The Evolution of a New Journal

It all began with a mistake. Back in early January I had ordered a new piece of VERY thick black latigo leather for something special. Well, it turned out that I didn't really need it after all, so ever since then, I've been racking my brain about what to do with it. At first I thought I could use it for my regular journals even though it was thicker. I was determined to make it work so I gave it a try. It soon became evident that this stuff just would NOT bend to my will. So back in the leather closet it went until I could come up with something else.

Fast forward to earlier this week....I was doing something random like playing Bubble Breaker on my phone, and all of a sudden the idea hit me! I started right in on a prototype and it turned out great. I was so excited about this new style I made the first journal and showed it off to everyone that would look (the kids, my husband, even the dogs... they were impressed!)


Then I decided I liked it soooo much, I made two more in different colors. Well all this was going swimmingly except for one thing. I wanted this new style to be a regular feature in my shops but it was a little more time consuming than some of my other journals. Visions of doing all this hand stitching in November and December were giving me nightmares so I sought to make some adjustments.

Since the two pieces of leather have been glued with a very strong glue then stitched, I tested the glue to see whether it was going to be strong enough without the stitching. These pieces aren't going anywhere! This glue is very sturdy, and durable. My one concern was for the corners. With a lot of use, there might be some extra stress placed on the inner and outer corners of the quarter binding piece. With another look into my supplies, I came up with some antique brass rivets...PERFECT!

So there you have it. The process took a couple of days, but I think it is well worth it. These journals will be a standard part of my journal selection and I couldn't be happier. This black leather is so nice, it's almost like a hardbound book, but has all the beauty of handbinding. What do you think??





These journals will be available in my Etsy Shop, and through my Website! I hope you'll go check them out!