In the Studio

Awesome Handmade Books: Pamphlet Stitch Bookbinding

Ruth — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:00:44 +0000

So with so many bookbinding fans out there, I thought I would do a weekly roundup of some of my favorite handmade books out there on the internet, many of which I’ve conveniently rounded up on my Handmade Books + Journals Pinterest board.

This week: Pamphlet Stitch Bindings!

Yuzen Pamphlet Stitch Books by Ruth Bleakley

handmade screen printed notebook – Le Choses Imprimees

Inter-Office Snark Books – Kate Black

Mini Travel Notebook – South Jenni

You can make one too!

Here’s a little step-by-step pamphlet stitch bookbinding tutorial that I found on Sarah Nielsen’s blog – it has really clear instructions and is perfect for beginners. You’ll be making your own little books in no time at all! It’s a great way to use up extra paper you’ve been ~~hoarding~~ collecting.

Awesome Handmade Books: French Link Stitch Bookbinding

Ruth — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:00:16 +0000

This week: French Link Stitch Bindings! (it’s that lovely “X” stitch)

French Stitch Coptic Binding by Ruth Bleakley

French Stitching on Tapes by A Yen for Paper

Coptic and French stitching on tapes by Magda Ribeiro

Pequenos Sketchbooks by Zoopress Studio

Here it is IN ACTION! – traditionally the french link stitch is used when sewing onto tapes in a traditional case binding, it gives the book a little more structure, but isn’t usually visible. Today book artists have integrated it into coptic stitch bindings to great effect. It looks more complicated than it is – you simply sew underneath the previous section, crossing in an “X”. You need at least 8 signatures for the pattern to show up.

French Link stitching on tapes by Simon Goode

Washi Tape Handmade Journal

Ruth — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 12:30:54 +0000

Oooooh, I just love it when a book comes out just right, and the photos come out just right – that’s how I feel about this awesome washi tape journal. not sure what to call it – maybe “Red and Gray Stripes” “V journal…” in any case it’s one of a kind – you’ll notice I even wove the tape a bit near the spine. This is my favorite pattern of washi tape and I’m in love with it. This is also one of the first new items I’ve listed in my bookbinding etsy shop, after a long period of creative hibernation. (So hopefully someone will fall in love with it and buy it, inspiring me to greater heights of creativity )

Bookbinding Tutorial: Mini Book Necklace

Ruth — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:30:20 +0000

I saw this cute mini book necklace tutorial when Amber from MakingMyRent on Etsy posted it to the BEST [Bookbinding Etsy Street Team] page on Facebook! Too cute – and nice tutorial too – here’s a sneak peak at it, but to see the whole thing, visit her original post: Mini Book Necklace Tutorial.

Awesome Handmade Books: Long Stitch Bookbinding

Ruth — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:00:50 +0000

This week: Long Stitch Bindings!

Mon Aide-Memoire Longstitch Journal by A Yen For Paper

Suave – Extra Thick Leather Journal by MyHandBoundBooks on Etsy

Neat variation on a longstitch from Moonwater Books who has a lovely Flickr account too.

Green Goatskin Leather Journal by Tacktile Bookshop .

Here’s a little step-by-step long stitch bookbinding tutorial that I made a couple years ago (I should revamp and re-release it!).

If you click on each photo it’ll explain more of what’s going on. Probably best for folks who have some experience in bookbinding already.

Awesome Handmade Books: Japanese Stab Bindings

Ruth — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 22:55:01 +0000

This week: Japanese Stab Bindings!

Spectrum of Japanese Stab Bindings by ErinZam on Flickr - Erin also has a bookbinding blog and an Etsy shop.

Closeup of Hemp Leaf Binding by Ruth Bleakley (it’s me! yay!) from my Maggie’s Retirement Album Flickr set.

Lovely A6 Journals, stab bound by A Yen For Paper who has a lovely Flickr account too.

Amazing alternative Stab Bindings by Becca Making Faces - check out her stab binding tutorials! (not for beginners or the faint of heart haha)

Look for more awesome handmade books, coming to RuthBleakley.com on Mondays! Also, if you have a favorite bookbinder who you think I should know about, leave a comment!

Interview with SueGray Fitzpatrick, Wax Seal Jewelry Maker

Ruth — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 12:38:03 +0000

Every time I take a look at jewelry maker Suegray’s etsy shop I am overwhelmed with how awesome it is – I love wax seals (I’ve used one to wrap up my wedding invitation orders). Sue makes fine silver wax seal jewelry, utilizing her large collection of antique wax seals, the type used to seal letters or officially sign a document in ye olden days. I think her jewelry is such a neat way to display the beautiful and intricate art of sealmaking, without having to wait for the occasion of sending a super-fancy letter.

She was kind enough to do an interview for my Concertina Press blog, that you can read here!

Coverless Coptic Stitch Book with Eyelet-set elastic

Ruth — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:58:54 +0000

Doesn’t that stack of folded signatures in the second photo look grand? I used acid-free card stock left over from a big project – I really over stocked on it a couple years ago when I had a class on concertina bindings. Unfortunately I discovered that the card stock was also too heavy for the type of binding we were doing – but not before ordering 200 sheets of it! Yikes – well, I never can resist a bulk discount…

So I trimmed the 12″x12″ sheets down to 9″x12″, which I then stacked in signatures of three sheets each. Normally I would do four or five sheets of paper per signature, but with thicker paper, you don’t want it to be too bulky.I folded them in half – what you see in photo 2 are four unsewn text blocks.

The top photo in this second step is after I’ve pierced (actually I’ve sawn them with an exacto razor saw) sewing stations, and I’m beginning the single needle coptic stitch with a straight needle. Sea Lemon has an excellent coptic stitch tutorial video if you’re curious about that. (Cool bubble ring handmade by Colleen Baran - a wonderful Canadian metalsmith)

I decided the paper was so thick that I wanted to try binding a book without covers. What I was picturing was a sketchbook that an artist could decorate on all sides. I wanted a way to close it though, because I know from carrying my own sketchbook that sometimes when you toss it back in your bag, the pages can become bent or wrinkled, which is no good! Plus if you wanted to add things to the book scrapbook style, it would be good to have something that would hold the book together.

Here’s how you set elastic with an eyelet – first you need an eyelet setting tool (yep, sorry, no real trick here – try a Cropadile, it will totally revolutionize eyelet setting for you). Then, punch the 3/8″ hole where you’d like it – for me it was on the back cover of the book. Then cut out a length of 1/4″ inch elastic – I got mine in bulk from a spool at the local sewing store. Thread both ends into the hole, flatten them where they come out on the other side (make sure to leave extra room so they don’t slip out when you’re pressing the eyelet). Thread the eyelet in (again, I used the bigger ones, not the mini 1/8″ ones). Flatten the eyelet with the eyelet setter, and viola! You can trim the ends a bit if you like.

Draw an Octopus: Mini Accordion Book DIY

Ruth — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:17:43 +0000

Hey bibliophiles! You might be surprised (or at least I was) to find that one of my most popular blog pages is my Octopus Drawing Sequence post from Feb 10, 2010, where I featured a step-by-step octopus drawing I did for a specially commissioned miniature book.

Well I made that post before I knew the wonders of photoshop, so for your Thursday surprise and delight, I’m reposting my “draw an octopus” step by step, but this time with larger photos AND, I thought it would be really fun to make them ONE GIANT PICTURE to post on Pinterest. Apologies to those of you with slow internet connections!

The technical explanation is below the photo – click here to jump to it!

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Ok! So I hesitate to call this a “tutorial” because it doesn’t show the most basic part, DRAWING the octopus – it should really be called “paint an octopus” but oh well! What I really wanted to show was the layering technique when using drawing ink (I used these Windsor Newton drawing inks).

When you look at the finished drawing/painting you might be a little mystified at how I did it, but! all you need to do is layer colors, allowing them to dry most of the way in between each layer.

Why drawing ink and not watercolor? Well I like the transparency and really bright color that ink offers. I’ve heard that watercolor that comes in tubes is also much more vivid but I haven’t gotten a chance to try it (maybe someone could share their experience in the comments?) Drawing ink also usually has shellac in it, or something like that, that gives it a little bit of shine when it dries which I also like.

The colors I used were canary yellow, orange, red, brown and a dash of violet and I used a soft round watercolor brush. I started with the lightest colors first, and darkest colors last. The actual drawing I did first with a mechanical pencil, then I traced over it with a micron pen (my favorite for detailed drawing), allowed the ink to dry completely (overnight is best) and then erased the pencil lines with a kneadable eraser (the best kind of eraser EVER).

I used Canson mi tientes because that’s what I had on hand. Taping down your paper makes it easier to paint on it without it getting away from you or buckling because of the moisture – you can see I just used a piece of plexi glass and some low-tack artist’s masking tape . You could also use blue tape, but regular masking tape is too sticky and will tear your paper when you peel it off.

Once you have your drawing, use my mini accordion book photo tutorial to make a little book and you’ll have a lovely little tiny gift!

Look what I made today! A hand tied glass fishing float net!

Ruth — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:23:44 +0000

I’m back from my 2 week Florida vacation feeing revitalized – and sorely missing the sunshine! Over the past few days I’ve been tackling my catastrophe of a studio, cleaning it up in 20 minute chunks (even setting my chicken-shaped egg timer to keep me going). When things get busy for me, you can tell by how much stuff is piled in my studio, but I plan to wipe the slate clean, put away all guilt-inducing half-finished projects and relax for a while.

I still like to keep my hands busy, so I tried something COMPLETELY new today – hand tying a net!

Yep, my compulsive craftiness knows no bounds.

Glass fishing floats were used for many years to hold up fisherman’s nets, before cheaper plastic and styrofoam floats became the norm. They were especially common in Japan, and folks in the Pacific Northwest of the US still find floats washed up on shore occasionally – check out this you tube video where a Hawaiian man shows us his Japanese glass float collection.

It took me about two hours, and I learned a new knot that I am calling the “pretzel knot” – using waxed cotton thread I worked off of two tutorials – unfortunately I wasn’t able to find any photo tutorials, so I worked off of an eHow tutorial and this tutorial that has a picture of the lark’s head knot and pretzel knot up close. I made up my own ending, tying all the cords into a four strand braid (so cool!) and then lashing down the ends with some extra cord. The cord was waxed cotton cord that I stole from my husband, who also enjoys doing crazy knot work.

My pal Bryan Randa from the local craft show circuit gave me this ball and an even larger green one to try tying nets on. He makes a ton of awesome stuff – last year I bought a glass ornament similar to the one below, which got me thinking about the possibility of tying nets…

This year, I bought myself a cool turtle!

Check out more of Bryan’s work on his Randa Glass Facebook PageMaybe someday if I’m feeling like an overachiever, I’ll make my own photo tutorial so you all can make your own hand-tied hand-blown fishing floats.