And Then...

Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
Oscar Wilde

 

So back to the sketchbook tutorial from yesterday.
My next step is to use the incredible Zenith paper drill (look under hole cutters in Silver Crow catalog) to drill holes in all the sketchbook papers and the front and back covers. I also use the hole drill to make holes in felt beads, it's a great tool!

Then it's bang, bang, bang with my hammer to set the eyelets in the front and back cover holes. Eyelets and setting tools can be bought most places that sell scrap booking materials, including Silver Crow.

I pull ribbons through the covers and pages  with a darning needle. Be sure not to let any of the pages drop before the ribbon is tied on the outside spine. Leave enough room for the pages to turn easily.

Finally I trim the ribbons and stand the book up somewhere to gather dust.

I don't do this with all my sketchbooks. I usually keep a store bought  A4 bound blank book in my hand bag which I fill regularly. These are a good size for sticking scraps from magazines in and bigger drawings but can be tricky to draw standing up with so I also carry a smaller bound book in my bag for all those moments in museums and cues when they come in useful. It also means I always have an extra sketchbook in my bag to give to the kids, so that we can draw together.

The beauty of these little hand bound ones is that they can freeze and memorialize a certain period or event in my memory. In this case I will always remember the weather in March 2006. Not just because I have a record of it but because the process of recording it  and the notes I made each day fixes it in my memory.

I think sketchbooks can be kept for lots of different reasons and it's good to clarify the purpose of each one. I carry daily sketchbooks that I wouldn't want to show everyone, they are working out of thoughts and ideas and are a slightly private affair.
These ones that I bind are a little more showy but I  want them to  reflect the moment that they were made.  I'm not making showy art works on each page.

Comments

[Meg]

I love serendipity at least as much as I love chocolate. I've been wanting to know how to do this and I cruise on over here and - voila! Thank you, Juju!

[Kristin]

My DD is always trying to make books, and other than the staple method, I had no way to help her. Now I know! Thanks for the great tutorial!

[~Vicki]

just lovely!! my teenage daughter will enjoy seeing this too, she's really into making her own journals and has been trying out different ways to bind them. thank you for sharing your incredible talent.

[weirdbunny]

Thanks for showing us, so cool!

[carol]

Thank you once again for sharing your knowledge and ideas and putting it into such a clear tutorial. Love the idea of putting all your daily watercolours in to books - now if only I had kept up with it, I would have some too.

[Rita]

You are such a good teacher!! I always want to learn how to make a journal and as if you can read my mind. Love every bit of your blog.

[lyn]

Your books are beautiful, and thank you for the how- to, I've wondered how you make those holes.

[susan@artstream]

i love making books and loved reading how you made yours. ahhh yet another hole punch for me to buy...

how do you like julie and julia? i read that this winter and laughed a lot. and made a lot of overly rich food too.

[shelley Noble]

Simply beautiful. Thank you!

[Lynn in Tucson]

I've always been so in awe of people who keep sketch books or visual journals. I keep stumbling over the "but I don't draw" part of it, among other things.

Have you seen this? SUCH a treat:
http://archivesofamericanart.si.edu/guides/curators-visual/index.cfm

Thank you for a beautiful blog