Making Books From Collected ATCs

Where does the time go?!

It is almost December, and I have so many different posts swirling around in my head. It's clearly time to sit down and share a project I've had in mind to tell you about for a couple of months now!

Remember this gem of a book? It gave me ideas for my booklace projects, and other bookbinding inspiration.

When author and bookbinder Erin Zamrzla suggested a Little League Score Book, I thought, "Well, I sure don't have any baseball trading cards to make that." But then it occurred to me that Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) I have received from my creative friends would make perfect book covers for this project.

There is artwork from Karen Ann Young, Steph Dodson (where did you go, Steph? I can't find you online!), Ronica Jones, and Rhonda H represented in these books.

The ATCs provide the front and back covers, while card stock is used to create the spine. A fairly simple ledger binder (i.e., pamphlet stitch) is used to sew the text weight paper together inside. 

I really like the fact that I've found a way to use the art that has been shared with me, rather than just tucking it away to look at when I think to pull out the ATCs I have stored away.  These notebooks are an ideal way to enjoy the art during everyday moments of life.

There is also one ATC that was created as a demonstration piece at the Invoke Arts table at a rubber stamp show I attended many years ago, as well.

I absolutely love how these little books turned out, and the 3-1/2 inch by 2-1/2 inch size makes a reasonable size for ideas, notes, and jottings.

For more bookbinding inspiration, please visit my Book and Journal Making board on Pinterest; there are enough ideas there to keep me busy for the rest of my days!

Booklaces

What do you get when you turn an itty-bitty bound book into a necklace for on-the-go note jotting?

A booklace!

If you check out my Book and Journal Making board on Pinterest, you will see that I have a bit of an obsession with tiny books, and book necklaces.  When I checked out Erin Zamrzla's Handmade Books for Everyday Adventures from the local library, one of the first projects I worked on was her Necklace Book.

The project uses a very simple account book binding technique, which Erin describes very clearly in words and diagrams at the back of her book.

After cutting the cover and pages to size, only two holes are required at the top, with some simple threading with cord. (Her instructions call for nylon coated bead stringing wire, but I used stretchy cord that I already had in my supply stash.)

I added a little charm to one of the books for a little extra...charm!

The pages are tiny, but legitimately large enough to jot down a phone number, address, or book title you want to keep in mind.

I had a seven-year-old girl who was more than willing to model what the finished book necklaces look like!

Stay tuned, because I have many more book-making projects to share in the future.  For projects completed in the past, take a look at the Drawing Near posts labeled Book Making.

Have Journal, Will Travel

It's not everyday that I find a craft project involving an empty toilet paper tube that I like.

I mean, I'm as big a fan of upcycling as the next guy; I even have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to upcycling projects.

But an empty toilet paper tube?

Leave it to book artist Gwen Diehn to come up with a toilet paper tube project I feel comfortable sharing!

I created this Roll-Up Travel Journal using instructions from Gwen in a book from The Weekend Crafter series, entitled, Books and Journals: 20 Great Weekend Projects.

The design allows the little journal to be thrown into a backpack or purse for an impromptu weekend getaway, when you might want to catch some thoughts or sketches quickly on paper while on-the-go.  After all, it comes with its own protective case!  And that is where the toilet paper tube comes into play:

You slide the journal (made with a corrugated cover) out of the tube...

And find a complete bound journal inside!

The journal inside is made with a simple pamphlet stitch, but the design is made more interesting by including a window cutaway in the cover.  I couldn't resist a peek through my window through my window...if you see what I mean:

Gwen pointed out in her directions that you could tie a cord around the tube lengthwise in order to tie it onto your belt loop while you hike or sightsee.  It is ready to pop in and out of its case for on-the-go use!

Back in it goes!

A very respectable use for our empty toilet paper tubes, don't you think?

(Okay, so there might be at least THREE PINS on my Upcycle Pinterest board involving empty toilet paper tubes.  I confess...they can come in handy in the crafting world!)

Adventures in Bookbinding

My cabinet card sketchbook, along with the book that helped me to create it

I took the plunge, inspired by the recent Philadelphia Art Book Fair, and got my bookbinding resources off the shelf and onto my work table.

For my first project, I've created the cabinet-card sketchbook from Jeannine Stein's Re-bound, in which she encourages the use of recycled and re-purposed materials for creating books.

The cover of my hand-bound book is a cabinet card purchased from the Allentown Paper Show.

My husband thinks she looks quite a bit like one of his ancestors; I think she looks amazingly similar to the woman that Jeannine used for her example in the book:

I see the man in the cabinet card on the back cover as a kind of spouse or companion of the woman on the front:

It wasn't until I had the project underway that I realized that I was actually binding three different books for the project, all using a stab binding technique.  Inside the outer cover are two smaller books.  On one side, the book has drawing paper, while on the other side the book has notepaper.

Each pad has a sturdy piece of cardboard at the back, which fits into a sleeve I made on the inside of each cover.  The pad slips in and out of the sleeve, and I can make new pads to replace them when I am finished, so that the cabinet card cover is re-usable.

Ingenious design, no?

I was thinking about giving this blog post the title: "Bookbinding is not for the faint of heart."

But through the process of binding this rather complicated book, I realized that there is definitely a simple secret to making the activity easier:  punch yourself large enough holes so that you are not fighting your needle's way through each one!

An awl is a fine way to start, but the Japanese screw punch is really indispensable for the bookbinder or book artist.  I'm no expert, but as a beginner, I'm finding that these are a few of my favorite things:

My favorite adhesive (UHU glue stick), Japanese screw punch, awls for
punching small holes, ruler, sharp utility knife

I also discovered that the first time through a new binding technique can be a little rough, while the second time through is exponentially easier.  For example, I ripped the cardboard backing on one of the books that fits inside my cabinet card book, and I went ahead and bound it with no strong backing, thinking I could get away that.  Once I did the other inside book, and saw how much better it fit into the sleeve with the cardboard backing, I realized I had to re-do the first one, and do it properly this time.  This time the stitching went so much more quickly! I finally knew what I was doing, and had done it a couple of times before.  There is a bit of a learning curve, but the patience required to catch on is worth it in the end!

And, really, isn't that pretty much true of any creative endeavor?

I'm on a bit of a bookbinding kick, it seems, so there may be a lot more where this came from!

Collaged Coin Envelope Mini-Books

Of all my 80 boards on Pinterest (Yikes!  How did that happen?), I think my very favorite is my Book and Journal Making Board.  Pretty much any pin on it makes me want to head directly to my studio and pull out my supplies.  Recently I was looking for a super-simple book-making design to try, so I clicked on my pin for Julie Fei-Fen Balzer's coin envelope books.

She has two designs:  One has the envelopes opening to the outside edge so that tags and such can be tucked inside the pages:

The other design has the envelopes opening up toward the inside spine:

I made each type of book in two different sizes, and then chose one of the tag-ready books to collage for a final project.

I had a lot of fun just playing around with the pages, using my rubber stamps, which don't always get a whole lot of use around here anymore, as well as some paper and sticker goodies from my awesome blog friend Pamela at Cappuccino and Art Journal.  Here is the little book's cover:

And a peek at the spreads inside:

 And the back cover of the mini-book:

I made tag inserts from a BINGO card, scrapbook paper, and business envelope liners, and added baker's twine pull strings. Each pocket of the mini-book has its own tag.

So here is the final result of the collaged coin envelope mini-book, complete with tags:

For very clear instructions on putting these coin envelope books together, visit Julie's blog here!

Making Mini-Books with Pamela and Lowri, Part 2

In my last post, I showed you a mini-book I made by following Pamela's tutorial over at Cappuccino and Art Journal (one of my very favorite blogs to visit, by the way). 

Today, I am showing you another version of this mini-book, also created from a 12x12 piece of scrapbooking paper, and combining Pamela's design with Lowri's over at PaperVine.

In this version, the mini-book has pockets like Pamela's, but regular pages like Lowri's (as opposed to an accordion fold). 

You can also get a peek at the goodies I've stashed in all of the pockets.

And for good measure, I made a second book of the same design at the same time:

Another top view:

And a peek at the innards:

Who knew that I would be laid low by a stomach bug just a few hours after posting my first mini-notebook on Saturday afternoon?  Age appears to prevent me from bouncing back from such things quite as quickly as in my youth, so I am only now on Wednesday feeling 100% back to my regular, healthy self.  My trip to the PO was delayed by the bug, but I will be getting these three books off to blogging friends by the end of the week.

If you would be interested in doing a "stuffed-pocket mini-book swap" with me, just let me know in the comments or by email to aleakaskey@yahoo.com!

And it has been fun to see all the new people following my Book and Journal Making board on Pinterest.  Don't be shy!  Leave a comment on my post to let me know that you've been by.  It's just a fact:  comments make bloggers VERY happy, and I am no exception!

Thanks for visiting!