June 29, 2015 - Week 5, Cover and final book, Version 2

Hello Everyone,

So last week I showed the 16 page folded book with open spine cover.  This week is the same folded book with a closed cover.

And this version starts pretty much the same way the last cover started with just a few additions:

I cut two pieces of mat board and two papers for the cover, along with an additional 1/2" piece of mat board cut to the height of the book and a separate paper for the spine.

Just like the last cover, I cut the corners and glue the papers to the mat board.

Don't forget the corner tucks for neat corners

After those were done, I set them aside to dry.  I glued the spine paper onto the spine board only at the top and bottom.  I left the sides untouched, so that later I can attach the two covers.

I did however cut a cover paper for the inside spine.  It is not extremely visible after the signature block is glued in, but I think it adds a nice finished look to the piece.

After all the pieces were dry, I began to put them together.  You will want to glue a cover board to each side of the spine.

Make sure you leave about an 1/8" to 1/4" gap between the piece so the cover will fold over.
Also take your time and make sure the pieces are going in the direction you want and are straight.

I also added a finishing strip of paper that goes along the seam between the spine and the cover.

It's mostly decorative but once again I think it helps make the book look finished.

I wrapped the edges of the strip around the the edges of the cover.

Then as described in last week's post I glued the signature block into place.  Since it is a small book, no glue is necessary on the spine itself.  If this was done on a larger scale, I would probably have glued the spine to give it more stability.



And here is the finished book:

I think this book worked out nicely.  For this version, you can glue the pages together that are folded together, if you want to have it more like an accordion folded book.

For next month, I will be doing a French Link stitched book with soft cover.
And in keeping with the season, theme is "Old-fashion Summer".

Until then,

Happy Book Binding!

Sheila

June 26, 2015 - Week 4, Cover and final book, Version 1

 Hello Everyone,

A bit behind schedule this week.  It turned out that I had several typos in my story that I had printed out.  And then I found out I had the order of the pages mixed up.  And then I decided to change the image on the back to one of my own.  So lots to do, in addition to making the covers and glueing the signatures in.

Without further delay though, here is the process I used to make the covers.

As I hopefully said in previous posts, I will do 2 different versions of this book.  This one is the smaller paper size, but has both front and back images, so the cover is two pieces without a spine.  This will allow the book to open fully.

To make these covers, I took 2 pieces of 2 7/8" x 2 1/4" mat board (you can use Davy board too, I just have a lot of mat board scraps), 2 pieces of 4" x 3 1/2" decorative paper and PVA glue.

I started by gluing the one of the mat board pieces into the middle of each decorative paper piece.  After that is set, I needed to cut each corner diagonally.

The measurement from the corner to the diagonal cut should be about 3/16ths.  My mat board was 1/16th in depth.  So I was able to make a template out of 3 pieces of mat board that I glued together.

The template makes it much easier to be consistent with the corners.

After all the corners are cut, I then glued one side down, making sure I folded the paper on the side of the mat board.

Hopefully that is clear in the above photo.  That little step ensures that the corner comes out nice and clean when you glue the next side down.  You will want to do this to all the corner edges.

After all the sides are glued.  I create the second cover the same way.  Then I let both covers dry completely under heavy weights for about 2 days.

Next it was time to glue the signature in.  The best way is to just take your time and make sure you center the first and last page.  When I glue covers on accordion books I always work from the fold forward.  Aligning and gluing the fold side of the paper first and the unattached side for last.

That seems to work best for me.

And that was it.

Here's the finished book:

completely folded

part open (standing up)

part open (laid down)

fully opened story side

fully opened picture side (the cover pieces can be seen on the far right)

It would have been nice, I guess, if my cover would have match the picture so that it could all flow together,  but I'll keep that in mind for the next time.

Next week, I will be finishing the second version of this book by creating a cover with spine.  I will also be introducing next month's book.

Till then,

Happy Book Binding!

Sheila

June 15, 2015 Week 3 - Creating the Signature Block

Hello Everyone,


This week has been very productive for me.  I added the images to the book using bits and pieces of photos that I had taken and I was able to print it out using a standard 8 1/2" x 11" piece of photo paper and I was also able to print it almost 2 inches larger (approximately 10 1/4" x 12 3/4") using a  professional printer a friend of mine has.  The 2 inches does make a difference in terms of the overall readability and handling of the book.

Since I was able to print out two different sizes, I decided to create two different versions of this book form.  For the smaller size, I printed another image on the back and will create a cover without a spine.  So the book may be opened to the original paper size.  For the larger one, I printed only one side (text only), and that one I will make with a more traditional book cover including a spine and it will not be able to open fully.  More on the covers, next week.

Back to this week.  Now that my pages are printed I needed to cut and fold them into the signature block.  To do this you only need a craft knife, bonefolder and a straight edge.

There is no measuring involved just folding.  But do make sure you line your edges up evenly, to ensure an even outcome.  Start by folding the page in half hot dog (vertical) style.

Make sure to use a bonefolder to crease the edges well.  This will make it easier to fold later on.

Then fold each half in half.   You will have something like this when you unfold it slightly.

Unfold it the rest of the way until it is flat.  Now you will need to fold it in half Hamburger style (horizontal).  And then in half again.  You will end up with the folds creating 16 rectangles.

Before you start cutting, you will want to make sure the orientation of your book is correct.  The beginning should be at the top and the end at the bottom.

After it is folded you will need to make the cuts.  In the above photo, the red lines are where you need to make your cuts, on those folds.  So, starting with the first row make a cut along the hot fold for three rectangles, do not cut the fourth.  The second row, you will want to make a cut on the opposite side along the hot fold for three rectangles.  And for the last one, cut the same as you did for the first row.

I do find it easier to see the folds and make the cuts if I angle my light and fold the book up a bit.

Flip the paper back over and you are ready to start folding.

You will want to start by folding the first rectangle in.  Then alternate back and forth.  When you come to the attached corners, you will need to flip and fold the paper over.

(I tried to get a good picture of that process but without video its difficult to show.) The two rectangles are folded together, so they are hinged at either the bottom or the top of the book.

Once you have it all folded it should look like this.

Now all that is left is to create the covers.  If you wanted to you could just leave it like this and not have a traditional cover.  It would be perfect for creating a photo booklet to send out.

Next week, I will be creating the covers for the two different kinds of books and showing the results.

Till then,

Happy Book Binding,

Sheila

June 9, 2015 Week 2 - Content

Hello Everyone,

This week I have been busy with content for my new book.   The theme this month is "unachievable dream".


After having written my story, I had to decide how I wanted to proceed with actually creating the pages.  The 2 choices I narrowed it down to were - 1.  use computer or 2. create all the content by hand.  And since there is a story involved, (and this book is going to be very small), I ultimately decided using the computer would be the easiest.

So other than writing, I have spent much of last week designing and laying out the page.

Just a couple of quick notes on setting up text and images for this book form.

The book form is cut and folded from a single piece of paper.  So every other row needs to be printed upside down in order for it to be oriented correctly in the final book form.

The other note is that the book I'm creating will be done on a standard 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper, but if you are not using a printer, have a printer that can print larger or want to create more of a square book instead of a rectangular one, this book form can be easily altered to fit your creative needs.

Above shows how the book will be cut.  I will post the instructions for cutting and folding the book in next week's post, so hopefully the flexiblity in the form will be more obvious.

Next week, I will be adding the images and giving the instructions for cutting and folding the book.

Till then,

Happy Book Binding!

Sheila

June 1, 2015 Week 1 - Introduction

Hello Everyone,

I am hopefully back on schedule.  And to that end...

This month's book will be a 16 page folded book from a single sheet of paper.  Here are pictures of the dummy book:

The theme this month will be "Unachievable Dreams".

I also thought I would share some books that I created at a demonstration I participated in on May 20th.  These are all simple structures, but they came out well enough to post.

Leather with beading Pamphlet stitch journal

opened leather with beading Pamphlet

Pamplet stitch Journal, marbled paper

Hedi Kyle's Blizzard Book

Inside Blizzard Book

I will be back next week with a content post.

Till then,

Happy Book Binding!

Sheila

May 2015 Week 8ish - Cover and Assemble

Hello Everyone,

It has been a long week with a touch of sadness for me and my family, as our dog passed away from cancer.

But I was able to finally finish the Layered Cut Paper book and so below is how I made the cover and assembled the book.

For the cover,  I used black book cloth, PVA glue, pieces of mat board (general everyone says to use gray or Davy board, but I have a lot of smaller scrap mat board pieces that have been sitting around), a couple of very heavy books that will be used as weights.

First, I cut the book cloth to the appropriate size.  In this case, it was  12" x 18".  For the corners, you need to lay the boards out and cut at a diagonal about 3/16ths of an inch from each corner.

Once you add the glue to the book cloth it is very hard to make changes.  So, after the book cloth is cut and before you start gluing, you will want to check to make sure you measured correctly.  If you fold over the cloth and it seems short, it is easier to start over and re-cut a new piece of book cloth.  You can save the short piece to use on another project.  If you fold over the cloth and it seems too long you can easily trim what isn't needed.

When you start gluing, you will want to always work from the middle out.  And you need to work carefully, cleanly and quickly.

For the Corners, you will want to glue one side down and then run a bone folder over the edge, as follows:

It creates a flattened tuck.  When you fold the other side up it will be a neat corner.

After the cover was glued, I put it under the heavy books for a day or two to dry and flatten.


After it was dry, I added the lettering to the front of the cover.  Using a print out of the type from my computer.  I transferred it on to the book cloth by taking a light colored pencil and coloring the back of the paper.  Then I carefully used a stylus to go over the lettering.

after transfer before adding the gold

Using a gold pen, I carefully painted each letter.  And added a gold stripe.

Next I added the end papers to the inside of the cover.

I did take the tag off the paper before I glued it. :)

Finally, I glued in my pages.  Making sure I aligned the pages, so that the spine is open and the pages will sit on the table without having to be suspended.

And here is the completed book!

Just as a note, I was planning on adding some sewing on the pages.  I decided not to.  I think it would have looked too busy.  Adding the color was enough.

Also, it will need to be put under weights for a few days, to help the pages flatten out.


For next month, I have already decided to do a much simpler book.  It will be a folded 16 page, single sheet book.  I will give more information about it in the next post.

Until then,

Happy Book Binding!

Sheila

This post is dedicated to my beloved, Arthur.  He will truly be missed!