Sarah Nielsen » open house

open house snapshots

sarah — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:52:22 +0000

Finally. Some pics from the open house. Next year I won’t wait until 6:59pm the night of the open house to take photos of everything. But you get the general idea.

Journals were on the kitchen table next to the dessert counter. My Mom made pumpkin cookies, oatmeal fudge bars, cream cheese brownies and a tasty hot holiday drink. (Let me know if you need the recipes!)

Sticker packs were hung on the mantle. Side note about the clothespins: I thought it would be a good idea to stain all of the clothespins… sort of a messy project and about half of them are glued shut. Oops. Probably won’t do that again. Anyway, don’t you love all that Amy Butler paper?

Notebooks were displayed on my $8 bookcase from Goodwill (I painted it and now it will be Chris’ bedside table, haha). The butterfly notebooks sold out at the open house but I have a few of the other kinds left for my etsy shop.

Printable stationery and project ideas had their own wall. Lucky for me, the guys who renovated our bathroom let me have the palette the tile came on. Woo-hoo!

Wish I had a better pic of the gift card holders table. Sigh. The Christmas-style gift card holders sold out but I’m planning to make some more for the shop. Email me if you need that style and I’ll hold them for you.

I’m in love with this desk. $5. At a garage sale. Seriously. I refinished it and I couldn’t be happier with the end result. So I had to include it somewhere – it held the mailing list, business cards, scratch cards, and receipts by the front door.

Can’t wait to do this again next year!

I should get some items listed in the shop tonight. If you need to order something and don’t want to wait around for my shop to be updated, email me and I can fill your order that way.

thank you!

sarah — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:04:48 +0000

Last night was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G

Thank you for coming! Thank you for loving my books! Thank you for eating the tasty treats! Thank you for spending an evening at my house!

I loved it.

And I hope you did too.

Husband, Mom, and Pa: I couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you!

If you missed the Open House, don’t worry. I have a few things left and will get them listed in my etsy shop. After I spend some quality time with my littly family.

Oh, and I promise to post pics of the Open House. Soon.

Enjoy your weekend!

sneak peek: stickers

sarah — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:00:05 +0000

Only one more day! Today Mom and I are baking tasty treats to serve at the Open House. While we are busy in the kitchen, you can enjoy these photos.

Introducing: stickers. Stickers are very useful, you know. You can stick them on gifts, label the kiddo’s school stuff, use them as bookplates, or stick them in your journal. So, I’ve designed three different kinds of stickers.

1. Birdie Bookplates are hand-pulled prints from a linoleum block print I designed.

2. Tiny Stickers come in four designs: truck, dino, bird, butterfly. Each one is just shy of 2″ square. Cute and unobtrusive.

3. Paper Roses are the perfect match for every package and gift and card. Use one by itself or combine them together.

See you tomorrow!

sneak peek: journals

sarah — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:00:28 +0000

Hi. How was your weekend? Are you all spooked-out? We had a fun weekend – busy – but fun. Glad Chris’ parents could come visit for a few days.

My Mom and Pa come today! Hooray! I tried my best to have everything ready for the Open House before today… I was close! Still a few final touches I’ll be working on (and so will my parents, haha). Like making some tasty treats. And going to the zoo. Trust me: going to the zoo will make my kiddos so happy which will lower my stress level. I don’t want to be stressed during the Open House. I want to be having FUN!

Anyway. On to the sneak peek.

Journals. Hand-made every step of the way (by me!). The pages are hand-torn to make a beautiful deckle edge. I cut the boards and make the book cloth for the covers. Each book block is hand-stitched using linen thread.

From start to finish, each journal takes about a week to complete. Several steps along the way need 24-hours drying time before continuing on. So you can imagine what my studio looks like (eek!). I have my own assembly line: pages ready to be sewn together, book blocks ready to be cased, finished books in the press. I like to have 5 or so books in production all the time (but at varying stages of the process).

This is just a small sample of the journals I will have at the Open House this week. They are bright and cheery and need a good home.

sneak peek: golden leaf photography

sarah — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:00:45 +0000

Another Book Bound Bindery Open House surprise for you: Golden Leaf Photography.

Go check out their website. Make sure you browse through the gallery. I really love this one. Amazing, right?! I know. Darren Jones is the man behind the camera at Golden Leaf Photography. He takes great photos, can work wonders in Photoshop, and most importantly he does not make you feel awkward while he’s taking your family’s photos.

He is offering $50 discounted portrait sessions to everyone who books a spot the night of the Open House. Don’t miss this! He only has a handful of openings before Christmas so if you need a family photo, make sure you come to the Open House.

Thank you Darren! See you next week!

[images via Golden Leaf Photography]

sneak peek: gift card holders

sarah — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:15:38 +0000

I am so excited about this new product! If you are anything like me, you love to give handmade gifts (especially at Christmas-time!). But it seems like every year something comes up and I end up giving at least one gift card. I don’t know about you, but I always feel a little bit lame for giving a gift card. It’s so impersonal. But it happens, right?! Am I the only one?

I believe I have solved the feeling-lame-gift-card-giving problem, though. With this:

Introducing Book Bound Bindery gift card holders. Now you can give a gift card AND give handmade at the same time! Amazing, right? I designed these a while ago and am happy to present to you the new line of gift card holders. Each one is a hard-back accordion book with one pocket the perfect size for holding a gift card (or money or check). They come packaged with a coordinating twine and to/from sticker tag. My sister wrote the words inside – which I love! So all you have to do is slip the gift card in the pocket, write a note, tie it up and it’s ready to go.

These will be available at the Open House next week. After that they will be listed in my etsy shop.

Book Bound Bindery Open House

sarah — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:23:39 +0000

It’s time.

date: Thursday, November 5th

time: 7-9pm, Open House

location: my house (email me if you need directions)

Bring a friend. Come and browse through my journals, notebooks, printable stationery sets, book plates and gift card holders. I have room for a handful more custom orders that can be ready in time for the holidays. This is your chance to see my products in person – you will love them (wink wink). See you next week!

sneak peek: blank notebooks

sarah — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:00:44 +0000

The Book Bound Bindery Open House is just around the corner (Thursday, November 5th). I have a handful of new products that will be available that night at the open house and in my Etsy shop the days after.

One of the new products I’ve designed is this little blank notebook. Each notebook is hand stitched with 30 blank pages, has pockets in the covers, and has one of the four designs on the cover (dino, butterfly, bird, or truck). The covers are hand pulled prints with paper collage – so each one is unique!

Each notebook comes packaged in a parchment paper envelope.

Just shy of 5″ square, it’s the perfect size for your purse or backpack.