New House, New Book - Japanese Stab Binding

  

Hello, my crafty friends. I hope everyone is well. Today, on the Paperartsy blog, I'll be showing you how to make a book using Japanese stab binding. Also, of course, using the gorgeous Hot Pick 1601 set of stamps.

I started off with 2 sheets of Smoothy Card and covered each with a layer of Squid Ink Fresco Acrylics. This layer doesn't really have to be painted carefully as we'll be painting over the top. Then make sure it's completely dry before continuing. Step 2 of this part is to thinly cover the painted card with some Crackle Glaze. I used a palette knife to make sure it was a really thin coat. Wait until it's completely dry again. For Step 3, I used different techniques on each sheet. I sponged Stone Fresco Acrylic on the first sheet, giving me delicate cracks on the top layer...

... then painted the same colour quite thickly on the other sheet which gave me stonking great fissures! I prefer the second one. It has fabulous texture, but I needed to stamp on the front cover so I wanted that to be smoother.

I stained around the edges of four separate pieces of mountboard with Vintage Photo Distress Stain - two cover pieces and two spine pieces. Then I set them aside to dry while I finished the covers. You could also use chipboard or Paperartsy's Grey/Whiteboard for this stage.

I used Versamark Ink and the small 'Home Sweet Home' stamp from the same set, then heat set some Ranger Embossing Powder (superfine) in Copper over the top. Oh, how striking does that look? Fab! Everything was just going perfectly...

... until I messed it up in superb style. I'd covered the embossed spine part with Post-it tape while I stamped the houses, beginning at the bottom (Ranger Archival Ink, Coffee.) At the top, I didn't want to only see the bottom of the houses, so I decided to take the 'Home' stamp and fill in the top. My mind had obviously wandered off for a coffee break without telling the rest of me and I stamped it upside down - CLANG!! 

As the great Ralph Steadman once said, "There's no such thing as a mistake." I always view these as creative opportunities and take a different route. Well, I wasn't about to start over! I die cut the words 'first' and 'home' from the offcuts of the covers and also from chipboard (Sizzix Tim Holtz die, Wordplay,) then stuck card to board,...

... went over each piece with Distress Stain (Vintage Photo). I used a paper stump so that I could control the amount of coverage as I still wanted to see the cracks,...

... then I went totally over the top (Who? Me?) and covered all of the letters in Ranger Crackle Accents.

Great decision, if you ask me.

I still had the problem of the upside down 'home'. I had to cover it as it would have been visible under the letter embellishments, yet I still wanted the cracks to show. So I gently dabbed Fresco Stone paint over the top with my finger. I kept doing that in very thin layers until I had a satisfactory result.

Now this was a test for me but, luckily, it worked out really well and is something I will do more in the future. I  stamped the large door from the set onto an offcut from the chunky crackle cover in Vintage Photo Distress Oxide then, because they stay wet a little longer, I covered it in clear embossing powder and heat set it. Wow! I'd like to pretend it was intentional but it was a complete fluke. 

I stuck a mountboard cover and spine piece to each painted cover, leaving 1/8" gap between the two to allow for movement. The spine will not move when it's finished, so the cover part needs to be able to open.

I punched the holes in both covers and also the pieces of cardstock (300gsm, Coffee) I was using for the pages. I used a Crop-O-Dile Big Bite to punch the holes but I would advise using a drill if you can. Then I practiced on a spare piece of board. Each set of three holes is called a 'station'. I started at the second station (from inside the middle page of the book out towards the cover) and worked my way to the far end.

I clamped everything together so that it wouldn't move. Each time the needle comes out of the a hole, wrap it around the spine and go back into the same hole, then onto the next. The thread, string, cord (or whatever you choose to bind with) will eventually pass through each hole three times. Don't worry if it looks like you've missed one, you will catch those on the way back down. At the ends, wrap the cord around the side of the book as well. This will provide the third run through that hole. Then you will easily be able to see where the thread should go next. When you reach the starting point again, simply tie the two ends off.

I chose 1.5mm leather cord to bind my book. Then I stuck the letters and the door in place.

I added shading to the outside of the embellishments with an Inktense pencil (Bark) and blended it out with a water brush.

Ta-daaaaa! One book for my daughter and her fiancé to photo-document their first house renovation. I can't wait to see it when it's full.

I realise this is a very long blog post, and I hope the 10 minutes with feet up was welcome. I will film a demonstration YouTube video to accompany this post very soon, so keep your eyes peeled on this blog.

Do have a go at different stitches for book-binding. It's very satisfying when things go according to plan ...*cough* ...eventually.

Love and peace,

Wendy x

For a list of stockists, please visit the Paperartsy blog.

Follow me on:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest