Perhaps you saw them in the Green Upgrader Handmade Gift Guide written by the lovely Becky of Glue and Glitter , or maybe you caught them on Nerd Approved. Either way, there’s no denying- beer box books are the must have journal for eco-conscious beer aficionados with a writing habit. The demand caught me by surprise and the initial batch of books sold fast, but rest assured I’m working as fast as my fingers will go to whip up and new round for you all.

So what do you do if you’ve just got to have a beer box book? There are a few options. If you want a book and are not too picky about the box used for the cover drop me a message either using the contact me link to the left or the contact RePaper link on my Etsy site and I’ll send you a note when the new set of books has been listed in my Etsy store. If you have a request for a specific brand, drop me a line at either contact and let me know what you’re in the market for- I’ll keep any eye out when I hit the neighborhood bars (or rather, their recycle bins), but I may not be able to fill every request. If you have a must-have brand that I cannot find locally you can send me a box (contact me for shipping instructions) and I’ll create a custom listing for you in my store when it’s ready.

Please keep in mind that Christmas will very soon be upon us, I’ll do my best to fill orders by then but if you can wait until after the holidays let me know, you will win my eternal gratitude and save a little bit of cash. All must have by Christmas special orders carry a rush charge and will cost $12, special orders that can wait until after Christmas delivery are still only $8. And, if you can catch them, the ready made books I’ll be listing in the shop will also sell for $8 and will make it to you by Christmas if purchased by December 20^th (US delivery only, sorry). How do you know when there are more books ready in the shop? Keep an eye or the Etsy widget to the right there for images, or contact me to be sent an update.

Happy Holidays, and remember- once you do have a beer book in hand, write responsibly.

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That’s right, it’s almost time for ICE!  Be sure to stop by booth #21 to see me (that’ll off the right hand aisle by the kitchen, near the yummy goodies from Just Add Honey and Dulce Vegan Bakery).  I’ll have plenty of 2010 day planners, photo albums, address books, blank books, diaries, travel journals and other goodies to fill every stocking on your list!  I’ll also be taking custom orders at the show if you’re looking to create the perfect one-of-a-kind gift for the holidays.  So be sure to join me and over 100 other super talented artists for the best holiday market in Atlanta!

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Thanks everyone who voted in the BEST Zombie Award over at the BEST blog- it was a tough fight with so many awesome entries, but I managed to retain my title!  Check out the BEST Blog here for a wonderful write-up on my Vampire Diary.  Best of all, I get to share the “horrors” (ahem, pardon the pun) or rather honors this year with Rhonda on MyHandBoundBooks and her super cool (and super creepy) “Trapped Inside a Haunted House” tunnel book!

You may well ask, Sara Hindmarch, you just won the BEST Zombie Award two years running- what are you going to do next?  Well, here’s a hint.  And here’s another one!  Keep your eyes here for more info soon!

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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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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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April 22nd is Earth Day!  Part of Re:Paper’s mission is reuse and redirect paper that would otherwise be junked, and turn it into beautiful works of art.  All of my books feature at least recycled text papers (acid free, post consumer waste), any may feature recycled paper covers from old games, calendars, maps and other sources.  Here are some quick tips from my studio to help you conserve paper every day of the year…

•  Buy an accordion file and save beautiful bits of paper that you come across (from magazines, calendars, wrapping papers, even your crafting scraps).  Use these treasures to make collages, cards or other crafty projects to gift or keep.
• Like the idea of keeping scraps but think you’ll never get around to using them?  Save them up and gift them to kid you know (along with some glue, glitter, pens and other “crafty” necessities) as an art kit.
•  Save one sided sheets of paper bound for the recycling bin.  At the end of the week, cut them in half and “bind” with a binder clip to make a handy scrap pad (and remember to recycle those scraps!)
• If you have recycling at work but just hate to get up constantly to place every little scrap in the bin, try placing a little “recycle bin” at your desk (I use and empty file box top).  Toss used paper in as you go, empty into the big recycle bin at the end of the week.
• Visit Catalog Choice to opt out of catalogues still showing up for old roommates, boyfriends and other previous inhabitants.  The service is free!

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I’m working on a series of travel journals at the moment (half text paper, half drawing paper with pocket covers)- all have “sewn over tape” bindings using ribbon. I’m really loving the sewn binding pattern and while this will be hidden behind a hard spine (I pull the tapes through and tie to spine to hold the text block on) I think I’ll be doing exposed spines on my next round. I’m teaching this format to my students tomorrow night too- looking forward to seeing how they all adapt it to their personal styles.

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I tackled resolution #1 and made the lovely book you see here, using the secret Belgian binding. I adapted it a tad from the instructions that I found online; instead of weaving in and out of the lacing on the inner spine I ran a chain stitch over each lacing, negating the need for a kettle stitch on the 3rd and 4th signatures. The binding is nice and tight sewn this way- and I love that the book not only lays flat that the covers can be bent back! More new projects as I tackle them. . .

PS- keep your eyes open here for information on my upcoming bookbinding class at the Atlanta Printmakers Studio- I’ll post the flyer and details as soon as they’re ready!

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