And Another...

With all the papermaking and bookbinding going on in the high school classes I've been teaching, I just couldn't help but to make another book. This one is a little bit bigger and more substantial than the last little book I made. This one also features handmade paper. Using this book as an example, I taught the students how to sew the pages together, adding ribbon if they wanted to attach it to the covers. I cut chipboard to size and covered both pieces with some Basic Grey, then added sheet music, Glitz paper, a Fiskars stamp, Prima flower, grungeboard shape, and a few embellishments I cut from paper. I'll be adding this to my Graduate Colloquium Art Show.

Book Arts

An art form I've really embraced lately is the art of making books. I've learned several bookbinding techniques and have bought a few books on the subject for inspiration. I've even implemented the art in a few of my high school art lessons. I've been making handmade paper with the high school kids and I've been working on a few books of my own. Yesterday, I finished up this tiny little book (measures only 2 1/2" x 3 1/2") as a birthday present for my mom. The inside contains handmade paper and is hand-bound with a simple saddle stitch. The cover has Webster's Pages and Lily Bee Designs (on the inside) paper, Prima flower and stamp, and Frances Meyer sticker.

And here's another book I made a little while ago that I've been using as an example in my classes. I used some nice, heavy sketchbook paper for the inside and bound it with a Japanese stab binding. The cover is all Basic Grey (paper, rub-ons, stickers) and a button from my stash.

Spring Break!

So nice to have nearly a week off from student teaching...  Not only am I planning on sleeping in every day of my break, but I also need to get caught up on some housework, schoolwork, and, of course, artwork! Teaching art to kids has been a lot of fun, but I'd also like to do some art just for myself. I bought a ton of new papers and a few stickers from an online scrapbook store that's going out of business and has some deep discounts, I've joined a few new scrappy sites with some good inspiration and challenges, and now that I have some time freed up, I'm going to have some creative play.

And just for some inspiration, here's a card I made not long ago, but I'm pretty sure I haven't posted yet. This tag-shaped card was made with Upsy-Daisy Designs paper. The butterflies and flourishes were fussy-cut and I used Glossy Accents on them to give them shine and dimension.