All posts tagged: Bookbinding

Get Messy, Season of Habit pages from my Art Journal

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When I made this art journal a couple of months ago, I was sure of two things, I loved the look and layout of it and it has way too many pages to fill in one season of Get Messy. Turns out I was correct on the first one, I loved this journal every time I worked in it. It transpired over the course of the Season of Habit that my second assumption was very wrong, I filled this treasure up with maybe one page to spare.  Not only did I fill it, I added a pocket full of art cards and two mini accordion books. I used all of my favorite techniques, starting with making the book itself, machine sewing, collage, simplicity, spray painting through old doilies and using old photos.  These are a few of the pages from my completed journal. Happy Sunday x  

Art journaling, bookmaking and sketching.

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I felt like I was neglecting my little art journal for the Season of Play at Get Messy this week. So one evening I picked it up along with some collage pieces I had chosen, cut out and left to one side. Rather than wait for inspiration to strike I decided to just go for it and make a page with these ladies, a constellation map and some butterflies with a few swipes of paint.                                                                                                                                                        I have also just signed up for Sketchbookery so I did a little sketching practice on this page too in the form of a flower …

I made a giant book!

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I had a case of FOMO this week or keeping up with the Joneses or whatever you want to call it. I saw two different Instagram friends post two books they had made, one was super chunky and amazing, the other was a small pamphlet stitched book made with kraft paper and what looked like old book pages. Well, you know me, old books and bookbinding, I loved them both and wanted to make something similar to combine the chunky and the vintage paper. As this is the beginning of the season of play in the Get Messy art journaling community, I decided to go for it and make a basic structure so I didn’t loose my mind but make it nice and full so I didn’t run out of pages (ha! no shortage of pages here). I used a fancy paper bag as the cover which I reinforced with a cereal box and I cut and folded 17 signatures each with five sheets. The pages are from an old cookbook, an encyclopedia, an old …

My year of art journaling

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All of the journals I filled in 2017 including my daily Moleskine planner. Books I used solely for art journaling. Books I filled as daily challenges, travel journal (Cape Cod Folks), general Moleskine sketchbooks and my daily Moleskine.   I was looking back at my art journals from last year and I was surprised at what I found.  Even though the years seem to fly by, a year ago can seem so much in the past and some of the pages and even the sketchbooks seemed so distant to me. When I was pulling out journals, I concentrated on the handmade ones because that is what I thought I had used all year.  I didn’t realize that I had spent the first three or four months using random sketchbooks including a Moleskine and a  Dylusions book.  I like these sketchbooks a lot and what I made in them, but I really enjoy the handmade books I made for each Get Messy season and for some of the monthly challenges I played along with via Instagram …

Handmade sketchbook for the Season of Nature

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I am beginning to get a bit obsessed with making books!  I love to make all the sketchbooks with different papers in different sizes with fold outs and accordions.  The more I make the more ideas I get for another one or two or three. We are about to start the new season over in the Get Messy Art Journal community and it is going to be The Season of Nature.  I found a book called ‘A Field Guide to Animal Tracks’ not long ago and thought it would be perfect to make into a sketchbook for The Season of Nature. Once the pages were out I was ready to go! I made two signatures and stitched one to each inside cover of the book so they open away fro each other.  I used pamphlet stitch to fasten them onto the edge of the cover. I have made a pretty backwards book which started by stitching the papers onto the opposite side than expected, but I like the way the two books are working together …

Printing giant leaves.

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I was walking home from a successful trip to Goodwill last week and I spotted some huge palm fronds in my neighbor’s garden trash.  After checking that was ok with her I came home to get my garden snips and walked back to harvest a couple of pieces. When I got home I left them in water for a couple of days until I had a clear time slot and a clear table.  I gathered some large sheets of paper and some smaller papers including rice paper, corrugated cardboard,  brown kraft paper, ledger paper, book paper from a vintage garden catalogue and of course dry wax paper. I used a combination of gelli plate and adding paint directly to the leaves to print them, both worked well but I wish there was a giant gelli plate!!! See!  Very big leaves!! Once everything had dried, I wanted to make a book or two using my newly printed papers. One book was made with a single sheet of printed paper folded into an accordion.  I glued the backs …

‘I like’ Friday. The book making edition.

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I have been making my own books for a relatively short time, but now I have started I consider a book I can make for any occasion be it a journal or a watercolor project. I have sewn books on the sewing machine and I have hand sewn pamphlet books as well as adapting vintage book covers to make a new journal or sketchbook. I love to add all kinds of paper from heavy watercolor paper to atlas paper pulled from old books.  I have even used brown paper bags from the grocery store to make a book which I love!  See that one here . Here are some of the ways I have learnt and continue to learn about making books. Book making books I like are: How to Make Books by Esther K Smith Journal Your Way, Designing and Using Handmade Books by Gwen Diehn Make your own idea book by Arne and Carlos I mentioned that I like to make books using old book covers and I find those old books at the …