{"id":18349,"date":"2015-06-15T08:01:36","date_gmt":"2015-06-15T07:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.maritspaperworld.com\/blog\/?p=18349"},"modified":"2022-12-09T12:36:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T11:36:53","slug":"quirky-dutch-summer-1-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maritspaperworld.com\/blog\/quirky-dutch-summer-1-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Quirky Dutch Summer #1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deze post in het NEDERLANDS lezen? Klik hier<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nQuirky Dutch Summer
\n<\/strong>Do you have no idea what ‘Quirky Dutch Summer’ is all about? Read this post<\/a> first. All the posts – newest at the top, oldest down below – can be found here<\/a>. There is a Facebook group for sharing your QDS work here<\/a>.
\nQDS wil run from June 15 – August 17; 2015. There will be an inspiring quirky post up on this blog every Monday during the Summer.
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QDS #1. <\/strong>Simple book bind techniques
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I’m a real bookworm … not only fond of reading books but I also love the object, the book itself regardless of the content. I become quite lyrical when I see strange shaped books in different sizes or wacky jokes such as holes in the pages (do you know the children’s book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle?) I appreciate flaps\/shutters on the pages that can be opened and I’m fond of relief pages. I can buy a book just for the beautiful binding… but when it comes to art journaling I prefer hand bound books over bought ones. Art journaling in a handmade book makes it even more personal.<\/p>\n

My very first art journal (the “Leonard Cohen” art journal<\/a> – 2009) is made from an old book, that I bought at a flea market and altered. When I bought the book to work in it, I had no idea how I would tackle the binding but I learned by doing… and in this post I want to share my knowledge with you all.<\/p>\n

Alter a book 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Buy a cheap book in the thrift store, at a garage sale or flea market. You don’t have to look at the content. Instead, find a size that you would like to work on and pay attention to the cover. (A leather or fabric cover gives a different look than a hardboard cover.)<\/p>\n

\"leonard-altered01\"<\/a><\/p>\n

First, take out all the pages. Cut the threads of the binding so that the signatures (folded pages) come out in one piece. If necessary, cut the end-paper (= first and last paper that is sticked to the inside of the cover) from the cover. \"leonard-altered02\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The pages of an old book usually are too thin to work on with wet media. Therefore, glue two or three pages\/sheets together (see picture below.)<\/p>\n

\"leonard-altered03\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Brush gesso on the pages (only on the front, leave the back of the page as is) and let dry thoroughly. Now you can start working on the pages (you will not work on the back!) When your art journal pages\/spreads are finished, fold the pages and paste them all together in the right order. Glue the back of the right page (first signature) against the back of the left page of the second signature and so on.<\/p>\n

Alter the cover before you add the content. It’s easier to work on the cover that way.<\/p>\n

\"leonard-altered04\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So now you have your cover and the content. Strengthen the back of your content by gluing a piece of cheese cloth to the spine. On the next photo you can still see the cheese cloth that was glued onto the spine.)<\/p>\n

\"leonard-altered06\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Choose a nice sheet of paper that you would like as your end-paper. You use this paper to connect the content with the cover. Cut the sheet and fold. Glue one half to the inside of your cover, and the other side on the first page of your content. (If you’d strengthen the spine with cheese cloth, part of it may show on that first page. By gluing the end-paper onto the page, the cheese cloth will not be visible anymore.)<\/p>\n

Now your book has a nice begin-paper. You can leave it as is or add a title or table of contents.<\/p>\n

\"leonard-altered05\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the previous example you create on loose pages\/sheets that you ‘bind’ into a book again later. It is also possible to alter a book without taking the pages out. I have several old books laying in my atelier (bought for their covers) that are waiting to be altered.<\/p>\n

\"alteredbook01\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Alter a book 2
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Because you are going to use all kinds of media on the pages (gesso, paint, ink, collage) the pages will become thicker and your journal will get very bulky. Therefore you first need to cut out a number of pages from the book, so that it will close nicely when finished. One way is to cut some pages out throughout the book. If you do so, make sure you leave the binding intact by leaving a small strip of the pages (think of a photo album or scrapbook, that usually have strips in between pages too.)<\/p>\n

Another way is, to tear pages from the signatures. Find the middle of each signature and tear out about half of the papers in each signature.<\/p>\n

Again, if the pages are made of thin paper you should glue several pages together to create a sturdy base to work on. You will probably want to put gesso on the pages before you start creating. If you want to cover a text page entirely you might need to paint two or three layers of gesso, but it\u2019s also nice to let the text peek through or leave some of the images on the underlaying page visible.<\/p>\n

\"alteredbook03\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So what is easier? Creating on loose pages that you bind later or work in a book? Both have their pros and cons… to find out what works for you, consider working on two (or more) different journals at once.<\/p>\n

Binding a book with rings<\/strong><\/p>\n

The most simple way to bind loose pages into a book is by using bookbinding rings (they come in different sizes.) My first ‘Chronicles’ art journal was bound this way.<\/p>\n

\"example-rings01\"<\/a><\/p>\n

However, don’t forget to remember the location of the holes when you start working on the pages (or push the holes in the pages before you start creating.) I sometimes forgot so that the holes got punched through the text…<\/p>\n

\"example-rings02\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is fun to make the holes part of your design (see picture below.)<\/p>\n

\"example-rings03\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The benefit of a loose-leaf journal bound with rings is, that you can add more pages to your book. When it was my birthday, I sewed plastic pockets that hold the postcards that I received and added them to my journal.<\/p>\n

\"example-rings04\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I came across a very simple but nice binding last week, that I want to pass on.<\/p>\n

Loose pages and a cover, wrapped-bound with a simple thread<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"meseumboek01\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The cover of this book consists of two pieces of cardboard. The back cardboard is made out of one piece. At the front, the cardboard is cut into a large piece and a strip. The two parts are connected with tape so that it folds. The loose pages (content) are folded at the same spot.<\/p>\n

\"meseumboek02\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For this book, put the back cardboard on the table. Place the loose pages neatly on the cardboard and the front of the cover on top. Then cut notches on the bottom and top (see photo) and bind everything together with wire.
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\"meseumboek03\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Note: this way of binding asks for a large sized book. It probably won’t work on a smaller size. I think the pages won’t turn that easy then…<\/p>\n

A Simple Bookbinding Technique
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At the end of this first Quirky post, I present you a ‘real’ bookbinding technique!<\/p>\n

Materials:<\/p>\n