Sherlock's Journal

It is with complete pleasure I share my Sherlock Journal with you, designed with Kerry-Jean Watson's newest collection exclusively found at Meg's Garden - The Sherlock Book.  This collection can either be bought as a paper collection or downloaded in digital.

This was a first for me, the first time I've put together a journal with pre-printed pages like this and the first time to hand stitch a journal.  It was such a fun experience learning how to do both!

You can purchase what's called a Temptations package which is hand picked items from Meg that correspond perfectly with the Sherlock Book mini kit.  I used several metal embellishments (the links to everything will be included below) to embellish the outside of my journal.  I didn't add much, wanting to keep the emphasis on the looks of an old worldly journal.  

As I said I followed a tutorial from Sea Lemon for a binding method called 'Long Stitch'. I was so concerned it would be difficult but it wasn't at all and the end result I'm in love with.  I can guarantee this will NOT be my last hand stitched book. The tutorial is so easy to follow, I  hope you'll give this method a try, it lends itself beautifully to this type of journal. The fabric for the book itself was found at JoAnn fabrics and is actually a piece of upholstery material which I sprayed the reverse side (which was Gold) with a couple of Lindy's sprays to give it that rich brown look. 

The pages of the journal are a combination of Kerry-Jean's designs from the Sherlock Book (as shown on the right in these two photos.  And, cardstock that I distressed to give that old world look.  I backed each paper from the collection with one of my own to stretch the paper further.  If you are downloading a digital kit this won't matter, you simply print as many papers as you need and if you run short you print more.

I've used elements that are included in the kit for the pockets, tags and mats.  There are lots of blank pages, which was something of a challenge for me but I wanted to let the recipient of the book choose whether they wanted to add photos or journaling to these spots, and there will be lots of room for both which is the sole purpose of a journal.

I hope you'll check out my video below, I'll include a complete walk through of the journal, a short glance at how my pages and the cover looked before assembly and a host of additional photos to inspire you to create your own Sherlock Book.

Sea Lemon - Long Stitch Binding Tutorial 

~~~Supplies~~~

The Sherlock Book Kit by Watson Temptations in cream, camel, copper & brown Mesh Ribbon 38mm Cogs - 2 of each Lock 2 tall Pen Nib Lindy's Steampunk Sepia Gossamer Gold

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