Handmade journal - coptic stitch

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Just wanted to share a brief tutorial on that journal I mentioned a few posts back using coptic stitch binding. This is smaller than my paperbag journal which is also bound w/ coptic stitching. I only went with 12 signatures on this one (making 3 stacks w/ 4 folded signatures inside). Incorporating the covers was my challenge this time as I didn't do one for the paperbag journal. That said, I'm going to do a few more of these and get them down solid before I consider myself an 'expert' :>

The watercolor pad worked wonderfully for the size I had in mind. I can go vertical or landscape(for a panoramic effect). The only thing I still want to change are the covers - I love the crackle finish but I was going for a more vintage/western look and wasn't looking at adding pink in there. The original brown of the covers started turning pink when I laid down some gesso (?) and it kept coming up through each successive layer! At this point I may just try rubbing some diluted white paint over the surface for a whitewashed look...

Anyhow, if you're looking to try your hand at one of these, there are a few tutorials online that step it out in more detail than I show here so do check them out, especially for how-to's on the stitches, here and on Youtube here