Carol's Wool Book...

Carol saw the "peeks" I shared yesterday and left a note that she was excited to see the finished book. I decided not to wait until it's in her hot, little hands to show it to you. (I don't think she'll mind.)

Her book is larger than the one I made for myself. Mine measured about 3.5" by 4.5". Carol's is a generous 5" by 7" and will hold many more trinkets and special mementos between its covers. This is what the front cover looks like. The centerpiece is a sweet feather drawing on muslin by Michelle Palmer.

When she opens the book, she'll find vintage lace that I've embellished with seed beads. I've accented that page with sweet, old buttons, too.

On the opposite page, I placed a lace pocket and then filled it with little cards. Of course, Carol can replace those with her own when she sits down to play with it.

Carol's blog is called "Beads and Birds", so naturally, I wanted to add avian accents to her book. In case you didn't know, I have quite an assortment of Michelle's drawings on fabric, and they're my go-to pieces when I want to elevate my work. (Thanks, always, Michelle!)

I've added a few loose pieces that Carol can choose to keep in her book or use in another project. This Tula Pink owl ribbon is one of those items. It's safely tucked in her book for the trip to Carol's home. From this page, you can also see just a peek of what's to come!

Carol told me she has a pond that she and her family really enjoy, so I put a koi pond right in the center of her book!

I created the "beads" to mimic water, with a coral bead symbolic of a koi fish. Then I secured a metal, articulated fish charm to the spine of the book and stitched beads to simulate bubbles rising in the water. I also stitched water plants on the page to complete the pond.

When the book is closed, the fish hangs in the spine, but when open, Carol can pivot the fish and it looks like it's swimming.

I have left a few pages blank so that Carol can add her own touches, but I wanted to have another page with antique crocheted lace to create second storage pocket for her. It's hand stitched in place at the top and bottom, leaving the sides open to tuck in her treasures.

Finally, I added my Brynwood label to the back cover, along with one of my tiny, signature acorns. I crocheted a granny square from pearl cottons in Carol's favorite colors and then stitched it onto the back cover. I thought Carol might like one of Tag's custom button's too, but she can remove it from the book if she prefers. The bird is a snippet from the custom ribbons in my "inventory".

There are a few other items I've added to Carol's book, but if I show you here, there won't be any surprises for her! She'll only have to wait a few days to play with her new book. I'm mailing it off to her today.

I had great fun making this. I hope Carol enjoys it as much when she opens her package. I can hardly wait to hear!