Book 110 - A Flower-Fold Book

Ugh! I am so frustrated. My laptop is acting up again. It keeps dropping the internet connection. And yes, I know it is me, not the Mexican internet connection. This Toshiba has been pretty much a piece of crap since the day I bought it, and I have had problems with the modem everywhere I've taken it. But the last couple of days, it's gotten way worse. Instead of cutting out two or three times in an evening, it's now happening every few minutes. I have to disconnect, reconnect and start over with whatever I was doing. It's driving me nuts.

The other frustration is that I don't have access to a printer here. And I find the more books I make, the more I want to play around with content as well as structure. But here I'm limited to drawing or writing something by hand or making a collage with cut-out pictures. I can't even print out a photo.

OK, rant over. Here is today's book, a pretty little flower-fold book. It uses an origami fold for each page, then the pages are glued together. For the cover, I covered a couple of small pieces of mat board with hand-made paper, then added the title piece for the front. (When I get back to my printer, I may redo this part.) I poked two holes in one corner and tied it together with a doubled length of waxed linen thread.

Although it looks complicated, it's really a pretty easy structure. The last photo shows how simple the flower fold is.

Pretty....

Book 109 - Coptic Stitch Journal with Textured Amate Paper Cover

Ooh, I do like this one. I've been in love with "amate," Mexican bark paper, since I first saw it some 20 years ago. Amate has been made by the Otomi Indians of northern Mexico for over 700 years. It is made from the bark of one of several trees, depending on the desired final color. The bark is soaked, then beaten by hand to line up the fibers and create the right thickness. I adore the natural swirls and color variations in this stuff.

In the last few years, the amate makers have added a new wrinkle to their manufacture, layering the softened and pounded bark into patterns that are sculptural and three-dimensional. There are some standard patterns but no two are ever exactly alike. I bought several pieces of this the other day, but I daresay I'll head back to the artisans' market to get some more before I head for home. It's just too yummy to pass up.

I used one of these sculptural pieces for the cover of this journal. It's a bit hard to see the texture int he photos, but the cover is quite three-dimensional. Since there are holes in the pattern, I needed to back it with something. I chose a tomato-red recycled paper, which I also used for the front and back liners and as a narrow wrapping for the spine folds of the signatures. This gives a nice decorative look to the spine and gives the book a cohesiveness. The visible stitching is done with dark brown waxed linen thread.

There are 7signatures of 6 sheets each of hand-torn white text paper, for a total of 84 leaves in the book (168 pages both sides). This is just a gorgeous journal. For its size -- approx 7 1/2" square -- it would make a nice guest book.

Day 108 - Marias Cookie Pack Stab-Binding Soft Journal

Just a  little late with this one. Yesterday, after a wonderful day of art-making, good friends, good food, (and a little too much sun), I came home exhausted. Flopped onto the bed with the thought of "just a nap, then I'll make a book." Of course, I slept through most of the night. And during that time, I made at least 4 books in my sleep. I'd half wake up, think "no, I didn't really make that book so I'll go back to sleep and when I wake up again it will really be made."

Finally, I got up at about 5 am and started actually making one. Since I am by no stretch a morning person, 5 am is still the middle of the night for me. So I figured, obviously since it's not yet tomorrow morning, it's still yesterday, and I'm still on schedule!

Oh well... works for me.

So here is the actual book I actually made, out of real stuff instead of dreams. The cover is cut from a cookie package for "Marias" cookies, filled with "cajeta," an absolutely delumptious caramel type spread made with goats' milk and caramelized sugar and one which I love entirely too much. Yummo! The package is a sort of cello-like plastic, but thicker, and partly transparent. The book block is made of the kind of grid paper that kid's here in Mexico use a lot in school. It is wrapped with pink bond paper to show through the cover.

A Japanese stab binding stitched with brown waxed linen thread ties it all up. I left some excess at the top edge then knotted it to form a bookmark. The journal is very soft and can be rolled up to fit into a backpack (sort of like a packet of cookies).

Boo 107 - Cervezas Modelo Mexican Kitsch Concertina Book

I've always loved the look of Mexican "kitsch." It comes from old retro advertising, movie posters, kitchen oil cloth. You see it a lot here, and used in some whimsical and charming ways.

This image is from a 1950s ad for Cervezas Modela - "Modelo Beers." The ad is very similar in feel to some of the '50s Coca-Cola ads, but with sombrero and serape. I found it on a greeting card.

The card stock was a bit thin for covers, so I glued it to another piece of card stock for extra body. The concertina (accordion) pages are pink bond paper, cut to shape and glued to length. They page block is then glued to the covers.

A simple book, but I think it's fun.

Books 105 and 106 - Mexican Matchbox Books

I'm not a day late! I'm not! I tried to post this last night, but blogger was down. You could read the blog but I couldn't post or edit. Tried again this morning, same deal. So after a day of wandering around town, I'm finally putting up yesterday's post.

I'm doubling up today because I missed a few days early in this challenge, in February and March. I don't like the idea of being behind, so... double post. And although this might look like cheating, because the two books are similar, it's really not. Though they are both housed in these charming little matchboxes, the individual book structures are different. So I think it's fair to count them as two.

(Oops! Cat on the keyboard. Had to back up and correct. He doesn't spell very well.)

I knew as soon as I saw these little matchboxes in a shop yesterday that I had to have them and make little mini books to fit them. I've been a huge Frida Kahlo fan since before it was the chic thing to do. When I visited her house in Coyocan, near Mexico City, in 1989, I just wanted to move in and stay there. So the Frida one was a no-brainer. The Pancho Villa box is just fun. He wasn't really a very nice man, but he's certainly an important part of Mexico's history and you see his image everywhere.

The Frida box has a tiny mini-journal with lonstitch binding inside royal blue suede leather. There's a little wrap-around leather thong to close it. For paper, I used some of the pale green vellum scrap from the book I did a few days ago. Two signatures of 10 pages each are stitched in, for a total of 40 leaves (80 pages both sides)--that's a LOT for such a tiny book.

The Villa book also has two signatures of the same vellum paper, but they are tied at the spine, sort of a cross between a pamphlet stitch and a tied binding. They are not attached to the cover, which is basically just a folded card stock portfolio. The wrap-around flap at the right tucks into a slit on the cover.

So two more books down...

Book 104 - Schoolgirl Journal - Red checked Plastic

After another day spent mostly in bed, I'm feeling slightly less drippy. I'm determined that tomorrow I will be all better. Good thing, because I got on the phone today to reconnect with old friends and my dance card is rapidly filling up for the next week or two with breakfasts, lunches, literary readings, drives in the country and art workshops.

Pawing through the mess of materials and supplies on my one table tonight, I picked out this red-checked plastic tie-clasp envelope, like an old-fashioned inter-office envelope. When I saw this envelope in the store the other day, I knew I'd use it for something. Today it beckoned. Or maybe I decided to do this one today because I could see it in the pile and find everything I needed without a major archeological excavation.

I only have the one table in my room, and it serves also as a computer table. I mostly sit on the floor or the bed when I'm stitching. But I do need to get that one table more organized!

This was a regular page-size envelope, which I cut down to the size I wanted. Where the red-checked back wrapped around the front, I needed to attach it to the front panel. I first tried gluing it down with super glue. Wasn't happening. Guess it doesn't like the plastic. So then, after cleaning off the glue residue, I used double-sided tape to put it together. That seemed to work. There are 4 signatures of 9 pages each of pastel bond paper in pink, pale yellow, aqua and white. I stitched them to the plastic cover with  white waxed linen thread using my usual longstitch binding.

Cute little book. I can see a schoolgirl carrying this one around proudly.

Book 103 - A Bamboo Trimmed Leather Mini-Journal

You know the old line about how to make God laugh? Make plans. That was my day. I woke up with a drippy, stinky cold and sore throat. Went out anyway and it turned into a day of missed cues, missed friends, foggy thinking and exhaustion. Bottom line? I didn't make it to the open-air market again. Came home and went to bed.

Which is all by way of explaining that my creativity is in the negative column today. Not a single original idea, inspiration, bit of whimsy. Nada. BUT... I came prepared for just such an eventuality. At the last minute, while packing for my trip, I threw in a few pre-cut pieces of leather, just for days like this. So today is another nice little handbound leather mini journal. The other day at the "Mega" I did find a bamboo bead placemat like I hadn't seen before. So now I have a bag full of bamboo beads in a few sizes. I used a longish 3-hole bead on the spine and a shorter 2-hole bead for the closure. I was hoping I could just slide the front wrap-around flap under the bead, but I couldn't get enough pressure to hold it shut, so I added a small strip of Velcro under the bead closure to hold it.

The hand-torn pages are a bright white medium weight paper with vertical ridges. There are 6 signatures with 14 pages each. The liner is a light tan paper.

A nice little book... and I didn't have to think to much about it. Now I'm going back to bed.

Book 102 - A Death Journal

If you're in the U.S., you might think the warnings on cigarette packs there are quite strong. Come to Mexico. The packs here really make the point. Smoking is NOT a good thing. And since, unfortunately, many of my Mexican friends do smoke, I've had plenty of opportunity to check out these packages the last few days. I begged an empty off my friend Juan to make this book.

Yes, that really is a photo of a dead rat on the cover, just above the Marlboro branding. The line at the rat's feet says "Toxic Product." The spine says "Smoking kills." And on the back we get:
"When you smoke, you're looking for a slow and painful death.
"Tobacco contains more than 4000 substances that seriously damage the body."
And..."Contains cyanide, a mortal poison used in rat killer."

But still they smoke.

This little hand-made mini journal with longstitch binding has 12 signatures of 14 pages each. The signatures alternate in cream and tan bond paper. The stitching is done with tan linen thread. After cutting the box open, I lined it with cream colored paper. Because of the glue, it needs to go under weights for a day or so to stay completely flat. It's a nice fat little journal and a good size for a purse or pocket.

Smoke, anyone?"

Book 101 - El Limon Gigante (The Giant Lime) Journal

Ah, the best laid plans... On my way to the big outdoor market here in San Miguel de Allende today, I ran into an old friend who is leaving town tomorrow. Today was the only possible time we could catch up. So out went the market day in honor of friendship. But I did get up to the "Mega," (sort of a smaller Wal-Mart) and picked up a few bookish supplies. One of the best was a foam placemat shaped like a giant lime. How could I not buy it and instantly make a book out of it?

The hardest part of this hand-made blank journal was cutting the book block after the signatures were folded and nested. It's a skill I have not perfected, especially when the pages have a shape, like these. I am not at all happy with the smoothness and evenness (or lack thereof) of the pages. But after working on them for nearly two hours I realized they could only get worse, not better, and let them be with the happy thought that "Limes are lumpy!" So limey pages should be too!

The book has 6 signatures of 12 pages each. They are bound to the foam placemat with a simple longstitch binding, and the book closes with a piece of Velcro.

I think it's at least worth a laugh.