Books 337-339 - Six Pack Series - First Inning - "Blue Moon"

Beer books! Or at least, beer (and other) six-pack books. More of my infamous recycled packaging.

We recently started selling beer in our store. One day, while taking bottles out of six packs to put in the color for individual sale, I noticed how many of the six pack holders had really cool graphics. And in the final sprint to get the last of my 365 books finished and posted, I needed ideas quick. So I started cutting.

This is the first posting in a series of books with various types of bindings I've been making the last couple of weeks--all from six pack containers (well, one is from a 12-pack, but who's quibbling?).

Today's entries are all from a single six-pack of Blue Moon beer, a Belgian White Wheat Ale.

The first book used the large flat front and back of the six-pack. It's a blank journal bound with a single needle coptic stitch. I backed the covers with blue metallic-finish textured card stock. For the stitching, I used a double strand of waxed cotton threads in two shades of blue for extra interest at the spine.

The second book, a mini-jotter notebook, is the same structure as the first but much smaller. It's made from the two small panels that come together at the side of the six pack. It is stitched with dark blue waxed cotton thread in a single-needle coptic binding.

Finally, I used the two small panels from the other side of the six pack to make a French door book. It's actually two small coptic-bound books stitch to a single back made of chip board and lined with metallic card stock. The "French door" opens to reveal two little notebooks side by side, opening in opposite directions, one stitched on the left, the other on the right. Hard to explain, easy to see in the photos. The book closes at the front with a chain-stitch cord that wraps around a square opalescent bead.

This series makes me think of Victor Hugo. Whenever he started writing a new book, he always bought a new bottle of ink. When he finished writing "Les Miserables," the bottle of ink he'd bought at the beginning was empty. He told his wife he should name the book, "What There is in a Bottle of Ink."

So I guess today's post is "What There is in a Six-Pack of Beer."

Book 331 - "Rocky Road" - Recycled Candy Package Journal - Slit Spine Binding

Gee, what a surprise. Another recycled candy box journal!

So we got a new kind of candy for the store. But not NEW. Rocky Road used to be my favorite candy bar when I was a kid and I didn't even know they still made it until we saw it in Sam's the other day. Had to grab it. And of course, I had to grab the box for a book.

After I cut a single piece of the box big enough for a smallish journal, I lined the piece with heavy card stock. I creased it with my bone folder and folded it to create the spine. I folded the signatures and punched the sewing stations. Then I cut slits across the spine to correspond to the stations. I stitched it with a variation of the long stitch binding through the slits.

I don't quite have a handle yet on this stitch. I'm constantly having to stop and talk through the binding in my mind to get it right. And as you can probably see in he pix, it's still not exactly right. Need some work on this one.

But the graphics are fun. And I added a big square chocolate brown vintage button for a closure.

Book 296 - Fuji Book - A Recycled Camera Box Journal - Modified Buttonhole Stitch Binding

I suppose as long as I am co-owner of this store, I will forever be making books from recycled packaging. It's everywhere I look.

Today's book is a little blank book/journal made from the package for a Fuji one-time-use camera. We used to sell a lot of these. Of course, we also used to sell a lot of film, and now I can't remember the last time we sold a roll of film. Everyone s gone digital now--or they've got a phone with a camera. We only sell these disposable cameras when someone has forgotten their camera or phone or it's broken.


For this book, I cut the box down and glued the spine so it's double and very strong. I then cut out the center section of the spine. The binding is a modified buttonhole stitch, really easy to do once you get the concept. There are eight signatures of pale pea green text-weight paper stitched with white linen thread.

It's a pretty b sic little book, but I'll take it.

Book 293 - "All Beef Patty" - Recycle Hamburger Box Colcorful Blank Journal - Coptic Binding

Guess what I had for lunch today? Well, actually, I suppose it was dinner, since we were already closed. I was on my own and really didn't feel like cooking just for myself, so I just nuked one of the frozen hamburgers we sell. Emptied out the box, so I had to open another one and... yep, there was another book.

I cut this cheeseburger image off the front of the large box, lined it with gold metallic textured card stock and and cut it in half down the center of the sandwich. I cut round pages from colored paper and layered them into signatures in order--green for lettuce, brown (well, beige) for the meat, yellow for the cheese and red for the tomato slices. I bound the book with a single needle coptic stitch using golden-yellow linen thread.

This one would definitely get a comment or two if you pulled it out of your purse to make a note... or take a bite. (Are you hungry yet?)

Book 287 - Grand Canyon Suite Finale - Recycled Beer Package Notebook-Perfect Binding

Here's the final entry in the "Grand Canyon suite." (You can see Books 272 and 273 for the first two books made form this same beer carton. Obviously, I really like the graphics on this box.

The cover of this perfect-bound notebook is made from the side panel of a carton of beer from the Grand Canyon Brewing Company, based in Williams, AZ. It's a fairly lightweight chipboard so I backed it with sturdy, metallic-finish card stock. The panel is a piece of white chip board also bonded to some of the metallic card stock. This makes the covers slightly sturdier than a commercial notebook cover.

The book block is made from tan text weight paper stacked and trimmed to size. Then the entire cut end is glued together with padding compound, a glue developed especially for perfect bindings like notepads and magazines.  The block is attached to the covers with black duct tape, which then also creates the spine.

I've never really watched anybody do this kind of perfect binding, so I'm pretty much winging it. and I have a feeling  I'm leaving some crucial step out or doing something else wrong. The book seems fine, but I'm worried that it would not stand up to use. I need to see a tutorial or watch someone who knows what they're doing make this book. Then I'll have it.

Book 281 - Mmmm, M&Ms Recycled Packaging Journal-Slit Spine Long Stitch Binding

It was candy restocking time in the store, and there was this empty M&M's Peanut box.... I guess you can imagine what came next.

Out came the scissors and the x-acto knife. I cut one large piece from the top of the box, glued on some heavy raspberry pink perlescent card stock to the back for looks and strength, scored it well with the bone folder and folded it at the spine. I then covered the spine with bright red duct tape and cut slits across the spine for the sewing stations.

I folded six signatures of white text paper, poked the holes and stitched them with a long-stitch binding through the slits I had cut in the spine.

Unfortunately, when the spine was folded I realized I had scored it a bit too narrow, which made the journal not want to close flat. So I made the strap from a double layer of the red duct tape to wrap around the book and closed it with a piece of industrial strength Velcro.

Mmmmmm.......

Books 276 & 277 - Grand Canyon Suite - Recycled Beer Box Books/Journals - Single-Needle Coptic Binding

Ah... more recycled packaging books, and very cool packaging it is.

We recently started selling beer in our store, and one of the beers we carry is from a small brewery in Williams, Arizona, called Grand Canyon Brewery. Both the cans and the boxes they come in have great graphics, so of course the cases screamed "Books!" at me.

Here are two journals from the same case of beer. The first is a long, narrow book. I used one side of the case and cut it in half lengthwise to balance the graphic in an attractive way. I backed the two pieces with heavy brown card stock for added stiffness and strength and punched holes for the stitching stations for a coptic binding.

I wanted something on the pages for added interest, so I found a nice photo of the Grand Canyon, sized it and reduced the opacity so it would print very faintly, then printed enough pages for six signatures. I trimmed the pages, folded them into signatures and punched the holes for the stitching stations. The book is bound with beige linen thread in a single-needle coptic stitch or chain stitch binding. When you open the book, the faintly printed image of the Grand Canyon is on the left side and the right side is blank for writing.

The graphics are what make this book.

The second book in this series was made from the top part of the box, the one with shaped cutouts that make a sort of handle to make the case easier to carry. Again, I backed the cardboard with heavy card stock, this time in a canvas-textured moss green. With an Xacto knife, I carefully cut away the card stock from the hand holes and creased the cover at the center of the cut-outs for the spine.

I folded ten signatures of text paper trimmed to the size of the book and stitched them to the spine with a modified button-hole stitch from Alisa Golden's book. The stitching was done with linen thread in a goldenrod color.

To close the book, I added a length of braided linen thread and a brass button for it to wrap around.

Book 270 - "Mom's Favorite Breakfast" - Recycled Packaging Book/Journal - Long Stitch Binding

OK, I'm back! My little posting break is over and I'll be starting to upload some of my backlog of books little by little. And to begin, here's another blank book/journal made from recycled product packaging - Strawberry Toaster Strudel, my mom's favorite breakfast.

Would you believe I carried this flattened package all the way back from Oregon in my suitcase and have had it sitting on my worktable for weeks? At least it does make a colorful little blank journal. I cut the front and back off the box and another narrow strip for the spine. I used blue duct tape (ah yes, we're back to the duct tape) to make a hinge for the spine.  Then I glued a sheet of heavy dark blue card stock to the inside of the entire case to add some stiffening, boned the hinge creases down and folded it into shape.

The pages are regular white copy paper folded into eight signatures of 12 pages each. The binding is a long stitch binding tied together at the center of the spine. The stitching is done with red waxed linen thread. The closure is three strands of the same red thread braided together and tied to the stitching at the spine to keep it in place.

This book makes a very neat litlte package.

(BTW, something I have always wondered about Toaster Strudel--which you'll understand if you've ever eaten this stuff. What DO they have to put in that icing to keep it from freezing, so it's still soft and spreadable right out of the freezer??? On second thought, I probably don't want to know. I ate all my mom's leftovers while I was there.)

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?