Touch to Texture

Today I'm treating you to an entire art journal that was done both for The Sketchbook Project as well as for Stencilgirl Products as my monthly project for them. That means you will get a full step-by-step tutorial for it! Link is coming up.

First of all this is my 9th sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project. You can see all the previous ones here. The idea is simple. You sign up, they send you a sketchbook, you fill it in whatever way you like (doesn't have to be sketching but can be anything), and return it to them. If you pay extra, your sketchbook will then be digitized and can be viewed online, while the actual sketchbook is added to the Brooklyn Art Library where it can be borrowed by anyone who visits. The sketchbooks also go on tour throughout the US and sometimes further afield.

For this year's sketchbook I decided to remove the pages from the sketchbook and work on them separately and then bookbind them back into the journal.

All the instructions with step-by-step pictures can be found on Stencilgirl Talk today.

I used my gelli plate (8 x 10") and a set of 3 Stencilgirl stencils, all designed by Andrew Borloz: L568 Crazy Quilts Bold & Beautiful, L569 Crazy Quilts Calm & Frenzy, and L570 Crazy Quilts Crosses & Rounds. Do I need to tell you how much I love these stencils? I think not! Anything that combines my love of quilting and stencils is simply the best in my book.

I choose the theme Texture from the list provided by The Sketchbook Project this year (you can also choose your own, if you prefer) and that meant I wanted to add not just visual texture to the pages but also actual touchy feelly texture in the shape of stitching, specially as this resonated with the crazy quilt theme of the stencils. You can see it on the close-ups. I  must admit though that it doesn't compare to holding the sketchbook in your hands and stroking it. I expect I will do this quite a bit before I mail it off in the coming days to it's final destination in Brooklyn, NY.

You can see a flip through of this sketchbook here!

Yes, I have finally uploaded my own video to my YouTube channel after much deliberation and try-outs. Hope you'll pay a visit. 

I enjoyed making this sketchbook hugely. It reminded me how much I love to hand stitch and encouraged me to do lots (and lots, and then some more) on the quilt I'm working on at the moment. It's so addictive and very zen. If you find mindfulness hard going, give hand stitching a go!

I'm also very happy that Stencilgirl Products has given me the opportunity to share my process as well as the end result with you, in my capacity as Guest Designer. And I'm ecstatic to be able to announce I will be back with them once a month in 2018!