Now adding personalized messages to a slightly larger size book necklace...just let me know what you would like in your's. They can be fun reminders to have close: quotes, sweet nothings, prayers, mantras, etc.  

I received of an email from a Kristin, owner of Ephemera in Paducah, KY, telling me how one local artist bought a couple of my book necklaces as weddings gifts and then embellished them.  I love the idea, and they turned out SO BEAUTIFUL!!  Stefanie Elaine Graves of Cowango Studios took the two necklaces and had Ike, their local book artist, embellish them with the women's names.  She then chose stanzas from Wendell Berry's poem, "A Country of Marriage," which she illustrated with watercolor. She also added a beaded headpin to the leather strap on each to make it more decorative, and shared the photos below with me.  They are so lovely, and, hopefully, get your ideas flowing for the different ways that you can use these bitty books.   

These are toothfair book necklaces that I made as custom orders as a couple of birthday presents for young girls.  They have a tooth and fairy wand stitched on the front and a little pocket on the back cover for the money to go in.  There are a few pages inside where they can keep track of when and where they lost their teeth.  All of this comes packaged as a bitty book that they can wear as a necklace.  Pretty fun, huh?!

I just completed this custom Celtic book necklace. It is over-sized, and both the leather and the textblock are recycled. The binding is a combination of a couple of traditional binding methods along with my own interpretation. The directive was an extra-large book necklace with green leather and a triskelion. The request also included wanting something that was "distinctly Oesch". I really enjoyed creating this little treasure, which brings to mind Irish mythology and folklore.

This past weekend was Cherokee Triangle Art Fair in Louisville, KY.   One of the many highlights were the variety of exclamations people would make as they walked into my booth.  One gal walzed right up to the booklet necklaces exclaiming "I require one of these!"  Another lady picked up a large leather journal as she said" Wow! This work is amazing."  It was a delight to hear all of the feedback.  This is definitely one of the perks of participating in a show.  Its also fun to watch folks pick everything up and truly experience all of the textures.

I set up on Friday and was immediately even more excited about the show once I saw where it was. Cherokee Triangle is a neighborhood with gorgeous homes and ancient trees.  I was completely enchanted.  The weekend was full of oh so many interesting, genuine folks of all ages.  We had sunshine all of Saturday, and did we ever need it.  With so much rain here as of late, everyone could not have been in a better mood-myself included. There was a storm late Saturday evening, and I arrived at a quite disheveled booth on Sunday morning.  Nothing will wake you up like some good old fashioned manual labor.  The top had come off of my canapy, and my tables and displays were overturned.  Lots of things were soaked.  Thankfully, I had put all of the books away the night before, and none of them got wet.  I called upon all things creative and got right to work putting my canopy back together and attempting some sort of display with what I could still use.  It all worked out, and although it was suppose to rain all of Sunday, it did not rain during the show.  As soon as I packed my car up and closed the door, the drops began to fall.  Its pretty amazing that the weather was so merciful.  I kept telling everyone that I felt like we were being given a present.  

Having never done a show in Louisville prior to this, I have to say that it did capture me.  I thoroughly enjoyed the people that came through.  The streets, trees, and many local restaurants were magical. Everything was conducive to a fantastic weekend.  Thanks to all to came out!

I've got a whole new batch of booklet necklaces ready to go.  There are more colors and a slightly different style.  These necklaces make great gifts for friends, teachers, book lovers, etc.  I can't stop making them-they are so cute!