Unfolded Treasure

This "book" has Japanese style or accordion pages. I absolutely love this book and will be sad to see it go. This was my first stab at an accordion book, and I couldn't be more pleased with how it turned out.  I think the reason I love it so much is because its so different than anything I've done before, or seen before for that matter.  I love using materials made for one thing and changing their purpose!

I started with a cigar box I found at an antique shop.  It was so ugly and a kid had colored all over it.  So all aesthetic value had been lost.  Plus to be honest, even though this box was "vintage," it wasn't older than 30 years or so.  So the challenge was to cover it.  I used a dictionary that I've had a long time now.  Its pages are beautifly weathered and aged.   It felt like such a shame to let the dictionary and the box go to waste, so I put them to better use. I modge podged the two together and added some decorative stamps to give it some flare.

I also put a red ribbon inside the box as a nice accent, but also to serve a very useful purpose.   This ribbon can be used to mark your place like a journal, or hold pages while you use the book as a display.  You can also take the pages completely out of the book altogether.

There are just so many uses for this book. It can stand on its side and the pages can be pulled out to display photos or art work. The best part about  continuous pages like this, is that you can use as many as you need to create your art.

Additional Information:

This book contains 100 pages of heavy weight sketch paper when just using the front of the pages, and 200 pages when using front and back. It measures approximately 8.5x6 inches.

In the works

Started working on a whole new batch of books this last week.  It seems like I have no problem with cutting my own paper and wrapping my own covers, but I'm not too fond of the rest.  Or maybe its that I have to drag out all my tools and equipment to finish them off (LOL).  Of course, this always results in a huge mess that has to be put away again.  And that's  never fun.  The most un-fun part is picking up tiny slivers of paper off the carpet that the vacuum misses.  I'm still finding paper from months ago!

Well if all goes planned, look for 4 new hand bound, Coptic-stitched books!  I'm very excited about one in particular.  It has an edgy flare.  Once again I've included black card stock which shows through on the binding.   Can't wait to reveal!

Once Upon A Time....

This is the last journal I made with real book board before I started using recycled materials.   I really do like the thickness of the book boards, but I found that using recycled card board not only helps the environment, but cuts down on the cost of the book.  Not to mention, pliable boards are much easier to work with.

This book has a variety of pages.  Like most of my books, I used varied weights of sketch paper, graphing paper, and rescued book pages.  I found a childrens fairy tale and poetry book at a thrift store for 10 cents.  It had beautiful illustrations that go great with the theme of the book.    The end pages are also story book themed and look as if they were pulled straight from a book.   My favorite part of this book though, is the thread.  I almost always use black, white, or a natural color thread.  For this book, I used purple waxed linen thread which goes great with the pink cover.   I liked the end result so much I've started using colored threads since on most of my projects.



Additional Information:

This hand bound journal is great for kids and adults alike. It has a ribbon tie which allows the book to be held shut after adding other photos or ephemera to the book. It is hardbound with 1/8th inch book board.

This book measures 5x5 inches and is coptic bound with purple 4 ply waxed linen thread.

The New LonelyPaper Blog

I'm very excited to be adding this feature on to accompany my Etsy page.  I'll be able to share additional information about my products and myself.  The blog will also include some information about how I've created my projects and preview projects in the works.  Look for more to come soon.  Enjoy!