A Book, a Bookmark, and a Box of Buttons

Most days in the studio, I'm working on customer orders, wholesale orders, new designs, chicken whispering, or getting ready for upcoming events.

Recently, I found myself making something entirely different.

My Aunt Pam is a librarian, and she and I have shared books for years. When I was growing up, I spent weeks at a time at her house with my cousins during the summer. We made countless trips to the library, and I suspect a good portion of my lifelong love of reading can be traced back to those afternoons spent wandering the stacks and leaving with an armful of books.

We have very similar tastes and both tend to read quickly, so there's often a steady exchange of recommendations making its way back and forth. We both love a good mystery, horror novels, and stories that linger in your mind long after you've finished them. Stephen King has been a longtime favorite, and more recently I've discovered the work of L.S. Stratton.

After finishing Do What Godmother Says by L.S. Stratton, I immediately thought, "Pam would love this book!" If you'd like to learn more about the author and her work, you can visit her website here: L.S. Stratton (Shelly Stratton) Author Page

So, as we often do, I decided to pass it along and send it to her for her birthday.

Of course, as SOON as I started packing it up for shipping, I started thinking it needed something tucked inside. Before long, I found myself standing in the studio holding the book and pulling fabrics from shelves, trying to match the colors of the cover.

The deep blue linen came first. Then a charcoal herringbone flannel. Then a colorful ribbon, a vintage button, and a snippet of gold sequined trim inspired by the cover itself.

One thing led to another, as these things often do, and suddenly I was making bookmarks.

As I dug through my supplies, I reached for a collection of old buttons I've had for years. The buttons live in a worn old hatbox that Aunt Pam gave me long ago. I've used them in countless projects over the years, and somehow it seemed fitting that a bookmark made for her should include one of the buttons she gave me in the first place.

Projects like this remind me why I started making things in the first place. Inspiration comes from all sorts of places—sometimes from the woods, sometimes from the garden, sometimes from the yard creatures, and sometimes from a really good book and the people we love.

The book is wrapped, the bookmark is tucked inside, and it has safely arrived at Aunt Pam's house.

Knowing Pam, she'll probably finish the book before I finish writing my next blog post. And, in what feels like a fitting end to a story involving librarians and books, I'm currently waiting for another L.S. Stratton novel to arrive through interlibrary loan.