Second Project

The second project of this past weekend was a jeweled box. The interior box dimensions are 5" by 7" by 2" (width by height by depth). The paper is a printed paper from India. It comes in a teal color (which is the one that I used), an orange variation , and a green variation.

As you can see, there are three different star clusters in two different colors. I used hot fix crystals to highlight these design elements.

The interior of the box is lined with a lime green velvet paper.

The box lid.

The long side of the box. The crystals travel on all four sides of the box.

Here is the interior of the box.

A second look at the entire project.

Project Number One

I had a lot of fun this weekend just doing my thing and being creative and all. My first project was one that I was helping someone else develop. He had the idea and needed help in developing the logistics.

The idea is a jewel encrusted book. How does one go about doing such a thing? You could simply affix crystals to the top of the surface which is certainly possible. The problem with such an approach is that they could easily be dislodged.

The second idea was to drill into the bookcloth and affix the crystals in the crater created. The problem with this approach would be the rim of the binder's board would be visible once the crystals were placed into their positions.

The third approach was to create a divot in the binder's board before covering the board with cloth. Once the boards were dry, the divot could then be depressed in the same fashion that an inset would be created. Once the crater was pressed into place, the crystal could then be put in place.

The problem with the third approach is that you have to be very careful in the making of your indentations because they can easily become misaligned. Also, you have to be careful with the covering material. Too thick of a bookcloth or paper would make it nearly impossible to create the indentation.

Here is my solution to the issue at hand. I marked a harlequin pattern (diamonds) on the board before covering with a velvet type paper. This type of paper removes the need for bookcloth because it is very sturdy and is paper backed. Because of the thickness of the paper, there is no need for a hinging material. I used the velvet paper because I thought it would look good with the inset crystals.

I used a size 34 crystal (SS34) and made the indentations with a hammer and punch. After punching each hole, I removed about 1/4 of the board's thickness to make space for the crystal.

Overall, I am pleased with the results. I don't know if I would do this again because of the work involved but I am glad that I was able to help out one of my fellow students.



The Cinderella Book--red velvet paper with Orange-Red crystals


Text block is from Hollanders--Medium Journal, 144 pages, imported from Italy

A Crystals Weekend

Well, it is already 8:00 PM on Sunday night and I have two projects done and completed. Should I start another and possibly have a late night before an early Monday morning?

You damn betcha!!!

I will be listening to the radio broadcast of the Mets in San Francisco and working on project number three.

Oh, by the way, as for my projects this weekend--let's just say that there were lots of crystals involved.

Pictures to follow.

Open Weekend

I am so happy that I do not have any pressing commitments this weekend. The whole weekend all to myself.

I have so many projects that I want to get to this weekend, I can hardly contain my excitement. I hope to have lots of Weekend Projects pictures for you on Monday.

Now, I gotta get back to my projects.

I hope you have a great weekend as well.

Finally Done

I have returned from my trip to England and in my exhaustion and jet lag, I decided to try and finish the Coptic stitch artist's journal that I have agonized over for the last two weeks. As you might remember, I started it last weekend and I just wasn't happy with the way that it was turning out. On the first attempt, the holes that I made just weren't lining up. Since the spine is exposed, that is a bad thing. On the second attempt. I couldn't get the tension even so the chain stitches weren't even and it looked awful.

So last night, in an attempt to get the bloody thing done, I tried again. This time it worked out fine. So, the lesson of the day--just do it and don't overthink.

I have taken two of the Bingo cards that I have mentioned before and used those for the covers. For the text block, I used watercolor paper since the artist asked for durable paper. Because of the thickness of the paper, each signature is made up of two folios. Since this artist does landscapes, the size of the paper will work to her advantage.

On the front of the cover, I will be placing Bingo markers to act as feet so the cover will rest on the markers rather than the cover's surface when fully opened (since one of the characteristics of the Coptic stitch is that it allows the book to open fully).

Since the artist reads this blog, I will provide pictures of the finished project as soon as the artist receives her book.

Weekend Projects

This weekend, I didn't nearly get all of the things done that I should have. I don't even have anything to really show for my efforts. I just don't know where the time went.

I was working on two separate projects that I needed to complete by Monday. The first project was my Emotions swap on swap-bot. I am hosting a handmade postcard swap based on Emotions. The emotion this month was AWE.

I used some colored backgrounds that I already had. I then did a double overlay. The first was a baby's face and the second was a newspaper birth announcement page. For me, there is nothing more awe inspiring than the birth of a child. The joy and love of the new parents, and the miracle of birth. I put in this category the adoption of a child as well. The same love and joy is truly awe inspiring.

I am still in my text and picture phase. I really like the juxtaposition of text/fonts and images.

Back to Crafting

So, I finally made it back from the road. What an experience! The road manager for one of the acts that my office manages had to stay behind for some medical tests. Of course, he did not find out about this until the night before the group was scheduled to leave for a two week tour. Being the only person capable of leaving on a moment's notice, I was chosen to go on the tour--with about four hours notice.

There were many possessions left behind simply because I didn't have time to pack them--especially my camera and my laptop.

So I made it home on Saturday only to jump into making some projects that were due while I was away. One of the projects was a stationery box covered in faux leather that a banker friend wanted to keep on his desk at the bank. The nice aspect about this project is that I re-purposed old stationery and re-used it. I have been collecting old stationery from companies that have gone out of business and/or changed their names or address. I then re-size the stationery for my purposes. What normally would have gone to the landfill unused, now gets re-purposed before it gets (hopefully) recycled.

The second project was a pin box for my bookbinding teacher. My teacher sews and I wanted to give her a little gift since this will be our last session for the Bookbinding 1 class. I decided to make a small decorative box and put magnet sheeting on the lid so she could use it as a pin box. The magnet gets covered with paper in the final step. I used some of the decorative paper that I brought over from my last trip to Japan.

Fixing Messes--Part 3

I am sure that all of us have had that one project that simply stymies us. Working on it from the beginning poses problems due to construction or lack of materials or an overbearing client. This NY journal has been the bane of my existence since I have started it.

It really was a simple assignment. Mount 20 pictures and include descriptions or captions and send it to its recipient. Of course, I could have bought a photo album. Being a budding bookbinder that seemed silly. I thought that I would do a simple pamphlet stitch book and put it in a hard case and that would be the end of it.

Well, it weren't that easy (as we say in Texas). I finally have something to send and I am sure that the recipient will welcome it with open arms. For own editioned book, I will do a Japanese stab binding or some other photo album style book.

Here are sections of the book for you to see.


The endpapers. These are reproductions of NYC housing maps--Cavallini paper


The final photo in the album. This is one of my favorite NYC photos.

Fixing Messes--Part 2

Here is the final solution that I was able to use. I decided to layer a piece of mulberry paper on top of the postcard. The paper was a light peach color which I thought would give the card some nice color and contrast to the iridescent purple ink. I applied a thin coat of ModPodge to the postcard and placed the paper over it. After the paper dried, I Gocco printed the text is basic white. The interesting aspect of the final result is that the text is so faint that it is almost holographic in nature. You don't notice the text until the light hits the card at an angle. The glossy finish of the paint against the matte finish of the paper and card make this effect happen.

I then decided to see what would happen if I put ModPodge over the inked card. What happened was that the holographic nature of the text disappeared because there was no surface differential between the text and paper. In essence, the text gets lost in the glossy coating.

Finally, I decided to see what would happened if there was a colored variation/differential. In other words, would the text show up stronger if the top coating of ModPodge was tinted? So I poured out a small amount of ModPodge and tinted it with orange Dr. Ph. Martin watercolor concentrate. I had never thought about tinting ModPodge before but I figured two water based products should blend.

The tinting changed the overall color of the card which was fine. The holographic aspect of the text still disappeared but the text shows up better in the tinted card. I also had to tint the back of the card with ModPodge because some of the product edged under the card. I am not totally displeased with the results but I still like the holographic effect of the matte card. I will definitely use tinted ModPodge in the future.

The finished card with holographic effect.

The ModPodge layered card (without tinting).

The tinted ModPodge front.

The tinted back of the card.

P.S. the scan is much more yellow than it really appears. The card is really more of an apricot color.

Fixing Messes--Part 1

This weekend I am declaring my "Fixing Messes" weekend. For all of you crafting and artsy people out there, I am sure that you have some projects that are uncompleted because you just didn't like the way it has turned out so far. Rather than throwing away the project, you set it aside to percolate on the back burner hoping for either (1) divine intervention, (2) a clearer head, or (3) time to reconsider the project.

Since I make so many multiples of my projects, when I am in the middle of a project I make extra parts because I know that I will need them later on. Therefore, when I have a project that just doesn't work then I have a whole bunch of extra pieces in the studio.

These are the projects that I will be working with this weekend. The first project will be to solve the dilemma of my Year of the Ox postcards.

The first picture is the prototype that didn't work for me. After I thought about it, I should have reversed the color scheme. The picture of the Ox should have been the darker color and the text overlay should have been the lighter color.



Unfortunately, I have a whole bunch of postcards already printed with the light colored Ox. (Picture 2). The reverse side has already been printed with the postcard print (Picture 2) so I can't do anything with the reverse side and the front looks a little plain with just the Ox.



Finally, the postcard that I ended up sending out was the postcard in Picture 3. As you can see, I mounted some Japanese tissue onto the card. I then printed the Ox in dark blue and overprinted the card with the text in dark purple. Granted, it is a busy design but I like that fact that you immediately recognize the text. Upon closer inspection, you can see the image of the Ox.



I will post the solution to the above mentioned problem tomorrow or Monday.

Another Weekend Project

Here are photos of two more projects that I did this weekend. These are journals that have been cased in. I used some of the animal print papers that I have available. These will be samples that I will use for special ordering. Here are the cheetah print and the zebra print. I have yet to make the giraffe print journal.

Buyers will have the option of having a ribbon bookmark or not. Another option will be a glass or carved wood fob at the end of the the bookmark. In this case, I used a dichromatic glass bead. I like the fob at the end of a bookmark because it lends weight to the ribbon. I think that it is a nice way to personalize a journal.


Cheetah Journal


Zebra Journal with Bookmark


Closeup of the glass bead bookmark

Coptic Stitch Book

As promised, here are some photos of my weekend project. I decided to make a Coptic Stitch Book using some Japanese Paper Samples and Fabriano Drawing Paper. I have been making several Coptic Stitch Books because it is certainly a developed skill. You have to worry about thread tension, sewing patterns, etc.

For this book, I decided to line each signature with a decorative paper sample that would stretch across the spine of each signature. Because this type of book has an exposed spine, you would be able to see all of the papers next to each other. Similarly, the first and last page of each signature would show the paper. When you move from the end of one signature to the beginning of the next signature, you would see the decorative papers next to each other.

The other beauty of this type of binding is that it stays flat so it is a great type of book for artists. This book will be given away to someone who wanted a small sketch book that she could put in her purse.


The opened book.


The spine of the book showing the decorative papers.

The spines of two signatures.

A closeup of the spine of the book.

A closeup of the stitching.

A Little Confession

I need to confess something. In terms of Project One for the New Year, the project really wasn’t a weekend project. I explained it as a weekend project so I could get several blog posts out of a single project. Also, I broke it down as a weekend project for those people who might want to replicate the project.

The actual project took me about four hours to complete. A lot of that time was actually stopping and taking pictures and re-measuring. Now that I have all of the correct measurements, the project will take me about two hours from start to finish—mainly due to drying times of the various adhesives.

Project One, Day Two

Day Two usually starts with the assembling of the the boxes/cylinders. At the end of day one, I should have cut the pieces so I could assemble them on day two. For this project, I cut the pieces on day two.

Here are the cut pieces ready for assembling.

The toughest part of this process is the waiting time for the glue to set. When you are connecting Davey Board to Davey Board, I use straight PVA. Even though the boards are covered, whenever you join two pieces of board you should use undiluted PVA. Here are all of the pieces joined together waiting to dry.

Drying time.

If you noticed in the above picture. The two cylinders have the linings on the inside. One error that I made in this project was the need for all of the lined Davey Board. Only the cylinders needed to be lined because the box will be lived when it is covered with book cloth. To remind myself of this, I purposely put the lining on the outside of the box.

The next step in the process is to cover with book cloth. The book cloth is left over from a previous project. Since I hate the color pink, I decided to try to get rid of some of the extra book
cloth that I have on hand. Each component is covered with book cloth.

Front elevation of the component parts.

Top elevation of the component parts. Notice the lining
in the cylinders. How you can see why the lining
must be done before assembling the cylinders.

The next step after all of the glue is dry is to decorate the outside of each component part and to decorate the interior of the box. The decorative paper is another piece of paper that is similar to the lining paper. On the whole sheet, the pattern is a little too busy for my taste. It seems less busy when cut into strips this project.

Front elevation.

Top elevation with box lid closed.

Top elevation with box lid open.

There are to last items to take care of before the project is finished. A base must be cut and covered in book cloth. Secondly, the hinge on the box lid must be stretched so that it will remained closed. To do this, you place a piece of matt board or oak tag on the box, close the lid over it, and then weight it down. This will stretch the hinge so that it closes properly. If the hinge is too tight, the lid will remain open about 1/8th inch.

Stretching the hinge.

The last portion of this project is to glue all of the components to each other and then glue them to the base. Weight them down so that the glue will adhere.


The final project.

The final project doing its job.

When I do this project for real, I think that I will change the dimensions a little bit. It seems a little dainty for me. The base is only 4.5 inches square. I think that I might widen the width of the cylinders to 3 inches each (rather than the 2 inches they are now). I like the height dimensions so I will keep those. Overall, I am very pleased with the final product.

Project One, Day One

This project will be a desk top organizer made up of Davey Board, book cloth and decorative paper. This is the mock up which will be used as the basis of a future design that will be made from faux leather paper. When I work with mock ups, I always use leftover materials rather than the materials that I am planning on using for the real project. I would rather ruin lesser quality materials than the more costly materials. The only time that this matters is when you have differences in your paper thicknesses or paper grain.

The goal of the first day is to get all of the pieces ready for assembly. The first step is to cut the Davey Board. This is a shot of the entire sheet. Only a portion of this sheet will be used for this project.

The entire sheet of Davey Board. The arrows annotate

the grain of the board.

The pieces that will be used for this project. The

markings in the left bottom corner indicate the

right angle (or squared-off corner).

After the boards have been cut and squared. The second step is to laminate one side of the Davey Board with the paper that will be the liner of the cylinders and box. The liner paper has to be applied because when the individual parts are assembled, you will not have the opportunity to line them. This is a scrap piece of decorative paper that I had.

The lining paper ready to be pasted to the Davey Board.

The finished board with the lining attached.

Because of the size of the board and paper and the thinness of the decorative paper, Rice starch paste was used to adhere the two together. This type of paste allows you the most working time and is less likely to tear your paper. Because of the added water content to the Davey Board, the board will tend to warp (even when placed under pressure). To compensate for the natural warping of the board. it is best to paste some type of paper to the reverse side to counteract the warping action. In this case, I pasted a piece of newsprint to the back side of the board.

The board pasted with newsprint on the reverse side.

The last step on the first day is to weight the board so that it will dry flat and, hopefully, not be warped. I don't think that you can ever get all of the warp out of the board. But you can still hand bend pieces that have a little bend to them.

The Davey Board under weight.

Tomorrow will feature Day Two of the project. Cutting, Assembling and Decorating the finished project.

Shigoto-Hajime 2009

According to Wikipedia, celebrating the new year in Japan also means paying special attention to the "first" time something is done in the new year. Hatsuhinode is the first sunrise of the year. Before sunrise on January 1, people often drive to the coast or climb a mountain so that they can see the first sunrise of the new year. Hatsumōde is the first trip to a shrine or temple. Many people visit a shrine after midnight on December 31 or sometime during the day on January 1. If the weather is good, people often dress up or wear kimono. Other "firsts" that are marked as special events include shigoto-hajime (the first work of the new year), keiko-hajime (the first practice of the new year), hatsugama (the first tea ceremony of the new year), and the hatsu-uri, (the first shopping sale of the new year).



So, this post celebrates the first weekend project of 2009.

It all starts with a clean studio.


A clean glue station.

A Clean Work Station

A Clean Cutting Station

A Cleaner Works-in-Progress and Drying Station


The first real order of business was to make Rice Starch Paste. I always make small batches of paste when I know I will be needing it. It never lasts very long and I end up throwing it away after every project. Therefore, I make the smallest batch each time. I get my Rice Starch from Talas and follow a different set of instructions that are not listed on the package.


I use 5 Tbs of rice starch for 1 cup of hot water. I make a slurry with the paste and 3-5 teaspoons of cold water. If you put the hot water directly into the dry paste, it seizes up and you never get out all of the clumps. After adding the hot water, you put the pan on a low heater and whisk until your arms fall off. When the paste thickens and turns translucent, take it off the heat and let it cool. It will thicken even more. If you want a thinner paste, you can use 3 (or 4) Tbs or rice paste. I prefer the thicker variety, personally. Keep the paste covered when not in use. I will last 3-4 days. If you do not have a lid for your paste pot, you can cover the paste with cold water and place a piece of cling wrap or wax paper on top (in order to prevent a skin). When you want to use it again, simply pour off the water (which should be riding on top of the paste), stir and Bob's your uncle. Some people put their paste pot in the refrigerator but I never have done that. I am afraid that I might get it mixed up with my morning oatmeal.


Put the kettle on, we are making paste

Making the slurry.

The final product cooling.


P.S. I always use a plastic container from my local Chinese food restaurant. I have a fancy for good Hot-and-Sour soup and keep the container. The small container (pint) is perfect for glue pots.

My Travel Journal

I wanted to share with you some of the inspirations that I get regarding projects. I have to commute into Manhattan daily for work. I live in the Bronx near the Yankee Stadiums. If I have to go into midtown, it takes about twenty minutes on an express train or 30 minutes on a local train. When I have to travel longer distances, I can commute for 45 minutes to one hour. Because of all of this transit time, I usually carry my Travel Journal (or more importantly—my Idea Book).

I have several journals lying about because I usually keep the first mock up of any book project that I do. The first copy usually is an imperfect that I do not feel comfortable selling or giving away. Sometimes there are only minor flaws that only I would notice. Sometimes there are major flaws that only a Father would love. My good friends know where I keep these books on my shelves and will help themselves to a journal if they like it (usually just the minor flawed ones). Sometimes I think they only come for dinner is when they want a free journal and a free meal.

I have three idea books. The first is my traveling book. The second is my working copy book. The third is my recipe book. I will be writing about the second and third books in a later blog.

My traveling book is a general journal that I jot down ideas while I am commuting. I write about anything that I want during that time. Sometimes I write down ideas for my comedy routines. Sometimes, I doodle. Other times, I design greeting cards and decorative boxes. I always carry a stash of pens and colored pencils in Ziploc bags when I travel with this journal.

Today’s idea was a desk set made out of Davey Board and covered in faux leather paper. The set will consist of two cylinders and a lidded box. The first cylinder would be 6 inches in height. The second cylinder will be 4 inches in height and will be joined by a common wall. In front of the two cylinders will be a lidded box for paper clips that will be as wide as the two joined cylinders. It will be joined to the fronts of the joined cylinders.

As you can see by my sketches, I am not a drawing or sketch artist. Fortunately for me, I completely understand the sketch. You will also notice that I love the exactitude needed for decorative boxes. I love how they have to be cut in such a way that the angles need to be precise. A wonky box is not a good thing unless you design it that way—more on that in the future.

So this is my weekend project. I will be providing pictures of the project in progress—If I can only remember to take the blasted pictures.

Have a great 2009.

Best wishes—russ

Another Wasted Weeked--Almost

Did you ever work on a project that you thought would be fantastic and wound up a dud? That was my weekend. I had this great idea. I have a good friend whose daughter loves the color pink. I thought that I would make her a pink fuzzy jewelry box that was covered in pink shag fake fur. What little girl wouldn’t love something like that? I was going to fill it up with plastic bangle jewelry and rings so that she could play dress-up.

One weekend ago, I experimented with affixing the fake fur to a mock up of davey board and book cloth. Once I figured out that secret, I collected all of the materials that I would use. The box tray and lid came out perfectly. I then covered the box pieces with Sugar Plum Pink colored book cloth. It was smooth sailing—this was going to be a breeze.

I started covering the box with the fur and it all went to hell in a hand basket. I started covering the lid first. I got a great fit but somehow I sheared the fur so that there was a marked difference in the direction of the fur. I though that I would be able to fluff it up to hide the seam (like you do when sewing fur together)—no such luck. Then I had to deal with the exposed edge. I couldn’t find a way to hide the cut edge. I still had to cover the sides of the box bottom.

I thought about covering my edges with ribbon that I had bought to affix the closure. I had this great polka dot ribbon that I wanted to use. The only problem was that it wasn’t wide enough in proportion to the davey board edge. I couldn’t turn it under the lid without it looking like a mistake. Because I didn’t have any FabricTac, I got hot glue over everything.

So, I learned a lot of things but ended up with an unfinished project that I can’t really do anything with. I will send it to the Isle of Misfit Projects so that it won’t feel abandoned and lonely.

Davey Board waiting to get cut

Box tray waiting to get covered.

Box Lid covered in Sugar Plum Pink Book Cloth

Covered Box Tray (Bottom of Box)

Box top and Bottom waiting for pink shag fur