Purple themed album

This traditional casebound wedding album was custom-made to match the vibrant purple bridesmaid dresses that were worn at this couple’s wedding. The coverpaper is a Nepalese handmade paper that has a distinctive textured surface.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In order to make this wedding album extra special, I handstitched matching headbands at the top and bottom of the album’s spine. These headbands will serve to protect the album whilst adding an extra hint of colour. I also added a secret message to the spine – hidden away forever!

The slipcase acts as a protector for the album, keeping the wedding photos protected inside the album, away from light and other possible damage. As always this wedding album is made from archival materials which are completely acid-free.

Something borrowed, something blue…

Here is a wedding album set I made for a summer wedding. I had been saving this beautiful indigo blue coverpaper for a special album and when I saw this couple’s wedding invite, I knew it would match perfectly!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The paper has a slightly waxy feel to it as it is created using batik – a process where parts of the paper are blocked out using wax before dying the paper. When the dye has dried, the wax is removed, revealing the original paper colour – as the wax prevents the dye from penetrating the paper.

Lovebirds guest book

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This guestbook is bound using a Secret Belgian binding – one of my favourite styles. The cover is bound together first and then the text block is sewn to the cover. This is quite different from the regular method of binding.

The paper inside the book is an Italian paper – Fabriano Tiepolo. This is a beautiful, heavyweight, velvety paper which gives the guestbook a luxurious feel.

Blue Bloom album

Here is a wedding album I recently made. I bound it using a basic Japanese Stab stitch. There are many variations on this stitch but I love the simplicity of this style.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The coverpaper is a handmade and handprinted paper with a delicate flower pattern. As the coverpaper was quite thin and slightly translucent, I glued a sheet of white paper to the cover before glueing the main paper, in order to give it strength.

Slate pink wedding set

Here is a wedding set that I made recently. It consists of a medium accordion album, an extra large Japanese bound album and a Secret Belgian bound guest book. The colour theme of the wedding was pink and slate grey so I thought that this modern polka-dotted paper contrasted with the grey bookcloth would suit.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I also found a polka-dotted grey ribbon that I couldn’t resist using on one of the albums – making a very polka-polka dotted album!

Classic guest book

Here is a wedding guestbook I made recently for a client in England. She was looking for a unique customised guest book that had a classic feel but wanted to avoid the usual white guest book. After looking through my cover papers, she chose the Inky Blue Flowers paper which has a rich and slightly antique quality.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This guest book is a traditional case bound book. As the colour scheme for their wedding was pale blue with silver and plum accents, I chose complementary end papers and book cloth to suit these colours and the cover paper.

Sunset orange wedding album

This album was made to match the bridesmaid dresses which were a beautiful shade of orange. I found the paper in Daintree, a local paper shop in Dublin, Ireland. They also had a green version of the coverpaper which I bought too – one for Autumn and one for Spring.

I originally had planned to use a darker bookcloth colour – brown or maroon perhaps – but the red seemed to set off the orange colours the best.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Plum Vine Wedding Album Set

Here is a set of wedding albums which I made a few days ago. The bride sent me a swatch of cloth from the bridesmaid dress so that I could colour match the albums. The swatch was a plumy pinky red so I chose a paper that had a mix of this colour in it. The rich ribbon colour brought all the albums together, creating a luxurious feel to them.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I made 2 Japanese Stab stitch albums using a decorative Crossed stitch and 1 medium-sized Case-bound album. Each of the books has an inscription inside with the bride and groom’s name, wedding date and venue.

Floral wedding album set

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This is a wedding album set that I made for a couple this summer. Their colour theme was salmon pink so I chose a coverpaper that reflected this colour without the book becoming a sea of salmon pink!

The smallest album is an Accordion or Leporello book. This was the first time I have made one of these as part of a wedding album set. This album can be opened up and put standing on display, showing different photos on the front and back pages.

The leporello book has an interesting origin. The name Leporello comes from the opera Don Giovanni, an opera that contains music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Leporello was a manservant who kept a record of Don Giovanni’s female conquests in a book. At the end of the play, Leporello spreads this infamous book across the stage.

Art Deco wedding album set

I was asked to make this wedding set (guest book and 2 albums) for a couple who like a minimalistic style. When I heard that their wedding colours were black and white, I instantly thought of using this paper.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The guest book is a Secret Belgian binding – my new favourite! I thought that this style would really compliment the paper pattern. I have included some photos of this book in progress, to give you an idea of how it is made.

The large album is a Japanese Stab stitch album. It also has an inscription on the front page ‘I am convinced that to live is to travel to the world’s end’. This quote was chosen because the couple meet while working in a bar called ‘World’s End’. The smaller album is a traditional case bound book. I used the black book cloth in a way that mimics the paper pattern. Each of the albums have black paper inside, making a nice contrast with the coverpaper.