Tag Archives: book construction

January 31, 2013 · 4:11 pm

It’s Material

The local Arts Center where I display my books and paper, changes their exhibit about ten times a year. Each exhibit has a theme and artists are invited to submit works centered around the theme. I received the listing for 2013 a few weeks ago and the February exhibit’s theme is “It’s Material”.  I was puzzled how I could make my books reflect the theme.  I was thinking material goods, money, bling, flash – you get the picture.  I finally hit on something and then, after I had started the books, discovered they were featuring textile artists!  Oh, well.  I’m still going with my idea although I have covered books with fabric in the past and may take in those also.

So what was my idea?  Just these.

Material coins

I’m a collector (that’s a polite word for pack rat) and when I came across these, they clicked with the February theme.

I generally don’t care for embellishments on book covers.  The cute seashells, the fancy ribbons, or little doodads leave me cold.  Besides, it makes it almost impossible to put the book on a shelf without damaging it or its neighbors. My idea with the coins was to inset them into the cover so they would be flush with the boards. To accomplish this, I excavated circles on the covers about the thickness of the coin.

The Eisenhower dollar was about the same thickness as the Davey board, so I backed those covers with a piece of mat board.  The edge-on shot shows the plied covers.

I then added the spines and marbled paper covers in the usual manner and glued the coins into the depressions.  I should have made them a bit deeper to allow for the thickness of the paper and adhesive, but I’m very pleased with the result.  I adhered the coins with PVA, so I don’t know if they will stay.  So far they seem to be holding well, although I’m sure they could be pried off. 

 

These books were great fun and I’m happy with the results!  What more could I want?

Maybe to get to overmarbling tomorrow?  Stay tuned, it might just happen!

1 Comment

Filed under bookbinding, Craft design

Tagged as , , , , , ,

January 21, 2013 · 5:25 pm

Not Quite As Planned

My plans for marbling this weekend didn’t quite work out – seems to be a theme going on here.

I did have a great weekend however, even if not as planned.  As I mentioned in my last blog, I was  playing with the ladders and getting a bit frustrated.  I had made the blocks for two ladders, but my first attempt at the ribbons wasn’t right.  I pulled them apart and tried again on one of the ladders and finally had the weaving right, but the ribbons were too loose, some blocks had gotten upside down, and it just wasn’t pretty!

I also had three books that I had started months ago, but had been too busy to get back to them. So I decided instead of creating more paper to join my stash and create more work, I would finish up some things, including mastering the ladders.  So, here are the results!

Ladders Ladders9 Ladders8 Ladders6Ladders4Ladders2

 

I made four ladders this week, The bottom two in the first photo were my successful ones.  One is made from pages of a 1947 book about Bozo the Clown that I marbled.  The other is regular marbled paper.  The top two are from an old copy of “The History of Western Art”. I was really excited about these as they would form a little “book” snapshot of art through the ages.  Unfortunately they were the ones I messed up.  I still like the idea and think I’ll have to marble some more pages and try again.

Ladders10

Here’s a close-up of two of the blocks from the the art book.

These are the books I finished.  Unlike most batches I make, these are all the same size.  It does make cutting the paper and boards easier, but it’s not as much fun!

JanBookTrio3

I’m very pleased to have finished these and I’ll be putting them up on Etsy within the next week.

Maybe this week, I’ll get started on my new paints and all the marbling ideas that are floating through my head!

Leave a Comment

Filed under bookbinding, Marbled Paper, Other crafts

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

October 10, 2012 · 2:09 pm

Downsizing, or getting smaller

I’ve been playing with designs again.  This time smaller and simpler seem to be the themes.  The simplest book of all, except for the scroll, is just some paper fastened together. This lacks durability and form so a protective cover needs to be added.  If the cover is just heavier paper then the pages and the cover can easily be stitched together making a simple notepad or jotter. Since I happen to have lots of pretty heavy weight paper on hand, it’s easy.  And all the better since the heavy paper is too heavy for use in traditional books.

Here’s the result:

 

After making the large portfolios and medium size notepads, I decided to complete the series with a mini-notepad, just right for a pocket. These are very small: just 3″ x4″ to fit a memo pad.

I’m hoping these will make great little gifts for the holidays.  They are fun to make and don’t take nearly as much time and effort as the larger varieties.  Another plus is that I get to play with lots of combinations of papers.

Here’s the whole week’s production.

 

 

 

3 Comments

Filed under Marbled Paper, Notebooks

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 1, 2012 · 1:40 pm

Gardens, Portfolios and Vacations

I haven’t taken time to write about my activities recently, but that doesn’t mean I’ve been quiet.  I was able to plant a garden this year in spite of the cold April weather and it was off to a beautiful start.  Now I just have to keep it watered in all this heat.

Here’s what it looked like a week or so ago.

It’s not very big, but it gives me all the  tomatoes I can eat and delicious potatoes.  I try cucumbers every year and I think this year I will actually be feeding myself instead of the deer and rabbits.  You can see my rather makeshift fencing.  Although a determined deer could easily jump it, it seems to be enough of a discouragement that they don’t bother.  After I found a rabbit sitting inside the fence which has only 2″x3″ openings, I wrapped the bottom with chicken wire and that seems to have kept them out.  There are lots of other wonderful things for them to eat on the rest of the property, so they have to stay out of my garden!  

There is a nearby farm that has U-pick strawberries and every year I plan to get some to freeze.  It works out that I do about half the time!  This year I picked 14 quarts and was very glad I did.  It was a wonderful strawberry season. We had a lot of rain followed by hot dry weather at the perfect time.  The strawberries were luscious! Big and sweet. I’ve found that the varieties that are  huge can tend to be tasteless, especially when frozen.  These are a variety called Sparkle and they have a wonderful flavor no matter their size.

Enough of food, so what have I been doing with my paper?

As I mentioned in my last blog, I’ve started making designer portfolios and last week I finished a set of four.  Here they are:

I’m very pleased with these and there was only one real problem.  On the red one somehow I made two left sides and so I could either throw it all out, have the cranes flying upside down or have the “pocket” on the wrong side.  I opted for the latter.  My next set of large portfolios will have replaceable pads on one side like the smaller notebooks do. Not sure I like this, but I’m trying to sell them in a local office supply store and the owner suggested that might help.  We’ll see.

In mid-July I’m taking off for one of my favorite places – The John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C.  My granddaughter and I will be taking a course in wood carving, so that will be a whole new world for me!  I don’t know how the blogging schedule will go for the next month, but I’ll try to pop in with pictures occasionally.

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Craft design, Life, Marbled Paper, Notebooks

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 28, 2012 · 6:49 pm

New Projects – Notebooks and Clay Books

I’ve two new projects this week.  I have no idea which one I’ll finish, but here they are.

The first is my new portfolio and new cover for a replaceable note pad.

 

More pictures and information about the notebook and portfolio can be found here.

 

My second project is in honor of Clay Aiken’s outstanding performance on the recent Celebrity Apprentice show.  I have done some Clay books in the past and have given them away, sold them or donated them to the National Inclusion Project.     Here are some of my older Clay books.

This week, I’ll be working on four books.  The first one is for the duet Clay recorded with Dee Snider on “Dee Does Broadway”, “Luck Be A Lady” and it is titled “Lady Luck.”

Lady Luck

The second book is a tribute to Clay’s song on the finale and it is titled, “Always Tomorrow”.

The last Clay book is a throwback to a song Clay sang at a Golfing for Inclusion event. It’s titled “Cross the Desert”.

Cross the Desert

Only dedicated Clay fans will be able to identify the song or the occasion.  The fourth book in non-Clay and is a holdover from an older batch.

 

I’ve set up a separate page for the books so I can comment and show you the books as they develop.  For general information on how I make my books, please see my pages on making books which start here.

If you have any ideas for themes or titles for more books, please add them to the comments.

 

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under bookbinding, Craft design

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 20, 2012 · 3:16 pm

Hanging Books

These hanging books are a lot of fun to make, so I’ve been doing a lot of playing.  I made a batch of ones with hinged covers and have more planned that are soft covers.  The best part of it all is that I have a treasure trove of beads and ribbons and cord in my basement to finish them.  I’ve found some of it, but I know there’s a box some place filled with spools of cord. Here is my current “inventory” plus some different views of one of the books with a hard, hinged cover.

I love the design and texture of the Japanese paper used in this book.  The paper is soft, but the printed side has a smooth finish.  It takes adhesive very well and is really easy to work with.  The only disadvantage is that the finished book is not as resistant to stains and scratches as the Italian papers that have hard finishes.

The hardest part of making these is getting the holes the correct size to be able to thread two thicknesses of the cord, too small and the cord rips the paper, too large and the pages slide around.

I’m hoping to finish the soft cover ones this weekend and begin selling them on Etsy next week. Here’s more information on their construction and a preview of my Etsy shop.

1 Comment

Filed under bookbinding, Craft design

Tagged as , , , , ,

April 17, 2012 · 8:15 am

Trial: Stamp Book or Card Holder

Back to fooling around with papers and boards.  I tried out a new folder this week.  It was originally designed to hold stamps, but I don’t think stamp collecting is very popular any more, so I may have to put it to a different use.  When I was young, stamps were all the rage and I had a stock book similar to this one. Well, not as pretty: It had plain brown covers and, as I remember, more rows of pockets.

The stamps are held in place by Mylar pockets. I could use paper if it is not necessary to see the entire object in the pocket.

This book is only 4.5″ x 6.5″.  I think a larger size would be more useful.  I need to figure out a specific use, like holding business cards and then design around that.  Just haven’t focused  on particular use.  Suggestions sought and welcomed!

Leave a Comment

Filed under bookbinding, Craft design

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

April 11, 2012 · 3:12 pm

Pain in the Mouth: Real Life Interupts


Sometimes one just has to do what one has to do. Today I had the pleasure of visiting the dentist to have a crown replaced. Physically, we’re talking pain here, it is no where near as bad as having a large cavity excavated or having a new crown done.  It will still wipe me out for the rest of today and most of tomorrow. In two weeks I’ll have the temporary crown replaced with the permanent one.  Don’t know why they call them permanent when I seem to be replacing them all the time. It’s not only a pain in the mouth, but an even larger pain in the wallet.

I had fun yesterday making my new hanging books, but right now I’m not thinking well at all, so I’ll just let you enjoy the picture.

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under Life

Tagged as , , , , , ,

April 6, 2012 · 11:40 am

Off On a Tangent: from box to book

I really thought my next project would be a different style of box, but the road took a twist.  A few days ago I bought a book on how to make 100 different books.  As usual with this type of book, most of the designs explained were in the genre of “Artist Books”. Books in weird shapes, with pop-ups or folded pages, beads dangling or cleverly designed around artwork.  They are wonderful to look at and explore.  Unfortunately, I don’t enjoy making them. My “artist books” tend to look either like a kindergarten project gone awry or something designed by the Mad Hatter on his way down the rabbit hole.

I prefer functional books, just like my preference for functional boxes.  After a lifetime of collecting non-utilitarian objects, I’m all about function and use these days.  Anyway, the book I bought did have a bunch of “real” books with sewn bindings and hard covers.  There were a few that caught my eye and I even tried out one.   (See more in the Book section on this page.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I was plotting out some possible designs, the Arts Center called to say that they needed more towers. So all plans on hold while I make a few more towers for them! Such is life.

Here are the the quickie towers I did over the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think I mixed up the yellow boxes and put them into the wrong green backgrounds.  Whoops!  Not sure though and it’s too late to do anything about it.

Here are the two yellow/green towers.  Still not sure.

I also discovered that Etsy has an app that lets me put a gallery from my store on this site.  I’ve put it here as a test.

 

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under bookbinding, Boxes and Towers, Craft design

Tagged as , , , , ,

March 18, 2012 · 8:19 am

Well, Almost Finished

Took the books out of the press and here they are:

They all looked really nice until I realized that  the back endpaper in the map book was upside down!  My endpapers rarely have directionality and I never noticed.  Sigh.

Towers are in good shape, well, at least so far.  Haven’t finished the boxes for them yet, but have cut and folded the paper so it’s just folding and gluing them into place.

Here’s a look at the outsides:

You can see them all at the page onMaking Towers.

Some of these books and towers will be for sale in my shop at Etsy, Losing Her Marbles.

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under bookbinding, Boxes and Towers, Marbled Paper

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,