I put this book together the night of spring formal, just for something to do. It's not very fancy, but I thought I'd share it here since it's been a while since I posted anything.
The cover is pink construction paper, with flowers cut from a catalog. It's covered in clear packing tap to "laminate" it and bound with regular sewing thread in a single-signature of plain computer paper, cut to size. It's not quite 5" square (about 5 1/4" wide, 4 3/4" high), and 40 pages (10 sheets).
I had to use 3 strips of packing tape for the outside cover, folding them over the top and bottom and the side edges, and then two more pieces for the inside cover. It's a bit of a mess, since I did it on the floor, and it picked up all kinds of dust and grit on the tape. Obviously I didn't plan that one out very well. But I really like the shine it gives the cover. I'll have to look into other methods of laminating covers--short of buying a great, big laminating machine.
I'm not sure what I'll do with it. Maybe use it as an address book. I'm not sure. It's far from perfect, but it was fun to make. With the exception of my mat (a tiny little thing, only about 12"x12") and a knife, everything I used was just stuff I had lying around, and it was nice was to reassure myself that I can still make books without a proper studio.
On another note, my friend Kristin sent me a link to
Rope-a-Dope Books, a small publishing co-op in Boston. There's not a whole lot to look at on the blog, but I thought it was worth passing on.
And speaking of links, I've been slowly compiling a list of book arts-related websites and blogs and things, so if you have any resources you like, let me know, either in the comments here or by email.
