This month in the Handmade Book Club, our project was called Cased in Accordion. I’m especially fond of this structure! When my daughter was born, I didn’t have the energy or time to make the beautiful scrapbook layouts I saw all over the internet. Instead, I made a 2” x 2” accordion book with photos of our family. It was quick, easy, and used very few supplies. From then on, I was hooked on handmade journals. Safe to say, the accordion style book is a favorite of mine!
Here’s the Cased in Accordion I made.
We elevated the structure by encasing it in a hard cover. Club members had the option of creating it in any size they wished, which worked well for those intending to use it to showcase special pieces of art.
See What the Club Members Made
Our members did fantastic work with this project! I really enjoyed seeing how they filled their panels. Many used items they’ve been holding on to for some time.
Donna created her own bookcloth from cotton canvas. On the inside cover, she used painted Kraft-tex and inserted portrait art from her “Portraits With Limits” series.
I just love what Bonnie did here. Bonnie’s cover is from one of her mom’s t-shirts! For the accordion panels, she used handmade Canal Paper from St. Armand in Montreal. The pictures are prints of flowers, butterflies, and birds, which were some of her mother’s favorite things. Carol’s cover is so fun and cheerful.
Jan made her Cased in Accordion to showcase her eco prints!
Suzanne shared that she used Canson paper, fabric, and threads on her lovely panels.
Gail’s gorgeous book was made with batik book cloth, watercolor pages, and a fun button closure.
Debbie used handmade book cloth for her cover and added lace that she found at a thrift store. Marie hand stamped her cover and finished it with a ceramic button.
Anneke’s gorgeous cover is handmade book cloth, made from fuchsia linen fabric. She filled the book with postcards by French artist Gaëlle Boissonnard. She bought the postcards years ago, during several trips to France, and was waiting for just the right project to display her collection!
Sandy’s clever accordion panels were made with drawing paper that she edged with washi tape. Gilly created her book with watercolor paper, flower cotton material, and a yellow ceramic button.
Jill’s lovely cover is an ecoprint she made.
Tracy used fabric for her cover and black poster board for the panels that feature her Zentangle tiles.
I could feast my eyes on these Cased in Accordion books all day long! Of course, I may be a bit biased since this structure is where my handmade bookbinding journey began, but seeing how they’re being filled—how our members used this project to display meaningful items and artwork—just makes my heart so happy!
Our September Guest Artist
In addition to the book project each month, we also get to learn techniques from special guest artists. I was thrilled to have talented collage artist, Karen Stamper, join us this month!
Our club members will be raving about this workshop for quite some time. I suspect many of them will be making more Cased in Accordion bindings so they can show off the collage skills they learned from Karen’s “For the Love of Paper” workshop!
What is the Handmade Book Club?
The Handmade Book Club grew out of my love for teaching and community. Having spent more than 10 years teaching in-person classes, I decided to reach a wider audience in 2019 and founded the online Handmade Book Club.
The Handmade Book Club is a community of bookmakers from around the world. Each month, I teach a new bookbinding project to the club members. In addition to making books, we love learning about ways to fill our handmade journals. That’s why we have guest artists and speakers join us every month! Club members also have access to a robust selection of past projects within the archives.
Whether you’re an experienced bookmaker or a complete novice, the Handmade Book Club is a community for you. You can try out a free book project here.
All these works are so inspirational, I just wish I had time to do some of this fabulous bookmaking. However, this has been the worst year of my life (almost 80 in a few weeks!) after my husband’s stroke in January. However, I do not give up hope that one of these days shall find time to join one of your classes and make myself and for my granddaughters some inspirational books too. Thank you so much, I loves reasdying your mails and blogs.
Sandra, you do have time. Spread yourself out on the dining room table. Leave your supplies out. At some point in each day, and even if you only sit and look at your stuff, sit there until your hands begin to assembly, colour, cut and glue. It doesn’t matter how it turns out, the process is what’s important. Commit to the process. This is how you refill yourself. Take care of yourself too.
Sandra, very sorry for your situation. I agree with Wanda. Find a spot to put your tools and some materials. Even just folding accordions can feel meditative and relaxing. It is not a good year for me either. I’m divorcing after a 33 year marriage (together 41.) I’m 62. But, when I get myself to just sit and move my hands doing just basic things, it helps my mind to relax. Think about how much your granddaughters will enjoy what you make for them.
Thank you for including my book, Ali, you made my day! Mine is the gold one to the left of Suzanne’s, and I wanted to share that I used a piece of a table cloth that’s been used for family gatherings for many years, so there are lots of happy memories attached to it. The watercolor was rescued from a thrift shop many years ago. When you presented this class, I knew it would be perfect to showcase the artist’s work. Being a member of your club is one of my biggest joys. Thank you for being you.