the time I realized that I had put the V where the D should have been, I totally was NOT going to pry it back off and try again. lol.

- Elise

40 - Looooove

2011-02-18T23:32:00.001-08:00

Another book out of the same paper as 38! Haha... This one doesn't have a rose on it, though.

39th book!

2011-02-17T21:37:00.000-08:00

This is another book with scribbling on the front. I used a silver Sharpie. :)

There's just plain white computer paper inside. I used a couple books like this for school notes.

- Elise

38 - Blue Rose Book

2011-02-17T00:16:00.000-08:00

After I took this picture of my new book, I put glue on the spine. I think that'll really help it to lie flat... because right now, it's lying open, and won't close. I have no idea how many pages are in it, but it doesn't seem like a lot... hmmm, I don't know.

I like the book. I love the back cover more than I like the front, though. :)

- Elise

37 - Clouds and Sunshine

2011-02-16T01:30:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!
I just want to say thanks to those of you who are dropping by to check out my new books every day! I just think that's so sweet of you all. I always feel bad when I can't post them during daylight hours... but I'm just kind of a nighttime person. I'm always up late, so that's just the time when I get them posted.
Here's today's!

Sorry there aren't more pictures! My picture taking is atrocious tonight and there's no way it's going to get better... I've already been up a straight 22 hours... I should probably get to bed.
- Elise
:)

Book 36 - You're One of a Kind, Valentine...

2011-02-14T23:57:00.000-08:00

Hi, it's me. :)

It's been an interesting day for me... super emotional. I had lots of homework and an early day at work, plus went to hang out at a friend's house... my internet stopped working half way through my homework (internet is very important for an online class), I've been feeling like crying all night. Crazy me.

Here's my Valentine's Day book!

35 - Secret Hidden Behind Brick Wall

2011-02-13T22:18:00.000-08:00

See... so, secret sauce... what is it? Well, I'm probably giving away a HUGE secret (lol), but for me secret sauce is mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard... as you can see the pages have red and yellow and the cover has white... secret sauce.

The musical notes represent a man walking by the brick wall, whistling. Unbeknownst to him, there is an awesome secret behind the wall, a secret that could be discovered just by peeking over... but, he doesn't feel the need to look and therefore whistles his way by, still as naive as he was 5 minutes ago... he still doesn't know the secret of the secret sauce! Dun dun dun!!!!

Haha, lol... I had some leftover pages of yellow and red and I figured I'd toss them into together even if it does remind me of food! So, here's my book number 35!

34 - Apple-a-Day

2011-02-12T23:52:00.000-08:00

Have an apple every day! :)

- Elise

33 isn't finished drying yet - wooden covers, leather hinges

2011-02-12T01:30:00.000-08:00

It's not done drying! I'll get some more pics up sometime tomorrow when it's fully dried, but for now here's some with wet glue and clips holding it together. :)

-------

All done drying and I think it turned out pretty well!

Book 32 - Tropical Mike and Ike Colored Book

2011-02-10T23:46:00.000-08:00

Made from a package from some Tropical Mike and Ikes! I heart Mike and Ikes. :) The pages are the colors of the candy shown on the front of the package... book is about 3" x 2.5". Around 30 pages!
:)
- Elise

Book 31 - It Matters

2011-02-10T00:55:00.001-08:00

This is just 4 thick sheets of watercolor paper made into a book, so it has 7 pages, plus the cover. It's probably 4" wide and at least 10" tall. This paper I used was found in the back of one of our recently purchased USED vehicles along with several paintings... one of which is a framed painting of a ship... reminds me of Narnia. :)

The editor on Blogger still isn't wanting me to use it for some reason... maybe my computer is just having problems... I don't know.

I have to get up in 5 hours, approximately. NOT looking forward to it, although I do love painting class. I almost forgot to do my book today because I was busy doing homework for most of the night. I was just going to fall into bed when I got home, but nope... it didn't work out. Must keep up on my project! :)

I'm writing a book right now! Not sure what I'm going to call it...

Anyway, I must sleep. If I sleep through my alarm tomorrow, it could turn out ugly...

Goodnight.

- Elise

Pictures of Books 29 and 30

2011-02-09T02:37:00.001-08:00

I'm sending this from my email because Blogger wasn't able to open the editor, so I wasn't able to post from there... I hope the attachments I'm putting in here show alright. There's only one picture of day 30, because I was not getting good pictures... probably because I've been up 20 hours. I need to sleep. Maybe tomorrow I'll have better photography skills.

I just realized I forgot some online assignments for school, so I guess I should really go try and get those done and hopefully they'll count for at least SOME points. I can't believe I forgot!

- Elise

Book 29 (pics delayed)

2011-02-07T21:55:00.001-08:00

Hey guys! I was just getting ready to post some pictures of the new book but, unfortunately, my internet decided to take a leave of absence right then... I have an early day, so I'm going to go to bed and go ahead and post it as soon as I have the chance tomorrow.

The new book has graph paper as pages and flocked paper on the cover. It's 3" x 2.5" and I think I put in about 70 pages... it's super skinny, though, so I might be wrong about the number. =)

I hope you all have a beautiful night. Sweet dreams, and God bless you.
- Elise

End of Week 4! Day 28 - A Blue Glitter Book

2011-02-06T22:57:00.000-08:00

This one is a lot like the pink glitter book that I made on day 11. I just liked it so much that I had to make another in all blue. :)
They're not twins... Well, maybe they're fraternal twins. A little boy and a little girl. The little boy is smaller than the girl. :)
Haha, ANYWAY... This book is 3x3 inches and has 36 pages.
- Elise

In case you forgot what day 11 looks like, the fraternal twin:

Day 27 - Re-covered a Lined Notepad

2011-02-05T23:59:00.000-08:00

Today, I created a fun image on my computer and printed it off onto a sheet of watercolor paper. I was trying to decide what to do with it... so I bought a notepad at the store. I thought it'd be fun to re-cover a ready made notebook with something made by me!

So, this is a lined notebook. 6" by 9", a nice size.

- Elise

Day 26 - More Comics!

2011-02-05T00:49:00.001-08:00

This is my largest journal I've done for this project so far.
The first elastic on this book can be used as a bookmark!
- Elise

If you click on this picture, you can see the comics that I've used on the front.

Number 25! Fabulous!

2011-02-03T21:40:00.000-08:00

White covers and super colorful pages. The cover is actually watercolor paper. I used a sticker that I got from my Uncle Jack for Christmas on the cover and then covered the covers with Gloss Gel. I made it pretty texturized and let it dry, and then afterward, I added some Gold Shimmer Modge Podge. :) There's an upclose of the texture in the 2nd picture.
- Elise

24 Days of AWESOME!

2011-02-02T23:52:00.000-08:00

I've been having so much fun with this project!
I do admit it gets stressful, and I may occasionally snap at someone when I'm trying to finish a book before midnight... Take today for example. My older sister was working on a paper for her English class. It's due tomorrow and she wrote it all today. This poses a problem, because she's not so good at the "paper writing punctuation" sort of thing, so she has me check her paper.
She came in and asked me to do it, I said yes. At this point, I was working on this book you see below. I was pretty close to being done.
10 minutes later, my sister comes in and says, "Elise, I have to go to bed!"
This made me slightly angry, "Ami! I'm going to do it. Just wait for a minute! I've got to get my book done!"
Ami kind of laughs a little and says, "I wasn't hurrying you..."
Well, it sounded like she was hurrying me to me... but, I may have been slightly stressed which may have made it sound like she was slightly more impatient than she actually was. lol. Oh, well...

Here's the book! :)
- Elise

Book 23 - Found Comics and Coupons

2011-02-02T01:20:00.001-08:00

Book 22 - Pocket Front with Colorful Tiles

2011-01-31T20:27:00.000-08:00

I kind of adore this one, even though the sewing at the spine is a little messy.

I got these tiny envelopes from the bookstore on campus, I think they're called coin envelopes, and I've been looking for a way to use them. I ended up using one as a pocket on the front of this book. :)

I folded some pages out of printed paper like I've done before with my books, but this time I put signatures (sets of pages) inside each page of my folded pages.
I glued transparent paper over each inside FOLDED page, but I left the kraft paper (brown) pages alone.
I tied an elastic band together and put it over the book so that it'd stay shut. There end up being a total of 14 pages in this 6" x 3" book.

Is it over yet?

2011-01-31T12:55:00.000-08:00

I thought winter was over... It had warmed up and started raining, it flooded in some places. The usual springtime weather had shown up, but once again our unpredictible Northern Idaho weather has changed. It snowed yesterday... but it appears to have melted off. I went out to the car to drive to work and my windows were frosted over. I ended up a little late for work because of it.
Good thing my boss is nice...
=)
It actually looks gorgeous out today, but it's still freezing. I think the high today is supposed to be 29... I don't know why I'm hoping for spring already. I normally love winter, but I'll be thankful when it's over this year. Tired of the cold.
It probably doesn't help that an aquaintance was killed in a car accident this winter... a head on collision due to black ice. Very sad.

I've started running again. Training for Bloomsday 2011. I think it'll be fun to run it this year.
- Elise

Week 3 is Over! Book #21 - Toothpicks keep a book alive!

2011-01-30T23:38:00.000-08:00

Haha. So, this one is held together with string and a colorful toothpick. It's pretty cute, actually. I tried to add some more toothpicks to the cover but it just didn't make it look right. So, I added the white on the front to cover the toothpick holes I'd made and I knew it couldn't stay plain like that, so I added some more red.

And... This picture is of a book I folded out of our bulletin at church today. :)

- Elise

Day 20: Hardback book with handpainted covers and leather on the spine...

2011-01-29T23:30:00.000-08:00

So tired tonight. A friend texted me at 11 and wanted me to go for a walk with her, but I just didn't think it'd be a good idea, even though a walk just sounds super fabulous right now. I need some sleep. I don't think I've gotten enough sleep for the last several days!

This book has hand painted covers... metallic acrylic paint, mainly, with a dark red in there somewhere.

Front:

Back:

Book 19! Pink Animal Print

2011-01-29T00:12:00.000-08:00

I used regular lined notebook paper for this one and cut it down to size. It stays closed with Velcro! :)

Sorry for the fuzziness of some of the photos. I would've done better on them, but I am just sooo tired right now, and I'm rushing to bed as soon as I post this blog.

God bless!
- Elise

Day 18: Time for a treat... How 'bout a Cupcake Book?!

2011-01-28T11:25:00.000-08:00

The stamps I used on the cover of this book were actually sent along with one of the things I ordered from Etsy.com. I love getting extra little things in my packages from Etsy. That's why I always try to send something a little extra with my items. Though, sometimes I do forget. Recently I was going to include a pretty blue pen in with a journal that someone had ordered from me... sad thing is, it's still sitting here by my laptop.
I was absolutely sure I put the pen in... I had it prepared to go in, just never stuck it into the package... Oh, well... I have a feeling I might be very forgetful when I'm older. :)

Here's the Cupcake book!

It has 40 pages, with two extra transparent pages around each signature of the blue pages.

I think that these transparent pages might turn out to be fun. If I ever make a book out of them, I'll suggest that whoever writes in it only writes on one side of the transparent pages... otherwise your words will just splash over the top of each other and it'll just be a mess of letters!

- Elise

No Internet Tonight

2011-01-27T22:42:00.001-08:00

Hey guys,
Our internet is all messed up tonight, so I'm posting from my phone.
I tried to post a blog about my book #18, but before I could post it the internet shut down on me.
I'm headed to bed, so the post may have to be delayed until tomorrow after I get off work. That's such a long time to wait to post it, but I don't know what to do... Well, maybe I'll have enough time tomorrow morning to get it posted before I go to work.
We'll see! =)
- Elise

Day 17 - White Flowers, Purple Pages

2011-01-26T23:16:00.000-08:00

This book is 2.5 x 2.25 and 80 pages! It was really funny, because at first, I put the back cover on backwards... I was going to just resew the entire book, but then my sister explained to me that I could just slit the back cover and turn it around. She's super smart! Way more creative than me. :)
Hope you like it. :)

- Elise

Day 16 - Scribbles a Heart

2011-01-26T01:10:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I don't have any pictures of the pages of this book because the glue hadn't dried all the way yet! I hope you like it anyway. The pages are more of that pealized (shimmer) paper. I've got gold, pink, and white in there. 40 pages of shimmer.
The book measures 5 x 3.75.

Day 15 - Ecclesiastes 1:7

2011-01-24T23:57:00.000-08:00

My new book! I'm so excited about this one... mostly because I printed the cover with my new printer! Next time I hope to make the picture more elaborate. This time, I wasn't even sure the cardstock would go through the printer, but it did and I am totally excited about it!

This book has very dark pages, black and purple. The cover is more of that pearlized paper I used for the pages on my last book. It's so shimmery. Love it.

Book 14 - Rue 21 Tag with Pearlized Pages

2011-01-24T01:12:00.000-08:00

I decided I couldn't go to bed without posting this. I'll let you know more about it later. :)

** UPDATE **
Alright, so this little tiny book, first of all, has shimmery pages, which is super beautiful. I love them and I think I'm going to have to start making all of my books with shimmer pages, if I can still keep them at a reasonable price!
My sister gave me the tag off of a pair of Rue 21 pants and told me that it'd be cool to make a book out of it, so I used it for my day 14 (two weeks over already!).
The book measures 1.5" x 2" and has 18 pages.

New Camera - Next Book Posting Delayed

2011-01-24T00:33:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,
I can't post a picture tonight. I should have been in bed an hour ago, but instead I'm sitting here installing software for my new camera. I got a Kodak M530 today... software download is taking forever... but I'm totally wanting to install it because this camera is an EasyShare camera, which means you can upload to facebook and other sites straight from your camera... which is super fun. :) If it doesn't need edited, might as well send it straight to the website you want to upload it to.
Download is finished, but since I need to sleep, I'll post the picture tomorrow! Sorry if this disappoints anyone. :(
See you tomorrow (technically, I guess it'd be later today...)!
- Elise

Unlucky 13... apparently.

2011-01-22T23:51:00.000-08:00

I thought this one was going to be sooo fun, but it turned out kind of messy. I need some black string I think, next time, to attach the hook and eye to the elastic. That'd make it ten times better... I'll do that next time.
I put lined black paper in it! :)
- Elise

Book 12 - The True Green Book

2011-01-22T00:41:00.000-08:00

It's MONEY!!! I wanted to make a book using money as the pages, but I wanted to make those pages removable, so they could be spent, if need be... So, technically, this book is like a paper wallet. What fun! ...well, if you don't think it's fun, I still do... so there! =)

The string used to keep the money in place is actually just black elastic. It's strung through two holes in the spine of the book and knotted on the outside so it won't slip through... So, it's stretchy, you can put LOTS of money in there! :)

Enjoy.

Finished book 11 with 5 minutes to spare!

2011-01-21T00:17:00.000-08:00

My pink (glitter-ee) book with pink pages. It has a tab that goes into a slot on the front cover and it really keeps the book together nicely. I was actually surprised at how well it actually works. I'd never tried making a book with a tab before.

Anyway, this is my own little stitch for the cover... I probably can't claim it as my own, because somebody, somewhere, probably did it before me... but I can say that I never read about this stitch in a book, it's just something that I started doing on some of my books.

This book has, I believe, 36 pages in it and it's about 3x3 inches.

Kraft Envelope Notebook - Day 10

2011-01-19T21:53:00.000-08:00

I'm off to bed, but I'm dropping off a few pictures of my tenth book on my blog before I go! I had a lot of fun with this one. I cut Kraft envelopes to a size of 6" x 6" and glued them into the creases of a folded black paper, I then sewed some pages in between the envelopes and this is what it turned out like:

I would've added a few more images, but Blogger's not doing well with uploading tonight. I had to steal this picture from my own facebook pages and use my meager HTML skills to place it into this blog post... I'll try to add a few more tomorrow, but for now, GOODNIGHT!

- Elise

Day 9: Be Happy with Sparkles for Extra Happiness

2011-01-18T22:21:00.000-08:00

Hi there, everyone! It's that time again... a new book is ready to post! Today I went to the craft store and found that their embossing powders were on clearance, half their regular price! I was so happy because I've been wanting to emboss, but in order to emboss I wanted to be able to have a color choice... and at regular price it was to expensive to buy one of every color... so when they went on sale, I got one of every color! It was a good deal... :)

I love sales.

My book is something that Marie Browning (Author of "Handcrafted Journals, Albums, Scrapbooks & More.") calls a Wandering Book, beeeeeeecause the pages are kind of all over the place. It's one long strip of folded pages that travels in a fun little pattern.

Oh, and did I mention I embossed it with Sparkle powder!? I really like it. :)

Day 8 - The FOREVER Book

2011-01-17T23:11:00.000-08:00

This one has cold, stony looking pages. I thought it went well with the dark cover of the book. :)
I was in a huge hurry making this, when I took the picture the glue wasn't even dry. I actually should have been in bed 3 hours ago. I'm up at 6a.m., and it's 11p.m. right now. It'll take me an hour or so to get to sleep and I don't do well on 6 hours of sleep... so we'll see how my tomorrow goes.
- Elise

This book is now available on Etsy.com.

This book is now available on Etsy.com.