Monet and Me

got a rush job of lettering in two baby books for a baby shower yesterday. Actually, I did the lettering while Monet supervised.

The books were presents from a great-grandpa. Initially, he wanted me to write in the books. To Baby Name and From Great-Grandpa.

I have written in books before, but it's quite scary as there's no room for error. When the books were delivered, I told Great-Grandpa, I wouldn't be able to write in the books as the pages were printed on glossy paper. My ink wasn't going to adhere.

What to do? We brain-stormed a few ideas, and he liked the suggestion of a bookplate. I cut a scrap of Arches 90 lb. watercolor paper to the size of a business card (3.5" x 2 ") (It was a relief to know I had more paper to use when the pen caught in the paper and dragged a fugly, thick line of ink instead of the graceful ending to the letter "e".)

The area on the front piece (verso or left page) wasn't large enough to fit the two lines of writing.  He decided the bookplate  could be glued onto the title page

and that's what I did

Finding a spot for the book plate on the second book wasn't easy. There wasn't a front piece or a title page. There were felt flaps, but again, not large enough.

On the last page there was a felt cloud which when pulled down revealed a mirror. Since the left page had a square cutout so part of that blue felt could be seen, the bookplate had to go on the inside of the cloud. Problem solved.

Job dusted and done.