Coptic Fodder!

Hello all!  Today's the day... Fodder School 3 started today!  Yes, the first lesson has "dropped", and we're on the way with this year-long mixed media adventure.  I've just completed my first project, and I'm completely thrilled with the results... not only with the handmade book I've created, but also that I'm already using and exploring products in my stash in new ways.

I've been meaning to try Coptic binding for (literally) years, so I was delighted to follow Di Venter's brilliantly detailed instruction video.  And I was really inspired by the fabric painted covers too... but of course I went my own way design-wise!

I'm sure you won't be surprised to see my PaperArtsy botanicals in action here, but that wasn't my original plan.  I had wanted to do some freehand sketches to paint, but none of the pens I tested wanted to play nicely on the old sheet I was repurposing for my book covers.  I didn't want to risk unexpected ink bleeds, so in the end I decided to stamp with Archival ink instead.

The acorns are old favourites here from EAB25 Acorn Edition, one of the first botanical sets, and the hawthorn berries are from one of the newest - my special Fodder Berry Edition.  

All the colours of PaperArtsy Fresco paint that I've used here come from my specially curated sets Botanical Basics, Berrylicious Brights, and Background Blues.  (You can read more about the special PaperArtsy/Fodder School collaboration products here if you've missed all that.)

Obviously, I can't reveal a lot about how I made this - that would be giving too much away - but I was really happy to find a way to get the Fresco paints to work beautifully on the fabric without buying expensive fabric medium.  (Just google search for alternatives - that's what I did!)

And I'm so happy to have a beautiful home for some long-hoarded sheets of Khadi paper... they give the signatures inside a wonderful texture. 

All in all, I couldn't be happier with my first piece of Fodder-making... I'm looking forward to the mid-month class where Di shares how she "uses" this Fodder. I already pretty much know what I want to do with it!

I hope you all have a brilliant October.  The trees are just starting to turn here, so those autumn colours are definitely creeping in to my artwork now.  Expect to see more...  Happy crafting all!

You can of course still sign up at any time for Fodder School 3... all the details and registration are here.

Better than any argument is to rise at dawn and pick dew-wet red berries in a cup.

Wendell Berry (he even has the right name!)

The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.

Ralph Waldo Emerson