Making a book in 6 videos

I made a few little videos while I was making a book. These videos don't show every single step in the process, of course, but it hits the high spots. The file compression was a bit much, I think, so the quality is fuzzy. Maybe someday I'll try it again and see if I can make better-looking footage!

Book #6

Hardcover 3-hole Pamphlet

The first hardcover book that I ever made was a hardcover pamphlet, with a 3-hole pamphlet stitch sewing. Ever since then, I have always really liked this combination. This book has one signature, bound with a 3-hole pamphlet stitch. Then the signature is cased into a hardcover. This particular book has yellow leather on the spine and Japanese Chyiogami on the covers. The pages are a mixture of yellow papers from my extensive paper hoard.

This small journal is available in my Etsy shop, where there are additional photos of it too.

Chalkboard Journals

Another great idea from me. Chalkboards on journal covers! And each one features some of my own hand-marbled paper too. I think these might serve as a perfect any-occasion book. The chalkboard area on the front cover can be changed as often as you like. Perfect for a cottage guestbook, where you can change the date or add a message for special events. Or keep it on the table in the front hallway, where you can jot quick reminders to the family as they are coming and going! It could be your bedside journal, for quick thoughts when you are half asleep - rewrite them inside the book, more coherently in the morning when you're fully awake! This book could also work as a sketchbook since it opens perfectly flat and has heavy paper inside. Write your daily inspirations on the front cover. Let me know in the comments if you have other suggestions for these journals.

Nova Scotia, book of photographs

I have always called it an "open edition" but this is the last available copy. I made ten of these, with the intention of making more at some time. I suppose that time is now, but I'm not going to make any more like this.

This is a small book, with official Nova Scotia tartan on the cover and it contains a set of my photographs taken of Nova Scotia's rural and coastal areas. It is a hardcover pamphlet structure.

This last copy is now available on Etsy.

I continue to save my favorite photographs of Nova Scotia landscapes so I have a whole new batch of photos that could be used for something like this. Perhaps I'll have to consider designing "Volume 2" of the Nova Scotia book.

Leather Journals for Witherstone Gallery

A few blank journals made recently, now available at Witherstone Gallery in Lunenburg. All are full leather bindings, with raised images on the front covers.

Unfinished Project #3

This unfinished project turned into 14 books. Several months ago I started to make these. I prepared all the pages and then got busy with orders and other projects and all those prepared pages were moved onto the shelf of unfinished projects. But here they are, finally.


Fourteen small hardcover journals with mixed papers for the pages. Each book is colour coordinated, so the purple book has a mixture of papers that includes lots of purple, and the blue book has a mixture of papers that includes lots of blue, etc. You get the idea. And I decided to use Japanese Chiyogami on all the covers. Most of the spines are book cloth, but a few are actually leather. Hardcover pamphlet structure; I love making these.


It will take a while to photograph each book individually for Etsy, but I did get a couple of them added to my shop today.

Next week it's PBI

Next week I'll be going to Michigan for Paper and Book Intensive. I'll be taking classes from John Townsend, Carol Barton, and Ann Frellsen. I'm super excited about it and can't wait to share my work and experiences on my blog in the coming weeks.

I made myself a journal to take with me this year. The cover is Suminagashi marbling that I made at PBI in 2008. The pages are a mixture of papers, most of which were acquired at PBI in 2008 and 2009. There are also folders and envelopes sewn into the text block.

A new travel journal

I finally finished this book for myself. It's my 2010 travel journal. As I've explained before, my travel journals are made after the fact - rather than during my travels as most people would do it. Some previous examples of my personal travel journals are here and here.

We didn't make any big trips last year, just a bunch of small road trips, camping, etc. All the papers that I collected from those little trips, tickets, maps, etc are incorporated. Some maps and brochures were folded to make folders and the smaller items are tucked into the folders. The front cover has a small clear plastic container embedded and it contains a shell and some dried wild rose petals, which we collected at a campground. I used a sheet of my marbled paper on the front cover - a favorite that I had been saving.

Journals for a special project

Hardcover, flat back binding. Front cover uses my own hand marbled paper. Spine and back are cream Japanese book cloth. Three round windows in the front cover containing seeds and bits of dried flowers. End papers are painted. Custom box.



Soft cover, wrap-around with chopstick closure, longstitch binding. Cover is patchwork leather, adhered to heavy cowhide and hand-stitched. Pages are heavy watercolour papers and end papers are bright red handmade paper. Custom box.


These are two journals that I made for the Levi Strauss company when they contacted me about a project they are doing, The Levi's Anthology. There will be fifteen handmade journals (made by women) sent to various women around the world to fill with their thoughts and ideas, seeking to capture the essence of what has shaped young women, what's relevant to them in 2010, and what advice they would have for other young women trying to shape their own worlds. Ultimately, when the books are completed, they will be featured in a film along with some of the women who wrote within them and the books will be made available for viewing at a gallery.

Six journals

When I was preparing for the local craft market that I mentioned previously, I prepared the signatures and the covers for these six journals. I had the covers made, pressed, dried, and the signatures were folded and pressed and I took them with me to the sale to work on if there was any downtime. I got only two of them bound while I was there, each are sewn with four rows of chain stitches, or the small-c-coptic sewings. Now I've finished the others and added the buttons and ribbons.

Snow Storm Hardcover Journal

I made this journal a couple days ago for the Trans Canada Etsy Team's February Challenge. The theme of the challenge is Snow since we still have lots of it around the country, even if it was scarce for a few days in Whistler! Visit the TCET blog to vote for your favorite item in our snow-inspired challenge (hint: pick "D"!) This journal has a white leather spine and the covers are finished with beautiful Japanese Chiyogami paper that has fine gold and silver bursts that remind me of whirling snow during a blizzard. There are 256 pages of gorgeous snow white cotton paper with torn edges.

And a little more repurposing

I have two more books made from repurposed materials to show you before I move on to other things.

This first one is a hardcover book, using reclaimed bookboard in the covers. The spine material is cut from a discarded pleather jacket. The paper on the covers is from a red paper bag, and the pages are all cut from brown paper bags. (And it's just a pretty red book, very nice to share today on Valentine's Day!)



This next one is made entirely with discarded paper. The cover of the book and slipcase are cut from the cover of a large sketchbook. This is the "Crossed Structure Solo" binding structure. The pages are all from the recycling bin and include previously used papers that are still mostly blank, as well as some lined pages from discarded notebooks, etc.

My favorites

Hardcover pamphlets are one of my favorite things to make. I made a few recently. This one with the rice fields on the cover is my favorite of this batch. This particular book is being sold to raise money for Cancer Research in support of Jay who is raising money for the Weekend2EndCancer event in Ottawa. The rice field picture is a page from Jay's 2008 calendar. Her calendar was full of gorgeous Japanese scenery and she sent the photos to me thinking that I might be able to use them (yes!), so I made this one in support of her fund raising efforts. I used lime green leather on the spine and the pages are a mixture of various colourful papers. Over at the Book Arts Forum we just did a Pamphlet Book Swap so I made another for the swap and sent it off for Jackie. (Still eagerly awaiting my return book, I think it is coming overseas so I must sit patiently!) Jackie's book has two fabrics on the cover and again a mixture of different papers for the pages. Then, just for fun, I made four more in different colours, available on Etsy.

Binding Dimensions: Shape, Size & Structure

I have also just finished a class with Gabrielle Fox here at PBI, where we made a couple of books using a sewn binding. The first was made with a handmade paper cover and the second with a hardcover.


This book with the paper cover has blank pages and is sewn onto linen tapes, which are then laced in at the spine. The tapes have to be anchored, so I used buttons on there to make the anchor a bit more decorative.


The hardcover book has been sewn the same as the first book then we added a hollow tube on the spine and cased it into a hardcover, resulting in a very classic-looking hardcover book. This is actually a printed book of poetry by Reid Bush, called What We Know and it was printed by Larkspur Press. I decided to go with a full cloth covering, and I added a raised bird in flight on the front to reflect the imagery of the title poem.

One more class to complete!

It really is my favorite

This hardcover pamphlet binding. It really is my favorite to make. Two small notebooks with Japanese fabric on the covers, and leather spines. This one has an orange leather spine and a photograph of a tranquil Japanese scene on the covers: lots of bamboo screens and low tables and a waterfall in the background. This book has mixed papers for the pages, similar to the next three shown here. These three books all have fabric on the covers that I have backed with mulberry paper to make book cloth. The blue and pink books have book cloth on their spines; the black & white book has a leather spine. These books also have mixed papers inside including handmade papers, cardstock, plain and lined papers, decorative papers, and even some illustrations salvaged from an old story book that was falling apart.

Some firsts

My tiny 40 GB hard drive was down to 200 MB of free space and it was causing problems! So recently I sorted through a ton of digital photos on my hard drive, moving them to external storage. This hugantanormous collection of digital photos can be divided into two simple categories: photos of my son and photos of my books. I selected a bunch of the early book pictures to share here.

The first hardcover book I ever made is the brown one in the middle, and it is a hardcover pamphlet binding. And if my memory is working for me tonight, it would have been 2002 when I made this. I still have this brown book, but of course I did not sign or date it!


The first weekly planner that I rebound to make a custom planner. This was probably made in 2002 - I think that is a 2003 calendar although I can't tell for sure from this old photo and I do not have the book now. My mother might have been the final owner of this book, so she likely still has it. Edit: Apparently my mother did have a date book made by me at that time, but not this particular one.


I went through a phase of making cases to use as folders and such things and I found photos of a couple examples, both from 2002 or 2003.

This first one, I made for myself and used it quite extensively while working on my Masters degree and it proved very functional and practical. The paper tablet slides into a slot on the back so it could be replaced, and I had a pocket in the center for a pen, and a pocket for loose papers, and it had the attached elastic as well.


Another folder example, smaller overall, but with 3 sections to roll up together. I do not have this anymore and I do not remember where it went. Do you have it? Edit: My mother does have this one!


The first two fully bound, sewn on tapes, backed, and cased books that I made at home. These are blank journals sewn onto linen tapes, library-style binding with split boards, and hand sewn endbands. I did one in this style previously in a class, and these were the first attempt to make similar books at home with no proper equipment. These were likely made in 2003. (Sheesh, I really should keep better records. But I can narrow it down quite well by remembering where I was living and/or working when the books were made...)


The first limp leather longstitch journal that I made, also 2003. It has a short wrap-around flap with two buttons as a closure. I gave this to a friend and I think he is still using it because I saw it somewhere around his place not too long ago!

Hardcover Pamphlets again

I love making these. They are small hardcover journals with 100 pages (50 sheets) of mixed papers. Pages are a variety of handmade, textured, vellum, printed, recycled, lined, and plain papers in various colours. The purple book has my own hand marbled paper on the covers! There is Japanese Chiyogami used with the red spine and the black spine, and the yellow book is done in full cloth.

The Complete Wiki Shakespeare

The Bookbinding Etsy Street Team is having a challenge to create a book for World Book Day. One of the things marked by this day is the anniversary of Shakespeare's death. So my book for this challenge is all about him. I intended to do something using a list of all his plays. So I visited Wikipedia, selected the complete list of plays that I wanted and attempted to "print selection..." but I fumbled and just sent the entire document to the printer. So, unintentionally having 22 pages of Shakespeare content in front of me, I changed my direction and made this little black book of Shakespeare Wiki Content.

This is a small hardcover book, with black book cloth on the covers. I cut a circle in the cloth and put a photoshoped image of Shakespeare under the cloth peeking through. I used the ream of accidentally-printed paper to create the pages for this book. I cut them up to make a book that is 4¼" x 4¼" (11cm x 11cm). So all the pages have text and images printed on one side.



After completing the black book, I still had some of the paper left, so I also made the three little notebooks shown here. The covers are heavy white cardstock, and they are sewn with black linen thread. The covers are decorated with bits of text and images cut from some of the scrap page.

World Book Day is April 23rd, so there will hopefully be other BEST members creating books for this challenge as well. They have been compiled with photos and descriptions on the BEST blog.

Red

A little red-ish book, in response to the weekly challenge that Jackie issued this week. This is a hardcover pamphlet structure. There is red commercial book cloth on the spine, then i used the wide striped fabric for the covers...I've been backing fabric left and right...


The pages are a variety of handmade, textured, card stock, printed, and plain papers. Pale lime green handmade paper pasted down on the inside of the covers; a sheer green ribbon extends from the back cover to hook over the reclaimed button on the front.