Still at it....The Montana Book

I haven't given up! In fact, I have rolled over all my 2011 Year of the Book resolutions to 2012. I think I'm allowed to do that...by my rules at least. I have been working on pamphlet sets all along and will be posting some of them on Etsy as soon as I get a shop set up. I took the month of November off from blogging to do NaNoWriMo, which is, in short, writing a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. This was my first try and I am proud to say I completed at 51,022 words - all I have to do now is edit, no small job I assure you. Catching up begins with completion of one of my nearly finished books. As is almost always the case, I wasn't nearly as 'nearly' finished as I supposed I was.

I used various sizes of board for the pages and bound them all with two large blue rings. Most of the pages were 8"x 8" but a few were 6"x 6" and the evelopes were 4" wide and cut down to 6" tall.

Most of the Montana Book was completed during the two week trip I made in 2010. I had three goals at the time, one was to incorporate more actual artwork, another was to do most of the work on the road, and the other was to work in more vivid colors than is normal for me. I was only modestly successful at the first goal, fairly successful at the second, but quite successful at the third. Most of the 'finishing' work consisted of adding the envelopes holding my photos from the trip.

Since I was traveling alone, I felt the need to be in contaact with someone - not for safety issues but because it is almost impossible to shut me up. After I returned home, my daughter printed off all my texts and I copied them onto these pages. The color enhanced photos on the back cover were done in Picnik.

I have posted these mosaics on Flickr as well as the original scans in case anyone wishes to take a look at some of the text. I also have a Flickr set with all the photos from the trip http://www.flickr.com/photos/39450859@N07/sets/72157623648251864/
Montana is still home to me, although I have been in Washington since I was in the fifth grade and I am blessed to have a whole bunch of wonderful relatives still there.

England 2007 Journal Part II

We are now about halfway through this book and it is starting to get pretty full...and that is the problem with this style, as nice as the pockets are, they really don't take as much as I am likely to want to save.  But then, I guess that is my problem.

Pretty much more of the same.  There is a story behind the photo of the performance artist in Winchester on my regular blog here http://animumadvertere.blogspot.com/2011/06/more-winchester.html

I took vintage postcards with me, most made into tags, and wrote on the backs.  I also purchased new postcards and wrote on them.  After I got home, I did prune back some of the paper, largely by only saving relevant parts or front pages.

I must make a confession here, I never did find anything suitable to put in the nifty pocket I attached to the inside back cover.  I am confidant something will come to me - it has only been four years after all.

And of course, the back cover had to have my beloved Tower Bridge, a wonderful rubber stamp by Claudine Hellmuth.

I think I have covered most of the various things I put in the pockets, but here are a few examples:

From the top: one of the vintage postcards made into a tag and embellished with a postage stamp; a rubbing from the church shown on the reverse of the postcard I glued it to; the bill from a hotel with a humorous exchange as we drove into the town; a cartoon I had saved before the trip.



I really didn't take much other than the actual book on the trip.  I took some thin paper and soft pencil for tracing, a glue stick, a couple of fine line pens and as mentioned, blank tags and vintage postcards.  The most important thing is to keep the book with you and when something wonderful or clever or funny happens - write it down immediately, on a card or the bill or the back of a ticket stub.  You can never quite remember them perfectly later, and these are the things that make travel journals special.
Some sample jottings:
   Poetic...The Quiet, the absolute peace and quiet atop Dartmoor, a sheep bleating across the valley, a crow passing by, and occasionally a gust of wind ruffles the gorse.
   Amusing...After I left the shop I sat on the rockery in front and watched the world go by. Then I visited the PO and bought some stamps, then sat on the rockery again for a while.  A sweet old lady who had passed me coming and going stopped and asked me "Are you hatching something dear?  And isn't your bottom cold?"
   A B&B...Period Living & Traditional Homes Finalist - Best Tea Shop 2004-2005.  NO BIG SURPRISE THERE! So far, best pasty, best cream tea, best furnishings, best mattress, best full English breakfast and best host - that would be John - a real charmer.
   Food...Tomato & fresh orange soup with a great hunk of granary bread & plenty of pure Dorset butter - and not one drop spilled on my white blouse.

My June book, which will be posted soon, is a version of a pocket book which I worked up myself considering the things I didn't like about this one.  Like all such enterprises, I solved the problems with this book and wound up with some wholly new ones I hadn't anticipated.

72 Booklets and Counting

In my rash of booklet making, I was able to almost completely use up a small stash of 8 1/2" x 11" art papers I had been saving for....who knows what.  The magazine Somerset Studios publishes several free pages of art paper in each issue and of course, I have saved them all.  Because I needed to cut around the credit printed on the back of each sheet, I wound up making a pair from each paper - one 5" tall and one 4" tall.  I finished them with beads and my regular postage stamp on the back.

As an added bonus, by the time I had used up all the pages that worked for me, I was able to let go of the remaining 8-10 pages and that is one little stash gone.  And just in case anybody is interested, you can easily make 45 booklets in the time it takes to watch four Premier League Soccer (football) games.

Although I have already moved on to my May books, there are about 3 weeks left in the Premier League season, so I will be making a few more booklets, including a couple of variations.

And just a few more...

Like most everyone, I seem to be especially susceptable to sales pitches at 3: in the morning.  Although I readily admit to having a stock of 12"x12" printed paper that rivals most craft stores, only one batch came from one of those late night bouts of insomnia.  This collection was quite large with text weight and embossed cover weight papers - even a few flocked pieces.  There was zebra, leopard, snake, alligator, and ostrich skin as well as two shades of leather and a cowhide.  All of the above came in shades of brown, black, and white as well as, quite amazingly, a bright pink set and a rather chartreuse set.  Like most other things bought from one's TV in the middle of the night, the papers sat on my shelves, untouched, for at least two years.

So when I thought about making matched sets of booklets to use as gifts, they popped into mind.  If I do say so myself, they were just perfect.  So far, I have made six sets of three.  Each set has a 8 1/2 x 5 1/2, a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2, and a 3 x 4 1/2 three-hole bound booklet.  They have a printed lining paper inside the cover and the large one has beads attached to the waxed linen binding thread.  They all have appropriate postage stamps on the back cover.

I can easily finish three sets of three in the time it takes to watch two English  Premier League Football (Soccer) games.  Unless Liverpool is playing, then I spend too much time actually watching the game.

More April Booklets

After I made the small blank booklets it was time to make some larger ones.  These were to be single signature using 8 pieces of 8x11 1/2 paper.  Given that one of my goals is to use up materials I already have stashed, I have made it a general practice to use a decorative text weight or lighter page inside the cover paper.  I am also putting a subject or color matched (hopefully both) postage stamp on the back of each booklet. For these four booklets I also dipped into my stash of paper bits, which included a couple of 'Cinderellas' - stamps that are not actual postage stamps but were made as advertising, or to commemorate something.  I used the five hole booklet binding and waxed linen thread where the thread is tied on the outside and cut to about 1".

These went together very nicely and quite quickly so I plan on making quite a few more.

Starbucks ATC Book

Back in 2002-2003 I participated in quite a few ATC (Artist Trading Card) swaps through an online site called Nervousness - now just a sad shadow of its former self.  One of my favorite themes was 'coffee' facilitated by my daughter coming into possession of a bag full of Starbucks stickers.  You will note that I changed cups from the original challenge photo, simply because the ATC's wouldn't fit in the smaller cup, I couldn't figure out how to hinge it, and having a transparent 'binding' seemed like a very good idea.

I put beans in the bottom (smells really good when you open it up)

I had a great poem I had saved relevant to coffee, and I can only assume Seattle, which I printed and stuck in the back of the cup.  The ATC's were put in cut-down plastic sleeves and I bound them into an old promo booklet emptied of inside pages.  I used linen thread, the perforations in the sleeves, and the original staple holes to bind the book.  Then I glued the book to a straw, secured it with an empty sugar packet, and for good measure to keep the back page flat I glued in a Starbucks gift card.

The two ATCs shown are mine, you may recognize the stickers. The rubber stamp was hand cut by my daughter.  Altogether there are 7 ATCs in the book.

 Here is the poem:

A New Lifestyle
People in this town drink too much
coffee. They're jumpy all the time. You
see them drinking out of their big plastic
mugs while they're driving. They cut in
front of you, they steal your parking places.
Teenagers in the cemeteries knocking over
tombstones are slurping café au lait.
Recycling men hanging onto their trucks are
sipping espresso. Dogcatchers running down
the street with their nets are savoring
their cups of mocha java. The holdup man
entering a convenience store first pours
himself a nice warm cup of coffee. Down
the funeral parlor driveway a boy on a
skateboard is spilling his. They're so
serious about their coffee, it's all they
can think about, nothing else matters.
Everyone's wide awake but looks incredibly
tired.                -James Tate

I have so many wonderful poems saved from my daily Writer's Almanac email, I hope I can find a way to use more of them.

March Challenge

Do you see what I see?

It’s the middle of March, and I’ve just lost an hour, but I’m setting myself a pretty high challenge for the March book(s).

When you look at this picture you see a Starbucks paper cup, a teapot lid, a paper mache pear, a cheap camera, and some computer hard drive parts.  When I look at it, I see five books….well, I don’t actually see them, but I have some good ideas……..let’s see how it works out.  (This may be the month when I have to be very honest about my failures)

Cousin Convention Book

I almost forgot about this book, it might actually be the first one I made.  It was done for what we call our Cousin Convention in 2001.  There are seven of us left on my Mom’s side and thanks to the brilliant idea of my cousin-in-law Dick, we have been meeting every two years for a long weekend.  It has not only kept us all in touch, but has given the next generation a chance to get to know each other.  We have met in Seattle, Charleston, and all over Montana.  I made one of these little booklets for each of my cousins – and for once, I thought to make one for myself.



This is the front and back covers - the booklet consists of a single sheet folded into five panels.  The front includes a basic family tree and a scan of a postcard sent to my grandmother in 1949.  As usual, I used postage stamps and rubber stamps and a quote, pretty standard items for me.



This two-fold includes grandparents wedding photo, scan from a baby book, another postcard scan (from 1919) and a photo of the old homestead with a yellow rose that has grown to cover yards of ground around the building remains.



On the left, a photo of Grandma and chickens at the 'new house' (this side of the Baldy) and pheasant feathers.  The right page was personalized with family photos for each branch of the family - my Mom on the chair and four generations showing me on Grandma's lap.

I worked very hard to make everything on this book meaningful - all the postage stamps related to us in one way or another, pheasant is standard fare in Montana - but I must admit, the joss paper was a bit of a disconnect. 

February - Flag Book

As my January books were all very conservative and traditional, I decided to go for color in February and chose a flag book. Flag books use an accordion binding with rows of pages (the flags) glued to both sides of the folded spine.  When you open it as you would a regular book, with the pleats still fairly close together, the pages - or should I say rows of pages - turn as you would expect.  As the pleats are pulled open some of the flags face the cover and some the back, depending on which side of the folds they were attached to.  Then when you pull the book out flat you see only one side of each flag.

If this all sounds confusing, try putting one of these together.  It is one of those things that sound simple, and in fact is simple, but when you are doing it there is a contant state of panic that you have glued something to the wrong side of something...and I only did that once. 

I had some wonderfully colorful paper and rather thought I would start on the book without knowing for sure what would go in it.  It doesn't make much sense to make one of these blank and I soon saw that the art or attachments really needed to be put on the flags before they were assembled.  So, I fell back on my tried and true postage stamps.  I pulled the page that had all the canceled stamps to match my colors - yes, I sort my stamps by color, doesn't everyone?



When barely opened, you can see it looks quite normal. I made a paper band to keep the book closed which simply slides off and on and covers the decoration on the front cover.

Partially opened you can see both sides of the flags.  I used more of the paper from my old stampcollecting book for the endpapers - ones with matching colors of course.



And here we are fully opened, with flags going in opposite directions.  I used only stamps with faces on the sides which would show when opened.  The other side of each flag had a stamp with a heraldic device of some sort, mostly lions.

I would like to do another flag book, but I am waiting for inspiration to strike.  As I worked on the book I realized it was the sort of book that is absolutely perfect for a few applications, but not really appropriate for most.  One of the best things about it is that is was finished on the 17th of February, so my goal of making a new book every month is so far intact.

Leaves Book: Part Two

I have to laugh at the amount of leaves I pressed that year.  It was lovely to have so many to choose from when I made this book, and I did use some in ATC's, but I must have pressed hundreds - really, several hundred - and I couldn't possibly have used more than fifty altogether at the time.  I still have a drawer full of them, sadly fading, and probably destined to fade away to brittle bits.  When that happens, I'll just go out collecting and press a couple hundred more.


Gold envelope for rubber stamped tag, maple leaves.



Pocket for tag, postage stamp, tassel, rubber stamps.

This page was another clear envelope with additional transparent pocket and vintage photo.

Handmade paper with leaves embedded. Blackberry on the left.



Postage stamp, and the same leaves as in the envelope.



I edged this page and the next with latin names of my favorite trees.

Postage stamp, rubber stamps, small envelope

It was surprising how some of the prettiest leaves when pressed were quite unimpressive.  The biggest surprise was how blackberry leaves kept a dainty red border.  I found a laceleaf maple in glorious red and orange outside a Starbucks with very tiny leaves and I think I used every one of them in one project or another.

When I conceived this book, I went through all my materials and scraps to pull everything leaf-related.  The process itself was great fun, but more importantly it reminded me what else I had waiting tucked away for other projects.  It is often a joke among my friends how I continuously organize, sort, and arrange all my materials, but just going through them is an enormous inspiration - every bit as much as books and magazines.

Leaves Book: Part One



 About the same time I made the Copper Book for my daughter, I made a Leaves Book for myself.  Having spent the fall pressing leaves I was well supplied.  The book was made the same way as the Copper Book: hard covers with accordion spine and individual pages glued in.


The tassel made from yarn, threads, beads, and a copper tag. 

The covers were made with a handmade paper with natural bits in it and the back stamped with gingko rubber stamps.  The pressed gingko leaf has lost its stem I am afraid. 

Postage stamps and maple leaves.

A piece of handmade paper with a leaf embedded and two skeleton leaves.

This page was a clear envelope with the largest leaf inside the envelope.  I used clear embossing powder on the leaf and it has cracked a bit with use.

This leaf was embossed with a very granular rusty powder.



The other two Canadian postage stamps, joss paper, plastic leaves and rubber stamped leaves.



There are so many lovely quotations about leaves I was hard put to choose.

One More for January

My January book project has bled over into February a bit, but I feel that I have a handle on the stab binding technique even though I didn’t try any of the fancier binding stitches.  I am sure I will be making more books with this technique as I have a lot of papers that suit the Japanese style binding.

There are several errors on this book, which I could just conveniently forget to mention, but I think I remember saying something about confessing my mistakes honestly.  When I glued the paper onto the board pieces (I used mat board) I didn’t use quite enough glue and there are a few spots with slight bubbles.  Since this was the first time I made covers using two pieces on each side to form a hinge, I was quite nervous about getting both pieces placed correctly and while fussing about that I used the white side of the mat boards on one cover and the tan sides on the other.  Now you can’t see both sides at the same time, so no one is likely to notice it, but I know.

One small thing I learned, since I used my Dremel tool to drill the holes, the hole where the drill bit comes out is cleaner than where it goes in so I will drill from the back in the future.

I sewed the binding so that the tie would be on the front and used some beads to decorate the thread ends.  The insides of the covers are of solid purple card stock and the text block is a textured cream paper.  The Japanese script decorating the front is from one of my ‘collage source’ books and I have absolutely no idea what it means…or even if it is right side up

Since this is real book, I will sign it, something I forget to do too often.

A Few More

Part of this year long project was to use up some of the papers and materials I've squirreled away for the last thirty-plus years.  The good news is that I already have used some, the bad news is that it's just a drop in the bucket.

Years ago I worked for a company that made diplomas, and at one point I was in purchasing.  As a result, I brought home several 'books' of paper samples - colors and textures that made my mouth water.  What is it about paper and yarn that does that to me...subject for another post I suspect.  At any rate, I cut down some of these samples, sorted them in color families, and made a few more small stab books.  I pulled the cover papers from my paper scrap bin.  No amount of books or projects will ever make a dent in that bin, papers breed like rabbits.

This year, instead of making resolutions, I decided to devote myself to a general sort of ongoing project.  I wanted a project  which would involve creativity and yet accomplish something; one with a general direction as well as specific goals.  I wanted to flex as many muscles as possible.

As I mulled over my various unfinished projects, my vast stock of unused materials, my favorite things, and my mental list of artistic ideas…all these came together in BOOKS.  Sure, I read a lot of books, but it is more than that.  I genuinely love books.  I love the look of them, the smell of them (is there anything more awfully wonderful than the smell of an old used bookstore?), and the feel of them.  My favorite artists are almost all illustrators.  The first big purchase I made for my new condo was ceiling to floor bookshelves for the living room.  I have several completed handmade books I am rather proud of and several more unfinished ones that are on my conscience.  And yet, I have never made a ‘proper book’.  Indeed then, books it is.

So I sat down and made a list of goals (see sidebar) and then a list of reference materials (see sidebar).   I have, on my always handy Excel spreadsheet, several more lists: book ideas, theme ideas, notes from my reading.  And now that this post is here for you to read I have already completed my first goal.

I plan to document both existing books and new books here as the year progresses.  Hopefully, I will have more successes than failures to share – but I promise I will honestly share them both.  You won’t find any posts about authors or illustrators, or book reviews here, those would show up in my regular blog….unless of course I think of a brilliant way to include Terry Pratchett or Anthony Trollope in a double-layer interwoven slit concertina book or perhaps a soft spine book with multisignature tacketing….hmmm, let me think about that.