Tag Archives: Bindings

Crafting

I didn’t realize how long it was between posts.

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I’ve been having a devil of a time with the shop light in my studio and the concrete wall. Even though the light weighs less than 5 pounds, the double-sided tape I was using wasn’t strong enough to hold it, in spite of the claim of holding up to 10 pounds. I used double layers of the tape and the light fell down,

I added an extra layer of tape and the light stayed up for two days. Finally, I bought a different brand of tape which is rated to hold up to 38 pounds. The light fell down. At no point had I removed any of the prior strips of tape. I bought another roll of heavier tape and applied enough to create a 4-strip deep layer and added several more of those thick layers to the back of the light. It hasn’t fallen yet. Yay me!

I like the light. The two led panels tilt down so I have bright light on my desk. There are six outlets and two USB charger ports. It’s working quite well now. I’ve been spending most of my time at the shop. The internet has been wonky so I haven’t posted from there.

I made a book to hold the paintings I’ve done so far. The paintings slide into the pockets. The idea came from a woman on YouTube named Joke Hardenbol. Even though I don’t speak Dutch, her instructions were easy to follow. I left a like and a comment on her channel.

By the way, the light is still on the wall.

Crafting, Paper Crafts

Faux Leather for journal covers

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Only two members showed up for my faux leather session. We were turning paper grocery bags into a leather textured material for journal covers.

There are a number of videos on YouTube and several blog posts about the process. The technique we used consisted of opening a bag’s seam, smoothing it somewhat flat, and trimming it into a rectangle. Then it was sprayed either with plain water or a mixture of water and a softening agent such as glycerin, hair conditioner, or hand lotion. We used hair conditioner mixed one part conditioner to two parts water in a spray bottle.

After spraying the paper, we crumpled it and squeezed it in several different directions to form wrinkles of varying sizes. We smoothed our papers, sprayed the paper with more of the conditioner mixture, and crumpled the paper again. We smoothed and sprayed and crumpled until we were satisfied with the texture.

Our next step was to smooth the paper, and dab diluted acrylic paint in various shades of brown onto the surface with cosmetic sponges and brushes. We used a heat gun to damp dry the paper and apply more paint. Once we were satisfied with how our sheets looked, we used a heat gun to dry the base.

Once the surface was dry, a couple of coats of Mod Podge were applied to give a shine like finished leather to the paper, allowing each coat to dry before applying the next coat.

The faux leather is somewhat fragile and should be lined with something like muslin or even paper. The lining should be glued on with a glue such as Beacon 3-in-1 or Aleene’s Fabric Fusion if using fabric or Aleene’s Tacky Glue if using paper as a lining. I also advise sewing the faux leather and lining together around the edges after trimming the piece to the size you want.

The faux leather can be used as a binding for a journal. It can be cut into shapes for embellishments. And with care, can be used for earrings if a stronger sealant is used on both sides. It won’t be something to be used for items that get a lot of handling or wear, but you can experiment and find out what works.

A sheet of Faux Leather from a grocery bag.
A journal covered in Faux Leather.
Craft Fairs, Paper Crafts

The sale went great.

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I did well with sales. Some of the vendors had large objects so they undoubtably made more money from a single sale than I did with my many little ones, but I was pleased with the results. I finally found the right venue for selling one of a kind books.

I feel I had enough products to give people choices of styles and sizes and a good variety of book types from sketchbooks, to journals, to zines with different types of binding methods and pages. No one bought the faux leather journal, but that’s okay. There were questions about it and several people expressed an interest in my book making classes.

All in all, I feel I had a successful and profitable sale.

Bookbinding, Paper Crafts

Finally, the faux leather journal is done.

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I finally completed the book. The first one didn’t turn out as I planned but the second is rather nice. The inside cover has scrapbook paper linings and flyleaves. The pages are folded from good quality laser printer paper. It’s not quite perfect, but usable. My next one will be better, but this isn’t too bad for a prototype.

I did learn quite a bit from this project. I’ll probably teach the technique at one of my paper craft sessions if others are interested.

The finished product.
Paper Crafts, Stuff

I’m a bit behind on the faux leather

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I didn’t count on being invited to brunch on Mothers’ Day. My youngest granddaughter who is the only grandchild that lives near me, was most insistent that I join her, her sister, and their mom at the Bistro where my son works. He had invited me as well, so I decided to go. Normally, it’s just another day. He lives about an hour away.

We were to meet at 1 pm so I planned to leave around noon to arrive close to 1. It didn’t matter because traffic was crazy. I don’t usually encounter that many cars. The granddaughter lives 15 miles closer than I do, so I expected them to arrive before I did. Nope! They were a half hour late.

After our meal, the girls went home and I waited for my son to finish cleaning up so he could ride home with me so he could borrow my other car to move his stuff out of my garage and have transportation to his upcoming appointments. So I spent all day not working on my faux leather.

Today, I applied the final coat of glaze and I’m waiting for it to dry overnight. So there’s no picture today. But I will have one tomorrow.

Paper Crafts

Today, I’m making faux leather

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Or maybe it should be called pleather instead of the plastic stuff by that name that’s used for shoes, purses, and jackets. Of course, what I’m making isn’t as durable, but since it will be a book cover and not vegan outerwear, it doesn’t matter. No, I’m not disparaging any vegans’ lifestyle, but what else would be a good name for a faux leather made from paper? Leather paper, paper leather? Oxymorons, both.

The faux leather starts out as a brown paper grocery sack or a length of brown wrapping paper which is crumpled, and wet and inked, and colored, crumpled more, and sprayed with more water, and crumpled again, and rubbed with hair conditioner or glycerine, and maybe covered with Mod Podge or gel medium, and then it’s flexible. Supposedly it feels leathery. I don’t know yet because it’s still drying.

Once it’s dry, I’ll make a cover for a travelers type notebook. I know most people these days use their phones or electronic gizmos to keep notes, but I like to write things down. The act of writing helps me remember better. I have many notebooks filked with lists and notes. Whenever I started a new job, the duties and procedures that would eventually become thick procedure manuals, were stored in my notebooks.

There are doodles and phone numbers, directions to places, and instructions on operating equipment, and row and stitch counts for things I knit or crochet. When I sewed a lot, I would make a copy of the pattern package back and pin it into my notebook so I would have the yardage requirements when I went for fabric, notions, and thread. I would tape a fabric swatch in so I could find a matching zipper, thread, or seam binding.

I still write out lists of things I need or should do, even though I have apps for places I shop and a notes app on my phone. There are lists in the apps, but I’m mostly old school. Half the time, my phone will be at home while I’m out. But at least one notebook will be in my purse.

Tomorrow, I’ll post a photo of the faux leather and the cover I’ll make with it.

Bookbinding, Stuff

Today’s To-Do List was a failure.

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I did get the dishes done. I was busy. I performed The Wisconsin Lilac Chainsaw Massacre and managed to reduce one lilac by half and get most of the cuttings down to the street for pickup. I’ll give another go tomorrow – maybe. I haven’t checked the weather forecast. I also whacked down the invasive dogwood whatever that keeps sprouting in what was once a nice perennial garden. Like an aspen, the thing spreads via its roots.

If I hadn’t had to plant a couple arbor vitae and a lot of tall flowers to keep the old lady that lived next door out of my yard, the dogwood wouldn’t have taken over so badly because I would have kept mowing over them. But the old biddy next door had to be in my yard, pulling everything she considered a weed and leaving them either on top of my trash can of just tossed in my driveway. So I wasn’t mowing that area very much and the dogwood kept growing in the perennials.

The neighbor was a load of fun. She used to sneak over and put her trash in my bin. Her reason for doing so was that the can the city gave out was too large so she would just do it until she got the smaller bin. However even after she got her bin, she’d use mine until I finally told her I didn’t want to deal with her if she fell in my driveway while trespassing.

She objected so strenuously to my cans being on the side of my garage that she could see from her window, that she bought and had someone install, six-foot high vinyl fence panels on her property to hide my cans from her sight. The fence panels ran the length of my garage. I moved them to the front of the garage and she installed two more panels. I considered moving the cans down the length of my driveway a few feet a year to see if she would keeping buying fence but I never did that. She’s gone now so no more problems. I have a nice couple as neighbors now.

Anyway, back to my list – part of the list was to finish 3 Japanese stab bound notebooks for the upcoming Artists’Night we’re having at the Makerspace I belong to. I did practice cards of the patterns I intended to use, but one pattern took a lot of practice to get right.

First there was getting the design on graph paper. Then determining the stitching. Once that was done, I did a practice card. It was stitch, take out the thread, start over, take out the thread. I finally got the pattern and the stitching steps right. I still had a bit of trouble because the more complex the pattern, the longer the thread has to be and even with the waxed thread, tangles occur.

Then the fun began. I lost count of the steps and had to start over. After a few tries, things fell into place and the pattern started to take shape. I got two-thirds of the way done and ran out of thread. Spent a lot of time sewing the book. Halfway through, I realized I used a wrong hole. No big deal. Pulled out the thread and ripped the cover. I made a new cover.

Realized that even though I was using longer length of thread, it was too short. Picked the thread out. Started over, halfway through got a major knot. Gave up. I’ll try again tomorrow. I have to go make a new to-do list.

Bookbinding

Junk Journal prep

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More signatures are ready for the junk journals I’m working on. Thirty new signatures are waiting to be added. The journals are various sizes and will have up to five signatures depending on the width of the spine. Each signature will be trimmed to fit the journal covers. The covers are made of box board – trimmed boxes from frozen pizzas, crackers, tissues, and other boxed products, covered in scrapbook paper or fabric or both. The spines are reinforced with muslin that extends into the hinges.

The signatures are made up of various papers dyed with coffee or gel frosting colors, or magazine pages, maps, drawing paper, lined papers of various colors, and other types of paper. They will be embellished with borders and pockets, stamps, and stencils and collaged pieces.

This stack of paper represents 30 journal signatures.
Bookbinding, Paper Crafts

Hello Again

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I’m back. Busier than ever. Since last we met, I’ve joined a makerspace here in Madison, called the Bodgery. I’m the Craft Area Captain. What that means is I’m in charge of a large room filled with almost everything a crafter needs – sewing machines, knitting machines, a heat press, bookbinding supplies, yarn, fabric and even more stuff. I teach members how to use the equipment in the Craft Area, as well as bookbinding, knitting , sewing and papercrafts. I’ll be posting the projects I’m working on as well as a few pictures of classes with the participants’ permission.

Right now, I’m working on some junk journals. Here are two made from return envelopes covered in tissue paper. The inside pages are various papers including magazine pages and scrap papers.