Sketchbook-making, obviously. I prefer to make my own because I like to vary the paper content and size of the pages. Readymade sketchbooks are usually variations on A4 and I don’t always like the proportions.
The little book with the wraparound cover below is for experimenting with various forms of ink. I have acrylic ink, ink/stamp pads, inktense blocks, and a few distress crayons, plus the more obvious drawing pens etc.
Just somewhere to try dripping, blotting, stamping, stencilling etc with various kinds of ink. My favourite thing so far is drawing with a little twig dipped in ink.
The spread below was made by sponging yellow/purple ink onto damp paper and then using the twig to draw in the green marks. A few random splatters is always very satisfying.
I also quite like the distress crayons, which you can smudge with a bit of water. This is the wrong kind of paper really (it’s very soft cotton rag), as it won’t stand up to too much rubbing. I’ll probably try this again on more robust paper.
I made more sketchbooks than I will use, so I’ve added a handful or so to the shop.
Those are beautiful sketchbooks Karen!
thank you 😊 I’ve had a very pleasant couple of days
Your endless creativity and exquisite artistry is such a pleasure to enjoy….and let’s be honest, envy. Thank you for sharing with your admirers.
that’s very kind, thank you 🙏🏻
Lovely sketchbooks and those pages are beautiful.
thank you so much 😊
Goodness me, this is all wonderful! I realized I was imagining how delightful each item would feel to hold and/or touch.
I think all books are very tactile but handmade books especially are a delight to use. The cotton rag paper in these is really soft.
Note to self: read Karen’s emails the day they enter your inbox, less whatever she adds to her shop sells out! 🙁 So sad to have missed the sketch books……but they are truly lovely!
Sorry! It seems I underestimated the demand… I will make some more 🙂
It’s true that most commercial sketchbooks are variants on the A-series – but they also don’t use such interesting paper! I do like your little landscape with birds wheeling overhead.
yes, either A-something or square, usually – square is OK actually. But I like to make the pages all different sizes sometimes, makes things a bit more interesting. Plus it uses up odd scraps of paper 🙂