I couldn’t resist making a cat journal for my friend Kat-rina for Christmas. There are several cats on the cover and even more lounging about the pages, acting like they own the place as cats are prone to do.
This was the first time I used three colors of HTV on one cover, and I had to iron it on before gluing the bookcloth to the hardcase like normal so I could wrap the tail around the spine. This was also the first time I added a bookmark, and I cut it a bit too short, so I sewed on an extra few inches of ribbon after I took these photos.
I’m happy with the way this turned out, but I’d use a heavier weight paper next time. This was only the second blank journal I’d ever made, so I was using regular 20lb copy paper that was readily available from Staples. I bought a ream of 11″x17″ long-grain paper and cut it in half by hand to make short-grain 8.5″x11″ paper.
Later on, I bought 30lb opaque digital paper online that makes the journals feel heftier and prevents ink from bleeding through from the other side. I’d recommend using a heavier paper like that to make the work feel more well made.