Sarah Nielsen » book bound bindery

first craft fair report

sarah — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:00:52 +0000

[my table at the craft fair]

Participating as a vendor at a craft fair has been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. And now I have. And I will do it again.

Some details:

+ I had a 10′ by 10′ space. We paid the rental fee for the tables and chair which ended up being worth every penny.

+ Our space was at the end of the row next to the windows looking into the mall.

+ I followed Katie’s expert advice to plan out my set up before hand and I’m so glad I did! We set up in record time because I knew exactly how I wanted everything to be.

+ I made the “Book Bound Bindery” sign myself which saved me tons of money and I think it looks awesome.

+ Even though the yellow fabric on my table is the same pattern (different colors) as the wall paper we had in our dining room in the 80’s, I love it.

+ I packed everything in rolling suitcases. Awesome. I pulled those and Chris carried the furniture we brought. We made very few trips to the car and back.

+ I used white bedsheets I had on hand as my table cloths. Perfect solution.

[This display was off to the side. Chris and I sat on the gray folding chairs]

Some other details:

+ I made some really great connections with other vendors at the fair. We’ve got to stick together!

+ It’s a good thing Chris was there helping me. I had someone to talk to during the slow times and we could trade off sitting at the table and wandering around.

+ A really akward pre-teen boy came up to our booth and said, “How far along are you?”
Seven months, I said.
“Oh… you can tell. You. Can. Tell.”
He never made eye contact – he just kept looking nervously at my belly.
So funny.

Now that the show is over, I will start getting ready for Baby Brother to arrive. And I hope to paint our bedroom. We’ll see.

some thoughts

sarah — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 22:24:42 +0000

Things have been crazy around here! But good crazy.

See that art room? Yikes. I’m getting my table set-up figured out for the craft fair this weekend – I think I’m almost done.

We are excited for a visit from my brother and sister-in-law who come tomorrow. But since the art room is also the guest room, I have a lot of cleaning up to do before they get here. No one wants to sleep on journals.

My sister and her family moved a few hours away. Hooray! She is painting her bedroom gray. I can’t wait to see it.

I’m feeling betrayed by the weather man who promised rain today (but we got nothin’).

I love this patriotic party.

Wish I had a ruffly apron with pockets to wear at the craft fair. There’s still time to make one, right?

And now it’s time to make the french toast for dinner.

going away guest book

sarah — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:22:00 +0000

A month or so ago, some friends of ours moved away from Texas. For their going away party, Kathleen had the brilliant idea of having a guest book there for everyone to sign. Great idea. So I came up with this guest book.

I found this great blue and white fabric for the cover. The guest book is bound with teal waxed linen thread. Inside paper is Mohawk Superfine.

I included a simple title page with the name and date of the party.

We miss you, Bevins family!

the book press

sarah — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:50:04 +0000

I’m embarrassed that I have not yet blogged about my book press.

Chris made this.

For me. For Christmas.

Yeah. I know. Amazing, right?! It was the best Christmas present ever.

Up until then, I had been using piles of books as a press. Ghetto – but it worked.

Thank you, Chris. You are the BEST!

(ps – He followed THIS tutorial)

new gift card holder design

sarah — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:09:58 +0000

Hi. Remember how I used to blog? Well, I’m ready to do that again.

At the last minute, I decided to be a vendor at the July Jubilee in College Station so I’m working around the clock getting ready. This is my first official craft fair – I’m excited to give it a try. I think the part I’m most excited for is decorating my booth. I’ll share details about that coming up.

But for now… here is a sneak peek at a new product I’m making. It’s a gift card holder that fits in a regular envelope (unlike my accordion style gift card holders). The idea came to me when my mom ordered a handful of gift card holders for upcoming weddings this summer but I knew at least one of the weddings she wasn’t going to attend. So how would she mail the accordion gift card holder? So I made a flat one.

The idea is still new and I’m working out the kinks, but I’m close. I hope to have some at July Jubilee in a couple of weeks. Here’s what I have so far:

This gift card holder is 4″ by 6″ and fits in a standard size envelope for easy mailing.

Inside, there are a handful of papers with different words on them.

Then there is the pocket to hold the gift card (or check or cash or whatever).

After the pocket, is a page to write a note to the recipient.

Doesn’t it make you want to give a gift card? I thought so.

Now it’s back to work for me. Come and visit the craft fair if you are in the area. You can find details on their website as well as in my sidebar. See you at the fair!

funeral guest book

sarah — Fri, 14 May 2010 12:17:27 +0000

So, they say there is a first time for everything. In April, I had a first: a funeral guest book.

About a month ago Chris’ grandmother passed away. I made a special guest book for the family to use at the viewing and funeral service.

Grandma’s favorite color was pink so I used a pink silk for the cover. The endsheets were handmade paper with pink flower petals pressed in.

The first few pages were lined for guests to sign their names at the viewing and funeral service.

The next section was reserved for the family to write their memories of Grandma. We took turns writing in it when we were just hanging around together – lunchtime, late night chats, etc.

The last few pages were for recording tributes made. Flowers, meals, cards, etc for the family. Everyone showed so much love to Chris’ family.

While we miss Grandma, we know she is in a better place now with people she loves.

wedding guest book

sarah — Thu, 06 May 2010 12:00:20 +0000

Here’s another recent handmade guest book I made. The bride, Jill, wanted a gold cover. This was a first for me, but I found the perfect golden silk without much trouble. Beautiful, don’t you think? The guest book is bound with the oatmeal waxed linen thread. Inside, the endsheets were golden with a white damask-type pattern on them. Of course I used my favorite franfurt paper for the guests to sign. A few engagement photos printed in color were distributed throughout the guest book.

So elegant!

Here’s to you, Jill and Garyn!

(side note: I taught Jill piano lessons when I was in high school and she was in elementary school! That feels like ages ago)

wedding guest book

sarah — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:02:12 +0000

I really enjoy making wedding guest books.

Kristina’s wedding colors were purple and green. Since purple was more favorite than green, that’s what I went with for the cover. I found a beautiful lavender silk for the front and back covers. Frankfurt paper is on the inside (my favorite!). The endsheets were white with a black paisley design. I bound it with slate gray waxed linen thread. The happy couple’s engagement photos were mounted throughout the guest book and they (the couple and the photos) were amazing. Professional pics in the guest books always look better than snapshots. Of course I delivered the book in a muslin bag.

Wishing you the best, Kristina!

guest book: author reception

sarah — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 15:54:04 +0000

I just finished and shipped off this guest book for Mitchell College. They are hosting an author reception soon and commissioned this guest book for the event. The covers are navy linen and bound together with white waxed linen thread. I used the same paper I use in my wedding guest books: Frankfurt white. It has such a beautiful texture.

Thank you Mitchell College! Enjoy!

giveaway ends tonight

sarah — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:18:21 +0000

Things have been pretty busy around here because someone at my house had a birthday! I’ll have all kinds of details about that soon.

In honor of my 100th post I’m having a giveaway. Click here to enter the giveaway by leaving a comment. The winner will be sent a surprise package from the studio. You have until tonight to enter (technically you have until I log in Tuesday morning, wink wink).

Coming up this week:

+ a Tutorial Tuesday to organize your gadgets
+ a lucky someone will win a surprise package from Book Bound Bindery (that’s me!)
+ photos from our garden
+ a new artist spotlight