2009-11-02T15:24:41ZA chunky black journal upcycled from a simple black handbag and a selection of books from my local Sue Ryder shop in Norwich (some lovely sheet music, the Dover book of Victorian stencils and a complimentary Barclaycard road atlas).
I have a small obsession with buying journals and notebooks - there's a huge pile by my computer, and several other stashes around the house. I can never resist the lure of a gorgeous pattern or some lovely paper. But the majority of my collection are blank - hundreds of pristine, empty pages just waiting for me to put pen to paper. Sometimes I feel slightly guilty about this habit, so when the Upcycle Christmas competition was announced I decided to make a notebook using upcycled materials.
Sewn together by hand using a technique called 'longstitch' which allows the book to open flat, and shows some of the stitching on the outside of the spine. The journal is pleasingly big and chunky, measuring 24cm by 14.5cm, and is 3cm thick. The pages inside are slightly smaller - 13.5cm by 19.5cm.
This journal contains 160 pages. About half are completely blank, some are taken from the sheet music and others from the road atlas. Others have elements of the stencil designs from the Dover book on them, but still have plenty of room for writing.
I incorporated the external pocket of the bag into the cover of the book, making a handy pocket which is just the right size for pens and pencils, and other bits and bobs.2010-05-01T15:27:50Z795892009-11-02T15:27:50ZcompleteUpcycled Black Journal5120.0true0.0£0.00.0£££GBUnited Kingdom0.01£http://d200fahol9mbkt.cloudfront.net/item/451564/with_pens_495.jpghttp://d200fahol9mbkt.cloudfront.net/item/451562/folksy_495.jpghttp://d200fahol9mbkt.cloudfront.net/item/451566/folksy2_495.jpgspoonergregory/items/79589-Upcycled-Black-Journal