Prairie Peasant

Instagram Bookbinding Challenge: September / Flora and Fauna

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Sat, 30 Sep 2017 17:34:00 +0000

For my book, I used 2 techniques that I've been interested in: flower pounding and eco-printing (or botanical printing).

For the pages, I tried botanical printing on paper for the first time! I loosely followed this tutorial on YouTube. I used plants from my yard, including cotoneaster, oak, coleus, clematis, peony, raspberry, and others.

Layering the plants between the pages.

Boiling the bundle between two boards.

One page finished and drying.

I was delighted and surprised with the variety of colours and textures that came through. I'll definitely be doing botanical printing again!

For the covers, I printed the fabric with flower pounding. Since I most often work with recycled materials, I chose a thrifted hemp shirt because I loved the texture and softness of the weave, and deconstructed it. I only used the sleeves for this project.

I layered leaves and flowers from my garden
randomly between two pieces of fabric.

I gathered leaves and flowers from my garden and layered them between the sleeves, which I placed on top of a granite block. I wanted an abstract effect, so I placed them randomly. Then I pounded the fabric with a hammer until the colour from the plants came through.

I picked off as much of the plant remains as I could, and let the fabric dry.

Once dry, I gently rubbed off any remaining plant material with a table knife.

Hemp may not have been the best choice, as I did make several holes in the fabric with the pounding.

Left--after heat setting.
Right--before heat setting.

After heat setting, I made bookcloth the fusible way. You can see in the picture above how the colours changed with heat setting. I used the side of the fabric that did not make direct contact with the plants, as it had a softer look.

Ready for sewing!

I'm very happy with how this little book turned out!

To see more Flora and Fauna themed books made for the Instagram challenge, check out the hashtag #areyoubookenough on instagram!

Instagram Bookbinding Challenge: August / Heart

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Fri, 01 Sep 2017 02:15:00 +0000

The theme for August for the #areyoubookenough bookbinding challenge on Instagram was Heart.

I didn't get a book made this month on the theme, but here's a little peek into my favourites for the month:

Feel free to follow along on Instagram, using the hashtag #areyoubookenough, to see what inspiring creations are being made around the world on each month's theme.

Instagram Bookbinding Challenge: July / Formation

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 17:42:00 +0000

First steps of my book for July.

Formation can be the process of being formed, and I wanted to try my hand at creating paper cloth or fabric paper for my cover. I started with a lightweight cotton fabric piece, and spread thinned PVA all over it.

Then I layered tissue from old sewing patterns until I had 2-3 layers of tissue (with more glue brushed over each layer) covering the fabric.

It took a couple of days to dry completely, but once it was dry, I cut my cover piece, layered another fabric piece under it, and sewed random lines all over it with my sewing machine. (Random, but still in formation.) The end result is kind of like leather, and easy to work with. It gets softer and more pliable the more you work with it.

Then I stitched around the outside to give it a nice clean finish.

For the pages, I used handmade papers, again thinking of the process of forming the paper itself, as this journal was created.

I used a simple longstitch binding, with the stitching in nice neat rows on the spine (formation....).

I thought this vintage button complemented the design nicely.

Thanks for stopping by! If you are on Instagram, search the hashtag #areyoubookenough to see how other participating artists interpreted the theme. Prepare yourself to be inspired!

Instagram Bookbinding Challenge: June / Hardware Store

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Fri, 30 Jun 2017 17:33:00 +0000

For this month's theme of #hardwarestore , we were to find some materials at a hardware store that aren't normally used for bookbinding. My book is a Jacob's Ladder book structure, which can also be a toy.

The first thing I did when planning my book was to head over to my local ArtsJunktion instead of the Hardware Store. I knew I would find linoleum samples and other hardware materials there, that had been discarded by local businesses. So win-win for me and the environment!

Next, I painted a tyvek mailing envelope, also found at ArtsJunktion, to cut into the ribbons holding it together. I love the texture of the veins in the tyvek when you paint it!

Construction wasn't too difficult, and I only messed up once when attaching the layers together! I forgot to criss-cross the ribbons, and ended up with a solid block of layers. To make it easy, I used Sookwang two sided tape as the adhesive.

Here are a few more pictures of my finished book:

And one more video of the book in action:

Thanks for stopping by! If you are on Instagram, search the hashtag #areyoubookenough to find all the imaginative creations of participating artists. Prepare yourself to be inspired!

Instagram Bookbinding Challenge: May / Grief

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Wed, 31 May 2017 21:53:00 +0000

I've been participating in an online bookbinding community challenge, where each month bookmakers from around the world challenge themselves to create a book on a chosen theme for the month. The theme for May was Grief. However you interpret it, art/creating is very therapeutic in working through grief. I'm sure this month was very emotional for a lot of us, but it was good.

Here's my entry for May:

I thought a Rebound Journal would be fitting with the theme, and this title called out to me from my shelf of books.

What comes to mind when you journey through grief? Here are some of the words I felt as I created my book for this month:
-unraveling
-woven and stitched back together
-patched up
-journeying
-ongoing endless journey
-uphill climb
-darkness
-loose threads
-unfinished
-altered, changed
-emptiness, holes
-torn apart
-don't talk about it
-keep it inside
-get over it
-healing
-light
-joy
-happy memories
-hope

I used a variety of techniques to express these emotions through the pages. Here's a little slideshow of my book to show you inside:

And when it's all said and done, close it up and keep things under wraps (with a button).

Thanks for stopping by! If you are on Instagram, search the hashtag #areyoubookenough to find all the thoughtful creations of participating artists. Prepare yourself to be inspired!

Instagram Bookbinding Challenge: April / Nature Walk

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Sun, 30 Apr 2017 21:21:00 +0000

I had very good intentions of completing a book on the theme #naturewalk for the #areyoubookenough#bookbindingchallenge for April. But with preparations for the #winnipegetsy Spring Market and the deadline for #incometax coinciding, it didn't happen. I will save my idea and it might come to fruition in another month, and I'll be able to start next month's in time.

Instagram Bookbinding Challenge: March / Time

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Sat, 01 Apr 2017 02:51:00 +0000

In an age of fast fashion, fast food, and instant gratification, I wanted to do something that was all about slow process and old supplies.

Using only materials that I had on hand, I laid out some patchwork cotton fabric pieces on a muslin foundation, and slowly stitched them together #Borostitchstyle.

I used beautiful rayon threads that I found at a thrift shop ages ago.

The colours were brighter than I wanted my finished book to be, so I tea dyed the patchwork to age and dull the colours. This worked really well.

I soaked the patchwork piece overnight in the tea bath.

I used another tea dyed vintage linen on the inside of the cover.

The pages are also slow--handmade papers made locally @botanicalpaperworks and sourced at my local @artsjunktion .

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to check out the hashtag #AreYouBookEnough on Instagram to be delighted and inspired by other makers around the world!

Instagram Bookbinding Challenge: February / Peace

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Tue, 28 Feb 2017 22:17:00 +0000

When the theme was announced, the words of the hymn "When Peace Like a River" kept going through my head, so I just went with it! I wanted to make a Star Book with the words cut out on the pages. I used a star book kit from Quietfire Design, that I was gifted many years ago. Using the kit helped me focus on the paper cutting and not worry about the construction details. The picture above shows everything that was included in the kit.

I started by counting the letters and dividing it by the number of pages, so I'd know how many words/letters to fit on each page. They flow from one word to the next without spaces. After drawing them out on graph paper, I transferred the design on each dark (navy) page to the back of each page with white pencil crayon, and then cut out the negative space around the letters.

While the pencil marks were on the wrong side, I wanted to erase as much as possible for a cleaner finish. I tried all of these tools: tape, kneaded eraser, white vinyl eraser, and black vinyl eraser. Guess which worked the best? The black vinyl eraser!

I love how the light plays with the letters on each individual page! I've filed this idea away for future book ideas...

Assembling the book was relatively easy with the clear instructions provided in the kit. First, gluing the covers.

Sewing the structural pages together with a link stitch.

Adding the rest of the layers of pages...

Putting the finished book...

...in my very expensive high tech book press.

And then it's done!

Don't forget to check out the hashtag #areyoubookenough on Instagram to see all the amazing books made on the same thing by bookbinders around the world!

Instagram Bookbinding Challenge: January / Light

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 03:02:00 +0000

I've been participating in an online bookbinding community challenge, where each month bookmakers from around the world challenge themselves to create a book on a chosen theme for the month. The theme for January was Light. If you are on Instagram, search the hashtag #areyoubookenough to find all the amazing creations of participating artists. Prepare yourself to be inspired!

For myself, I was inspired by a stack of rainbow coloured Canson Mi-Teintes artists papers I had saved for a few years, intending to make a rainbow book one day. What is light, if not the beautiful spectrum of colours before us?

Don't these torn sheets look gorgeous in this stack? I was tempted to stop there. Sometimes it's hard to use up beautiful supplies!

After cutting and folding and grouping the pages into signatures, I started on the covers. I wanted to make a softcover book with a simple stitched rainbow on the cover. I chose the cover fabric from my stash, because I'm all about using up, recycling, and making do with what you have: a black wool suiting fabric for the outside and a grey wool for the inside.

Choosing thread colours--yup, all the colours of the rainbow are there!

To make the covers a little stiffer, I used a sturdy interfacing between the layers. In this case, I found this crazy vegetable printed interfacing in my stash (not sure where I picked that up!), and started stitching my rainbow.

I was delighted to find a vintage spool of black linen thread in my supplies, and used it to bind my books.

I think the prism button finishes it off nicely, don't you?

I made a limited edition of four of these books, and they are now available in my PrairiePeasant Etsy shop.

Ironing Board Makeover

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Sat, 08 Aug 2015 19:09:00 +0000

It all started with a special request for my husband to build me a board that fits over my standard ironing board to make a larger surface for ironing large pieces of fabric, quilts, etc.

I requested a board 22" wide by 60" long, which he made for me to fit snuggly over the ironing board so it doesn't need any screws or knobs to hold it in place.

It was up to me to pad and cover it as I wished. I had several metres of this purple cotton striped fabric in my stash which I thought would work just fine. First I cut two layers of quilt batting (Warm & Natural cotton) and then the fabric. I used a staple gun all around the bottom to hold it tightly in place.

Then I decided all my other ironing tools needed a makeover as well. I have two small sleeve boards whose very worn vintage covers needed replacing and then I tackled my regular ironing board. I used the existing ironing board cover as a pattern and that worked very well.

It was only after recovering them all that I noticed that they even matched my new iron! I'm not a matchy-matchy person, but it does look nice.

Craft Year 2015

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Sun, 24 May 2015 21:27:00 +0000

2015 is Craft Year in Canada! Click on the picture above for more information. From the website:

"Craft Year is a year-long, nation-wide festival aimed at promoting craft as a key player in Canadian Culture. The type of events we are looking for can include craft exhibitions, fairs, book launches, open houses, conferences, workshops, competitions, publications, community events and more. All events registered for Craft Year 2015 will be displayed here on our website for the whole world to see."

There are a lot of events listed on the page, but unfortunately they are not listed by province or date (other than by month). Check with your local craft council regarding events being held in your area. I attended a Pecha Kucha night on the theme of craft about a week ago. Most of the speakers were excellent and drew me in to their creative world whether they were blacksmiths, woodworkers, spinners or students!

Click on the photo above to read the Manifesto of all Citizens of Craft. If you are reading this page, then you are one too! Welcome aboard!

Fabric Labels

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 01:36:00 +0000

Last week I had a sweet little package arrive in the mail! After trying a few things and a lot of stalling, I finally decided on getting some woven labels made up for my coiled items. I wanted some way to identify that "I made it" after it leaves my shop.

I'm pretty happy with how these turned out! I spent the weekend sewing them into most of my already made products and figuring out where the best placement of the label would be. In the future, I plan on sewing them in as I go.

If you are a Maker, do you label/sign your products? and if so, how do you do it?

WEST Handmade and Vintage Sale VII

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 18:49:00 +0000

The Winnipeg Etsy team sales keep getting better and better! And this one promises to be no exception to the rule. Follow along on the team blog or on the facebook event to see a preview of the great vendors that will be selling their wares at this year's spring sale. It's hard to believe it's only 3 weeks away!

Gypsy Bohemian Coiled Tote

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 20:14:00 +0000

Here are some pictures of my latest fabric coiled tote bag in progress.

It started in a very ordinary way, looking like one of my average sized coiled baskets.

Detail of the stitching.

But it kept growing bigger and bigger. Here it is looking a lot like a prairie landscape, which I quite like, and might just have to make another basket that ends here!

Still needs to be bigger, so adding more colours....

Checking out the placement for the straps with twill tape.

Deconstructing this old leather jacket for pieces to use for the straps.

And the finished bag!

It's available in my PrairieThreads Etsy shop for purchase here.

Handmade Papermaking

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 20:48:00 +0000

I've been playing around with handmade paper lately, hoping to make some sheets nice enough to bind into some books.

It all starts with scraps of paper I save in a bin, including bits of maps. These get shredded with my paper shredder, and then soaked in water, at least overnight.

The buckets have different shades of the same colour, so it's unpredictable what colour the paper will be when finished.

Soaked paper is then run through the blender, to make pulp. Wet pulp is not very pretty, and surprisingly, maps end up a rather dull grey! I mixed this with the blue pulp and it turned out a lighter blue (see below).

The mold and deckle is slipped through the wet pulp to get some of the pulp to settle on the mesh screen.

I like recycling paper to make new paper because the results are more unpredictable, although you can buy premade cotton or abaca pulp to get started. For the above sheets and the green sheets below, I didn't process the pulp very long in the blender, so bits of paper and the odd inked letter remained in the pulp.

For the mustard yellow sheets, I processed the pulp for a longer time in the blender, resulting in a more uniform looking pulp.

I'm having fun experimenting. Stay tuned to see more paper experiments, and what I might decide to do with this paper!

International Women's Day

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Sun, 08 Mar 2015 20:45:00 +0000

It's International Women's Day today. The theme for 2015 is "Make It Happen." Let's join all women in encouraging the recognition of women in the workplace, the safety of women in the street and in their homes, and the power of choice over their own bodies and their own lives.

I'd like to also celebrate the uniqueness and beauty in every single woman and acknowledge that we are all strange and colourful in some way or another!

On Sale

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 23:01:00 +0000

I've got a few items marked down 25-50% in my PrairiePeasant Etsy shop to clear out old stock and make room for new!

Scrabble Journals

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Sun, 22 Feb 2015 20:48:00 +0000

Here are a few more small Scrabble Journals that I have available, getting them listed in my shop this week.

Instagram Loop Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 16:42:00 +0000

Happy Valentine's Day!!! We have teamed up with 10 fabulous WEST Sellers to bring you an awesome giveaway to celebrate the weekend of love! Our shop will be giving away a $25 gift certificate which can be used in either PrairiePeasant or PrairieThreads. Want to help us celebrate? Here's how you can enter:

1. Visit me on Instagram and follow @prairiepeasant

2. Follow the instructions on Instagram on my post with the picture above

The loop will run for 48 hours, ending 10:30am CST on February 16, and winners will be chosen and announced within 24 hours.

Thanks for participating and good luck!!!

Paul Klee Recycled Envelopes

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Sun, 08 Feb 2015 03:33:00 +0000

What are the chances of finding the same fabulous art book a second time?

A few years ago, I found a once loved book on the art of Paul Klee, and recycled into envelopes. They were quite popular and sold very quickly in my Etsy shop.

This summer I found the same book at a garage sale and finally had the chance to make some more recycled envelopes with the pages.

These will bring a smile to someone's face if they are used for snail mail, and I think even the letter carrier would enjoy seeing them! They are available here.

Etsy Made In Canada

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 23:59:00 +0000

The Etsy Made In Canada day is happening all across Canada next Saturday, September 27. I'm thrilled to be participating in the Winnipeg Market. If you can't make it to the Winnipeg sale, click here to find out where else in Canada the markets will be happening. It's going to be a great day!

New Journals

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 02:11:00 +0000

Here are a few more Gameboard Journals listed in my PrairiePeasant Etsy shop.

I'm not familiar with the game World Wise, but the board had great maps to use as journal covers. Often I get just the boards, so I can't even try to play the game!

And a couple more "Sorry!" journals. What is your favourite vintage board game, and do you think it would work as a journal cover?

Shop Update

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Sun, 10 Aug 2014 00:39:00 +0000

I've been working on stocking up for fall sales, starting with more recycled game board journals.

Lots of covers have been cut

Pages have been cut and folded, with holes punched for sewing

I'm gradually working my way through these books in the queue, and finally listed the completed Candy Land journals in my PrairiePeasant Etsy shop this week:

Batik Quilt: the Back

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 01:23:00 +0000

After finishing my batik quilt top, I wasn't sure what to do for the back. I knew I didn't want to just buy metres of one fabric and have a plain backing. So I laid out all the leftover bits of fabric from the top on my bed to see how much they would cover.

There was more leftover than I thought! Turns out that a lot of the pieces remaining were a similar width, having originally been purchased as fat quarters.

So I arranged them randomly and pieced them together in one long strip, the length of the quilt-to-be.

I still had a pile of 2.5" squares leftover from the quilt top as well, so I pieced them together randomly into two long strips. They've been added to the striped piece, separated by all the leftover green fabric from the quilt top.

And this is where it stalls. I have a little bit more in odd sizes of a couple of fabrics, so I might make another stripe or two, but I'll need to purchase more fabric yet. What would you do? More green? Batik or solid or something else? While it is the quilt back, I still want it to look nice.

Unfinished projects

noreply@blogger.com (PrairiePeasant) — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 02:18:00 +0000

I've dug out some unfinished projects this week. First off, my batik quilt is so close to being finished!

Today I added the final border around the edges. All it needed was a simple 2.5" strip of the dark green fabric all the way around for the top to be finished.

Here is the finished top, doing a practice run on the bed it will grace when finished. The colours are so brilliant, I can't wait to have it finished!

Now I have to decide what to do for the back. I haven't thought about it until now, so I'm collecting a few ideas on a new Pinterest board Quilt Backs.

Right now I'm waffling between a colour blocked back, using the leftover pieces from the front, or purchasing a coordinating fabric that has similar colours, and doing a strip of squares from the front across it. What do you think?