Making a Book: Ta-Dah!

Here it is: the finished product!

The pages of our ladybug journal are sewn with waxed linen thread in a chain stitch that's visible on the spine. You can cover the spine with paper, book cloth or leather, but with coptic stitching, most people leave the spine visible, as I have chosen to do. The journal is closed with a sliding ladybug bead on a ribbon. The next step is to add all the decorative touches. Do you think we have enough ladybugs? :)

To open the journal, you simply slide the bead to the end of the ribbon and flip the ribbon over the top and around the spine like this.


Your ladybug journal has deckle-edged pages which are torn by hand for an uneven look. In fact, much of the charm of home-made books is that they are uneven in many ways! The outside of the signature page is decorated with the leaf and ladybugs that show through the window on the front cover.
The last step is to sign my work! Good luck to everyone who entered the drawing to win this journal. I've really enjoyed working on it, and it's been so much fun hearing from you this past month. Remember every time you post a comment, it counts as another entry. The drawing will be held at 3:00 p.m. on October 31, so you still have a few days to get your comments in. The winner will be announced on this blog on Sunday November 1. See you then!