Monday 12 July 2010

Finally Finished!

At last I have finished the Wedding Guest book for my customer.  I am so relieved that it's done.  So many silly little things went wrong - I suppose it was just "one of those" occasions...

Still, it looks quite good.  There are a few things that I would do differently "next time", but I think she will like it and be pleased with it.  I just hope it holds up to handling at the wedding and comes home with the Bride & Groom, looking fairly unscathed.
I have made some cellophane sleeves for each cover, using A4 greeting card presentation bags (like you get things in when you buy them in a shop), and they are fixed together with removable adhesive (not stuck to the book!).  The Bride and Groom can decide if they want to leave the sleeves on the book until after the wedding, so that the book covers are protected from sticky paw prints. 
I did give the ivory satin two coats of Scotchguard protector before I made the covers, but I'm still a bit unsure - all it would take is a little bridesmaid with chocolatey fingers, or someone eating crisps... AAAAARRGH!

Here are a few shots. It's just my luck, that after several days of brilliant sunshine, we have had a dull, grey day today - just when I would like to take great photos!

Wedding Album in Ivory Silk Satin and Moss Green Silk Dupion fabrics; with a Coptic Binding; embellished with a hand-made Silk Tassel and hand-printed lino-cut of Wedding Rings.

Closeup of the binding and the tassel.

Inside the front cover. Showing the binding stitches, folded page spacers and hand-torn pages.

I think it has turned out pretty well.  As I said, I'd do a couple of things slightly differently; however I am still learning and my prices are still low because of that. The customer is happy to accept the minor imperfections that result from hand-made items and I hope she'll be happy (even if I am a perfectionist!!).  The book is a gift for her son and his new wife - so I hope they love it too!

I like the Coptic binding method. It looks lovely and is not too difficult to do, so long as I take my time and take care.  I think I will take advice from some of my fellow (more experienced!) book-binders - I will look out for a set of curved needles, as it would make the process a lot easier and quicker.

More of these to come, I think. With improvements!

Now I hope to have more time to spend on Shimelle's great Love Your Pictures class.  So far I have only had time to take a few shots and try one of her lessons on adding text to a photo:
 
I want to catch up a little and try to complete the rest of the challenges, or most of them anyway.

Just one more thing to complete now... I have made the little hand-cut stamps for Stacey and Jacky, who won my Stamp Giveaway, oh-so-long-ago; except for one stamp in Stacey's set of 3. I will do it tonight. 

Stacey and Jacky - I have not forgotten you.  Your stamps will be in the post this week!

17 comments:

  1. The wedding guest book looks superb,Lizzie...you must have so much patience.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ooh that looks fab, please, please please can u do a tutorial on coptic stitch? pretty please
    Jo xxxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. You must be so pleased with yourself that you have finally finished the wedding book, it looks gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's beautiful! The handmade stamp is the perfect touch.
    Rinda

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very nice, Lizzie! You did great. I also feel more pressure when creating something for a wedding. They'll be thrilled to keep that forever. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, Lizzie, your book turned out beautifully! I'm interested in learning the 6-needle coptic binding...haven't done that before and I love the way your binding looks.

    Another project well done! xo

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh my goodness, this is superb! I had no idea you did this, Lizzie. What wonderful skill ...

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a great job Lizzie :-) The wedding Book is just lovely and they will love it for sure.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's gorgeous and I LOVE the fray bit on the silk spine and I want. to. touch. it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for the support, everyone! It's especially encouraging to have nice comments from Fellow Book-binders. Thanks, Ladies!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love love love that wedding guest book. When I and if i ever get married, can I comission you to make one for me??? LOl! You are very talented Lizzie and should be so proud of it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It looks really good. The bride and groom should be chuffed to bits with it.

    ReplyDelete
  13. It looks amazing, Lizzie! I understand your feelings of trepidation but I'm sure everyone will handle it with the care and respect it deserves. What a fabulous keepsake for the bride and groom! xx

    ReplyDelete
  14. Gorgeous book Lizzie, what a lovely wedding momento to keep.

    ReplyDelete
  15. It looks absolutely gorgeous! I'm sure the bride will love it!

    It's hard being a perfectionist...I know, because I am one too. lol :-)

    ReplyDelete

I love to read your comments!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...