Thursday, May 17, 2012

bookin' it up

I decided to play with a bit of bookmaking tonight.  Our Preservation Department at work held a bookmaking event for National Book Preservation Week a few weeks back.  It was fun and easy enough that I decided it was something I could duplicate.  



I whipped out the nice paper that John's old roomie Brian left behind (he was a zinester) and my too-tiny paper cutter.
Once I cut up my paper, I got out the rest of my supplies.  
  • embroidery floss (matched to cover paper) and a needle large enough to accommodate at least 3 strands
  • big ol' upholstery needle and teeny tiny hole punch
  • pair of scissors
  • my block printing kit with the "gina makes" stamps I carved over the winter holidays



Those who know me know I have hand problems (carpal tunnel and joint issues, good times).  So, I used the small hole punch to start my holes in the spine of the book by punching them in half circles.  Then I pushed the holes through the rest of the way with the upholstery needle.  

Starting from the bottom, I pushed the threaded needle through the first hole from the inside to out.  I held in place a 3-4 inch tail for binding off later with my thumb 







I wove the thread back and forth until I got to the top hole, ending like this--->

Then, I worked my way down to the starting two holes, with the tail in the first hole and the needle in the second.  
Time to tie off.  Pulling the knot close to the tale/first hole, I double knotted it.  
Lastly, I cut the threads about close to the knot, but not too close (about 1/8 inch).
 Tah-Dah!!  It's a little notebook.
 Next, I inked up the the block printing roller and stamped the covers.  


I think the block stamps I carved came out really well.  I used the softer blocks that linoleum, again due to these sad hands of mine.  I like the sort of woodgrain striping they ended up having.  The gnome is my official "gina makes" mascot.  I will be able to use this stamp for tags, bags, and just about anything that that will take ink or paint of some sort.  
Of course, the gnome stamp came out a little large.  I decided I also needed something a bit smaller to fit items like toys and kids clothing.  Thought a bug was a cute touch.


Here we have them-- the fruits of this evening's labors. I think they came out well for the first attempts.  

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