Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Today I am taking a vintage French book cover and turning it into an art journal. By taking out the original, broken text block and sewing in signatures of mixed papers this somewhat bedraggled old piece becomes an art journal and has a new life.

The original book was a prayer book from 1894. It is made from celluloid and is extremely worn from being used for many years. For me this adds to the story and the energy of the new piece.

If you want to see a simpler view of sewing in your papers using a three-hole stitch, you can see that here:
youtube.com/watch?v=AWoTuAIwJYI&list=PLWir7hWgZLNAB06JvX1PIF2EkvFiY2rdR&index=5&t=2s

Here are links to free printable digital versions of vintage handwritten paper from my personal collection:
bookandpaperarts.com/free-scans-vintage-print-text-handwritten

and printable pages of wildflowers that make great backgrounds:
bookandpaperarts.com/free-wildflower-scans

Let me know if you would like to see more videos showing how to fill the pages in this messy art journal!