I wanted to write a blog post for my latest journal, since I didn't do a video flip-thru of it before I sent it to its recipient, John Morgan. I wrote a more extensive post in honour of John Morgan on my Labyrinth Gal blog. This post is more about the journal. I'll show some photos, and then I will have links to supplies, tools, and information on how to make the journal.
Here's the journal:
It's a Booksmith journal, of course! It has a 3 1/2 inch curved spine.
John is the author of GrasshopperNotes.com,
hence The Grasshopper in all its festive glory.
I made the frame using a creative commons
image I got in MS Publisher.
I used gold paint to accent, and a gold-ribbon tie closure:
The inside opens to reveal that it is also a Traveler's Notebook:
Green elastics. I included 3 inserts, but there
is LOTS of room and elastics to add more.
I glued an envelope down on the inside front
cover with a note inside. Ferny wax seal on the
envelope in keeping with the green theme.
The letter inside says:
"Listener Food" is defined on a page down
below. A "Remote" is a radio term for being
out of the studio on location. Often remote. Ha!
A pocket made with a green file folder for cards, ephemera &c.:
Here's the first insert:
I designed the inserts in MS Publisher and included a lot of family photos, which I won't share here. I also included some of his birthday-related blogposts. Here are a few pages:
Photo of him and his dad, secured with Tim Holtz paper clip.
John & his mother in a photo booth:
Looks like a Tim Holtz photo strip. That's another
one of his tiny paper clips holding it to the page.
Photo of Steve Martin that John took at one of his shows:
So I signed it a la Steve Martin.
Last page:
Magnolia May was really John's idea! So I
had to have "her" sign his book.
The idea for this is that friends and family can sign The Birthday Book, taken out of the Traveler's Notebook, so I included a pen loop and (NON-fountain) pen:
Pilot G-2 rollerball pen.
Back cover of the Birthday insert:
John is wearing one of his granddaughter's
hats, taken at her birthday party.
Second insert: I have notebooks & journals filled with notes I took over the years for John Morgan Seminars. I've often read them to him, but he's never seen them. So I included a few pages in an insert for him:
I copied the entries onto parchment paper:
The third insert is Radio-themed from his days in radio:
Inside has a pocket made with a photo of him when he was a DJ at KCMO (Kansas City). He rode a bull for some radio stunt:
Inside the pocket is one of his blog posts, Friendship,
printed onto parchment.
Here are a few pages with quotes and stories:
John had Gary Owens (from Laugh-In) record some
"drop-ins" for his show.
Center of insert:
Newspaper article from DJ days at KCMO.
Back of insert:
He was "Chuck Taylor" in Wilkes-Barre for 2 years and
told a lot of corny jokes. E.g. "Today's secret word is
PEANUT BUTTER. Spread it around." Hahahaha
Back cover of Radio insert:
I included one of his Grasshopper Notes journals:
If you want to make a journal like this:
1. Take the Adventures in Booksmithing course by Nik The Booksmith.
2. Take the Hollow Back Book Binding course.
3. Then make a Traveler's Notebook spine with elastics.
Sound like a lot of work? Exactly. However, if you want to make high quality, fool-proof journals and books, it's still the best course to take. She has taken the guesswork out of making a Booksmith tome, and you won't have to try to deconstruct or reinvent how to do it. Clear instructions, all the best materials, supplies and tools to use. She does a lot of free tutorials on her YouTube channel, too. OK, that's my testimonial. ;-)
For Booksmith-specific materials & supplies, you'll need to take the course. E.g. cover material, spine construction, etc. etc. For the rest, here are (non-affiliate) links to supplies and materials:
HP laser 32 lb. paper Decent for photos and great for rollerball or fountain pens!
Elastic (1 mm): The elastic in this journal is from Tuesday Morning from years ago. Your local craft store should have basic white and/or black. White is good because they you can dye it whatever colour you need. I just lucked out with the already-green for this journal!
Double-sided tape (used in making the back Ephemera pocket)
Fern wax seal I can't find the exact one I have, but this one is close.
Coloured hot glue sticks (The ones I used are currently unavailable)
If I've left anything out that you want to know about, leave a comment below & I'll answer.
Lastly, 2 videos on how to make non-wax "wax" seals. The first with hot glue:
Here's a video tutorial from Nik with a different method:
OK, I think that's all!
