books!

I took my sister and her family to the airport in DC yesterday, and the house is eerily quiet. It will be interesting to track Reuben's reaction in the next few days. His cousin Mykita's arrival was perfect: just a day after his beloved sisters started back to school. I'm envisioning a calm routine and lovely working-together mornings, but they just might be my-mom-is-dull-as-dirt mornings. Time to work those playgroups!

We did not do nearly the crafting and project-ing that we envisioned, but I did make it a priority to get tutelage in her skilled specialty, bookbinding. I do love a handmade book. I'm letting it stay "her" thing, but can't resist the opportunity to try something new, and Becci and I each finished books in two afternoon sessions. It's especially nice to try a new craft with an expert, because they have all of the great tools, like corner cutters and Teflon folders, that aren't strictly necessary but make you feel awesome.I didn't get a shot of Becci's book, but here are the ones Camie and I worked on.
We were both feeling woodsy, it seems(surprise, surprise). Camie chose a weathered boards paper in my stash caught Camie's eye, and I lined my green mulberry paper book with birch bark strips I gathered during our Memorial Day trip to Vermont.I chose to use cuts of a silky paper that felt like the birch for the pages of this particular book, but I love the deckled edges and multi-colored pages of Camie's.Another book she finished:And in the next post: the best book of them all!