I put the quilting aside last week in order to meet a deadline for a bookmaking project to get in the mail. I'm turning these two books from my library's "free" shelf, books that have been removed from the catalog or donated books Friends of the Library sell that haven't sold over time, into Traveler's Journals. The blue one is a volume of Reader's Digest Condensed books which takes me back to my youth. My parents had quite a few of these that I would occasionally page through. The other is a Scholastic title geared toward the younger set. Both are in good condition for this project.
A Traveler's Journal is a book where the signatures are not sewn in but can be removed, either for ease of use or to switch out with different signatures. By using old books with good covers and spines, not only does this score points for recycling but should make the process easier and faster. Step one is to remove the text block by slitting the end papers where they join with the block. My books were partially glued to the spine making them more difficult to remove than the book demoed in the instruction video. A lot of tugging and careful application of a sharp blade finally released them but boy, did my hands hurt the next day. Still, easier than cutting bookboard.
The spine now needs to be covered up with fabric, not only for aesthetic reasons but for increased durability. Because mine were pretty rough, I opted to make quick bookcloth by fusing a lightweight sketch paper to the back of the fabric.
These are trimmed to extend beyond either side of the spine but about 1/8" shorter than it. I used PVA glue to adhere them into place.
I realized that I could use the lovely yellow I'd cut away from the end papers to glue as new end papers trimmed so that they just overlap the book cloth. For the other book, it was the opening pages to the last story in the Reader's Digest as the recipient is a lover of cats. It was suggested that, depending on the sturdiness of the papers, it might be a good idea to cover them with some kind of sealant. The cat ones definitely needed this, but I sealed the others too with Acrylic Varnish.That yellow could easily get scuffed up or dirty removing and inserting signatures. The Digest cover is very sturdy with a smooth surface so no additional sealing was necessary, but I did use the varnish on the outside of the red book which has a standard cloth cover.
Once these had dried overnight, it was time to add some holes with eyelets top and bottom on the spine. I don't have many opportunities to use this Crop-o-dile combination hole punch and eyelet setter but every time I do I marvel at what a wonderful tool it is. It's only drawback is that there's a limit to how far from the edge you can punch a hole. However, they do make a giant one that has a much longer throat but it's definitely an investment.
The last step is inserting elastic through the holes. These will hold the signatures by opening them to the center and slipping under the elastic. I did putter a bit with printing lines on 8 x 10 drawing paper, something on hand that will run through my printer and need minimal trimming for what I need for the cat journal. The red one is slightly bigger and I'm still working out what paper to use.
I truly thought I could get these done in a week. If I were only making one, no problem; I sort of forgot that two would take longer. I also didn't really factor in the time it would take to make 4 signatures - 2 for each journal. As I finished up the outsides, I had that same sinking feeling I get after I finish the quilting on a quilt - elation at being done, then despondency when remembering there's still binding to do. There's still a lot of fiddling left to make the signatures but I've picked out cover papers and know what size the signatures need to be for each. Just have to get down to it and not dawdle. I gave myself enough lead time that I think I'll still meet my deadline.
4 comments:
I am intrigued by this book re-making! I might have to try it myself! I sort of gave up on making books when I couldn't get the nice linen rag stationary anymore. But this paper doesn't have to be nice or special. I am also thinking about how to make it so you could keep the covers, but slip in a small notepad (like the one you gave me) and a pocket for ephemera. Always thinking! I'll be interested to see how you finish these up!
Traveler's journals always look so easy; and I have an abunance of books to use--but once I start, the covers start to look shabby and I think maybe I should cover them as well. Perhaps I should be more choosy about the books
Stay tuned, Michele. I'll be showing a nifty way of adding pockets. As for a place to insert a junior legal pad, I'm sure one could attach a pocket on the inside of the back cover in some way, providing the book was big enough to accommodate the width. I can't seem to get too far away from using good paper, although right now I'm printing lines on copy paper and the demo showed gathering all kinds of leftovers and scraps together, including old ledger paper, to make the signatures - no matchy matchy there!
Beware of the easy looking, Sylvia! I've rarely tried an "easy" project that didn't get out of hand - lol. Yes, you do need to be picky choosing a book to use - these had little wear and are very sturdy. Some shoring up can be done with the sealing of the end papers and outside but if it's a soft cover, it really won't work. The teacher likes to use Modge Podge but also recommends matte medium - it seems to be the knee jerk solution to everything but it can also be sticky which the varnish is not. I'd guess if your instinct is to cover the covers, the books are too worn to stand up to use as a traveler's journal.
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