Erinzam News

Happy Holidays to one and all! I am offering free shipping to all US and Canada orders from now through December 15, 2008. All other international destinations will pay shipping on the first item only. Enjoy!

Introducing grass green and turquoise mini tag books, now available in addition to burnt orange! They are sold individually and in sets of three. These little books have proven to serve their purpose. I have one that I carry around with me at all times and it fits the bill for a portable place to sketch and jot notes. Here are a couple of these on-the-go sketches tucked inside my mini tag book:

I turned a selection of these hand screen printed inventory tags into fun holiday gift tags. They are ready to stamp and fill out with your own info! Available on Etsy

… when making 700 little books! I just realized that I have not posted for quite a while. This is why! I finally completed a large order of handmade mini tag books and am now very excited to move on to new and wonderful things.

Hot off the press! These kits have been in the works for some time now, and are finally ready to be revealed! Hopefully, they will provide the opportunity easily learn a few bindings. I am thinking that this would be a good start for a newbie book binder, and perhaps a step toward more involved projects. I started from scratch to create computer drawn illustrations as well as written instructions for four different Japanese Stab Bindings. In addition to all four tutorials each kit comes with hole punch templates, a collection of found papers, a special hand screen printed book plate page, waxed linen thread and a needle. Choose to make one of the bindings with the included supplies and once you get the hang of it, you can make the other bindings with different materials. Kits are available here in my Etsy shop. Happy binding!

Here is another “better late than never” post! I wanted to at least share a few pics from this newly published book of hand bound inspirations. 500 Handmade Books is filled to the brim with a huge variety of artists’ books and it seems like I see something new each time I look through it. Many of my favorite books are made with beautiful materials such as fibers and plant matter. A few of my own books are included as well (the first image below is one of them). If you need a little dose of inspiration, this book is definitely worth checking out! Take a peek at your local bookstore. You may even want to take one home with you. (It is available for purchase on the web at Amazon.com.)

How about papers? There are thousands of fantastic papers available for purchase, but what if you want to save a little money? Here are a few of my favorite sources for interesting papers.

1. Old Business Cards - These are great for tiny books

2. Scraps from personal projects, such as Print Gocco leftovers - Save those prints that turned out “bad”, they may make great book pages. Use your own illustrations and drawings to make your book projects perfectly unique.

3. Computer Printouts - Print your own patterns and ruled papers in fun colors.

4. Old Games - Look for games that are full of fun colors and interesting illustrations. Game boards make great book covers and extras such as play money make fun pages.

5. Discarded Library Books - Most libraries regularly give away old books for free. Use the old covers to use as new books covers, and use the pages and end sheets as inside pages. You might even come across an envelope and due date card, which would be great to reuse as a pocket for your own project.

6. Record Covers - Use this card stock weight paper for book covers or for single sheet inside pages.

7. Everyday Use Papers - I discovered these amazing embossed papers in the kitchen section at my grocery store… they are disposable place mats. Keep an eye out for utility papers that have unique colors or textures. Some other possibilities include butcher paper, brown craft paper, tea bags and coffee filters.

8. Playing Cards - A good way to reuse incomplete or old decks.

9. Sheet Music

10. Instructions - These cool illustrations are from an origami kit.

11. Old Calendar and Planner Pages

12. Office Supplies - Look for unique envelopes, forms and ruled pages.

13. Vintage Papers - Keep an eye out at the second hand store for interesting papers. This came from an old craft book for kids.

14. Origami - Pretty patterns at a pretty price.

15. Old Postcards and Cards - This is a good way to reuse papers that you may otherwise throw away.

16. School Supplies - Look for a variety of ruled and grid papers.

These are the first finished products to emerge from a recent interest in soft cover bindings. I was inspired by nighttime journaling and the way that so many ideas flow the instant your head hits the pillow. Their design also relates to the concept of hiding secrets inside or underneath a pillowcase.

The covers are created from vintage pillowcases. I first bound the pages by sewing them to a grosgrain ribbon with the kettle stitch. I then hand sewed the covers to the bound pages. My favorite part was creating the laundry care icons and designing the book plates for the front and back. I printed these designs onto iron-on transfer paper and adhered them to the ribbon extending from the binding.

See more photos of the finished books here.

If you would like to take one of these books home for yourself, they are available for sale in my Etsy shop.

Now that you have started collecting your tools, it is time to learn a few bindings! I don’t consider myself an expert in any way whatsoever. I just love making things and bookbinding is one medium that I work in. I will, however, send you in the direction of people who know much, much more than I do. This post is similar to an older post that I did on bookbinding resources, so feel free to ignore it if you read it already!

My favorite published resource is a book by Keith A. Smith entitled Volume I Non-Adhesive Binding: Books Without Paste or Glue (shown above). This guy knows his stuff. Although he has several other books available, I suggest this one to start off with. He introduces his readers to the basics, such as tools and paper grain and eventually illustrates several dozen different binding variations. His book is available on his website and also at Amazon. You may even be able to find it at your local library.

There are many online resources as well. Brian Sawyer has a great collection of bookbinding links here, which include everything from thorough tutorials to inspirations. Even more links are available at The Book Arts Web. I also discovered some great information at My Handbound Books. This blog has a selection of tutorials and ideas as well as a fantastic list of resources.

Last but not least, I suggest enrolling in a bookbinding class or workshop. This is often the quickest way to learn. Check out your local paper or art stores as well as local colleges and art centers to see if they offer any classes of this sort.

I’m thrilled by all of you who are either picking up bookbinding for the first time or giving it a try again after a hiatus! Here is a short list of some basic tools as well as a few links to where you can purchase bookbinding supplies. Remember, you don’t need all of these tools to get started, but you may consider collecting them over time if you plan to continue making books.

1. Waxed linen thread - (for sewing the binding) Linen is very strong, and the wax keeps it from tangling when you sew your pages together. You can purchase unwaxed thread and wax it yourself, if you like. (shown are turquoise and orange crush)

2. Tapestry needles - (for sewing the binding) The eyes of these needles are large enough for the thick waxed thread to fit through. I like the ones that are blunt-tipped, which save my fingers from much pain! Tapestry needles are available in sewing and craft stores.

3. Awl - (for punching holes in your pages and covers) There are different types of awls. This image is of a “heavy-duty” awl, although I consider it “medium-duty” (this is the only one that I have). There are even more sturdy awls, with a round ball for a handle. These may be more comfortable to use. You can likely find the heavy-duty style of awl at your regular hardware store. (shown is Wooden Handle Awl)

4. Bone paper folder and scorer - (for scoring and folding pages, smoothing edges, smoothing glued surfaces, and more) This versatile tool could easily become your favorite! (shown is size small)

5. Cutting tool - (for cutting pages and covers) I have a light-duty and a heavy-duty knife, both by Olfa. I purchased these in a paint/hardware store. (shown are Olfa Standard-Duty and Olfa Handsaver)

6. Straightedge - (for cutting pages and covers) A heavy-duty straightedge with a non-slip backing is important when cutting thick book board and thick stacks of papers. (shown are Alumicutter and Safety Edge)

7. Book Board - (also known as Davey Board, for covers) There are varying thicknesses of book board for different books. I prefer a thin board for smaller books and thick board for larger books. Book board is acid free and very stiff. It is perfect for covering with pretty papers for your covers. (shown is Lineco Binder’s Board)

8. Adhesive - (for gluing papers to book board, and more) There are a variety of adhesives that you can use for book binding, but I mainly use PVA (polyvinyl acetate). It dries clear and acid free and cleans up with water. (shown is Lineco PVA)

9. Glue brushes - (for gluing papers to book board) I have two sizes of old brushes that I use for gluing. Stiff is better than soft. One tip is to cut the bristles down to about 1 inch so that the brush is more stiff. One of these is an old paintbrush, and the other I purchased from a dollar store.

10. Cutting mat (shown is Alvin)

There are all kinds of other tools and goodies for different types of bindings, but you can always save money by being creative with the tools that you already have. Here are a few links to where I do most of my tool and supply shopping:

Dick Blick (you can find almost all basic tools here)

There is a great list of other online sources at the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team’s blog.

PaperSource (here you will find pretty papers and small sheets of book cloth)