With all our talk about art journals lately, these came at an appropriate time. I received a sneak peek of a new art journal put out by Strathmore and am thrilled with them.
They come in 3 sizes 3.5"x5", 5.5"x8", and 9"x12", and each size comes in a range of papers including heavy drawing paper, Bristol, 90 lb. watercolor or 140 lb. watercolor. You can tear off the cover sheet you see above to have a nice brown journal. The front and back covers are both heavy board, perfect for splashing on paint or collage. And the spiral is thick and strong. If you like to get messy in a journal and glue and paint, check these out. They'll be in stores in June.
For this fabric book, Tammy Vail took scraps of materials that look great together. She basically made a unstructured quilt design. It's held together with stitching, sewn on beads, fusible web and embroidery threads. Each page is a pocket, some snap close with a flap and a snap, others are open. The purpose is to make a little memory book, with pockets for cards, letters, pictures, or other little snippets of fun stuff. This would work great for personal use, or to give a friend a gift of a pretty book, full of memories. 
