Let’s dive in!
Supply List
Stencils
Rabid Bunny L453 Roxanne Corble
Rat and Bat L454 Roxanne Corble
Women of Mystery May 2017 Pam Carriker
Plastic to protect your work surface
Under paper, newspaper
Acrylic paint and spray paint in black and white
Acrylic inks a few colors
Sponge and or sponge roller
Aluminum tray
Instant coffee
Manila file folder
Assortment of papers, i.e., vintage, tissue or deli, printer paper, book page, magazine, etc.
Sanding block
Paper trimmer
Ruler
4 Binder clips
Wax thread
Needle
Drill, screw punch, or an awl
The first papers we are going to work on are from magazines. I like to use home decor magazines like Restoration Hardware or architecture magazines. Lay your magazine page over the spider web stencil on a flat surface and rub over the paper with the sanding block until you can see the design appear. I only made a couple of papers with this technique, but you can make as many as you like. We will definitely have left over papers when we are done with this little book. You can use the left overs for the inside or add them to your stash for later projects.
Grab your black and white paints, sponges, rollers, a manila file folder and assorted papers. We are going to pounce through the stencils onto the papers, doing some black and some white. I used spray paint on my more delicate papers. Let everything dry.
Now, we are going to prepare a coffee bath to start the dying process for the rest of your papers. Cover your work space with some plastic and lay down some under paper on top, we are about to make a mess. Take the aluminum tray and put some coffee in the bottom about a quarter cup add some warm water about an inch deep, mix it around to dissolve the instant coffee. You want a nice rich coffee mix, if you feel like you need it to be darker just add more coffee. Grab your acrylic inks, some juicy brushes, a jar of water for your brushes and a pallet for your inks. Dip your paper in the coffee bath then lay it on your table and add some inks with your brush. Once again, let everything dry
Save your delicious under paper!
It’s time to cut and score our cover. Get your painted file folder, ruler and paper trimer. We want to use the three folds in the bottom of the file folder for the top folds of our book to make the flap. So keep this in mind when you are measuring it out. I cut about an Inch off the side of my file folder because my design didn’t go all the way to the edge. Then I left the file folded and cut 3 1/4 inches from the bottom to the top of the folder, this is the width of the book. Now we need to cut the hight of the book. Measure from the center fold on the file folder 7 1/4 inches on one side and 5 3/4 inches on the other. Now cut out the rest of the book. On the long side of the file we are going to score 1 inch in from the end and then 3/4 inch in so, we have a 1/4 inch fold for our papers.
Now that all of our papers are painted and colored we are going to prepare them for the book. I chose to tear my pages to size, 3”x 5 1/2”. I started by cutting one of my thick papers to the correct size and then used that as a template to tear the other papers. Save all your paper bits and left overs.
We are almost there! Get your binder clips, drill or punch and a pen to mark your your holes. I used a white pen. Tuck your pages into the 1/4 inch slot that we made on the file folder. Put your binder clips on to hold the pages and cover together while we mark and cut our holes. We are going to mark three holes. Measure 1/2 inch in from each side and 3/8 inch from the bottom and then mark the center hole 1 5/8 inch in and 3/8 inch up.
Lets make the holes! I really prefer to use a drill, it's fast and easy. If you are using a drill make sure you put a block of wood under your project to protect your table. If you are not comfortable using a drill you can use an awl or a Japanese screw punch.
We are going to do a Japanese-esque stab binding. I say that because I'm not a very precise sort of person.
We are going to measure out 5 times the width of the book for our length of thread. Make sure the whole time you are sewing that you are making sure your thread is snug.
- Thread your needle and we are going to start with the center hole.
- From front push the needle and thread through the center hole but leave a tale on the front to tie a knot later.
- Go around the bottom of the book and push the needle and thread back through the center hole creating a loop. Remember to snug up the thread as you go.
- This time from the back side, push the needle and thread up through the hole to the right. Your needle and thread should now be back on the front side.
- Now wrap the thread around the right side of the book and go back through the same hole on the right side.
- Next wrap the thread around the bottom of the book and once again go through the same hole
- The sewing on the right side should be completed now and the needle and thread should still be on the front side of the book. Push the needle and thread through the center hole again.
- From the back push the needle and thread up through the left hole.
- Go around the left side of the book and push the needle and thread through the hole on the left.
- Go around the bottom of the book and push the needle and thread back through the left hole.
- Finally your needle should be on the front side of the book. Push the needle and thread back through the center hole, go down the center hole and around the bottom of the book back to the little tail you left in the beginning and tie a square knot.
Now that everything is sewn you can take off the clips and your book is ready for whatever journaling or embellishments you want to add
Thanks for hanging out with me and I hope you had a good time making this little treasure. Keep up with me on instagram to see how this book progresses and tag me so I can see your book.
