Thursday, February 11, 2010

More repurposed materials for bookbinding

I have a few more items around here that I have made with garbage, er, I mean, repurposed materials. This first photo shows two small tea-bag notebooks, bound using a simple pamphlet stitch. The covers are cut from tea boxes, and the pages are actually the paper wrappers from the tea bags that came in the box. So these two little items were a long time in the making, as I drank my way through all the tea.


I saved all the seed packages after planting our vegetables last year. Some of the seeds came in little boxes and some came in paper envelopes. I transformed the little boxes into notebooks, then I made a cardboard slip case and covered it with the envelopes. Perfect for the gardener who likes to keep track of his veggies!


This next one is a bit odd. I had saved an old calendar that was full of photos of houses. I used the house photos to make this house-shaped book. It is basically an origami house structure, with a hardcover on each end. Not sure what practical purpose this serves, it was just an experiment that didn't come together very well. Old house photos aside, the structure might work well for a special greeting card or as a display format for some kinds of images.


(If you want to make an origami house, check out www.origami-instructions.com.)

9 comments:

buechertiger said...

I really like the house book, nice idea :-)
Maybe it would be possible to add a signature to each house?

When I was a kid I had this big book that looked from the outside like an apartment block. It opened to a 6 by 4 grid of small books each of which had a house door on the cover with a different name on it. So it was like looking inside the block, and seeing the different apartments. In the small books there were stories about the people living there. I remember the story of the bus driver most vividly. - I loved that book! Thanks for reminding me. :-)

tammykingdon said...

These are great. I particularly like the seed packet ones. Avid vegetable growers usually keep records of what they've sown where in the veg plot, harvesting weights etc -your books would be great for recording all that info in!

... Paige said...

I really like the use of the seed packaging & the tea & calendar...okay you got me, I enjoy all your work

Maud Bailey said...

i love these journals, i made something like your form my children and friends of mine. They are so cute!!!

ciao!

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of repurposed materials. Beautiful little books.

MyHandboundBooks said...

thanks paige, antico valore, and quirkyartist!

and thanks, buechertiger! the book you had as a child sounds like a lot of fun. and yes, adding some signatures to the folds might make the structure a bit more versatile.

i agree, tammykingdon, that's exactly what i was thinking!

Diana Trout {Nan.DT@verizon.net} said...

I am really enjoying your blog. I just found you via Folding Tree. Love the repurposed journals.

MyHandboundBooks said...

thanks Diana Trout!

Cindy Leaders said...

Love!! Seed packets are perfect for spring. Good foresight in hanging on to them!