Book 34 - "Ethan Allen" - Recycled Vintage Book as Journal - Coptic Binding

Book 34?? What's with that? Well, in the wind-up to posting the final couple of books in the year-long challenge, I thought I'd better look back over the whole past year and make sure I hadn't inadvertently skipped any days. And sure enough, way back in February, I just skipped right over a day. So, to be honest with you and myself, I needed to fill in that day.

So, Book 34. Here's another recycled vintage book made into a blank book/journal. I'm not sure of the exact date of this book since there was no copyright or publication date anywhere in the book. But from the cover illustration, I'd put it at about 1900-1910. The strange thing is that the illustration--two boys in sports outfits and gear--has nothing whatever to do with the content of the book, which is a history of Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont in the 18th century. Go figure. Maybe it was part of a series for boys and they all had that cover. The condition is pretty good, but there is one spot on the cover that is slightly blistered (where the book cloth has come loose from the board beneath. If I had a fine needle syringe, I could probably shoot a bit of glue underneath and glue it down again.

Since the bright red accents on the cover design stand out so much, I decided to play off that and use red thread for the binding. I also alternated green and red paper tape on the spine folds of the signatures for an attractive pattern on the exposed spine.

It came out looking pretty good.

Book 359 - Recycled Children's Book Journal/Blank Book - Lemony Snicket-Coptic Binding

Have you read any of the Lemony Snicket books? They are a bit bizarre but really fun. And the covers are neat! So, of course, I had to recycled one into a journal/blank book.

This is Book the Second, The Reptile Room. This follows my usual construction procedure with these upcycled hard cover books. The covers were slit and bound, the pages folded and punched, some of the signature fold edges bound with colorful paper tape. This was bound with a single-needle coptic binding using maroon waxed cotton thread.

I included a couple of the original illustrations form the book into the pages. The book's spine became a bookmark.

I'll always be on the lookout for more Lemony Snicket books in good enough condition to recycle/upcycle into fun journals.

Book 358 - Vinyl Record Journal - "Cabaret" with Liza Minelli - Coptic Binding

I loved "Cabaret" and thought Liza Minelli was simply magic in it. I love the music, too. So I was delighted to find a vinyl album of the show in a thrift shop. It was perfect for one of my vinyl record journals.

I cut the record to size with a band saw and smoothed the edges on a belt sander. I also sanded the fore edge corners of the covers into curves. Then I cut two pieces of the cardboard record jacket for the back cover. On the back is a picture of Liza on top of the word "Cabaret" in red lights. The inside back lining is a black and white picture of her.

For the pages, I used a cream-colored paper with lint flecks, folded into eight signatures. I tipped in bright orange end papers to repeat the orange color from the record label. I also rounded the fore edge corners of the pages to mirror the corves of the covers.

I drilled the stitching holes in the covers and poked holes in the sigs with an awl. The book is bound with a single-needle coptic stitch, also called a chain stitch binding.

This is a great journal, clever and very well made, if I say it who shouldn't.

Book 356 - "Motor Boys" Recycled 1906 Book Journal - Coptic Binding

This recycled book journal is made from a fabulous find--a 1906 novel for boys called "The Motor Boys in Mexico" by Clarence Young. It was part of a whole series of books about the Motor Boys, apparently playing off the idea of the then relatively new motor car as a source of adventure. Apparently there were a whole bunch of these series of boys' books--the back pages of this book had ads for many of them. In fact, I liked those pages so much, I incorporated several of the ad pages inside this journal.

As usual, the covers were sliced off the book, the spine carefully removed and the raw edges tape bound. I lightly waxed the cover to preserve and improve its finish--although it is in wonderful condition for being more than a century old. I punched holes for sewing stations, folded sigs and punched holes in those too and covered the spine fold with the same green tape as the spine edge, incorporating a few illustrations and other pages from the original book. The book was bound with a chain stitch binding--a single-needle coptic stitch--with white waxed linen thread.

I made a bookmark from the book's spine by folding back the cut edges and covering the entire backside with green paper tape.

This is really a lovely journal.

Book 352 - The Boys Book - Recycled Book Journal -Coptic Binding

This book is so cool looking. Even though it's not really old (as witness the scholastic website printed on the back cover) it looks old. It's a book that is supposed to show boys how to be the best at everything that boys like to do. I think it makes a great journal. The intense cobalt blue with silver printing on the cover is really eye-catching.

As per my usual style, I slit off the spine and made a bookmark from that part. I taped over the cut ends of the front and back covers, poked holes, folded up a bunch of signatures--these are a really neat astro-bright white paper with tiny confetti-colored flecks in it--and poked holes in those too. I also added blue washi tape to the spine fold of some of the signatures to create a colorful pattern on the exposed spine binding.

The single-needle coptic binding is done with white waxed linen thread.

Cool little journal!

Book 335 - "Pioneers on Early Waterways" - Recycled Children's Book as a Journal/Blank Book - Coptic Binding

The recycled book I used to make this journal/blank book originally retold tales of people on the early waterways of America, stories like young Sam Clemens (who later became Mark Twain) as a cub pilot on the Mississippi and tall tales of Davy Crockett. The stories were illustrated with pen and ink illustrations I wanted to save.

After cutting the spine off the book and removing the book block, I bound the raw cut edges of the covers with brown patterned tape. I carefully trimmed several of the illustrations from the book and used two of them--both showing river boats--as end papers inside the front and back covers. Then I trimmed more illustrations and taped one to the front of each of the eight signatures I'd folded up. The brown patterned tape folded over the spine edge of the signature makes for a nice pattern on the exposed spine of the book.

After punching holes for the sewing stations in the covers and sigs, I bound the journal with a single-needle coptic stitch binding with brown waxed cotton thread.

I also used the original spine of the book to make a bookmark. It's not in the photos below because it's buried somewhere on my desk and I couldn't find it to photograph. But It IS here and as soon as I clean off this mess, it will show up!

Really!

Book 329 - Lighthouse Journal - Blank Book with Recycled Wallpaper - Coptic Binding

This pretty lighthouse journal is a virtual repeat of a book I did earlier (Book 239). But I liked it then and I still do. And I had another piece of this cool lighthouse wallpaper border and the beige map wallpaper and I wanted to use them again. So it's a repeat. So sue me.

I like making these coptic stitch journals. Now that I finally "own" the stitch (after having to re-read the instruction for at least the first 12 books or so), they are easy to make and you can be really creative with the covers.

For this lighthouse journal, I used Davey board for the covers, so they are nice and rigid. I covered the boards with rusty brown mulberry paper for clean and pretty edges. Then I tore the image of the lighthouse from a piece of wallpaper sample and glued it to the front cover. I glued the piece of nautical map wallpaper to the back cover and tore out some pieces of wallpaper with smaller lighthouses for the end papers.

I used light tan mottled paper for the pages and blue mottled paper for the fly leaves. I also used some small strips of the blue to wrap around the folded edge of some of the signatures to form a pattern on the exposed spine.

I punched holes in everything for the stitching stations and bound it using a single-needle coptic stitch (chain stitch binding) with light blue waxed cotton thread, to pick up the blue in the sky of the image.

Pretty. And I'm sure I'll make more very similar ones. So there!

Book 324 - Recycled Vinyl Record Journal/Blank Book - Donna Summers - Coptic Binding

Finally Back! I have a pile of books to post now that I have my computer back. The whole thing had to be wiped clean and the OS re-installed, which meant restoring the entire hard drive (thank God for Carbonite online backup) AND reinstalling all the programs, some of which had to be sought and found. Still a few to find and put back on, but at least I can work now.

This book is another journal made from a vintage vinyl album. This one is "Bad Girls" by the '70s queen of disco, Donna Summers.

For the front cover, I cut the record into a rectangle with the band saw, placing the round paper label just off center. For the back cover, I cut an image of Donna Summer from the back of the album, and another piece to line it on the inside. This album had the lyrics of the songs printed on red paper inside, so I cut that to use as end papers.

The signatures are a nice 70 lb. Neenah paper, off-white with flecks like tiny pieces of lint. It has a nice feel. The 8 signatures are stitched with a single-needle coptic stitch binding with black waxed linen thread.

It's really a pretty cool book, if I say it who shouldn't.

Book 317 - Recycled/Upcycled Vintage Physics Textbook Journal-/Blank Book - Single-Needle Coptic Binding

Another upcycled book journal today, but this time it's a cool vintage textbook. The cover just says "Physics." Since I was terrible in Physics in high school, I nearly passed this one up (I was more of a biology kind of girl). But I love the vintage look of it.

The usual routine: I sliced off the spine and bound the cut edges with variegated green washi tape. I glued some mottled blue paper inside the covers for end papers and used a cool vintage-look graph paper for the fly leaves. I covered the folded spine edge of every other signature of white text paper with more of the green washi tape to create a pattern on the exposed spine.

The binding is done with a single-needle coptic stitch with medium brown waxed thread.

This feels comfortable in the hand. It's a nice size for an everyday journal.

Book 315 - There's a Wocket in My Pocket - Recycled/Upcycled Dr. Seuss Book as Journal/Blank Book - Single-Needle Coptic Stitch Binding

Don't you just love Dr, Seuss? I have always done so. That's why whenever I see a Dr. Seuss book with a cover in decent condition in the Goodwill bins, I grab it. This recycled Dr. Seuss book journal has a fun, bright yellow cover and the typical Dr. Seuss illustrations.

I cut the spine and took out the book block (I'll probably use some of the other delightful illustrations in another project). I bound the cut edges of the covers with some fun green-and-gold diamond checked washi tape. I used the same to bind the spine cut edges and also used it on the folds of some of the signatures to form a pattern on the visible spine.

After punching all the holes for the sewing stations, I bound the book with a single-need coptic stitch or chain stitch binding with bright yellow cotton thread.

SIDE NOTE: I've found a great and inexpensive source for usable binding thread in lots of colors. Check out the craft aisle at your local Wal-Mart and go to where they have the children's crafts. Look for the cord/thread they sell for girls to make friendship bracelets. It's 100% cotton, comes in lots of bright colors and is quite strong and not stretchy. If you run it through a lump of beeswax or a candle before stitching, it works beautifully.

I like way the washi tape and the yellow thread worked on this one to make a nice pattern on the spine.