tiny happy

making journal

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I had a big clear-out of my supply cupboard the other day and found heaps of papers and cards and old maps and pages from fallen-apart books. I find old maps very aesthetically pleasing and have been known to frame them for wall art in the past, but these had seen better days, so I made some notebooks with map covers. To make them, I cut lots of papers to the same size (most of the pages are recycled newsprint), held them together with pegs and used an industrial-sized needle on the sewing machine to stitch down the spine. I will set aside most of these for my table at the Auckland Art and Craft Fair in December, but the others will be little gifts, I think. I made some similar books last year-  but these are a bit smaller, with more pages and faraway places on the cover for day-dreaming purposes. Christmas in Svalbard, anyone?

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17 responses to “faraway places”

  1. Emily Avatar

    I love old maps!

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  2. Kylie Avatar

    Wonderful idea and they look STUNNING! 🙂

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  3. aupres de mon arbre Avatar

    It’s really a lovely idea, Melissa !
    The one, you show, with Iceland, I want it !!!
    No kidding, how can I come to Auckland from France just to buy it and take a coffee with you ?

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  4. Isidora Avatar

    old maps are great. i make envelopes from them.

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  5. Merja Avatar

    You are so resourceful, Melissa! A lovely idea. I also like Isidora’s idea of making envelopes from them.

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  6. Jannette Avatar
    Jannette

    These are brilliant! Stuff to dream about right there, on the front cover.. Lovely. (I have some UK maps that I kept for doing something similar, but Staines or Milton Keynes somehow don’t have the same ring to them as Svalbard..)

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  7. Margaret Oomen Avatar

    sounds lovely to me

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  8. aloÿse Avatar

    j’aime beaucoup.
    I made “enveloppe” with map. I really like the maps.

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  9. caireen Avatar

    these are just lovely Cx

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  10. Karen Avatar
    Karen

    I love maps too, dreaming of places to visit.
    Keep up the great work!
    Cheers
    Karen
    Newcastle NSW

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  11. Alanna Avatar

    These are just too cool! I have a couple of old atlases, and I have been meaning to do something similar with the pages within.
    Great job on them! I’m definitely going to come check these out at the Auckland Arts + Crafts Fair!

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  12. flowerpress Avatar

    Beautiful Melissa, love that ocean ridge that looks like a crocodile.
    I’ve been reading an Icelandic detective series and stumbling over the place names in my mind 🙂

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  13. cheryl Avatar
    cheryl

    They are beautiful!
    just wondering if i could purchase it online!
    🙂

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  14. tinyhappy Avatar

    oh, i wish we weren’t so far away!

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  15. tinyhappy Avatar

    cheers cheryl, yes, i have a couple of sets up in my etsy shop. 🙂

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