Tips for making a book

When I was awake in the early hours of Saturday morning, I was trying to work out how to make the pages I've made that I showed you in A Venetian Return into a book.

I realised that I don't really do things in the most logical order so I thought for my benefit, and for anyone who finds it useful, I would jot down here a more useful and logical way to go about things.

Make decisions before you start!
I tend to just start without really thinking what I want the end result to be!

Size and shape
Decide what size you want your finished book to be.  A4, A5, A6?  Do you want it to be portrait or landscape?

Paper
What sort of paper are you going to use?  Or maybe you're going to make a fabric book!

Pages
Do you want the pages to be all the same size?  Do you want neatly cut edges or torn and distressed edges?

Colour scheme
Are you going to choose a limited palette or use whatever comes to hand?

Theme
Is you book going to have a theme or just have random pages?

Binding
How are you going to put the book together?  Use signatures sewn together?  Use book rings or ribbons through punched holes?

Make the book first?
Are you going to make the book first and work into it?  Or just make pages and put them together?

There are many other questions to ask yourself, but this is probably enough to be going on with.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

Playing at C2C

As you know I love to make books so it was lovely at Committed to Cloth to be encouraged to make a book.

The activity started with us attaching a scratchy old paintbrush to a stick and drawing on a large sheet of paper using black India Ink.

When the first side was dry I worked on the other side using diluted ink.  When that was dry I used a needle pen to write words and also added some circles.

I cut the large sheet of paper up into different sizes.

I added orange ink and white acrylic and some painted papers randomly to pages.

I assembled the book and after stitching the signatures together I wouve thread through each of the signature threads to make the book.

Here's a video flip through of the finished book.

Thanks for joining me today.
Bernice

Even more Venice!

I am continuing working on my Venice booklets.  This new one is a mix of fabric and papers.  I bought the rusted fabric from Bex Raven.

I have been watching videos from an online class called A Little Book of Whispers by Laly Mille.   My book is nothing like hers apart from the size.  When the pages are folded they are 10cms square.

Each pair of pages has been glued together to make a doublesided page.   Of course it would have been better if I had done the stitching before I glued them together as now I have no way to hide the knots in the threads.

As well as stitching I am going to add some words and possibly other elements to the pages.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

Artists Book

In August I told you about the workshop I went on with Steph Redfern where I started the pages of an Artist's Book.

I have since worked on the pages sticking some more bits on and getting them ready to stitch.

This is a new set of pages since my original post.

These might be put side by side the other way round!

This is the new back page.

And here I have started to stitch and put random beads.

I'm looking forward to finishing this.

Thanks for stopping by
Bernice
 

Taco book

Christine Chester has designed a range of thermofax screens in conjunction with Thermofax Screens.  And being totally addicted to thermofax screens (along with Washi Tape!) I just had to buy some.

I thought I was very restrained - I only bought 4.  Peeling Paint, Raindrops, Shatter and Spatter 1.

And of course I needed to try them out.  I used some circles of Khadi paper.  I started with Paper Artsy paint but it was too thin and so I returned to Amsterdam acrylic paints.

Raindrops

Spatter 1 and Shatter

Spatter 1 and Peeling Paint

Peeling Paint

Raindrops and Shatter

I tried the Peeling Paint screen on some printed fabric.

And when the acrylic paint was dry on the Khadi paper I painted it with Koh-I-Noor dye.  Which turned out a bit yellow!

I thought I would make the papers into a book.  Which is when I found out that the circles weren't geometrically correct or exactly the same size.

But never mind!  I've stuck them together and I'll paint the bits that are showing white.

And when it's closed - it looks like a taco!

Ah well.  I'll paint and stamp and doodle on it.  I think!

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

PS: Have you left a comment on the last post to win a copy of the July/August Somerset Studio?  You have until midnight tonight.

Busy, busy!

I spent last weekend with friends at Art from the Heart.  The weekend actually started on Thursday.

I spent a couple of hours at the NEC on the Thursday morning having a quick gallop around the show that was on and then helping Steph Redfern on her stand.  To begin with there weren't many people around so I had a great time talking to Steph which was really helpful.

Then I drove up to Harrogate where as I was early, I visited Harlow Carr Gardens.   I've been a couple of times before but not at this time of the year.  The light was fantastic for taking photos.

Friday's workshop was called The Creative Scroll.  Dina is extremely generous in sharing ideas, knowledge and experience in these workshops which is why I love them so much.

I started work on my scroll with the canvas this way.

But this is the almost finished piece.  This is how far I got on Friday.  It now needs some writing on it and some stitching.

And a close up

Saturday's class was Finding Joy in Abstraction.  Dina led us through a variety of exercises and then we did one larger piece.  When I showed it Roger he asked me if it was the right way up!

After lunch we were given a stretched canvas each.   I started working on mine this way up.

But then decided it was better this way.   It still needs some work doing to it but it was still wet 

And on to Sunday which was a journal making class.  I love Dina's way of working - she gives you a pile of papers and gives out instructions for a technique and through the morning you end up with bits like this.

And then in the afternoon you assemble it all and it ends up like this:

I think the book is also still a work in progress.  It would benefit from some stitching on it.  I have a new-to-me sewing machine just waiting to be used.  I've had it 6 months and only once switched it on to see if it was ok.  I'm not sure why I have struggled with actually putting it up on the table and using it.

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

Fabric Book

Yesterday I went to a workshop at Ineke Berlyn's studio.  Last month I wrote about printing my fabric using Thermofax screens and dye.  This is one of the cloths I ended up with.

Yesterday I ripped it up into 7 inch squares.

I stamped on some scraps of fabric and added them to the pages.   This is going to be the cover of my book.

I also put some Bible verses on 4 of the pages.

And words and phrases on the rest of the pages.

This will be the back.

Now all I have to do is some machine stitching, some hand stitching and assemble the book!  Easy Peasy!

I can't promise when the book will be finished, but keep popping in and eventually you will see it.

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice