Last weekend I was lucky enough to go to California for An Affaire at Downton for a lot of crafting, shopping, and the chance to stay in a fantastic historic hotel.
(For any other architectural detail nerds like me, I'll have a whole post about the hotel later).
One of my favorite parts was before the event even started. Michelle Geller hosted a journal swap. I've posted before about Michelle's journal swaps, and what a great hostess she is. The collaborative journals she creates are beyond fabulous.
The inspiration for the swap was the many scenes in Downton Abbey episodes where the servants deliver letters and calling cards to the family on silver trays.
The "pages" in the journal swap are envelopes, either true vintage envelopes or envelopes made to look old.
To make my envelopes I sewed vintage postcards on envelopes I'd made from toile wallpaper. I added some bits of lace and aged them with lots of distress ink.
Each book is made from one envelope from each artist, for a total of 14 envelopes (plus a few extra made by Michelle) per book. They were then bound and wrapped with this incredible cover.
I asked Michelle how she put together such a great looking, sturdy, flexible cover. The process involved fusing, sanding, staining, gluing, sewing and then more sanding and varnishing.
Just looking at the cover you can tell Michelle put in an incredible amount of time and artistry. But there are even more special details inside.
A title page tag listing the participating artists.
Inside the back cover is a thank you note with a tape measure "handle".
And, if that wasn't enough- everybody filled their envelopes with ephemera.
I've already spent several hours with my journal, pulling out the bits and pieces of pretty old paper, pretending I'm the Dowager Countess and I'm paging through my scrapbook. (Of course, as I'm reading, I'm also making witty and snide comments as fits the Countess).
I'll treasure my journal but the craft classes at the actual event were keepers, too and I'll show you more when I've finished.
