Showing posts with label how to. Show all posts
Showing posts with label how to. Show all posts

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Make a Do-Si-Do Book


A do-si-do book, like the partner square dancing move, swings between 2 signatures. These books are like two books in one and are excellent for dual purposes, like drawings and notes, or double themes like opposites or pairs. Read on and you’ll be whipping up your own fine books in no time!



Materials & Tools:

  • paper
  • scissors
  • linen thread
  • needle
  • bone folder
  • awl
  • pencil

Step 1:

Prepare two signatures and the covers. To make each signature, fold 5-10 sheets of paper in half and trim to size. Choose a sturdy paper or lightweight board to use as the cover. Cut the cover to be the same size as the height of the signatures and as wide as three times the width of one signature. Fold the cover into thirds using a bone folder, so it forms a Z shape.


Step 2:

Make a sample signature that is the same height and width as your signatures out of a single sheet of paper. Measure and mark the placement for 3 holes on the sample signature. You’ll use this as a guide for making holes in your signatures and covers. Put one signature into one of the folds of the Z shaped cover. Using a bookbinder’s awl and your sample signature as a guide, punch 3 holes through each signature and cover.


Step 3:

Pull the threaded needle through the center of the first signature, leaving a tail of thread a couple inches long inside the signature.


Step 4:

Push the needle through the top hole on the spine of your book.



Step 5:

Pull the needle through the bottom hole on the inside of your book, skipping over the center hole and thread tail.



Step 6:

Pull the needle through the center hole on the outside of the book.



Step 7:

When you pull the needle into the center of the book again, make sure that the needle and thread is on one side of the long center stitch and the thread tail is on the other. Remove the needle and trim the threads. Pull each thread taut to even out the tension of the stitching.



Step 8:

Tie a simple knot over the long center stitch.



Steps 9-16:
Repeat steps 1-8 on the second signature.


Step 17:

Ta da! Do a little dance and away you go! Fill you book with notes, drawings, secrets.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

How-Tuesday: Make a Weekly Planner Book with Your Secret Admiral



Check out my latest how-to video made with wonderful Etsy admin Michelle and Eric!

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"This week, Etsy How-Tuesday helps you get organized for the New Year with Etsy admin Julie aka YourSecretAdmiral / julieincharge. Julie shows you how to make a weekly planner, which you an give as a handmade stocking stuffer or keep for all that organizing you'll be doing in the New Year. You can use your own design or download our pdf template."

Don't want to make your own? Buy one here and I'll ship it off to you post haste!
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The video also got a nice mention on Whip Up today!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

A Great Tutorial: How to Blockprint


Hello, world! I wanted to share this excellent blockprinting tutorial with you. Last week I led a craft night project at the Etsy Labs was carving your own stamp, and this tutorial is one of the resources I recommended on the handout.

There are many wonderful resources out there on blockprinting, and I have to say that this one created by LizzyHouse is one of my favorites. I was seem to return to this tutorial and recommend it to others. It's very detailed, full of great tips, and interspersed with lovely, clear photos. If this doesn't make you reach for your carving tools (or dash to the art store to get some), I don't know what will! Check out the tutorial here and be sure to scroll to the bottom to download the PDF.

Here are a few further resources that I'd recommend as well:

Books:
Linoleum Block Printing by Francis J. Kafka

Lotta Prints: How to Print Anything, from Potatoes to Linoleum
by Lotta Jansdotter

Lino-Cuts by Claude Flight

Hand Block Printing on Fabrics by T.J. Corbin

The Craft of Woodcuts by John R. Biggs

Groups:
Printsy (Etsy's printmaking team)

Block Prints Flickr group

Suppliers:
New York Central (my favorite!)

Daniel Smith

Dick Blick

Also, be sure to support your local art supply store!