Baby Book

My sis is having a baby! This one was made to fit in an old, beat up cigar box I had (fitting). I realized while doing this one that I am more of a structure girl than a content girl (what a statement). Anyway, I used acid free paper that I ripped down myself to make those nice rough edges- so it can last forever. And, I did add in some 'baby book' things like family tree, parents' story, foot and hand prints, lock of hair?, significance of a name, basic facts, etc. Plus lots of room for being pensive and pasting in photos. I added small, mini folios to each signature so that it would not bow (when you add a lot of external stuff to books like photos, the book tends to bow outward). And a button theme for cuteness. Now, maybe a book for the baby?...

Biology Book

This is just a journal but I gave it to a biologist so I made it with gorgeous leafy paper. Don't ask me where the connection is- I just like it. It is that nice, acid free paper that I ripped down myself with fancy edges, and I used the Multi-Coptic stitch. It takes a lot of time but it is gorgeous and sturdy!

To Rant and Rave

A friend of mine just had a very hard thing happen to her so these journals were made rather fast to give her something to rant in, remember with, and reason around. Both longstitch with leather covers. Two different patterns. I am realizing that it is easier to sew through leather when you punch the hole through the leather with the awl just before sewing through it. One at a time, not all together in the beginning- I break less needles this way.














The pattern on the blue one I just kind of made up while looking at a photo. I need more longstitch patterns...

Book Press!

This is one of those great, epic book presses so I had to show it off. It is a lease from my boss and her mother, whose it was originally. Thanks for starting me off in style on my book making adventures!

So beautiful!

Camping Journal

This one was for the camping lover in my family (hi mom)- and she needed a journal. Homemade boxes and sacks go hand in hand with the history of homemade books so I made this book to fit in the waterproof bag I found at a craft fair in my great city. (I did not make it myself but it was handmade by someone local- so I think it still counts.) It also has great retro camper images on it. I am proud of this one because I used the Japanese Stab Binding- and I taught it to myself. It is incredibly easy. It is fairly obvious that your holes for the binding MUST be flush- no compromises or arguing. This one was my first and I had to finish it in the car on a surprise Christmas trip home- so it is a bit off. It looks like I did it while I was drunk. Alas! I had someone help me drill the holes through with a drill and that made it a lot faster than using an awl- but not as accurate, so there is your compromise, I guess. Used nice acid free paper that I ripped down myself- so it has those handmade edges. And I printed out some camping/nature quotes on bottom of the pages in a nice faux, handwritten scrawl- some funny and some sentimental (Thoreau meets Dave Barry). Cover is made with a sturdy decorative paper that folds over to enclose the first/last page.

Put it in the bag and take it on a hike. Introspection should happen on the top of a mountain.

Recipe Scrapbook

This one I made for my sister who is learning to cook. Cooking for me is pretty spontaneous, probably because the quantity of recipes out there is daunting and I also can't seem to be organized enough to keep track of the good ones. So instead of a cookbook, which would have been way too much work, I made more of a scrapbook. Collaged some nice food images on the covers and inserts. I used colored file folders that I cut down for the inserts (in the way my brain organizes)- tips for cooking/purchasing, small bites (appetizers), breads and pastas, meats and seafood, vegetables, big plates (casseroles and potluck meals), desserts and end things. I glued in envelopes at the end of each section for clippings. Then added my few signature dishes that get me through life- cooking a whole chicken and making stock/shredded soup with the leftovers, avocado deviled eggs, pizza dough, cheese fondue, pineapple pizza. But it was really made for her to fill out as she goes. Multi-Coptic stitching (with 4 needles) makes the cool binding. And presto- This one I wanted to keep for myself...

Travel Journal

I made this for my cousin who just went to India. Used plain white paper but inserted one folio of colored card stock for each signature to insert some color- like a rainbow (I am a sucker for the bold color spectrum- so pure). I had this weird shaped piece of leather so I used it as the cover. Took the colored card stock out of the inside of the signature on the first and last signatures- and put them on the outside to give the book a little more sturdiness and endurance while traveling (both red). Used a longstitch pattern similar to the pamphlet stitch- very basic. I wrapped the end of the leather around the book and used a big button as the clasp- with a slit in the other side of the leather. This looks very cool but the leather piece pretty much came this way. I just cleaned up the bottom end so it was flush with the paper. Fairly funky- one of those risky presents that was successful. Hope she is having fun out there....

Origami Books

These books were one of the first structures I learned. Very cool. They are books and they double as ornaments, etc. I am brainstorming how to use them in my sister's pending wedding- maybe one on each table for people to leave comments? Tie them all together to the guest book? Could be interesting. I played with sizes, colors and format- small ones are cute. Then I thought maybe photos would work well so I took some of the murals in downtown Asheville- cropped to right size in InDesign, printed out on my printer and cut to size. Lots of work for it though. Might work better as a personal present or something.









Using Photos:

Mini Calendars

Then I made the calendars smaller- and played around with In-Design so I would not have to make all of those lines and numbers- it takes a while.... Side tabs are still a little tricky- people don't really respond well to them. Maybe I can attach them somehow so they don't get lost? Oh, and I played with adding more sides to the middle- for notes and things? Still like the cork. It is fun.

Calendar

I learned this no-adhesive accordion book format with side tabs and thought it would be great as a calendar since it can be made to have 12 sides. Sides are made of cork and decorative paper. I added post-its and push pins. Sides that slip inside the ends hold a spot for secret notes.