While Supplies Last .... and many thanks!

Wow, its hard to believe that eight years have passed since my feet last stood on Israel's soil. With each passing year brings more recounting of the faithfulness of our great God. His mercies are new every morning and His lovingkindness endures forever!

The response to the Israel Illustrated Travel Journal has been humbling and I thank each one of you who have purchased one or many copies over the years. It has been a labor of love. There are so many fond memories of Israel, of sketching and painting on location, memories that are dear to my heart. However it has been the friends made on the journey that I treasure most. Many travel companions have become lifelong friends.  You are all very dear to me.

This leather bound watercolor journal was printed as a special limited edition of 200 copies, each signed and numbered. There are still a few left and I have dropped the price on these remaining copies from $125 to $75 each, plus shipping.

Again, thank you to all who have purchased in the past. May your deepest joy and peace come from the Prince of Peace.
   With sincerest gratitude,
            ~ Colleen

Thank you!

My stockpile is fast dwindling as journal after journal makes its way to people all over the United States. It has been great to hear from many of you. I am making more and so thankful for your business and your friendships. Perhaps this one is on its way to you!

I would love to hear from you in the comment section.

A little peek inside

 

 

                                          

The Studio on This Snowy Saturday

Here is a peek into the studio today. I'm anticipating a great Saturday.  Out the window snow is falling, a little acoustical guitar sets the mood and an enjoyable task at hand. Ahhh......

Israel Journal Update: The leather is here and book binding is underway.

Oh, the smell of leather! It summons me back to endless days in childhood, riding my horse through wooded trails and along back country roads. The clip-clop of her hooves, birdsong and the creak of saddle leather filled many joyous days. These days frequently come to mind with rolls of leather in my studio. I wish you could be here to enjoy it with me. These are delightful days in my basement studio with wintery winds blowing outside and a toasty fire in the little fireplace. The crafting of an Israel Journal begins with premium Horween cowhides. Yes, entire sides of hides. Since they are from an actual animal, there are occasional scrapes, scratches, and holes to work around as I make the cuts. In my case I measure multiple times and say a prayer before a rotary blade touches this leather. So far, so good....

After carefully measuring and cutting to cover size I end up with a stack like this. I then will strategically punch holes along the spine area for sewing and other holes to keep the journal safely enclosed when not in use.

Each page of text and watercolor has been individually torn to size, folded, stacked in 3 page signature groups, the spines of each pierced with carefully measured holes so that the signatures can be hand sewn to the leather covers. Here I am applying the endsheets to the fist and last signatures. The endsheets host the names of random locations we visited while in The Land. 

Following this, it is time to sew the text block (the folded and stacked signature pages) to the leather cover.

I love this stage! A few are nearing completion. Just a few more steps in the process....

...and then I must build piles!! 

As the stash increases, I will update concerning the finishing touches on the journal and a way for you to purchase, should you desire. Thank you so much for your interest in this project. Many of you send encouraging emails and phone calls. My prayer has always been that this will be used to the Lord's glory and to honor His holy name. May it be a sweet smelling sacrifice. I would love to hear from you, please feel free to leave a comment in the comment section of this blog.

Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving and may your Christmas season be blessed with family, friends, laughter and most of all with the One whom it is all about.

     "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
       For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
       And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
       In the house of David His servant --
       ......To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
       Might serve Him without fear,
       In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days....
                                                                              Luke 2:67-69, 74-75
 

Blessings to you all,
   Colleen

Decisions!

Oh my! On the drawing board today (quite literally)....choosing leather for the cover of the Israel Travel Journal. The leather is luscious. The fragrance is rich.

This is amazing leather and I can't wait to see how the finished product will look.

Meanwhile I have been tearing pages day in and day out. Each little section you see here represents one journal. There are 32 per box in this picture, plus another box partially filled, over 100 copies so far..... But what am I doing sitting here at the computer, I have more work to do!

Summer in the Studio

Today I sit in my studio and a cool breeze blows. It is an uncommon, yet so lovely, coolish August in Michigan. Typically the pond is low at this time of year, the grass a rain-starved brown, the heat and haze of hot summer prevailing. Not so today. It is mid-70's, refreshing and energizing. The proof copies wait at the printers, and I wait for word from them.

A couple views of the proofs.

As I wait, I have still been productive. See those stacks of folded papers in the background? Those are 2009 Israel Journal "cast offs" that I have been using to make prototypes for the 2012 Israel Journal.   My first choice has always been a leather cover, which seems natural for a travel journal, don't you think? So, using left-overs and cast-offs, and some leather I had purchased a couple of years ago, I have begun playing with construction design for the new journal. Here is what I have come up with so far:

The dark thread (third from the top) just arrived yesterday, and is what I had in mind all along. I like it. New leather samples should be here any day now. All this behind-the-scenes stuff is pretty exciting in my little 40 acres piece of woods! (And the luscious smell of leather doesn't hurt either.)

    

One more thing I haven't mentioned yet. There will also be notecards, for those who still send wonderful little notes via snail mail. Two different sets (8 cards each) will be available. The images on the cards are from both Israel Journals. Set 1 from 2009 Journal, Set 2 from the yet to be released 2012 Journal. These are also at the printers, but will look like this:

So....

Just wanted to let you know that the days are busy and the work is progressing. Thank you for your kind interest. I will keep you updated and would love to hear from you!

   Shalom, 

        Colleen