Free printable! Titanic notepad stationery

I have just finished reading a book called "El misterioso caso del impostor del Titanic" (The mysterious case of the Titanic imposter), by Carmen Posadas.  I am afraid it is written in Spanish, but if you can read Spanish, I highly recommend it.  It was so intense I finished it in barely 4 days!  My mother recommended it, and I was glad I listened.

I am not going to review it, or write a synopsis - you can research that for yourself.  But I have always been a fan of the Titanic, and I have been studying and reading about it since I discovered its history.  In this era in which recreations are possible, you can find plates, mugs, cups and saucers, towels, tickets, even stationery that are replicas of those that were used in that magnificent ship.

Well, to celebrate the book, I made a free printable for you: a sheet so you can make your own Titanic notepad:

It's very easy to make a notepad out of these sheets.  I will provide instructions, or you can watch this great video to learn the method.

First, gather all your necessary materials:

- Titanic sheets - I usually print 10; that way you get a 40 pages notepad.  You can do more or less, your choice.  Print them in regular copy paper.

- A piece of cardboard - I use 1mm cardboard; that's the same as cereal boxes or soda packets.

- White glue and a brush, or a palette, for extending it.  If you have PVA glue or Mod Podge it works as well.

- A couple of clamps.

- A pencil, ruler and scissors, or X-Acto knife.

- Optional: double-sided tape, and a magnet, or an adhesive magnetic strip.

1) Cut out all your Titanic sheets.  Cut inside the lines if you don't want any black showing.

These sheets have the logo a little off center.  That is already fixed in the printable

2) Use the ruler and pencil to trace a rectangle in the cardboard the same size as your Titanic sheets.  Hint: it measures 12 x 9.3 cm.  Cut it and set it aside for now.

3) Gather the Titanic sheets neatly, with all the borders aligned, and clip them with the clamps.  I use a scrap piece of board so the clamps won't mark the paper.

 

4) Use the palette or the brush to extend a thin layer of glue on the top edge of the clamped sheets.  Let it dry completely and repeat the process a total of 3 times.

5) When everything is completly dry, you can attach the sheets to the piece of cardboard you cut previously.  You can glue them with the glue, or you can use double-sided tape.  Naturally, you can skip this last step, but I prefer to do it so the notepad will be sturdier.  But again, it's up to you.  

 

Well, there you go!  A very nice Titanic notepad for your desk!

This is optional, but it is another idea for you to consider.  Use a piece of magnetic strip or a magnet, and glue it to the back of your notepad.  That way you can put it on your fridge or any metallic surface.  Use it as shopping list or to remind you of important stuff.

I hope you have lots of fun crafting these!  Feel free to print as many as you like, make gifts for friends and pass the file along to anyone; links back are nice too.  Just please do not sell the file or your creations.  Thank you very much, and enjoy! ♥

Little details

Sometimes life can get hectic, and you have some small projects that get pushed to the back burner, and never finished.  I had one of those projects since before last Christmas!  So I was very happy when I finally ended it.

It is a very simple wood tray that I made out of popsicle sticks.  My coworker Carlos, who is a darling, cut the sticks for me.  I stained it and put some candles on it for a cozy look in the living room.

 

The handles I bought from Tienda de Casitas; the round candles are from Art of Mini and the pillar candles were a gift from Nalladris.  They are all snow white as if they were just new from a shop.  I do not like to display already burnt candles - not even in real life! - so the wicks are white too.

I love the center table!  It has a sliding drawer under the glass that you can decorate with stuff.  I (oops, my mistake, I mean Kassandra, of course!) put two black and white ballet photographs on it.  The lower drawer also opens.  There are some cutlery sets, placemats and coasters on it.

Also, I made two vintage posters for the museum scene.  This time it's Titanic memorabilia.  You all know that Kassandra was a passanger of Titanic, so naturally anything Titanic interests her:

The largest one depicts an add for tickets sales of the sailing from New York to Europe - that naturally never took place.  I love how they look!

Titanic plates and great news

Today my lovely tenant informed me that the holders for the Titanic plates arrived, and the plates are already in their final setting.

They are so unusual and pretty!

She had thought about putting them on the wall, following up the stairs, but she decided that they were not really visible from there.  So instead she decided to place them on top of the parlor library:

She is very happy about how well they look, and she hopes that you all like them as well.

She then told me that after thinking long and hard about it, she has decided to let me take some pictures of her so I can share them with my readers.  I was surprised, because she is a very private creature, but she winked and said surely people would like to finally meet her.

As soon as she is ready, I will share her photographs.

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Fantasy apart, the thing is I finally was able to comission the lady vampire doll I have always dreamt about.  It is already paid for, and I am currently waiting for it to be delivered.  I am so excited, I can't wait to have her here.  The doll is a beauty, and the amazing artist that made it has created it as if she could have taken a look inside my head and produce what she saw.  I am counting the days...

Memories from the past, part 2

Since my tenant invited me over to talk about the sinking of the Titanic, this morning I went to visit her.  She was already waiting for me, and she took out what it looked like an old Edwardian cardboard box.

And then she opened it...

So many figments of the past!  She proceeded to explain everything about them:

To the left, a soap ad for a brand called Vinolia Otto; they had been awarded the privilege to provide soap for the First Class passangers of the Titanic.  The ad had run in British newspapers at the time, and that is where my tenant got it.

To the right, two menus from the First Class dining room, dated 12th and 14th of April.

Three Titanic postcards.  They could be easily acquired at the White Star offices and at newspapers stands.

To the left, her First Class ticket.  She told me she was able to move from the cabin she had purchased to a suite that had been assigned to another passanger, who finally did not embark.

To the right, an invitation to attend the launch of the Titanic. She confided that she was not actually in the launching ceremony, but that the invitation was given to her as a memento by Bruce Ismay, with whom she had tea once during the voyage.  She also stated she did not like him very much.  Even though he was very polite and correct, he had an unmistakable air of superiority that she could not stand.  On the other hand, she added, the Astors were nicer.  She and Madeleine Astor became friends during the voyage.  She stated that Mr. Astor liked to play cards during the evenings, and that she kept Madeleine company while her husband was out.

A ticket to the Turkish baths.  She said she had not been in a Turkish bath for centuries, and was eager to try the experience again.  She was supposed to give one part of the ticket to the attendant and keep the other, but apparently there was no one in charge when she arrived, and no one asked for the ticket while she was there.

Luggage stickers.  The square ones were for the luggage that would be checked and to be deposited in the ship's hold.  The romboid ones were for suitcases that would go in the cabins.  Hence, the "Wanted" and "Not wanted" printing.  They gave her an excess of stickers (or maybe she did not have many suitcases) and she kept them.

And of course, she had newspapers with the infamous headlines after the sinking.

She seemed very happy to be able to talk about something of her past.  She said her daughter (the one married to the man she got the plates from) is so used to hear her talk about her adventures that none seem to impress her anymore.

I was very impressed, and I told her so.  She smiled, and said I was more than welcome to visit any time I wanted, and she would tell me more of her stories.  I asked how she managed to feed during the voyage, and she smiled and said that Edwardian gentlemen were not as rigid as history would make us think, and they had no problems about accepting invitations to visit her on her suite during the night.  She did not elaborate any further, though.

She is indeed a mysterious being...

Memories from the past

Today I went to visit my tenant to tell her that hopefully very soon I will be able to bring more plants for her, and found her very excited, having just received a big box that she obviously had been expecting.

She asked me to help her open it, since the contents were delicate.  I did, and this is what surfaced once it was open:

She was very happy when she saw them, and she told me they were very special plates.  I asked if they were replicas of the famous Titanic china, but she smiled and said they were actually the real thing.  My face must have shown my surprise,  and she explained the husband of her daughter had been so generous as to let her keep them in her home, as he knew they would be safe with her.  I asked if he was a collector of Titanic memorabilia himself, and she smiled coyly and said "not exactly".

As I was wondering what kind of contacts she may had that they let her have very valuable historic pieces, she said she herself was a survivor of the Titanic - she had said that before, but I really did not paid any mind to it.  She also let me know that she had a box with mementos of the time, and said if I was interested in seeing it, she would look for it and show me tomorrow.

I was very excited for the offer, and I accepted.  I cannot wait to see what she has kept all these years from the so famous steamer.

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Fantasy apart, the plates come from Twelve Times More Teeny.  Sofía has a wonderful collection of dollhouse plates with dozens of designs.  She even has replicas of my real life plates.  I am sure you will find something there that you just need to have! 

I made the shipping box and labels with these templates that you are welcome to download.