Sunday, October 5, 2014

My “Eldori” is finished!

Yesterday I've finished my Midori style notebook. Since it is made by me, I call it my “Eldori”.
Midori fauxdori Travelers Notebook regular size and A6Some other names for the self-made version of the Midori notebooks are Fauxdori or Raydori (notebooks made by Ray Blake) I've followed Ray’s YouTube tutorial, which shows the making of this notebook very clearly so I won’t go into detail how I've made mine. I've made one modification to the back of the notebook: Now it has a flap to protect  the insert when closed. It was very difficult to find good leather but I've discovered a shoe factory nearby where they use very supple and beautiful dyed leather of the right thickness.
I had enough leather to make a regular and an A6 size notebook. The little one is not quite finished yet but I've already been writing and playing in the larger one. Although I've measured everything a few times, it was still very scary to put my knife in the buttery soft leather but after the first cut the whole process went very smoothly. 

Midori fauxdori Travelers Notebook regular size open

Midori fauxdori Travelers Notebook regular size open bulletjournal

Midori fauxdori Travelers Notebook regular size open folder

The day before I had made already some inserts and a folder so I could put everything together right away and I felt so good and so proud. The charms I've got from M and are very seasonal (pumpkin and corn)
Midori fauxdori Travelers Notebook charm corn

Midori fauxdori Travelers Notebook close up charm pumpkin

This is such a wonderful notebook and already I am loving it so much. It is very versatile and playful and it is supposed to be messy and nothing has to match. I am super excited about it. This will be a place for me to play and experiment, to write and doodle, to draw and paint, to make lists and glue pretty pictures, decorate pages and what not

Midori fauxdori Travelers Notebook regular size and A6 in the make
Little one in the make

selfgrown pumkins in our windowsill
Pumpkins in our windowsill

(All the pictures are made by M)

22 comments:

  1. lovely, you are a very multi-talented lady!

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  2. Wow, that does look beautiful, Ellen! And remembering previous conversations about journals versus sheets and perfection, I'm glad you have made it wonderfully playful :D

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    1. Thanks Kerry. How nice you remembered that.

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  3. Wowza, that looks better than the ones I've seen for ungodly sums of money! Well done my friend! I hope your inner artist is patting you on the back; that was quite a project to put together. :)
    LOVE the picture of the pumpkins and gourds on the windowsill. We are finally having some cool weather here (at least in the morning). Thank M for her amazing photos please!

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    1. Thanks Bev, And yes she keeps on patting. I am just grinning and feeling happy and touching the book constantly. It is sooo soft
      I'll tell M you liked her pumpkins ( She is the main gardener here) and her pictures

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  4. It looks great! I love the added flap to give extra protection. It looks like you have multiple inserts, which looks great, but how did you manage to secure them all into place. In the video, he has one insert. I may never set out to do this, but I'd love to know what you did in that part of your project. Have a great week. :)

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    1. Thanks Cher, With two elastics you can insert six inserts max. Two books per elastic and two books around the two first ones tied together with an extra elastic band. Then you can also fold folders around the notebooks
      You can see this here
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQYlzWXp2NA

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    2. Thank you for the extra link. This looks very cool. Thanks for sharing this project.

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  5. FABULOUS! WONDERFUL! and BEAUTIFUL!!!! I love it my dear Ellen!!! Congratulations!!! It's a great work. Today not cafecito, not wine...today champancito!!! (=champagne) to celebrate for your work and the photographer!!!!! :D A kiss and Muchas Estrellas!!!! Have a good Monday!!!

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    1. Thank you so much LM
      Champagne now that sound good to me I like the bubbles
      Have a great day yourself too
      Hugs

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  6. Stunning books and photos!

    It's beautiful. Congratulations on your hard work!

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    1. Thanks Steve, It was a daunting project but I am so pleased how it turned out :)

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  7. Wonderful and gorgeous!!! You must feel elated! I can just imagine how nice they smell, too :)

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    1. Thank you,Olivia an dyes I do
      Even while writing in it you smell whiffs of leather fragrance :)

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  8. Wow! I missed this at the start of the month - how beautiful! As someone with a love of quality notebooks and journals (I can't stand that scraps-of-paper-everywhere thing) I really admire the work you've put into this. I've always fancied making my own books...this is really inspiring.

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    1. Thank you Beth!
      When you have a piece of leather (not too thin) it is really easy to make. I love this book a lot; it feels soft and I have now several inserts, which are very inviting to use on a daily base.

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  9. I missed this post Ellen, but Bev just told me when I mentioned wanting a Fauxdori today on my blog. This is gorgeous and so neat as is all your work.

    I want a red one, will have to save up and try one of the sellers on Etsy as I can't find thicker leather (or afford it.) I was very keen on making the inserts and such myself and being messy and having fun as you say. I've made lots of journals myself but the adaptability of this is charming; you can change it up any time you want, a very enticing concept.

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    1. Thank you so much JJ The concept is indeed veryversatile. I love making the inserts to my own liking. I've discovered also that you can find some sturdy leather in thrift stores Just look for sturdy leather bags or suitcases. I've got a lovely piece of red (sorry :)) leather from an old envelope clutch just big enough for another dori
      Happy hunting!

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  10. Wonderful! I've just discovered the world of fauxdoris, midoris etc. and I'm in the process of creating my own. It will be tarot related of course hehe ;)

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    1. Thanks Christiane! Beware of the Dori addiction :D
      Please share yours if it is ready

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    2. Haha! Yes, I'm already very addicted to various Instagram accounts and YouTube tutorials hehe ;) Also, I got really inspired by Flow Magazine, which started the whole thing off...and then I came across your post here....I will share, once I've got it all set up. I'm making all the inserts myself :)

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