Well, the book is done and already in the hands of its happy owner- but I still owe you the rest of the story of the creation- so here goes!  While the covers stayed in the press (a bit extra long since the humidity has hit its stride here in Atlanta and I don’t want the boards warping) I started working on designing and printing the text block.  Since this is a side bound book I want to make sure the pages turn smoothly and lie flat for wedding guests to sign, so I scored each page with my trusty English bone folder, once along the spine edge and again along the hinge.  With the pages scored it was time to get the covers out of the press and ready for binding using another favorite tool of mine, the crop-a-dile.  The Crop-a-dile has replaced my (also beloved) Japanese screw punch for most heavy hole punching, as it easily punches thru boards (even double thick!) and full text blocks.  It also looks like some serious equipment and sounds like a gun going off- it makes me feel like a bit of a bad-ass when I use it : ).  With holes punched in covers and text block, it’s time for the final step- binding!  I had a lot of fun (and challenges) binding this particular book.  I knew the customer wanted the brown as an accent color, but didn’t want it to overwhelm the soft pink cover.  I bound and rebound this book a few time using different patterns until I found one that I thought complemented the structure best- a light corset bind with a minimum of sewing lines (to keep the spine from being too dark and busy).  And voila!  The final book as seen here was ready to ship and start its new life as a wedding book and treassured keepsake for many, many years to come!

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The covers are done and in the press for my 100th Etsy book sale, and while they dry I thought you might want a peek at the process!  Step one is often the most fun- shopping!  Supplies for this book came from a variety of sources, including lovely soft pink book cloth from Paper Studio and the adorable eyelet paper and coordinating brown ribbon from Paper Source.  Next comes the skill part, getting those covers built!  Step one with this look is to cover the acid free davey boards in the book cloth, making sure to run the grain of the book cloth in the right direction for a smoothly folding spine hinge.  Mitred corners also give a clean finish to the book, removing excess material bulk from the corners for a good, clean look.  Next up, placing the eyelet paper over the book cloth on the front cover for a sweet peek-a-boo effect.  This is the most challenging step of this book for me as glue tends to want to seep up through the eyelet holes and get on to the cover.  BUT with my trusty bone folder and a damp rag at hand it’s easy enough to keep the glue where it belongs!  Next, a bit of a color accent as the brown ribbon is placed between the end of the eyelet paper and the pink spine on the cover, secured inside with some acid free artist tape.  Over that goes the endpapers and then into the press to dry!  I’m working on the page layout now, stay tuned for some pictures of the binding process and the final book!

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Congratulations to Susan2243, winner of my Etsy 100th sale promotion!  Susan has commissioned a custom wedding guest book, and as the 100th sale in my Etsy shop she’s getting her book at 10% off!  Keep your eyes here for some behind the scenes looks at the building of this book (and bookbinding in general) in the coming weeks.  And don’t forget, if you’re in the market for a custom book you can drop me a line here or on Etsy- I’d love to collaborate with you to create the perfect book!

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Oh happy day! I’m now within 10 5 sales of reaching the 100th sale in my Etsy shop! As a special thank you to the buyer of my 100th item I’m offering 20% off any listed book or 10% off a custom order on the 100th sale. AND every sale between now and the 100th will receive a small fun gift for playing along. SO! Pop on over to Re:Paper and have a look at what’s for sale! Gift giving occasions like Graduation, Father’s Day, Summer Weddings and more are just around the corner, so stock up now on lovely address books, blank books (make great journals), photo albums, travel journals and more on offer. And don’t forget the custom option, I can make a guest book, blank book, Scrabble book, address book and more all to your specifications! Good Luck!

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Mother’s day is Sunday and you need something special to show Mom how much you love her. How you appreciate her years of love and hard work, instilling you with values and ideals while wisely stepping back far enough to let you become your own unique person. If only there were a shop filled with local, handmade, thoughtful and lovely gifts worthy of your Ma. Well, you’re in luck! Come on out this Thursday night to Kraftwork, the best monthly indie craft market in Atlanta, held at the Young Blood Gallery in Midtown. Entry for shoppers is free, and in addition to the lovely wares of your local captains of crafty industry and industrious crafters there is often food and drink to be had for a mere “donation.” It’s like every art opening you sneaked into in college for cheap wine, only now you’ll both like and be able to afford the art! There’s some serious talent lined up for this week, just check out the roster- a veritable who’s who of local indie crafters. So come on out and pick out special for your Mom, you know she’s worth it and so much more.

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Mother’s Day is nearly upon us! Whether your shopping for Mom or are a Mom looking for a fun event to spend the day with your kids (or both) you’ll want to come out this Saturday for the Mommy and Me Market. Here’s the scoop:

Mommy and Me Market!
Just in time for Mother’s Day

This Saturday, May 2nd
Noon-4:00 p.m

Bella Cucina Artful Food
Virginia Highland Location
1050 North Highland Ave. Atlanta, GA 30306

A FREE EVENT!

Sponsored by
Bella Cucina Artful Food and The Sweet Honey House
Vendors:
Atlanta Craft Mafia, Paisley Umbrella and others!

We’ll have great products and creative
gifts for giving and to celebrate Mother’s Day!

FOOD DEMOS BY Bella Cucina Artful Food
with quick and easy recipes for moms and the whole family!

Our vendors are top of the line,
sure to bring you creative ideas for gift giving:

www.lovenestbysweethoney.com
www.prettyfacesspa.com
www.3pieceonline.com
www.re-paper.net
www.naturalhairessentials.com
www.olivestyle.com
www.blendcustomparfum.com
www.luckypaperie.com

MOMMY AND ME PHOTOS DONE ON SITE BY:
www.midcityimages.photoreflect.com

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Oh happy day! I’m now within 10 sales of reaching the 100th sale in my Etsy shop! As a special thank you to the buyer of my 100th item I’m offering 20% off any listed book or 10% off a custom order on the 100th sale. AND every sale between now and the 100th will receive a small fun gift for playing along. SO! Pop on over to Re:Paper and have a look at what’s for sale- and don’t forget Mother’s Day is just around the corner. I have lots of lovely address books, blank books (make great journals), photo albums, travel journals and more on offer. And don’t forget the custom option, I can make a guest book, blank book, address book and more all to your specifications! Good Luck!

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Are you a book binder looking for new ways to create and embellish books? Sign up now for my Advanced Bookbinding Class at the Atlanta Printmakers Studio! We’ll explore bookmaking beyond the basics and learn a variety of beautiful exposed spine stitched bindings. Bindings taught in this class will include: Coptic, 4-Needle Coptic, Secret Belgian, Long Stitch and Sewn over Cords. We will also experiment with different methods of constructing and embellishing covers, including using found materials and adding frames, embossed designs and clasps to covers.

This is an advanced class suitable for intermediate binders looking to expand skills and adapt new techniques. Students should have some knowledge of bookbinding and be comfortable measuring, cutting and assembling book components. Please register via the APS website, but do let me know if you have any questions. Looking forward to seeing you in class!

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Have you heard? April 1st is the Edible Book Festival (and that’s no joke)! Edible books are made by bookbinders and literature lovers across the globe every late March/ early April to celebrate literature and creativity. Ideally all creations are ‘bookish’ through the integration of text, literary inspiration or, quite simply, the form. Results are wide-ranging, sometimes the results look like books, and sometimes they take the form of clever visual puns on book titles. Click on over to the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team blog for more information, and check out the team’s Flickr page of entries, including my “booklava” on the left there. Feeling inspired? Get out there and make something, and share it with us on Flickr by posting it to the team or submitting a link here as a comment.

UPDATE!! Whoohoo!! My booklava was awarded as one of the “Best Overall” creations submitted to the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team Edible Book Festival! Check out all of the lovely and clever winners here, and congratulations to all!

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There’s more to Hotlanta than the club scene and sports teams. For instance, did you know it is also home to the internationally renowned Robert C. Williams Paper Museum at Georgia Tech? The Paper Museum offers an informative permanent exhibition From Hand to Machine: The Evolution of Papermaking and a rotating display from it’s collection of books, watermarks, papers, tools, machines, and manuscripts. There’s also a special exhibition space where you can soon check out Jiha Moon/ Nate Moore: Recent Works (April 2nd thru May 22nd), a workshop space for classes, and a nice little shop to buy book and papermaking supplies. After a visit to the museum you’re sure to be brimming with inspiration and ideas- lucky for you Atlanta also has a wealth of shops to get you stocked up on supplies.

From The Paper Museum head north about 1 mile to Sam Flax. This warehouse of a store offers a good selection of decorative papers and ribbons, and has recently expanded their bookbinding supplies to include waxed German linen thread in a variety of colors. It’s also a fully stocked art supply store and (in my opinion) really shines in the wide selection of boards it carries. You can get Davey board (full sheet, or custom cut), acid free mat boards, gatorboard, and a number of other interesting kinds of acetates, plastics and fiber boards to experiment with. If you leave Sam Flax wanting more, head another 5 miles or so north to Buckhead and check out Binders Art Supplies for more great paper, boards and art supplies. And if you’re a Paper Source devotee, good news! Atlanta now has a Paper Source location in the adorable (and very shoppable) neighborhood of Virginia Highlands.

Even if you can’t make it to the ATL don’t fret! You can still throw some love to the local paper scene by shopping the superb Washi Accents online store. Run by Elaine and Hiromi Jo out of their home since the closing of their wonderful (and much missed) shop in Buckhead, Washi Accents offers a beautiful selection of washi papers, unusual book cloths, kohaze clasps and other Japanese bookbinding goodies. Washi Accents also specializes in Ikebana, sumi-eshodo supplies, and (I can vouch from personal experience) excellent customer service!

I’m sure I’m missing something here (I haven’t even started talking about the wonderful local printmaking and Indie craft scene), if you have an Atlanta favorite leave a comment and let me know!

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