Welcome to the
May issue of byhand!

Again, I'd like to welcome the new subscribers and hope that you find something of interest in this issue.

On my agenda for the near future is new rubber stamp images - stay tuned!

There are new waxed linen thread colours available!

Autumn Yellow
Orange
Robin Egg Blue
Teal

There will be some new book classes announced in the coming months, as well. Busy, busy!

Enjoy this issue of byhand!

Don't forget to get your Journal Challenge in to me by May 15! If you 're new to byhand, you will be too late to join this, but you may read about it in the April newsletter.

!!New Swap!!

Well, at the insistence (!) of Connie (see her Tag Book Below) I've decided it's time to announce the next byhand Swap.

This time we won't do tags! I know, it's hard to believe.... But we'll stay on the topic of books. Here's the scoop.

Mini Book Swap with Copper Embellishments

You will make small books,
no larger than 3" x 3" and
no thicker than 1/4" and
use copper
as some form of embellishment.
You can refer to many of the back issues of byhand for ideas using copper (tooling copper, copper wire or copper tape, even!)

Sign up by sending me an email by
May 15.
Books are due to me by June 15. You will make a book for each player (unless there are so many we divide into groups) and send them to me with a SASE. I will swap them out when they have all been received. (And for those who did the Tag Book Swap - I promise not to do multiples of 5 this time!)

For the Altered Book types, I have started a new Yahoo group. In this group, we will be working on a step-by-step book altering project. It will begin very shortly and the cut off for joining this round is Monday May 5, 2003. If you are a byhand subscriber and wish to join us, please send an email to:

byhandalteredbookproject-
subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Don't forget if you're proud of artwork that you have stamped with a Quietfire Rubber Stamp, please send me a copy and I'll be delighted to put in the Stamping Gallery.

Important links at your fingertips!

Back Issues of byhand
Quietfire Rubber Stamps
byhand Products shopping cart

Acrylic Blocks for Rubber Stamps
Stamping Gallery
Subscriber's Gallery Page
Class Photos page
Links Page
Quietfire Design

How to subscribe to the byhand newsletter and other stuff!

If you wish to contact me, my email address is: suzanne@quietfiredesign.com

To subscribe: send me an email saying 'subscribe'!
To unsubscribe: send me an email saying 'unsubscribe'. I'll live....
To change your email address: send me an email with both your new and old address. Thanks!

Come join us in our Yahoo discussion group, where we talk about artistic inspirations, make inquiries about techniques, and share quotes and resources.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/byhandartists/ 

Site Siting

This month I'd like to introduce you to byhandartist, Lesley Davies. Lesley is a calligrapher and designer of Celtic knotwork living in the U.K. Lesley has two websites, one which features her greeting cards and bookmarks and the other shared with her husband, which includes many things along with Lesley's quilling, stamp designs, pyrography and other Celtic art. Have fun perusing Lesley's sites!

http://www.wotknots.com/
http://www.lesleydavies.co.uk/

Artwork by Lesley Davies

Books to Inspire

Thanks to Ellen Harper for this review!

Art and Fear; Observations on the Perils and Rewards of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orlando published by the Image Continuum.

We have all been there, that frozen moment when we wonder what the heck we are doing trying to define ourselves as an Artist. We look at our work and only see the flaws. We wonder if anyone will understand the message or even if we have anything to say. We doubt we have any talent and believe that the magic will never flow. Then one day for one moment we hit the sweet spot and the Art just happens and when the moment is passed we fear it will never come again. In Art and Fear all the issues get addressed from the Myth of Talent to perils of negotiating the commercial/academic quicksand.
This is a small book with only a little more than 100 pages but it speaks in a clear and economic manner to the real issues. With humor and an engaging style it takes you through the process and helps to make clear that these doubts are all a part of becoming who we need to be. My copy is dog-eared and I carry it in my art bag to remind myself I am here to be human and to do art is to be human.

Art and Fear

Tag Book Swap

In December I proposed the Tag Book Swap, where artists were to design small books using shipping tags as some part of their books. If you want to read more about this challenge, click here! There were 25 artists involved and the first few books were shown last month. They will continue to be shown over the next couple of months. Stay tuned for some great, inspiring creations!

Here is this months collection with comments from the artists.

Susan Ewart
Vernon, BC

I started my tag book with a coat of black gesso on each side of a regular shipping tag. Then added colored dots and lines with Crayola spider writers. The tag hole and edge of the tag were lined with Crayola metallic markers. Inside I added a handmade glass bead (my new passion) and an accordion fold with a monoline lettered quote. I wasn't sure how to close the book so I played around in my studio and came up with a small bead that fit the hole of the tag snugly. This held the cover closed (hopefully). I enjoyed this exchange as I always learn something from each one. I hope you enjoy my tag book as much as I enjoyed making and learning from it.

Connie Kleckner
Victoria, BC

Tag was colored on both sides using DTP method with ColorBox cateyes Parchment, Celadon and Old Rose. Flower and saying on front of book were stamped using pigment inks. Flowers inside book were stamped with VersaMark and dusted with chalks to give a softer look. Beads were sewn on in sections while sewing in the signature. For the closure, I cut the end off an additional tag and sandwiched the elastic cord between the two layers. For some books I added beads to the cord before attaching and for others I added curled wire with beads after.

Karin Fung
Vancouver, BC

ABC Book

Before starting on the book, I first, sketched out the pictures from A-Z and then had them reduced. I found this to be the most challenging part to the sketches to size with the photocopier. After all the copies were organized, I coloured all the sketches. Since the copies were a tad larger then my tags, I had to enlarge my tags to size. I found some decorative paper and cut them to the same size of the tags and pasted them on the tags, along with my ABC stickers on the cover and my glass ladybug trademark. The books were then bound together with a simple bookbinding stitch that Suzanne teaches to all her students. It was a simple idea but very time consuming. I enjoyed all the lovely tag books from everyone. Good work! Karin

Charmaine Stack
Victoria BC

Kaleidoscope Tag Booklets Tags were brown shipping tags. For the front covers, I smooshed pigment inks overtop, then stamped in permanent black ink with the PSX Heart Bouquet stamp. I scored two lines about a quarter inch apart in the middle (for the spine) and another one at one end to form the flap. I either stamped or papered over the inside of the tag. For a fastener to wrap the yarn around, I dipped a brass brad head in embossing powder and heated it to create a colour coordinated finish to the brad, then positioned it through the tag hole. The inside pages measured about 1.5 inches, so I took three inch wide sheets and folded them in half. I covered them with pigment inks, too. They are a little wild; I was going for the kaleidoscope effect. Each page was stamped using a different portion of the same PSX Heart Bouquet stamp that I used on the cover. I stamped either eight or twelve times through a wedge-shaped mask to get the kaleidoscope medallions to form. On the opposite pages, I jotted step by step notes on how to make these. I think each book had six or so very different looking medallions, demonstrating the versatility of one stamp.

Sandy Sommerfeld Kelowna, BC

I had hand cut all my tags on a 3 x 5" format, using a collection of papers that I had on hand. As I worked through making the pages for the tag books, I was struck with new ideas and how I could incorporate them. I tried to give a sample of different techniques and tried to keep to a complementary colour scheme. So, onward I went, adding cold laminate transfers, windows, a glass pebble, aged photos, a teeny tiny envelope with a message, tiny brads and just a lot of fun! I hope you enjoy the tag book as much as I enjoyed making them.

A Passion for Copper - Part VII

Parts I through VI are available in previous issues of byhand

Copper tape is real copper, beaten to a foil with a self-adhesive back. You can buy it in rolls of varying lengths and widths at a lot of craft stores, but it is always available at stained glass supply outlets. It is easily cut with decorative edged scissors for an interesting effect and can be tarnished using a variety of techniques, many of which have been already discussed in this series of articles.

The project below is stamped on cardstock which has been mounted on bookboard. The copper tape has been cut with decorative scissors and then used to frame the stamped piece. This project is really interesting as when you tilt it, the lettering shows up predominantly, instead of the dragonfly! Boy, copper is hard to scan! B

Stolen Moments
Decorated Envelopes

Recently, on the byhandartists yahoo group, we began an envelope exchange. Previous exchanges that I have been part of were initiated by calligraphy guilds. I was in a group of twelve and each month I would decorated an envelope and send it to a different person. Well, I'm not very good at this monthly stuff, so I proposed that we do an all-at-once exchange. Here are some of our envelopes. Enjoy!
(I've included another decorated envelope I've received recently for your enjoyment!)

Stay tuned - more next month!

Suzanne's Schedule 2003

Note about these items I have for sale.

For your convenience, you may visit the
PayPal shopping cart
( http://www.quietfiredesign.com/byhandproducts.html)
or the printable byhand Products Order Form .

If you are using the byhand Products order form, please make your cheques payable in Canadian or U$ funds to Suzanne Cannon.
Your items will be shipped when the cheque has been received. It has been known to take 2 weeks for a cheque to get to me.... Go figure.
For much faster service, please use the PayPal shopping cart!
Suzanne Cannon, Quietfire Design, Box 1231, Port Alberni, B.C. V9Y 7M1 Canada
 Thanks!

Waxed Linen Thread

Samples from Left to Right: Black, Rust, Slate Grey (looks pink to me!), Sage, Royal Blue, Denim
Sorry but it's almost impossible for me to get true colour on the web!

4-ply Waxed Linen Thread

Prices: It is $0.50/yard Cdn ($0.35/yard U.S. funds).

For those of you who have taken the Coptic Stitched Class, it takes two yards of thread to complete the book as we made it.

For those of you who have taken the Criss Cross Coptic, you will require five yards per book.

The eyelets!

These are weeny cute little guys. They are 1/8" eyelets. There are regular and long neck eyelets. The long neck eyelets will go through a regular thickness of bookboard.
100 eyelets per package.

(the long and short Copper are real copper and the long neck brass are real brass)

This is just the best little eyelet setter! It's hard to mess up, in fact, since I began using this setter, I haven't messed up!
$8.50 each
$5.50 USD each

Subtle, but they make a statement!

These are washers for your 1/8" eyelets. What will they think of next???100/package

specify:

brass
silver
copper

$5.00 each
$3.50 USD each

The Envelopes
These cool fellas are perfect for altered books, journals and cards!

Anywhere punch with 6 bits This wonderful punch has 6 different bits allowing you to punch holes in the following sizes: 5/64, 3/32, 1/8, 9/64, 5/32 and 11/64 (or 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4 and 5 mm) $14.00 Cnd ($9.50 US dollars)

I have put together some Book Cradles for sale as some of you have been asking for them. They are not things of great beauty, but really, really handy for when you have a lot of holes to pierce. The legs come off so they're perfect for going to classes. They are large enough for an 8.5" spine length and are $18Cdn (or $12US - to the States). I will try to bring these to classes so you can see them in person!
There is an additional $2.00 shipping charge for this item

Book Corners
Jazz up your book covers with metal corners!
I use them on the foredges of books, by applying a little glue and then crimping them, ever so lightly with a pair of pliers.They are all brass except the 3rd one down is Nickel or silver coloured.

They fit nicely on a bookboard of about 2.2mm thickness covered with decorative paper.

Collage Packs - 40 different collage paper treasures - colour-coordinated Japanese papers. There is one colour scheme on the front and a different one on the back. For invitations, name tags, collage, card-making, bookmarks, drawing, painting, poetry, rubber-stamping, photo mats, calligraphy, place cards, book covers, gift wrapping. . .    Assorted colours

$9.50 US dollars per pack  
$14.00 Cdn per pack

Book Boards - precut 9" x 6", perfect for Coptic Bound, Criss-Cross Coptic and Pipe Organ Bindings.

Give yourself a break! $1.50 Cdn per pair

$1.00 USD

To order any of the above items and the rubber stamps go to:
Printable byhand Products Order Form OR the PayPal shopping cart.

If there is any information you would like to see in this newsletter, let me know. Each month I will email you to let you know the new issue is published. If you know someone who would like to receive notice of byhand, just have them email me and I will put them on the list. Bye for now and thanks for visiting!

suzanne@quietfiredesign.com
(250) 723-0321 Quietfire Design

The original title lettering of byhand was done with a Mitchell's Roundhand Nib, size 0, and Higgins Eternal Ink. Quietfire Design Rubber stamps were used to create the other designs.