Egg Carton Book

Kelly bought me this amazing book, where books are made from recycled materials. And we both decided that this was the one to make while visiting the greatest city across the land. And I didn't even have to leave her house. It took me a whole day and I had Hannah to watch movies with, so not a bad way to spend a vacation. I just split the carton in half, cut off the top and made the signatures from grocery paper bags. I had to cut the bags down to size, and I think that took the longest time in the whole process. The famous multicoptic stitch, carefully, to sew it up, and on the front end, i kind of sewed on the part that latches the carton shut- with some of the wax linen string to keep it shut. So it looks organic but the latch is totally fabricated. And there you have it- a book without a practical purpose- unless you happen to know a charming young lady named Stacy whose new project is to document her huevos rancheros experiences at restaurants across the Southeast. Report back lady- with photos and notes- and a festive book to put them in. Just try to beat out SunnyPoint, just try...

Cookbooks

This one was made to order. A large cookbook. Multicoptic stitching. Cover is made with this fabric I found that tablecloths are made out of. Think of picnic tablecloth material. She wanted something that would be easy to wipe down, so it is quite wick. Inside is made of standard pocket folders, multicolored.. My friend, Becca, is a real cook. She experiments and collects recipes from all over, so there is not a lot of writing, but there is a lot of compiling- and sometimes a mess... hence the wickness. And I really don't think that is a word, but it sure is fun. ok, back to it- I did add two signatures of plain white paper- one to the front and one to the back- so writing can be had. And I think that I sleeved the paper signatures in handmade paper that I was given at Bookworks for helping out on a mask making homemade paper project. textured paper makes me feel at peace... The black band there is a piece of elastic that I sewed into the spine- first time I did that and it worked out well- except that I had to do it a few times to get the right amount- and I still think I made it a little too big. i will just have to count on Becca to make it grow. That reminds me- I added spacers to each signature so that it could expand comfortably and not break the binding. Wish I had a photo of the spine... Anyway, now I am hungry because Becca is a damn fine cook.
I also made one for Nancy- with a black and white cover- but I don't have a picture of that one because I moved to NY too fast. Happy cooking ladies! It was a pleasure.