journals for a cause

I made these two journals and donated them to my friend Judah's Etsy shop.

Judah's partner, Charlie, suffered a debilitating stroke in August, and as they struggle to rebuild their lives they are raising money to defray their ongoing expenses.

These two journals, along with over a hundred other gorgeous items, are for sale at Charlies Spot.

It's the perfect place to start your Christmas shopping - there are original paintings, affordable prints, hand made jewelry, dolls, books, ornaments and more.  All proceeds go towards their medical bills, cost of ongoing therapy, and the remodeling of their home to make it more accessible for Charlie.  You get a beautiful work of art and you get to help a fellow artist.  Win!

Here are some close up shots of the journals I made.

They are both about 4"x5".

The covers are handmade "fabric paper" embellished with more of my hand-painted papers.

They have hand-sewn bindings, and are filled with about 40 pages of blank Stonehenge paper (suitable for watercolor, printmaking, drawing, and mixed-media.)

This one has an elasticized cord to hold it shut:

Nice deckled edges on the paper:

Long-stitch binding with waxed linen thread:

This one has actual dried ferns adhered to it:

View of the back cover:

Another fern on the inside of the back cover:

Close up of the crazy stitched circles on the cover:

I love making books.  Every time I finish binding a book I wonder why I don't do this all day every day?  Why did I wait almost a year since my last book-binding session?

Unanswerable questions.

If you'd like to own one of these for yourself, head on over to Charlie's Spot.

They are a mere $25 each.

Maybe while you're there you'll find treasures for everyone on your gift list!

UPDATE: As of Monday night, the blue one has sold!  Thanks, Vicki.
Another update:  The orange one sold too!