Project Day - Book covers

I don't know about you, but I tend to have an abundance of notebooks hanging around the house for lists and organisationing activities. One is for my gardening journal, another for miscellaneous stuff such as budgets and renovation costing. I have an art journal for my artwork and my husband has one for his CD lists. (Lord love his socks. It lives on his bedside table and is regularly updated on the arrival of every music mag. However he forgets it every time we go up to Brisbane. We spend hours trying to remember the names of obscure alt country bands)

The thing is, they are all ugly and we always misplace them or forget them because they are so ugly. To rectify this situation I am covering all of the journals and notebooks in the house.

To start, my gardening journal. Exhibit A. Pretty ugly huh?

I have a pile of vintage fabric and was tempted to use this piece of barkcloth with fist sized sunflowers...but I couldn't. My scissors were poised ready to cut and I heard a little voice from deep within, "Cease and desist!" it yelled. What could I do but comply. I reverently refolded the fabric and replaced it on the shelf where undoubtably it will sit until I am six feet under. Does anyone else share my anxieties?

After much deliberation, I chose a green, floral theme for the journal. I am trying to get away from the olives and muddier colours, but they keep on surfacing. Why oh why can't I do white and pastels? The fabrics are a mix of vintage and new.

For the binding I used string for that rustic feel. The button is a small wooden duffel type. I printed the labels with some cool little stamps I got from a scrapbooking shop and sewed them in place with some plastic from some packaging.

Please note the artfully arranged jalepeno chillis. I will be preserving them today and will let you know how it goes.

I needed some space on the inside of the book for pencils,seeds and labels, so I made little pockets in the front and back covers, and sewed some elastic loops for the pencils.

I am pleased as punch as now I can leave my journal on the coffee table and it doesn't look like the "dogs dinner."  It is easy to find under my piles of paper and I can take it up to the vege garden without my bits and pieces flying around everwhere. If it gets dirty, the cover can simply be thrown in the wash. Once this journal is full, I simply put the cover on the new journal.

I can't wait to get started on my other notebooks. xxN