Thursday, July 8, 2010

Artist's Bookmaking, Week 2

I have lots of pictures to share with you this time. In class we made these two booksusing single-sheet constructions and accordion or concertina folds. We learned how to cover book board and talked about different finishing ideas, such as using a ribbon to tie a small book. I didn't quite get the single-sheet construction thing,

but I enjoyed making the accordion-fold book,
which I think came out a lot better:
For my homework, I made a small accordion book (4x4 inches) which I covered in fabric.

In the two books I made in class, we used paper and diluted Elmer's glue; in the book I made at home, I used quilting fabric and Mod Podge. I cut the fabric squares 6x6 and mitered the corners using my fabric rulers and rotary cutter. I used a 6x6 square ruler to fussy-cut the fabric. The hardest part? Cutting the book board. I got a package of four large sheets of book board at my local crafts store and cut the 4x4 squares using a knife and sanded the edges with a sanding block. I need to get a sharper knife because it took much too long to cut the board.

I also picked up some cardstock and scrapbook paper to use for practice and for projects later in the class. I should go to the hardware store for a good awl and sharp knife, then I should be set with supplies.

I often spend some time in the craft section of whatever bookstore I happen to be in, usually to look at quilt books, but lately I've been interested in paper crafts and bookmaking books as well. There's always something new to be interested in!

Tonight the syllabus tells me we will work on folios and advanced accordions. Sounds great!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am just loving the step-by-step process, and the presentation of the accordian book. A beauty!

Mystica said...

The note books are beautiful. What is Modge Podge?

caite said...

Wow, those are fantastic. very nice...

Carina said...

Ooo, very pretty! :-)

Kate said...

Looking good!

bermudaonion said...

Your books are gorgeous! After all that work, will you be able to write in them? I think I would have a hard time doing that.

Serena said...

These are gorgeous. Wow...that accordian book rocks!

Zibilee said...

Those are beautiful, Marie! We made a similar accordion book in a scrapbooking class a few weeks ago, and I thought it came out very nice. I can't wait to see what you come back with next!!

Amy M. said...

Lovely! I have been wanting to get into book-making but I probably shouldn't take up one more hobby right now. Still, it seems like a wonderful thing to do.

-Amy
life by candlelight

Frances said...

Here in the DC metro area we have a wonderful place called Pyramid Atlantic that makes space for both aspiring and professional book arts people. I think that all bibliophiles should give this a shot at some point. It can be amazingly satisfying, creating that love object. Lovely work here! Glad you are enjoying it.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely gorgeous! And they look fun to make.

Kathleen said...

I love hearing about your class. The note books are beautiful. I did a card making class once and we used some similar methods. I'd love to do a book making class. I should check out the Adult Ed classes in my area.

Amanda said...

Oh that is so cool! Love it!

Valerie said...

Awesome!! Especially because I have the same Lonni Rossi fabrics that you used for your fabric covers. In fact I have every fabricway in her typographical series. And, just recently made a pencil roll using some of those fabrics. Geez, it's been way too long since I've posted anything I've made on my blog.

Anyway, keep up the good work and continue having fun with this class!