I’m really drawn to simple books at the moment, especially accordion structures. This is such a versatile book that is perfect for displaying both pictures and words, and can be as simple or complicated as you like. Once you master the basic structure, you can add layers (see my Triple Accordion Book), pop-ups, fold-outs or […]
This past week I’ve been playing with accordion book structures and in particular those from Alisa Golden’s Making Handmade Books:100+ Bindings, Structures & Forms. This book is a really comprehensive guide to many different book structures and I’d highly recommend it if you’ve dabbled in bookmaking before and want to expand your knowledge. It’s particularly […]
Happy 2016 – I hope you had a splendid holiday season! I took a few weeks off at the end of December, but I’m ready to get back to blogging. I’m pressing forward with my 50 Book Project with book number 28 – a 3-signature book with a braided spine binding. The binding is […]
I won’t lie to you, making a case bound (hard cover) is tricky and it takes practice, but I LOVE making them. I first learned how to make case bindings at the North Bennet Street School in Boston and I still have many hours of practice ahead of me. I made several of them this week […]
Here’s a quick look at book number 26 in my 50 Book Project. It’s a small leather bound journal with a tire tracks binding. I found this binding in Keith Smith’s 1,2 & 3 Section Sewings (page 220-21) but modified it to hold 4 signatures and 4 lines of stitching instead of the original 2. I […]
It’s that time of year when students go back to school and college, so I decided to make this fun recycled notebook to slip into their backpacks. The cover is a recycled cereal box with a super simple binding called Ledger binding. This is a great project to make with your kids at home or […]
I have another book from my 50 Book Challenge to share today – it’s a leather journal with a cross stitched spine. I think this is one of my favorites so far. I’m really loving making leather books with decorative stitching on the spine. The binding was inspired by the 3 signature bindings in […]
Lately, I’ve been creating an inventory of leather journals for my Fall and Holiday open studios. This one’s a new design and number 23 in the 50 Book Project, my one-year project to create 50 unique bindings. The rustic calf leather book measures 5″ x 7″ with 48 Mohawk Superfine pages and is bound with a 4-ply waxed […]
Book number 22 in my 50 Book Project is called ‘Friend of a Friend’. I learned about the binding from my teacher at North Bennet Street School, Amy Lapidow. The instructions are in a book that Amy co-authored with Stacie Dolan called Book Art Studio Handbook, and I’ve never seen it any where else. The signatures are […]
I’m continuing to play with Japanese stab bindings as part of my 50 Book Project. I posted a simple 4-Hole Stab Binding and a Tortoise Shell Binding last month, but this week I decided to branch out and make my own design. Once you’ve mastered the four basic Japanese stab bindings – 4-hole, Tortoise Shell, Noble […]