Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Book and paper arts with a 5-year-old

Occasionally, my little boy requests that we make things in my bookbinding studio, and he doesn't mean block towers or Lego towns. Last week he asked if we could make a book. We have made blank notebooks before, just using a basic pamphlet stitch (his first attempt was over two years ago). This time we found printable booklets online so his book would have real content. The layout of the pages made them perfect for a stab binding, so this time Nicholas made his first Japanese-bound book, called "What begins with N?". He wanted yet another project, so we made paint. Using a simple recipe that we found online, we made three pots of sticky paint. This is esentially paste made from cornstarch with some food colouring mixed in. The result was a very translucent paint mixture, and when the papers dried, they were very slick and smooth. Could be a great concoction for paste papers. Some book and paper arts resources, if you have a kid who likes to make things: - Make Paper with Kids - Origami for Kids - Printmaking with fruit & veggies - Preschool Indoor Fun - Make your own mini books - Cereal Box Bookbinding - Making Paper Airplanes

10 comments:

DebsArt said...

Its like you read my mind I was just thinking of what paper projects I can do with the kids and possibly teach. The ideas and suggested sites are great for brainstorming.
Thanks Deb

Carol said...

Thanks Rhonda, good links which I will make use of with the 4 yr old G'daughter. and maybe the 2 yr old as well, she's sure to say 'me too?' I know you're busy and I'm thinking of you - all the best... Carol

Acornmoon said...

Thanks for the links, I have made paste papers with the under fives which they made into concertina books.

It is great to see your little boy following in your footsteps!

MyHandboundBooks said...

Thanks Deb, Carol, and acornmoon.
Tho' I'm not sure he is really following in my footsteps except when it suits his mood. Most of the time, things with wheels are far more interesting!

Andrea on Third Street said...

Thanks so much for sharing - I'll have to try a few of these out with my daughter.

MyHandboundBooks said...

Have fun Andrea!

Cathy said...

For an abundance of projects for preschoolers on up, check out Bookmaking With Kids.

MyHandboundBooks said...

Thanks for sharing that link, Cathy!

Maud Bailey said...

my son Leonardo is the same, he loves to stay with me in my studio, and he works on art projects! He he 5 years old and i love to stay with Leo!!
sometimes i've to put some photos of Leo's books in my blog!

MyHandboundBooks said...

yes, we'd love to see photos!