These little books are as simple as can be. The covers are advertisements that I gessoed and painted with super-cheap acrylics. The book on the left has a few pages of watercolor paper, and the one on the right has plain old copier paper. The binding string is waxed dental floss.
I found the instructions (The Three-Minute Pamphlet) in The Complete Decorated Journal by Gwen Diehn. She enticed me by calling the chapter "The Reluctant Bookbinder". Bookbinding strikes me as one of those hobbies that is fraught with the need to accumulate a whole new set of tools and ephemera and dedicated space, but I was able to make these books with things I had on hand. In addition to the elements in the finished books, I needed paperclips, a phone book, and a pushpin to use as an awl. I imagine the paint would be optional if your covers were something prettier than an Office Depot ad.
Now someone tell me to use them, okay?
Here's a song you probably haven't heard unless you are a real Broadway aficionado. It's from 1974's "Mack and Mabel", about silent screen personalities Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand. It was a flop for many reasons, but not for the quality of the songs (by Michael Stewart and Jerry Herman) nor the inate talent of the leads (Robert Preston and Bernadette Peters). Fortunately, we got a cast album before the show closed.
(Want to see more? See highlights from the first West End Production here and here, and Miss Peters showstopper o' heartbreak song here.)
3 comments:
Okay so you still have phone books in your house???
Sorry those hit the recycle bin ten seconds after they arrive as I never use them.
Liked the bookbinding though.
We do have phone books. T loves them, and occasionally uses one to look up a number.
Book binding! I've learned to make sketchbooks for me and Lill, but they are very rudimentary. My tools are a hammer, a nail, string and glue. Do tell more.
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