DIY :: Jotter Journal

Today (finally ;)) a tutorial on making these super cute jotter journals. These cuties would make great stocking stuffers for someone who likes to jot notes, or you could fill one up with pictures and words and give as a gift this holiday season. 

Supplies (to make two journals):

+ 1 piece of cardstock, 8.5x11

+ 2 pieces of scrap fabric (I used fabric from some old blouses), slightly larger than 5.5"x8.5"

+ Spray adhesive (permanent)

+ ruler, rotary cutter and cutting mat

+ library card (or other sturdy credit card type card)

+ sewing machine and coordinating thread

+ 8 sheets (for each journal, 16 total) of paper cut to approximately 4.25"x8.5" (I used found papers like graph, ledger, and writing, but you could also use blank computer paper)

+ 2 butterfly binder clips

+ pencil, scissors, newspaper

Begin by cutting the sheet of cardstock in half to 5.5"x8.5".

Outside, or in a well-ventilated area, lay out the newspaper and spray one of the cardstock pieces with the spray adhesive. Be sure to get the edges nice and good so that the fabric doesn't start to peel off. But don't spray too much or the glue will bleed through the fabric, and not dry (I know from experience). I usually wait about 30 seconds for the glue to begin drying before adhering the fabric.

Carefully lay the piece of fabric over the now-sticky piece of cardstock. Smooth out any bubbles with the library card so that it's all nice and flat. Repeat these steps with the other piece of cardstock.

Next, trim off the excess fabric with the ruler and rotary cutter on both journal covers.

 Gather up 8 sheets of the papers and get them all nice and flush.

Fasten them in the middle of the cardstock (see picture below) with the butterfly clips. Then draw a line down the middle (at 4.25" in from each side) using the pencil and ruler. Repeat for the second set of papers and the other journal.

Sew down the middle on the pencil line you just drew. Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and end. Repeat for the second journal.

 Trim off the excess thread.

Almost done! Now open the journal, fold the cover back, and gather all of the pages together and trim off 1/4" on the edge so they are nice and flush. Repeat for the second journal.

Voila! Two cute jotter journals. Ready for gift-giving or for jotting your own thoughts and ideas.

Photographing Lights: Bokeh

So I finally found out that this super cool technique of taking photos of lights is called "Bokeh" (I know, I'm probably really behind on this one). I love how it looks like confetti. Love it. 

I am by no means a photographer (nor do I really know camera and photographer terms, etc) and credit all of my semi-decent photos to my amazing Canon Rebel XTi, and now my 50mm f/1.8 lens. I was on pinterest the other day and came across this tutorial on taking photographs like this and was glad to (finally) know what it is called. I experimented and was SO excited about how the photos turned out. 

I used my Canon 50 mm f/1.8 lens with these settings:

f/1.8

1/125 sec

1600 ISO

The dial on top is set to "M" and I adjusted the f-stop by pushing the Av +/- button and turning the other wheel on top to 1.8 (all seasoned photographers reading this, my apologies for my lack of knowledge on terms ;)). If you go here, there is a basic tutorial on changing all of these settings.

I took the photos at night so there wasn't any extra light (like the tutorial suggested) except for a nearby 60-watt table lamp. I used the manual focus (so no auto focus). The photos below show how the lights become bigger circles as you un-focus (?).

I also experimented with a plain string of Christmas lights. The photo is in focus and progresses to completely out of focus.

And I then made a lens hood (?) to create different shapes of light. Seriously, I was giddy about how fun these were turning out (the picture below shows my other lens 18-55mm as an example - I took these pictures with the above-mentioned lens). Basically you put the hood on the lens and do the same thing as above, only the lights are now shapes.

Flowers and Hearts! Yay!