Ten years and counting

Tony and I celebrated our ten-year anniversary on Saturday. We met during our freshman year of high school, back when we were just 14. He sat behind me in English class, and thanks to our assigned seats we like to say we met because of alphabetical order. The official start to our relationship came a few days after Thanksgiving, when he called to ask me a question about isosceles trapezoids (we also had geometry class together), followed by a request to join him for a movie. We went to see Bounce (it's terrible); my parents drove us to the theater because, hey, we were 14 and couldn't yet drive.

After high school, we both headed off to separate colleges; I moved to Georgia, and Tony went to school in Michigan. A four-year long-distance relationship ensued, during which we visited each other during school breaks, exchanged thousands of e-mails, and racked up our phone bills.

Tony proposed in 2008, at dusk in an exotic greenhouse in rural Michigan while I was visiting him during my spring break. I, of course, said yes. We were married the following summer in an Art Deco movie theater in Charleston, SC.

Life with Tony keeps getting better with each passing day. I look forward to all the milestones ahead of us, while cherishing all of the experiences we've shared as we've become the people we are today. Here's to many more happy years together. Happy anniversary, Tony!

Win a little leather book

My journals made from a pair of red suede pants have been incredibly popular online and at art shows, and now you have a chance to win one.

Elena, one of my good friends from high school, is hosting the giveaway on her fashion blog called caffeinerd. (PS- Elena got engaged last week to an ultra-talented photographer. Congratulations to them both!) You can enter the contest right here, now through Tuesday, December 7. To enter, just leave a comment on her blog mentioning your favorite item from my etsy shop. And for three extra chances to win, you can sign up for my newsletter, follow my blog, or become a fan on facebook. Good luck!

A journal for Thea

I completed a slew of custom books this fall, like this one, which I'm slowly but surely posting to the blog now that they've been given to their new owners. And all surfaces in my studio are currently covered with an assortment of beautiful papers as I get to work on many new personalized books that will be given as gifts this Christmas.

I'm accepting orders for personalized holiday gifts through Friday, December 3. If you're interested in having me make a custom book for you, please e-mail me at linenlaidfelt [at] gmail [dot] com and we can discuss all of the details.

The same customer who asked me to make a personalized photo album this summer also commissioned this orange and yellow journal which she gave to her friend Thea as a birthday gift. I love the orange paper with the white spirograph pattern that I used for the cover. This is one of my new favorite papers, and I've since used it for another similar journal which is listed in my shop.

Congratulations, Leah and Chris!

I've gotten a bit behind with sharing photos of my custom orders on the blog, but I have some great posts lined up over the next few weeks to showcase some wedding guest books, journals, and photo albums. I'm starting off with a book that might just be one of my favorite custom books I've made this year.

Leah asked me to make a wedding guest book for her October 16 wedding to Chris. She had some specific ideas in mind about the guest book, so we worked together to come up with a design that fit her needs. This book was slightly more involved than some custom orders, so it really gave me the opportunity to learn about the couple which made the process even more satisfying for me.

Most of my wedding guest books are made with blank pages, but Leah had envisioned something with designed and structured pages. The pages provided guests with spaces to answer specific questions about the couple and to draw pictures.

In addition to designing the question and answer pages for the book, I also created a series of original flower illustrations that alternate throughout the book. A lot of care was put into determining the order of the pages before binding to ensure that the book has a nice balance between the pages with text and the pages with the various illustrations.

The book was handbound using the Coptic stitch. I chose handmade lokta paper in blue and purple for the covers and the guards (the paper that wraps around the sections of pages and are visible on the spine of the book).

Their names and wedding date are featured in a recessed cutout on the front cover of the book. I also cut two bird shapes from blue paper and attached them to the cover, in keeping with their love bird and wildflower theme.

In the end, this book turned out exactly how I hoped it would, and Leah was quite pleased with it as well. Here is the feedback she left for me on Etsy after receiving her book:

"LinenLaidFelt made the guestbook of my dreams! It seriously came out amazing. I basically just rambled aimlessly about what my dream guestbook would be and somehow she captured it and made it a reality! It's amazing!"

Custom cherry blossoms

Ever since I finished this set of three cherry blossom books back in March, I've received multiple requests for custom books using these papers. The cherry blossom motif has turned out to be incredibly popular, and I'd like to share some of the other books I've made recently.

The Words of Lucy Hughes:

This journal was commissioned by Molly of Little Lucy and Scooter, and she plans to use it to record all of the clever things her daughter says as she grows up. It was a joy to work with Molly on this custom order. She is so supportive and always has such kind things to say about my work. Within days of receiving her book, she surprised me by mailing me the sweetest thank you note which is now tacked to the bulletin board in my studio.

Robert Frost journal:

This book was made for Becca of StormGazerDesigns, which she gave as a gift to a friend. The cover features an excerpt from the famous poem by Robert Frost, and the full text of "The Road Not Taken" appears on the first page of the book. (In unrelated but very exciting news, Becca just gave birth to her first child this week! Congratulations on your new addition to the family!)

A set of brown cherry blossom journals:

These two books were commissioned by someone who stopped by my booth at the Fall Foliage Festival earlier this month. These books will shipped out on Monday, and come December they will be given as Christmas gifts.

Pink cherry blossom journal:

This book was also created for someone who visited my booth at the Fall Foliage Festival. The covers are wrapped in pink book cloth, and the rectangles of cherry blossom paper and the text on the front cover are set into recessed cutouts.

If you're interested in ordering a custom book (with or without a cherry blossom cover), just send me an e-mail and we can discuss the details: linenlaidfelt {at} gmail {dot} com.

I also have two cherry blossom books in my Etsy shop right now, and more to come in mid November.

Submit a map, win a book

I've teamed up with the Hand Drawn Map Association this month to give away five of my handmade books. Through the end of October you can win one, but there's a catch.

You've got to draw a map.

Whether it's driving directions scribbled on a sticky note, a fanciful imaginary place, or an artful illustration, the HDMA wants to collect your maps. Everyone who sends a map this month (by post, e-mail, or digital upload) will be entered into a drawing for my books. For submission details, visit the HDMA website.

A little about each book:

I've had an oversized 1966 Britannica World Atlas taking up space in my studio since winter, when my husband picked it up for free (with me in mind) at Book Thing of Baltimore. The atlas is packed with (outdated) data colorfully displayed on dozens of maps. A large portion of the book goes beyond political and topographical maps to show socio-economic trends.

For the covers of this small, Coptic-bound journal I chose a birth rate map. I was especially inspired by the colors, which I carried through to the binding and the varied progression of paper colors inside.

Off the bat, I knew I'd also have to put to good use the map key. As you can see above, it's clipped and tucked into the inside front cover.

The giveaway features two other binding styles, including these concertinas. I made the first from a Virginia map, my current state, and the other from a vintage Minneapolis/St. Paul map, where we lived before Virginia.

Other books made from the Minneapolis map have caught attention from art show shoppers because of their gray and pink color scheme. They don't make maps like this anymore!

There are several lakes featured on the Minneapolis book, including a fun discovery: Snail Lake.

The pages of these lotus books were made from the same World Atlas. When you "open" these books, they unfold into a malleable array of pages. When closed, the folds return to an orderly stack. One of the two lotus folds features various maps of Africa, both political and topographical. The other is made from an assortment.

My collaboration is one of the first the HDMA has done in recent months, but that's not to say that founder Kris Harzinski hasn't been busy. The HDMA recently published its first book, "From Here to There," showcasing dozens of maps collected in the past three years. You can find the book on Amazon.

As always, the HDMA has been collecting and posting numerous maps. They're easy to browse and share. To get started, check out these maps submitted by my husband.

Remember, the linenlaid&felt giveaway runs to the end of October, so look around for that map you drew the other day -- or sketch a fresh one -- and send them in for your chance to win.

Swapping recycled books

I had such a great experience participating in the last book swap with the Bookbinding Esty Street Team in May, so I was really looking forward to the August swap. While the previous one had no theme, with this one we were challenged to create books using recycled or reclaimed materials. This post on the BEST blog shows a preview of all of the books made for this swap, and everyone seemed to find interesting objects (like maps, empty boxes, and seat belts) to transform into works of art



On Friday I received my new book from a bookbinder and printmaker in South Dakota. Camille Riner made this book from leftover pieces of her relief prints. She used a piece of an old handmade string paper relief print for the cover. The abaca in the cover sheet makes it strong, and the strings from the handmade paper peek out at the bottom. The interior pages of the double pamphlet section book are made from scraps of paper as well as other repurposed prints. I am absolutely thrilled with my newest addition to my collection of handmade books.



The book I created for the book swap is a small Italian long-stitch with a leather cover. The material used for the cover comes from a pair of red suede pants I found in an Athens, Georgia thrift store. (You can see some pictures of the pants in an earlier blog post.) The red leather strap that holds the book shut was part of a zig-zag pattern on the pants. The colored papers used for the guards are from a Neenah paper swatch book of their recycled papers, and the interior papers are recycled as well.



I have made a few other books from these red suede pants over the past few months, and they have all been fairly traditional. But for this book I wanted to use some different color combination and more graphic papers. I'm quite pleased with the contrast of the teal thread against the red book cover, and I like how it coordinates with the papers inside.



I recently ordered a custom stamp from fellow Etsy seller NoteTrunk that features my logo. I've just recently started to experiment with it, and this is the first book I've used it on to "sign" my work. I stamped my logo onto a scrap of paper, signed and dated below it, and then used the sewing machine to stitch the paper onto the last page of the book. I think this worked out really well and fit with the style of the book. What do you think of the stamp, and of the stitched addition to the last page? Should I turn this into my standard style for signing my books, or would it seem out of place in a more traditional book, like a wedding guest book?



I sent my book to BEST member SeaLemon of Phoenix, Arizona. Being a graphic designer and typography nerd myself, I am a huge fan of her Helvetica books. I enjoy her use of bold colors and patterns in her work, and I especially like her shop's logo. You can also check her out on facebook and twitter.

A personalized gift

This book was comissioned by a friend, Emma, who Tony and I met while we were living in Minneapolis. This summer, she asked me to make a book that she could give to her cousin as a graduation gift. Emma was drawn to the blue pages and bold patterns of this album, which I traded for a pair of earrings at Art in the Park. So I used the original book as my inspiration, and made this new, personalized photo album for Emma's cousin.

The book is sewn together using the Japanese stab binding technique. I especially like how the geometric pattern created by the stitching compliments and balances the bold floral patterned paper. And the blue paper used for the pages is one of my favorites; I love it's unique texture and bright color.

Hello again!

The past month has been a busy one. Tony and I signed a lease for a new apartment in early July, and started moving into our new place just a few days after our one-year anniversary. The move has been a gradual one, since we were just moving across town. But now, over a month after we started, we finally have all of our possessions in one place. We've been working on getting settled, digging our way out from under piles of boxes, and our new apartment now feels like a home.

We've got our artwork hung on the walls (including the prints from I bought from These Are Things as an anniversary gift for Tony), we're cooking up a storm in our new and beautiful kitchen, we've been snuggling up with our new bedding from West Elm, and best of all, I've got my brand new studio all set up and ready to go.

This weekend marked the first time I was able to spend any serious time working on my books since the move, and it felt so nice to finally make something again. Yesterday I was mainly working on a series of Italian Longstitch books, with red leather covers made from a thrift store find. One of the books will be sent off as part of the upcoming BEST book swap. (See my post on the last book swap here.) The others will be listed in my Etsy shop and sold in a local shop.

I realize that my wedding posts as part of the anniversary series were neglected as we moved last month, but I'm still planning to share a bit more about our wedding details in some future posts. I also have some recent custom books to share with you, and I also want to post some photos of our new apartment, and of course, my studio. Stay tuned!

Last-minute photographer

It seems fitting to share a few favorite photos on the blog today, our one-year anniversary. I enjoyed going back to look through the photos to help remember the day that Tony and I both agree was the most fun day of our lives. With friends and family spread out all over the country (and the world), it was a one-of-a-kind moment to be surrounded by all the people we love on that one special day.

And in addition to reminiscing about the wedding itself, we took some time today to talk about all of the things that have happened over the past year: the dog we adopted, the promotions we each earned at work, the new apartment we'll be moving into, and the new business we've started together, not to mention all of the little things that have made this year so happy for us.



When beginning to plan our wedding, the photography was one of the things that was most important to us. After all, once the champagne stops flowing and the music stops playing, it's the photos that you get to hold on to forever. So we immediately decided to work with an experienced wedding photographer from Chicago, who also happened to be one of Tony's close friends (and the person who taught Tony to juggle years ago).

But plans abruptly changed only days before our photographer was scheduled to make his cross-country trip to Charleston. On the Tuesday before our wedding, he was injured in a fire and was hospitalized for weeks, leaving us worried for our friend and scrambling to find a new photographer. (Ironically, on this same day about an hour later, the building attached to the Riviera Theater was badly burned by flames that threatened our venue as well.)



With the help our our wedding planners, we were able to find three local photographers available on our wedding day. As Tony and I made our 8-hour drive to Charleston after work on Tuesday night, our groomsman Chase scouted out our options online and made his recommendation. We made our decision the next morning and then met with our new photographer over coffee the following day to seal the deal.



As it turned out, working with Liz Duren was an amazing experience. She captured all of the details and intimate moments of our day, and did it all in her charmingly sassy way. I was a little concerned at first that we would be working with a stranger instead of a family friend, but Liz just had a way of making everyone around her feel comfortable.



As I was going through her website to put this blog post together, I was excited to see that she has added quite a few of our pictures to her online portfolio, and she included an e-mail Tony sent her in the "compliments" section of her site. I think that e-mail really sums up our experience with her, so I wanted to share some of it here:

Liz,

We received the DVD of wedding photos yesterday and almost immediately took them to the store to begin making simple prints for our at-home frames, to include with thank you notes to guests, and for our families.

Your photography really was wonderful, and more than that, you were a complete stranger who was suddenly there for the both of us in a time of need. I don't know exactly what we expected to find in a short-notice photographer, but it wasn't anywhere near what you offered us.

We liked your approach, your pictures, and your sass. You listened to what we liked and seemed to understand what we were all about. You seized every opportunity to photograph the zaniness of the night -- which, really, we had no idea would unfold like it did. I don't think either of us would change a thing. Your photos will always remind us of exactly that.

Did I mention how we freaked out when you posted photos online so quickly after the wedding? 100% wow. And Katie was quick to the mailbox all this week awaiting the disc.

Thank you, again, Liz, for being so great to work with, so skilled, and so cool.

Tony & Katie



To see more of Liz's work, check out her blog and her website. You can also check out more photos and a slide show from our wedding on her blog.