Book 304 - Sculpted Mexican Amate Paper Guest Book/Journal with Single-Needle Coptic Stitch

This is more-or-less a repeat of a book I did when I was in Mexico, but I love this sculpted amate paper so much I decided to do another one.

Because of the cut-outs in the amate, I glued it onto a shimmery orange backing. For the back, I used a piece of Davey bookbinders board covered with dark maroon lokta paper and backed with more of the shimmery orange paper.

I used more of the orange paper, cut into strips, to cover the folded edge of the signatures where they would show at the spine. The pages are white text paper with hand-torn edges. Finally, I added sheets of brown amate paper at the front and back of the book block as fly leaves and punched the stitching stations.

The book is bound with a single-needle coptic stitch with a dark purplish-brown waxed linen thread. The book measures about 8"x 8" and would make a lovely guest book on an entry table. Also, a journal or sketch book.

I do love this book.

Books 251 & 252 - Amate Paper Mini-Journals w/ Banana Paper Pages - Long-Stitch Binding

Here's a pair of little mini-journals with hidden long-stitch bindings. I made one yesterday and liked it so much I made another one today--same cover paper, different color and lining.

I love amate paper, the Mexican paper that is made from pounded tree bark. I bought quite a lot of it when I was in Mexico in May--took up half my suitcase getting it home. I love the swirling look and the feel of it. The covers of these journals feature two different colors of amate paper--one dark brown and one light natural. Though it is thick, amate can be a bit fragile, especially when folded, so I knew I was going to have to reinforce it at any folds. I used strips of heavy cardstock to reinforce the spines, and also covered the spines after stitching, creating a hidden long stitch binding.

The dark book has darker brown lokta paper on the spine and fore edge and light hand-made paper as the inner liner. The lighter book has the same dark brown lokta paper on the spine and fore edge as well as inside for the liner. I love using lokta paper. Despite the fact that it is lightweight, it is quite strong. It is also very flexible, handling almost more like fabric than paper.

I wrapped the cover over the fore edge to the front so I needed a closure. I used dots of adhesive Velcro. I would have preferred to use brown but didn't have any. I may go back over these with a brown marker so they don't stand out quite so starkly.

These little journals measure 4" x 5 1/4" and are approx 3/8" thick. The pages are a wonderful natural banana paper that makes a perfect complement to the amate covers.

Quite a nice little pair, I think.

Book 213 - A Pamphlet Stitch Journal/Blank Book/Guest Book with Olive Branch

I'm excited right now because this pretty pamphlet stitch journal  made with hand-made paper and Mexican amate paper cover is the first book I've made at my brand new workbench! Solid oak, just the right height, 4 drawers, a shelf for large paper. I love it! I've had it for a while, but it's been in a very large box waiting for me to make room for it. Today I did and tonight Allen and I put it together.

I felt so good standing there being able to simply reach for any tool I needed and it was right there, available! No digging in boxes looking for it. What a concept!

OK, enough about the workbench. The book is nice too. This is almost an exact replica of a book a friend used as a guest book/good wishes book for a party she threw for me several years ago. Everyone wrote lovely thoughts in it and I still have it. This book is a very simple structure. The lusciousness of it is all about the paper. The pages are a thick, wonderful hand-made paper with leaf inclusions. It's hard to photograph the texture, but it is really yummy. The cover is a piece of wonderfully swirly Mexican amate bark paper I brought back from San Miguel. The binding is a simple pamphlet stitch with the addition of wrapping the stitching around a small branch from our olive tree at the spine. I used deep red embroidery cotton, left a longish tail at the top and threaded on a pale red bone bead as an accent.

This would make such a pretty guest book on a hall table for all your visitors to sign.

Book 123 - Embossed and Painted Amate Paper Journal

More hand made books to post, now that I am back from an unintentional break. The modem in my poor pitiful laptop finally bit the dust sometime Sunday and so I have had no internet access since then. Wouldn't work in my room in San Miguel and wouldn't work in two different airports I tried. Ahh, technology; it's such a miracle... except when it's not.

So while I have continued making handmade books, I have not been able to post them here. Time for a little catch up...

Book 123 is another amate bark paper journal. This piece has been embossed and hand painted. I bought it like this at the Artisans' Market, although it might be interesting to try embossing some myself. (but that's for another day and another project).

I now know from firsthand experience that for all its thickness, amate paper can be fragile. It tears easily, and stitching with a longstitch binding can pull right through the paper. So I first stitched the signatures to a separate spine of cardstock. Then I glued that cardstock spine to the center of the inside of the amate paper cover and stitched the book block to the cover with a single row of pamphlet stitches. The glue I had available is not very good so there are gaps, but now that I am back in the US, I will add some better glue to make the structure of this handmade journal stronger.

I'm sure I haven't invented this type of book binding, but I haven't seen it in any of my books on bookmaking. I just thought through the problem and made this up. It seems to work.

I brought about 30 sheets of amate paper home with me so I'll have some to play with for future hand bound books.