Book of Cards

If you don't know what to do with that box of cards you've saved over the years, here's a way to keep them, re-read them, and enjoy them for years to come: I will bind them into a book for you!

The grizzly bear card roared until the battery wore out. We gave it to Darryl on our trip to Alaska.

For Father's Day 2013 I bound anniversary, Father's Day, and birthday cards given to Darryl over the years into a hardcover book.

Beauty and the Beast

Now I can show the project, safely delivered yesterday!

I didn't realize the margins of the box lid would fade against the tablecloth in a photo. But they're there.

It just looked better to sew in the original dust jacket.

This is What a Shortcut Looks Like

Lovely mess, isn't it? I used a book's original cover boards for a rebinding in leather. I had assumed the covers were the right size because, after all, they were the originals. But no: they were 1/8" narrower than the pages. The covers had been cut so skimpy that the heavy cotton back liner I used added too much bulk and the pages protruded beyond the covers. By the time I discovered this, I'd already covered the boards in full leather and had no inclination to waste them. So, I pulled off the new sewn endpapers and the extra back liner. I peeled away paper layers from the flex-board spine. I lifted the pasted leather headcaps and back-cornered the spine edges. I swapped out thinner mull. Finally, I trimmed 1/8" from the foredges, which fortunately had wide margins. (I triple-checked the spine width, so that the text block wouldn't gape when everything was cased back in.) I felt guilty about trimming, but it had to be done. This one time. The book looks good and none the worse for wear. I won't show photos of the completed work until after I hand it to the person, because it's a surprise gift.

Connecting Peninsulas

I’ve been laboring over my Guild of Book Workers “Midwest Geographies” entry since December.  I took it to FedEx today! The exhibit will open March 28 at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

The overlaid dust jacket for Above Below features “Starry Night” and “Snow” Cave Paper. For Miracle Bridge, I trimmed and folded a Mackinac Bridge poster. Peninsula[s] uses birchbark covers with the title Coptic-stitched on the spine. The [s] denotes a letter that wasn’t there in the original title (Peninsula). Because: It’s PeninsulaS, youse guys!

Above Below and Miracle Bridge at Mackinac keep their original dustjackets, washed and repaired. 

Wrapped bricks and weights hold the tray tight to the cover as it dries. Waste paper lines the cover.

The coordinating clamshell box, with an image of the Mackinac Bridge, is bookcloth and distressed Tyvek. (I didn't know that Tyvek discolors when wet. Paste soaked through and turned the image a blotchy sepia tone. I tried another layer. Just as awful. I ripped it off, completely frustrated. Darryl said, "It looks great like that!" So that's how the box cover became "distressed.")

The interior of the clamshell box. The multi-section slipcase is made of Cave “Layered Indigo,” which reminds me of deep, mysterious water.

Slipcase, books, and custom clamshell box. At times, I thought I'd  never finish.

Birchbark cover and button closure.

Making a Bible Clasp

During the Middletown Valley Craft Festival, Darryl and I visited The Moonshine Forge. I asked Joe, the owner, if he would be interested in making a clasp for a Family Bible. The catch remained on the front cover, but the back-cover plate and leather strap had disappeared. He took on the challenge and produced a beautiful, custom clasp that matched the catch on the Bible cover. When he came to our home to attach it, I saw that our work is similar in many ways. We must fit, shape, cut, color, and clamp (or press) in order to create a piece, or a mend, that looks smooth and finished. No one sees the detail work that takes up so much time, but they would notice if it were not done. I appreciated being present for part of the process.

The completed Bible.

Worn corners before repair.

Fitting the back cover plate.

Filing the edge.

Clamping the strap and its plate into place.

The corners after repair.

Guild of BookWorkers Newsletter

The Guild of BookWorkers Newsletter arrived in my mail today. It's an interesting experience to imagine a bookbinding project, develop it at home, and then send it out into the world. Now here it is, behind glass and in print.  

"Life Along The Potomac" opens at Bethesda Library

Yesterday evening, Darryl drove us through D.C. rush-hour traffic to the Bethesda Library (7400 Arlington Road), to participate in the “Life Along the Potomac” opening. Members of the Potomac Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers have created a dozen beautiful bindings. The exhibit will be on display at the library through December, and go on view at the Maryland State Archives in Annapolis January 4, 2016.