Bookbinding 101: An Introduction (by Karleigh Jae and Daniel Heywood)

Starting tomorrow we’ll be kicking off a series of posts designed to provide a solid foundation of bookbinding knowledge, which, for the new bookbinder, will teach you all you need to know to get addicted started.

And for the intermediate binder, it should refresh some skills, teach you some new tricks, and maybe add a new structure or two to the ones you already know how to create.

We’ll discuss the materials, the tools you can’t live without, and you’ll learn to make many different book structures and how to combine them. By the end, you should be able to pick up any book on bookbinding and be able to follow along, which sometimes isn’t easy to do without already having some experience and a working knowledge of bookbinding vocabulary.

(Also useful for any beginner is this guide to Book Arts Terminology)

Click here to learn Book Arts Terminology! 

DIY Playful Bookbinding and Paper Works by Paula Beardell Krieg

I recommend checking out Paula’s wonderful site for more DIY guides and examples of basic bookbinding/paper arts :)

thedailywhat:

Graduation Gift of the Day: Here’s the story behind newly minted grad Brenna Martini and the best-kept secret EVER.

I graduated High School this week. When my Dad said he had a present for me I thought I was getting some cheesy graduation card. But what I received was something truly priceless.

Following the ceremony he handed me a bag with a copy of Oh the Places You’ll Go, by Doctor Seuss inside. At first I just smiled and said that it meant a lot and that I loved that book. But then he told me “No, open it up.”

…On the first page I see a short paragraph written by none other than my kindergarten teacher. I start tearing up but I’m still confused.

He tells me “Every year, for the past 13 years, since the day you started kindergarten I’ve gotten every teacher, coach, and principal to write a little something about you inside this book.”

He managed to keep this book a secret for 13 years, and apparently everyone else in my life knew about it!

Yes the intended effect occured… I burst out in tears. Sitting there reading through this book there are encouraging and sweet words from every teacher I love and remember through my years in this small town. My early teachers mention my “Pigtails and giggles,” while my high school teachers mention my “Wit and sharp thinking..” But they all mention my humor and love for life.

is astounding to receive something this moving, touching, nostalgic, and thoughtful. I can’t express how much I love my Dad for this labor of love.

[nedhardy]

(Source: thedailywhat)

C. S. Lewis on fantasy vs. fact, a timeless and timely reminder of the role of critical thinking in making sense of the stories we’re told. (via explore-blog)

(Source: , via explore-blog)

9 Super Easy Book-Making Tutorials by Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord

(Projects very suitable for children, instructions also available in Spanish!)

humansofnewyork:

Unemployed librarian employs herself by collecting donated books and setting up make-shift libraries around Brooklyn. Proving that you may need a company to provide you a job, but being unemployed is a personal decision.

I don’t agree with the last part of the above caption, but I do admire what this lady is doing! :)

(Source: humansofnewyork)

bookorithms:

A lovely Book Week poster from 1924, designed by Jessie Wilcox Smith, who illustrated many children’s books.

abudaii:

This is a mule disguised as a library. He brings books and literacy to children in remote Venezuelan villages. Mules like him are called Bibiliomulas and they are perfect.

(via shergawia-deactivated20121108)

soldieronpond:

The Black Book of Colors by Menena Cottin

I stumbled across this while looking for a book for my cousin’s new baby. I was so intrigued by the whole idea. On each left page there was words written in braille and then again in white text. It was the description of colors, according to how a blind child would experience. On the right there were raised etchings of what each page was describing. It’s so beautiful.

One page in particular that really caught my attention was the one describing the color red. It talked about how red is how it feels to bite into a ripe strawberry, or the stinging on your knee after you fall down.  Blue was the feeling of sunshine on your face. 

It’s just so astounding that someone managed this, as the idea of how to describe a color to someone who has no reference has always fascinated and baffled me.

Picture source here

Available to purchase here

(via portkeytoinsanity)