Book 360-363 - "Four Dangerous Women" - Pulp Fiction Pocket Notebooks - Running Stitch Binding

These little pocket-sized notebooks feature some pulp fiction heroines you Do. Not. Want. To. Mess. With. You're not going to win. That's what I love about them.

After choosing the dangerous women images from my collection, I sized them to fit on 1/4 of a normal sized page. I printed the covers out two to a page, let them sit a few minutes to dry, then sprayed them with a light coat of acrylic sealer to protect the image from scratching. The matte finish photo paper I used is heavy weight and didn't really need a backing to work for the covers.

I scored the spine fold, using three score lines with very small spaces between so I would get a slightly rounded spine to accommodate the thickness of the single signature. I folded the pages and trimmed the single signature to fit then rounded the corners at the fore edge. After nesting the pages inside the folded cover, I poked holes 1/2" apart the whole length of the notebook and sewed it in a running stitch, down the spine then back up again, with white waxed linen thread.

After boning the fold a bit more, I put the little notebook under weight so it would lay more or less flat and closed.

Done. I like these. I'm going to make more. They look good, they are fairly fast to make, the materials cost is low, and I'm certain they will sell.

Book 260 - "Que Comes Frijoles" - Eat Beans - Rosarita Recycled Package Blank Book

Recycled  packaging "R" us! Here's today's look at what I was putting on the shelf in the store. While oening a case of refried beans, I noticed there were recipes on the package, just enough and just the right size for a nice little blank book/notebook. (It's official; I now see potential books everywhere I look, out of everything I see.)

I cut the part of the package I liked into two pieces, lined them with some gold-toned card stock, and poked holes along the spine edges. I folded plain white text paper into the signatures and stitched the book with a single-needle coptic stitch in a nice red thread. If I say it who shouldn't, I'm finally getting good with this binding. This one is very neat and tight.

And I do have to say, owning a convenience/grocery store and having all this packaging laying about has certainly cut down on the cost of doing this challenge. Materials are everywhere.

What have you seen laying about today that you could make into a 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 242 - A Hard-Cover Journal w/ Hidden Long Stitch Binding-Red Fish

I wanted to try this hidden long stitch book structure as soon as I saw it for several reasons.

1) It's fairly easy to make--easy structurally.
2) Since the front and back boards are covered separately, you can use up smaller scraps of decorative paper.
3) The long stitch binding is hidden by the bookcloth covering the spine. That makes for a very neat, clean package.
4) It's sturdy, neat, and looks really good.

Basically, you just cover your front and back boards with the cover paper and paste the leather/bookcloth spine piece in place between the covers. In this case, I chose an Asian-feel paper of black and metallic gold fish on bright red paper. I used a piece of black silk bookcloth with both a sheen to it and a slight slub.

Cut a second strip of the bookcloth and sew the signatures of the book to it. I used a simple butterfly stitch. Then lay the book block in place inside the cover, glue down the "hinge" made by the inside bookcloth, then paste the end papers in place, covering over the "hinge"

Put it under weight for a while and you have a very nice, sturdy little pocket or purse book.

Books 223-226 - Mini "Scrap" Books from Wallpaper - Butterfly Binding

Here's a collection of hand-bound mini-journals I call "scrap" books because they are made entirely from scraps. They measure 3 1/2"x4 1/2".

A couple of days ago, I picked up a free small vinyl wallpaper sample book from a local paint store. That became my starting point. I trimmed each sample to size and glued it to a piece of decorative lining paper. I then added a second piece of decorative paper at the spine. From paper scrap, I folded 16 sheets into two signatures, for a total of 32 pages (64 w/ both sides).  I stitched each little hand-bound mini-journal with a butterfly stitch -- like a pamphlet stitch with five holes. I left a tail on the thread at the top of the spine and added a pretty bead to coordinate with the colors of each book.

I made this a group of books because I wanted to experiment with some production techniques and see how long it took me to make each book. It worked out to just under 30 minutes each. If I were making more of them and set up a real production line, I could probably get that down to 20 minutes or even less.

If I can make them quickly enough and price them right, I think these little mini-journals will be salable. I'll probably make some more.

Book 221-Heavy Hand-Made Grass Paper journal - Double Needle Coptic Binding

When I found this very heavy hand-made grass paper in Marilyn's studio I could not resist it. I wanted a very rustic looking journal, so I started pawing through the stacks of paper looking for something equally wonderful for the pages. I found some sheets of deeply textured but still light white hand-made paper that was perfect. It felt positively cottony.

I tore the pages to size and smoothed them hard with the bone folder to flatten a bit of the texture. I wanted a thick book, and by the time I had enough pages, the book was "spongy" from the springiness of the paper. I knew the covers would need some reinforcement to hold up to the pages. So I cut some pieces of chip board and lined them, then covered the lining with pieces of burnt orange unryu paper, also hand-torn to maintain the rough edges of the covers.

The binding is a double-needle coptic stitch with black waxed linen thread.

The sponginess of the thick book block still kept the book from lying closed so I needed some kind of a wrap or closure, I used the same waxed linen thread to make a looped cord to wrap around the book and then around a carved bone button that looks like a wheat sheaf. I think it's the perfect accent for the grassiness of the thick cover paper.

The book is small, only 3" X 4" but a full 1 1/2" thick. It feels wonderful to hold, very lightweight yet substantial at the same time, with that delightful cushiness when you squeeze it shut.

Just yummy paper.

Book 219 - Pigskin Wrapped Journal/Blank Book- Long Stitch Binding

Back to working with leather with this wrapped pigskin journal. I like pigskin. Besides being very affordable, it's thin and very soft. You do often have to work around scars and flaws, but some of them are OK; they give your book character.

For this blank book/journal, I cut the leather in a roughly cross shape so I could wrap the book like a package. The pages are hand-torn Arches Text Wove, a wonderful heavy art paper. The liner is a decorative paper in a bronze swirl pattern. The longstitch binding is sewn with waxed linen thread. I tied a carved bone ring onto the end of the wrap-around thong tie.

Pretty straightforward, really. I like the way it wraps up like a neat little package.

Book 204 - Kit Kat - Recycled candy Packaging Book/Journal-Coptic Binding

A Kit Kat recycled coptic stitch journal -  Yep, we are back to the recycled packaging routine. Allen shopped at the wholesale store today so he came home with several boxes of candy bars to be opened and put on the shelf. Including... Kit Kat!

I just cut two pieces off the sides of the box to show the logo. I lined them with some pearlescent gold cardstock for added rigidity. The pages are plain white text paper folded into eight signatures. I stitched them with a single-needle coptic binding with brown waxed linen thread.

Cute little journal.

Book 196-Rook Cards Notebook-Double-Needle Coptic Binding

Today I've got a little pocket notebook that is just so-so. The idea is OK. I made the covers by gluing two playing cards from a Rook game together for the front and two more for the back. That gave the covers a bit more heft and stability.

The signatures are folded from regular white text paper. The problem is that I punched the holes in the covers with a regular office-type hole punch and they are too big. I wondered if maybe larger holes would help it lie flat better, but it just made the covers want to slide around too much. Even the stitching looks a bit sloppy on this. I'm still struggling a bit with the 2-needle coptic binding.

Oh well, I did say some of these books would just be a learning experience. This was certainly that. I might try the idea again later. The size would be handy for a pocket or purse.

Book 192-Big Texas-Recycled Packaging Mini-Book/Journal-Coptic Stitch

Surprise! More packaging! Today's book comes from a cardboard box that held a dozen "Big Texas Cinnamon Rolls." I cut the logo off of two sides of the box and I had my covers. I did nothing else to them--they're not lined, stiffened, strengthened, nothing. Just cardboard.

For the pages, I folded white heavy-weight 110 lb stock into four signatures of six folded sheets each - 48 pages, 96 counting both sides. This was the first time I used a double needle coptic stitch, done with a dark purple/brown waxed linen thread. I also made a closure by wrapping some of the linen thread around the book.

I mainly made this as a way to learn the double-needle coptic stitch. It's actually pretty easy, especially in a book like this, which has only two sewing stations (holes). I'll be doing more of these and learning to use this stitch with  more sewing stations.