geraldine newfry

help for haiti: it's my turn

a month has passed since the disastrous earthquake in haiti.  the pictures and stories may be beginning to fade from your mind.  but the devastation remains.

a lot of knitters have been donating a portion of their sales for patterns to haiti assistance.  i've been buying these up.  also some friends have been sharing their profits from etsy.  i've been shopping there too.  and finally i decided it was my turn to do more than shop.

from now until february 28, i will donate 50% of the sales from my etsy shop to doctors without borders for their continuing work in haiti.  there's still free shipping to the US and canada.

if you've been thinking about buying a book, now is the perfect time to treat yourself and help someone else in the process.  and what could be better than that?

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• Haiti holds national day of mourning (calgaryherald.com)

patience

Patience from Glowing Heads on Vimeo.

a little bookbinding video that is a joy to watch.

customizing a book, part three

this is the last part in my series of customizing a book.  i unbound tree of life; created new, thinner signatures; and added more signatures for a total of 320 pages.

i took the signatures out of the press and set them within the book covers to check on the location of the holes.  at this point i was ready to bind.  i used the celtic weave for two pairs of stations, and the coptic stitch for the remaining pair of stations.

this is the beginning of the binding.  Ten needles were used for this book.

with so many needles and waxed linen threads, there is often a big tangly mess.  i haven't found a way to eliminate that.

halfway done!

and the finished, rebound book.

and off in the mail to the client.  i'm actually more pleased with the binding this time than the original.

customizing a book, part two

i'm in the process of rebinding a book for a client who wanted more pages in tree of life.

the next step was to take apart the previously bound book. owie!

once the signatures and binding were removed, i lined up the new text block with the covers.  as you can see, my kutrimmer is a little off in its measurements.  the new signatures aren't exactly the same size.

i took the signatures back to the kutrimmer and trimmed them all so they would be even.  much better.

the next step was to mark the binding holes on the text block.  i carefully lined up the triangle with the binding holes in the cover, and marked with a sharp pencil.

once the text block was marked, i could begin piercing the holes with an awl.  i turned my piercing cradle upside down since i marked the text block on the outside.  i think most people mark their blocks on the inside and use the cradle as intended.  but marking from the outside gives a nicer wound to the paper.

after opening up the signatures for piercing, they look as if they've never been in the press.

i finished piercing the holes and put the whole text block back in the press overnight.

next up is the new binding.

customizing a book, part one

i recently got a request for a client for the tree of life.  she wanted to be able to write a journal entry for every day of her pregnancy.  isn't that cool?  her only issue was that the book came with 176 pages, and she needed more.

i was a little concerned that 300 pages would look out of proportion to the covers of the book.  then i realized that the book used cardstock pages for mixed media, but really she only needed to be able to write on them.  i made a mock up of the text block using 304 text pages, with some covers that i hadn't already bound.  the proportions looked good, so we decided to proceed.

i purchased some wausau royal linen for the text block.

the next step was to cut the paper to size.  but what this all over my kutrimmer?  polymer clay stuff.

after cleaning up a little i was able to begin cutting the pages.  i just love my kutrimmer.  i should really keep it free from debris.

here are the pages all cut to size.  i cut four at once, because that is how many pages i use in a signature.  i kept them separate to make the next step easier.

next was heading over to my bookbinding desk.  even worse than my kutrimmer!  i plan a studio clean up, but wanted to make this book first.  i think the clean up will take a while.

reasonably clean, and dusted.

the next step was to fold all the pages.  i used my teflon rib.  sometimes i use a teflon bone folder.  i think it just depends on my mood.

all folded and stacked together, it was time to put the pages into the press overnight.  i placed them between two clean boards to protect the pages and allow for even pressure.

after the pages come out of the press, i'll begin punching holes and binding.

last day of free world wide shipping!

i have a real post composed in my head, but i wanted to get this out before it got too late.  Today is the last day of free world wide shipping from my etsy shop.  The polymer books are heavy, so it's a great time to scoop one up.  Each book is laboriously and lovingly made by hand.  The polymer covers can take up to three days to create.  Cutting, folding paper and binding generally take half a day.  Give a gift to your artist friends, or keep a treasure for yourself.

wordless wednesday...etsy front page

cyber monday sale!

ok, it's really a long sale, but it starts today.  i'm offering free world wide shipping in my etsy shop.  that's right, anywhere on the planet for free!  the space station is excluded.  i have a number of books, awls and pens for sale right now.  the sale will continue through december 15.  the more you buy, the more i'll be able to spend on handmade gifts for my christmas buddies.  :)

i really try to buy handmade for the holidays.  this year i am making some gifts myself, and also giving contributions to charities in the names of my christmas buddies.  i recommend kiva and heifer.

try to support independent artists this season.  you get a unique gift and help the self-employed.  start here.

why handmade books may seem expensive

Image by sweetmadness via Flickr

have you ever wondered what goes into a handmade book?

check out this picture

http://is.gd/30iit

and that's just the bookbinding part.  for me, the polymer clay part is much more labor intensive.

• making millefiore canes
• conditioning clay
• layering clay to proper thickness
• add surface decoration in clay
• choosing and adding rusty bits (this is the hardest part)
• baking
• sanding
• buffing
• painting
• creating holes for binding

i'm sure i'm forgetting something.

i'm working on more painted book board books.  these can be put together a lot more quickly.  i'm currently coating them in dorland's wax to protect them.  some are just backgrounds, waiting to be spray painted.  some are just gessoed.  all need to be bound.

new books on etsy!

i spent the day yesterday photographing, editing, uploading pictures to etsy and facebook.  i have yet to upload the images to flickr.  i'm always surprised by the time commitment needed to list on etsy.  but books are up!  i added several polymer books which were on exhibit at the morgan conservatory.

key to travel 

tulle dress

tree of life

i also added some lower price point items.  the first, a book made with painted board covers, still sewn with a coptic stitch.

hidden entrance

the second is made with a simple accordion structure.

spring sunset

there's something for everyone!

i'm working now on some more  books with painted board covers.  they will be the next books i list on etsy.  oh!  i do have a few supplies to list too.  would you be interested in the rusty bits that i use on my polymer books?  they've been a big hit in the past.  i also have some mendhi stencils.  i'll have to spray paint my sample so the stencil effect is clear.  i guess it's back to the photography studio again tomorrow.