Bright Handpainted Squares Journal/Notebook Cover

Description

I fell in love with those black and white cardboard cover composition books when I was about 10 years old, and I still love them! They're my favorite thing to write and draw in. I like their size, which is 9 ¾ by 7 ½ inches, because I write BIG, and a smaller journal is too small for me. I like their lines, because my handwriting is even worse than normal without them. Most of all, I like their unpretentiousness. It just suits me.

There are many beautifuly bound journals, and I've been give a few over the years, but I never feel comfortable writing in them. They're too perfect to be spoiled by my dreadful penmanship, and questionable spelling! So, the old composition book is just my style, but that doesn't mean I can't give them a make-over! I made a cover for my composition book, and I liked it so much I thought I'd make some more for you.

I made this journal cover from fabric I painted with squares of bright pinky-purple, yellow, and orange. Then I drew over that with textile crayons in purple and metalic gold. Since this is a lightweight fabric, before I made it into a journal cover, I gave it a coat of matte medium, to make the fabric more durable. The cover is lined with an interesting, but not hand painted fabric I found in my stash.

I zig zagged the cover together, and then to finish it, I trimmed it with my favorite recycled sari silk yarn. This yarn is hand spun in Nepal, and comes in every color of the rainbow, with a few more colors tossed in for good measure! I love it because it is so random in both color and texture.
The cover is heavily interfaced, which makes it much more durable, and feel much more plush. The composition book fits in perfectly, and there's a pocket inside to hold a pen or two. I used a double strand of the sari silk yarn for the attached bookmark, and for the cords to tie it shut.

I'm including a composition book with the cover, and when it's filled up, just replace it (they're available everywhere) and keep enjoying your one-of-a-kind cover for years to come.
Happy journaling!

Added on Nov 03, 2009