It has been unseasonably warm here. I’m tired of the 80′s (and I’m not talking about the leggings and over-sized sweaters). My black-eyed susans are so confused. They started blooming again.

There is an up side, though. The beautiful weather has made product photo shoots a breeze. See what a good helper Baby O is?

I will be [...]]]>

It has been unseasonably warm here. I’m tired of the 80′s (and I’m not talking about the leggings and over-sized sweaters). My black-eyed susans are so confused. They started blooming again.

There is an up side, though. The beautiful weather has made product photo shoots a breeze. See what a good helper Baby O is?

I will be editing photos and Chris will be listing items in the shop. You can start purchasing now, but by Wednesday, we should have the bulk of the items listed.

Exciting news for locals: You can opt for “local pick up” instead of shipping. Just swing by my house to pick up your purchase within 3 days.

And if you are still left wondering if I have something that’s not listed online, send me an email and we will get you hooked up.

Thank you for buying handmade.

I’m so excited to introduce these beauties to you. Now you can have your cherished photo memories in a handmade photo album.

The photo albums are cased in a variety of fabrics, just like my journals.

I’ve included spacers in the spine so once you’ve added your photos, the spine will not bulge.

The pages are 9″ [...]]]> Introducing: Photo Albums.

I’m so excited to introduce these beauties to you. Now you can have your cherished photo memories in a handmade photo album.

The photo albums are cased in a variety of fabrics, just like my journals.

I’ve included spacers in the spine so once you’ve added your photos, the spine will not bulge.

The pages are 9″ by 7.5″ acid free cardstock in either creamy white or brown. Each album has 15 pages — the perfect size for one event or one birthday or one year’s worth of highlights.

I like to keep my photo albums simple so I made this one with my corner rounder, sharpie, and tape.

What will you put in your photo album?

Well, we did it!

THANK YOU! to everyone who came to the Open House. It was so fun to see you and visit with you. Is it ok if I confess that I’m in this for the social part of it? Well, I am.

A huge-o mund-o thanks to my mom who cleaned and baked and then baked [...]]]>

Well, we did it!

THANK YOU! to everyone who came to the Open House. It was so fun to see you and visit with you. Is it ok if I confess that I’m in this for the social part of it? Well, I am.

A huge-o mund-o thanks to my mom who cleaned and baked and then baked some more. So glad she came.

I have filled all my custom orders that can be ready for the holidays, but I have a few of everything in stock. So if you were unable to come, call me or email me and we’ll figure out a time for you to come over and check it out.

Photo albums made their debut at the Open House. They are one of kind, just like my journals, and have 15 pages. I’ll post more on them later. I hope to have my new website up and running before Thanksgiving (cross your fingers!).

And in case you didn’t meet her, this is Kari. She’s fabulous.

That’s it in a nutshell! All of you wonderful readers out there make this whole thing worth it for me. So, I thank you. Really.

Gift card holders are my solution to not feeling so lame when I give a gift card. Admit it: sometimes you feel lame when you give a gift card. Especially if you really like the person. Well, it turns out that if you package up the gift card in a gift-ish sort of way, you feel [...]]]>

Gift card holders are my solution to not feeling so lame when I give a gift card. Admit it: sometimes you feel lame when you give a gift card. Especially if you really like the person. Well, it turns out that if you package up the gift card in a gift-ish sort of way, you feel awesome.

Book Bound Bindery has a gift card holder for every occasion. I just finished restocking the holiday gift card holders. This year they come with a jingle bell. (Everyone needs a jingle bell!) There are wedding, congratulations, birthday, new baby, and thank you gift card holders.

Why buy a Hallmark card when you can buy this instead (same price…)?

Introducing: limited edition books.

I’m really excited about the direction Book Bound Bindery is going. These limited edition books lean more towards the fine art aspect of bookmaking. They are a little more special than the journals I make. Just like a signed limited edition set of prints, these books are signed and numbered and will never [...]]]>

Introducing: limited edition books.

I’m really excited about the direction Book Bound Bindery is going. These limited edition books lean more towards the fine art aspect of bookmaking. They are a little more special than the journals I make. Just like a signed limited edition set of prints, these books are signed and numbered and will never be recreated. They have special bindings and hand dyed covers and secret pockets. I have so many ideas for these! On Friday, there will be three sets of limited edition books available… many more in the future.

Don’t forget:

Kari Hennefer will also be at the open house with beautiful images of her work on display, and booking Portrait Sessions. Enjoy her “Open House Special” discount of $50 off a Portrait Session if you schedule your booking that day. Come browse through samples, get awesome ideas of how to display [...]]]>

Don’t forget:

Kari Hennefer will also be at the open house with beautiful images of her work on display, and booking Portrait Sessions. Enjoy her “Open House Special” discount of $50 off a Portrait Session if you schedule your booking that day. Come browse through samples, get awesome ideas of how to display your images in your home, and schedule your next Portrait Session for you, or a gift certificate for someone you love.

In 2012, Kari will also be introducing the amazing, “My Beauty Campaign” to the Houston area! “My Beauty Campaign” has been introduced all over the world and is continuing to spread! So, come get a sneak peak of what it’s all about and how it’s changing women’s self esteem worldwide.

Just a few weeks ago, Kari took our family pics. We had so much fun. The kiddos were completely at ease with her. And to top it all off, she is the nicest person on the planet. You will love her.

[No tutorial today... Do you still love me?]

Hooray for notebooks! These notebooks are my top sellers. They are a convenient small size (good for purses and backpacks) with pockets in the front and back covers. The images are transferred onto the covers with a printmaking technique that uses lots of acetone and is very stinky. There [...]]]>

[No tutorial today... Do you still love me?]

Hooray for notebooks! These notebooks are my top sellers. They are a convenient small size (good for purses and backpacks) with pockets in the front and back covers. The images are transferred onto the covers with a printmaking technique that uses lots of acetone and is very stinky. There are seven cover choices: bird, butterfly, truck, dinosaur, bike, tree, zebra.

Some good ideas for notebooks:

+ Keep track of the funny/cute things your toddlers say.
+ Use it for a weekend travel journal.
+ Plan weekly meals and shopping lists and keep it in your purse.
+ Make the most gigantic to-do list ever and then mark things off.
+ Make hand and foot prints of your kiddos.
+ Write a short story inspired by the cover.
+ List favorite inspirational quotes.

My kiddos and I go through these like they are candy. Treasures, I tell you!

What will you do with your notebook?

Happy Halloween!

The final count down to the Book Bound Bindery Open House is on! If you have not received the email invite and want to, email me (sarah at sarahnielsen dot com) and I’ll send it your way.

Every day this week I’ll be showing you some of the books I’ve made that will be available on [...]]]>

Happy Halloween!

The final count down to the Book Bound Bindery Open House is on! If you have not received the email invite and want to, email me (sarah at sarahnielsen dot com) and I’ll send it your way.

Every day this week I’ll be showing you some of the books I’ve made that will be available on Friday. If you have not yet penciled in “get excited” on Friday, please do so now.

Reasons you should get excited:

1. My parents are coming! And my sister!
2. I have not yet torn off the purple grape vine wallpaper in the kitchen, so you will feel like it’s 1992 again.
3. Freshly bound journals.

A word about journals.

You may wonder why I do this — this whole bookmaking thing. Who makes books, anyway?

Well.

I really believe that everyone has a story to tell. Maybe it’s your everyday story. Maybe it’s your make-believe story. Maybe it’s your someday story. Maybe it’s your I’m-on-the-coolest-vacation-ever story.

But I do that on my blog, you say. Ok. But books are better. My kids spend hours a day looking at books. They love to see photos of our family and their cousins. They don’t spend hours reading blogs. Just sayin’.

The journals I make are filled with acid free paper, sewn together with love, and cased in (most of the time) vintage fabric. I like them to be one of a kind because I hope to inspire other people (YOU) to write your story.

My sister has written on my blog before about journaling: where to start and writing in your journal. You should read those.

Bottom line: Do I think you need to write in one of my journals to have a good story? No. Am I rich and famous because I hand-make books? No.

I do this because I love the process and because I love the look on the face of someone who has found the journal perfect for them.

I’m happy to announce this year’s Book Bound Bindery Open House has been scheduled (aka I wrote it on my calendar with a sharpie)!

All Book Bound Bindery products will be available for purchase at the open house (although you don’t [...]]]>

I’m happy to announce this year’s Book Bound Bindery Open House has been scheduled (aka I wrote it on my calendar with a sharpie)!

SAVE THE DATE: Friday, November 4th.

Come in the afternoon, 1- 3pm, or in the evening, 7-9 pm.

All Book Bound Bindery products will be available for purchase at the open house (although you don’t have to purchase anything to come — just come so we can chat) Some new products to look forward to include:

> 3 new silhouette notebook covers
> 3 sets of limited edition journals
> Book Bound Bindery workshops

But of course, all your favorite products will be there too. Over the upcoming weeks, I will post sneak peeks of what you can come see at the Open House. Or you can look at the photos from the last Open House, here. This is your chance to come see my products in person. I have a few spots left for customs orders, too, if you have a special Christmas gift in mind.

Howdy.

Isn’t that a great photo? Mostly I love that the birthday boy has his hands out in his “ta-da” pose.

We have a lot of fun things going on around here… both on the home front and on the Book Bound Bindery front… making blogging a little scarce.

As far as Book Bound Bindery goes:

+ We (Chris and [...]]]>

Howdy.

Isn’t that a great photo? Mostly I love that the birthday boy has his hands out in his “ta-da” pose.

We have a lot of fun things going on around here… both on the home front and on the Book Bound Bindery front… making blogging a little scarce.

As far as Book Bound Bindery goes:

+ We (Chris and I) are working on a new website that should be ready to launch in time for the holidays. This is really exciting for us. I can’t wait for you to see it.
+ In October, we will have an open house like we did a couple years ago. You can come see the studio, purchase products, and eat yummy treats. What’s not to love?
+ I have a bunch of new products I’m getting ready for the open house. I think you will really like them. It’s funny how as a business grows, it changes and I’m really excited about the direction Book Bound Bindery is going. I can’t wait to share it all with you — soon!
+ Tutorials on the blog! You may not realize it, but a single tutorial takes 6+ hours to put together (doing the project, photographing it, editing the photos, writing the copy, etc) which is why tutorials don’t show up regularly year round. But I will have one every week at least until mid-December.
+ I am sending the last batch of birthday surprises today. If you don’t get anything in the mail and you think you emailed me your address… try again. Email me.

On the home front:

+ We painted the family room. I feel like a new woman.
+ We celebrated a birthday (more on that later).
+ We get to see some of our college friends soon.

So… if you want regular, tiny updates on Book Bound Bindery, make sure you are a fan on Facebook. If you want to see what’s inspiring my home decorating projects, follow my boards on Pinterest. And if you want to say hi, email me.