Valentine's Day Commision

A friend of mine commissioned me to make an Anything Book for her husband for Valentine's Day. Of course, I was thrilled to help her out.

Here's the cover with the ring charm and book belt.

He's a huge Dr. Pepper fan, so I started out with a cover made from a fridge box. She told me a few of his favorite things and that his favorite color is green. So with that jumping off point, I went through my stash.

I added a green book belt to hold the pages together while he carries his journal around with him. As it gets filled up with items and grows bulky, the book belt will help to hold his treasures inside and keep them safe.

A local area map lets an IKEA ad peek out and a luggage tag overlays a patterned page page.

Normally, I love the mish mash of colors, but it was a lot of fun to see what I could do focused around a single color. I love the way the map colors pull out the colors of the striped paper (above).

A Russian postage stamp pulls out the blue distressing on this polka dot paper.

The recipeint is a journal keeper, so I added in extra journaling sections of blank pages. The vertical shape makes this Anything Book perfect for someone who like to write a lot. With this shape, it's more like writing in a tablet. You can keep a journal in a horizontal Anything Book, of course, but it's a different writing experience. And I'm all for mixing up experiences, too.

A green paint chip adorned with baker's twine hides part of an Apple advertisement.

Some company brochures and marketing materials are so beautiful that I love to incorporate them into the Anything Books. Apple is one of those companies. The green paint chip pops against this ad and the baker's twine adds a touch of elegance.

In the center you can see the rich assortment of materials that went into this Anything Book. 

Photos like this of the depth of the book are my favorites. I love seeing the mix of materials that came together for this book. I also love the variety of materials that made up the page tabs on this book (below).

An outdated London travel guide adds a reminder of the recipient's favorite place to visit.

Her husband love to visit London, so I added in a page from an outdated London travel guide for some memory triggers. There wasn't much green on this page, so I added a paper strip to the bottom of the page, attached with washi tape that brings the brown into the green area.

An envelope with a string closure provides a safe place to tuck away small treasures.

I have a few favorite books that I like to use. On the left is a page from a mythology book that is filled with interesting illustrations. Even the printed pages are beautifully laid out. The variety of colors makes it easy to accent the green in this two-page spread.

This Anything Book has its unique bar code identifier and its name on the back cover.

Inside this book, I found the word "Thames" which is the name of the river that flows through London. So I named this Anything Book: Thames. Like all Anything Books, it has a bar code with a unique identifier on the back, along with my signature.

I got the sweetest note back from my friend after her husband received his gift. I'm honored to have a small part in helping her celebrate her love and her marriage.

Would you like to commission an Anything Book for a special person or event in your life? Check out my Etsy store for details.

Scuba Anything Book

I have a delightful, free-spirited friend who commissioned me to make an Anything Book just for her. She had the perfect package for me to use as the cover: a Durex box.

The front cover of Scuba, an Anything Book created from a Durex box.

It's a great choice for an Anything Book because it is just over 5 inches each direction. That means there is room to add in photographs with just a little bit of trimming.

This was a fun project from start to finish. I used the bright blue of the package as inspiration for many of the pages and trims.

I used a mixture of soft and hard materials for the outside trim.

I used 1-inch book rings, so that means there were approximately 50 inserted pages for a total surface of 100 pages. Because of the square size, most of the pages are full size and there is little layering. There are inserted items like a luggage tag, product tags, and a shipping tag.

The Ultimate tag comes from a product and overlays a brochure cut from an IKEA store catalog.

I chose the name Scuba from the name of a color on a blue paint chip inside. Plus, this name gave me the giggles. I suppose that scuba gear is a bit more bulky than a raincoat, but you get the idea.

The name Scuba comes from the color name on this paint chip.

Each two-page spread is color coordinated to create a background for adding treasures. I include an archive quality glue stick with each book, along with an ultra-fine tip permanent marker. The marker is perfect for writing on most of the pages. You can also attach things with clips, staples, or anything else you can imagine.

A vellum page lays over the ruby slippers paper. 

The recipient grew up in Kansas, so the reference to the Wizard of Oz was another bit of humor I added to the contents. The vellum page adds depth and allows her to create something interesting over the ruby slippers paper.

The small white item is a coin envelope that open on the other side. It overlays a menu from a local restaurant.

I inserted several envelopes including an air mail envelope, two coin envelopes, and an upcycled return mail envelope to give her space to tuck away treasures within the pages.

The edges have tabs made from an assortment of papers and ribbons.

Within the pages are 4 journaling sections designed for writing longer entries. These are blank pages designed for writing. Of course, like everything else about the Anything Book, the recipeint can use it any way she wants.

Each Anything Book gets a unique bar code identifier along with a signature and the book name.

The book left with a large rubber band around the edges to hold everything inside and to keep the covers together.

I'm thrilled with how this turned out. And the recipient was equally happy with her Anything Book.

Melody Anything Book

Meet Melody, a musical Anything Book straight from my studio. (see Melody in my Etsy shop)

My Melody Anything Book comes with ring fringe and a polka dot book belt.

Melody is sweet like the strawberry fruit bars that make up her cover. Recycled from a Dreyer's Fruit Bar box, Melody is filled with upcycled and recycled materials from front to back. You can use Melody as a journal, an art journal, a scrapbook, or anything else you can imagine.

Melody comes with book ring binding adorned with ring fringe.

 Made with book ring binding, Melody holds 50 items which means you have 100 pages to fill with your words, photos, everyday items, quotes, and other treasures. She has a snappy polka dot black and white book belt to hold her pages together and keep your memories safe.

The variety of materials inside Melody make this a special journal.

Each two-page spread is color coordinated to give you a beautiful backdrop for recording your memories. Melody has several pages made from sheet music, along with patterned paper, book pages, photographs, menus, greeting cards, marketing materials, product packaging, paint chips, envelopes, vellum and a shipping tag.

Small touches adorn many of Melody's pages. 

The pages have small embellishments to inspire you to fill them up. They include washi tape, page tabs and dividers, clips, postage stamps, baker's twine and labels. There are 4 separate journaling sections where you can focus on collecting your thoughts, stories, quotes, or anything else that you want to remember.

A page made from a map showcases the tabs lining other pages in this art journal.

Melody comes with an ultra-fine permanent marker and an archival quality gluestick so you can start adding your treasures right out of the shipping package. Most of the pages are full size, but a few are smaller so they overlay the other pages, adding depth and layers to your journal experience.

A paint chip adorned with baker's twine sits on top of a cardstock page ready to hold your treasures.

You can use Melody's pages to hold your treasures, but you can also insert new pages. Simply open the book rings, take out a page for a template, and use a standard hole punch. Then, insert your new page into Melody. If your journal starts to get too bulky, you can upsize the book rings for 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 inch rings available at most office supply stores and in the office supply section of most discount stores.

Melody's name comes from inside the journal and appears on the back cover.

Like all of my Anything Books, Melody's name is taken from a word inside the journal. On the back cover, you find her unique bar code identifier, her name, and my signature. Melody is a one-of-a-kind journal designed to inspire you to collect your life's treasures.

Won't you visit Melody in my Etsy store and check out my other Anything Books?

Travilla Anything Book

Here's a great Anything Book for the logical, left-brained, and mathematical person. Travilla is an Anything Book made from a calculator box!

The Travilla Anything Book has a ring charm and a book belt.

The Travilla cover has a shiny plastic coating, so it was a bit tricky to photograph it without lots of glare. My apologies for this. It measures 5 3/4 wide by 7 3/4 tall and has a ring charm with an assortment of beads and an elephant charm.

An air mail envelope provides a space to hide treasures safely inside.

The larger and nearly square size of this Anything Book makes it great for a combination of journaling and scrapbooking (or smashing) your daily treasures. Many of the two-page spreads have layers, meaning that there are narrow pages in-between the full size pages. This give you more space for attaching things.

On the right is a page from a photo book layered over the full size page underneath.

Like all Anything Books, Travilla has 50 items inside, meaning you get 100 sides to hold your thoughts, inspiration, photographs, and items from your every day life. The green book belt holds the book closed, and keeps your treasures safe as it gets bulky. The ring binding also allows you to insert your own items. Simply remove a pag for a template, and use a standard hole punch to make holes.

A look into the variety of materials inside Travilla through the binding.

Travilla contains a wide variety of materials including patterned paper, solid paper, journaling (blank) pages, foreign language book page, file folder, luggage tag, playing card, shipping tag, and a library pocket. The pages are embellished with washi tape, baker's twine, recycled silk yarn (from Nepal), postage stamp, tabs and clips.

Patterned paper joins with a greeting card to create an interesting mix of materials to inspire you.

Travila would make a great smash-style journal. Let the pages and items be the background for capturing the story of your daily living. You might use a two-page spread for a week and attach items like your grocery list, a photo of you with your friends, the ticket stub from a movie, or a recipt from your dinner out. Your imagination is the limit. Travilla would hold a year's worth of memories.

The edges are lined with paper and ribbon tabs to help you move through Travilla and label sections.

Are you making a lifestyle change? It doesn't matter if you are stopping smoking, training for a marathon, losing weight, or going vegan. Travilla would make a great journal to record your thoughts and progress towards you goal. Be sure to add in photos to capture your progress along the way.

A page from an outdated San Francisco travel guide provides a beautiful background for your own items.

By adding in pages from books, like the San Francisco travel guide page above, each time your turn the page you discover a surprise. Why not add in new pages that tell the story of your life. With ring binding, it's easy to incorporate new pages. You can even upsize the book rings to 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 rings you can find in most office supply stores or the office supply area of discount stores. Travilla can grow with you!

On the left you an see a vellum page that lets you add some transparency to see through to the page below.

You can use the vellum page (seen here on the left) to hold a collection of stickers or stamps or anything else small. You can line up things on each side of the page so you can see through the gaps to the page below. The vellum gives you a fun page to experiment with your artistic flair.

A library pocket with a shipping tag has recycled silk yarn from Nepal.

Inside the library pocket you'll find a decorated shipping tag from my studio. You can use it hold wallet size photos, or other small items. Or perhaps you can write your favorite quote on it and use it like a book mark in Travilla or another book. There's plenty of room inside the library card to hold other items, too.

A postage stamp adds color and interest to a Travilla page.

Travilla has two journaling sections where you can collect more of your thoughts or inspirational quotes or stories from your daily living. Need more writing room? Add more journaling pages. Travilla can be anything you want it to be.

Like all Anything Books, Travilla has a unique identifier on the back along with its name and my signature.

I sign and date each Anything Book before it leaves my studio. I keep an inventory of the Anything Books using the unique identifier in the bar code label. My Anything Books are truly one-of-a-kind and unlike any other journal or scrapbook you will find.