Diary void

[winter]

A week ago, kiraboshi posted about illustrated paper journals and the diarist as a creative artist. It touched something in me, and I decided that it'd be cool to keep a proper creative journal, with little bits and pieces and drawings and stuff.

The problem is, I need a proper diary for that. I'm nowhere crazy enough to go for a Moleskine, but I'd like something solid-ish, with a stiff cover and hopefully able to open flat. Nice paper would be a plus.

In the biggest stationery shop I know, no luck. I'm going to check out the specialty shops, but the Project From Hell is taking up every hour of my time, and on top of that it's -20 C outside. I pull my hat down and my fur's collar up, and little icicles form on the fur before I've ventured a hundred metres from the house.

Which of course implies that all the time, I see things worth writing down and drawing.

Bloody typical.

Comments

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

I have entirely the opposite problem at the moment. My dad got me a beautiful book of hand-made indian paper with a soft, wood-bark kind of cover and delicate bits the hold it closed. Problem is, as grateful as I am for such a book, I am terrified to make a mark in it, because it is so wretchedly beautiful.

[winter]

See, that's why I don't want anything too fancy either - I could get some of those uber-sophisticated handmade notebooks, but I want something where I could stain pages or tear them out and not. Care.

Ah, creative freedom ^_^

[fyrie.livejournal.com]

How about just scribbling it on paper then sticking it in all expressive-like when you can get a hold of a book? Give it that nice, spontaneous messy look :)

[winter]

Oh, I scribble it anyway. But there's something magical about a diary. I want one :/

[murasaki99.livejournal.com]

Friend mincot has a small business making and selling handmade Coptic-bound journals. Coptic binding lets them lie flat. Information, pics of her current stock, and ordering details here: http://webpages.charter.net/mincot/fourtailspress.htm

I got two from her in Dec. and they are beautifully made with a heavy watercolor-worthy paper in it that will take ink, paint, whatever you want. Hope that helps. :)

[winter]

They're beautiful - but with shipping it'd cost me $35, probably get stopped at customs for another $10 or so, and end up costing me as much as two Moleskines :( Alas, I'm still not normally employed, and money doesn't stretch that far.

[murasaki99.livejournal.com]

You may want to try learning how to do Coptic binding on your own.

Sorry, I forgot you were over in the EU and not in the United States.

It isn't that hard to learn how to make your own Coptic bound journals and the instructions are available on the Web. I also have a set of instructions that Mincot gave me last month. Let me know if you want a copy.

Basically you are going to need paper twice as big as the final finished sheet of paper you want, full sheets of watercolor paper or other nice art paper work really well. You will also need acid free card stock for the covers, and fabric in your choice of colors to go over it. You can use either more fabric, or some sort of nice acid free paper for the inside end papers.

[sukeban.livejournal.com]

I don't know if they're available in Warsaw, but I've used everything from the "black list" notebooks from Divinas Palabras to the brown spiral notebooks from Clairefontaine, as long as they're unlined. I can't draw on lined notebooks ^_^

[winter]

I've been looking at Clairefontaines - they're what I'm hoping to find in the art stores :) I used to use them when I was a kid in Paris - I still have a few lying around and fourteen years later, the paper holds up wonderfully. Maybe I'll be able to get a French-lined one... that's the only kind of lining that makes my scratchy handwriting look good ;)