ATC No. 666 Video Sped up 20X and Soundless

I hand draw ATC's to give away to people who are helpful or provide extra services. As many of you know, I have many allergies and reactions to food, pollens, metals, perfumes, etc. and frequently servers, airline hosts, hotel personnel, and others go out of their way to make sure I stay healthy. I like to recognize them by giving them an ATC.

I usually use Micron pens, .005 to 08,  and do not plan the design out ahead of time. This means I do not pencil it in, but let it grow outwards from the center. 

This time, since I knew I was going to film the process, I thought about the design a little bit before I started. Because I had an idea of some of the designs I wanted to use, this ATC took me a little over an hour. The cards usually take between 2-3 hours to complete and are only 2.5 by 3.5 inches.

Usually I work on cards while I wait for appointments or I am on an airplane. They are easy to pick up, work on for a few minutes (or hours), and put away. My supply is running low and they are very relaxing to make, so I felt it was time to doodle some more. 

I hope you enjoy the speed run.

Craft an Artsy life.

Theta

Stamping and Trimming the Signatures

Today I uploaded part 2 of my mini series on how I make a lot of my books. In this video I show you how I finish off my signatures in preparation for sewing the signatures to the backing material. Some things like stamping on the pages I find easier to do before the book is put together, whereas other decorations are better done afterwards. After stamping, I trim the signatures, and through the magic of editing, poof, all of the signatures are ready. Enjoy!

Craft an Artsy life,

Theta

Etsy: Artsy Theta

Instagram: @ArtsyTheta

YouTube: Artsy Theta

Journaling Cards for the journals and Journal Listings on Etsy

 Hello,

I am working on getting out a video on stitching the signatures into the covers, but it is taking longer than I had hoped. I have stitched the nine signatures into two of the four covers so far and I want to film the next set. However, I still have to stamp and then cut the pages for the rest of the signatures.

In the meantime I made some journaling cards for the journals I am making:

These are flat with a coffee dyed paper pattern on the back.

These are folded, one with a tab like a file folder.

And, the backs of the folded journaling cards.

I enjoy making ephemera the most out of the whole process of journal making. I like all of the little bits and pieces. That's why the Birthday Books and seasonal books are so much fun to make.

Other news:

Today I listed 4 more journals in my Etsy Shop. They are some more of the small

journals I made while living in Saudi.

All of the journals together, then separately.

Small blank journal - This hand-bound 5 ¾” x 4 ¾” x ⅞” blank journal is filled with a variety of page types: lined, patterned, and vellum.  Each of the 3 signatures consist of 9 sheets for a total of 108 sides/pages. The interior pages, hand dyed with walnut ink, are mostly brown and pink with hand stamped butterflies.

Small blank journal - This hand-bound 5 ¾” x 4 ¾” x ⅞” blank journal is filled with a variety of page types: lined, patterned, and vellum.  Each of the 3 signatures consist of 9 sheets for a total of 108 sides/pages. The interior pages, hand dyed with walnut ink, are mostly orange and brown with hand stamped flowers.

Small blank journal - This hand-bound 5 ¾” x 4 ¾” x ⅞” blank journal is filled with a variety of page types: lined, patterned, and vellum.  Each of the 3 signatures consist of 9 sheets for a total of 108 sides/pages. The interior pages, hand dyed with walnut ink, are mostly green and brown.

Small blank journal - This hand-bound 5 ¾” x 4 ¾” x 1 ⅛” blank journal is filled with a variety of page types: lined, patterned, grid, ledger, and vellum. In the center of each of the 4 signatures is a bound-in envelope. Each signature consists of 11 sheets for a total of 176 sides/pages. This journal is not dyed or distressed.

Listing my Journals on Etsy takes me a lot of time. I am getting faster though, yay! 

Build an Artsy life,

Theta

How I make book covers, mostly

I have been working a lot on things to put in the four journals I am making and am almost done with the signatures. I had better have a place to put the signatures when they are finished, thus, it is time to make the covers. In this video I am showing you how I make some of my hardback book covers.

Materials and sizes I used:

Cardboard:
2 - 5 ¾ by 8 ¾ inches -- front and back covers (x2 or four to six depending on the thickness of your cardboard)
1 - 1 ½ by 8 ¾ inches -- spine (x1 or two or three, again depending on the thickness of your cardboard)

Paper:
2 - 9 3/4 (height) by 8 (width) inches paper - (I used 2 sheets of 12 by 12 inches cut down, but two full sheets of 8 ½ by 11 in. works well too)
1 - 4 by 10 inches paper for the spine covering

Cheesecloth:
1 - 3 ½ by 8 inches -- roughly

Glue (I used tacky glue this time)
Glue spreader (old room key)
Scissors
Craft knife and cutting pad
Brayer (not necessary, but does help with adhesion and smoothing out glue lumps)
Old, dry baby wipe to wipe up excess glue

Notes:
I have been making book covers this way on and off for over twenty years. They hold up well and are not difficult to make. A few things to remember are:
1. The front and back boards should be the same size
2. The spine board should be the same height as the cover boards
3. Make sure the bottoms of the boards are all even when glueing them to the covering
4. Make sure the spaces between the spine and the covers are even (I usually use a space of between ¼ inch and ½ inch)

Remember to enjoy yourself while creating an Artsy life,

Theta

Stenciling on Deli Paper

I was working on the signatures for the journals I am making and needed three more sheets of decorated deli paper to go in the signatures of one of them. I thought I would share how I go about this and give a sneak preview of one or two of the signatures.

 

Yesterday I filmed making the cover for the fourth journal. The filming time came out to an hour, that's way too long in my opinion. Editing is going to take a while, so, I posted this one first. Since the cover will not be finished until the signatures are in and the flyleaves down, the cover video will be the first in the series of how I am putting the journals together. 

Now that I have finished the deli paper leaves, it is almost time to bind the signatures in. I just need to do some stamping on some of the sheets, then they will be ready to go.

I was going to make four signatures of ten sheets each, but I did not like how thick each signature was. So I changed my mind and now have nine signatures of six sheets. This gives a much better distribution of the pages.

Anyway - 

Make an Artsy life!

Theta

Show And Tell - Cyril's Farm Book

The book I am showing you today, Cyril's Farm, I made (and wrote) about 18 years ago. My dad wanted me to show it to him the next time I visit, but with COVOD I don't know when that will be. Therefore, I thought I would share it with you all, not just my dad.

I made this book for my son and as an example for a class of homeschool children I was teaching bookmaking. There is nothing like the pride and confidence a child can get after writing a story and binding into a real book. Plus it's great fun!

Make an Artsy life every day,

Theta