At Home with Handmade Books: 28 Extraordinary Bookbinding Projects Made from Ordinary and Repurposed Materials (Make Good: Crafts + Life)

Making your own books is easier than you might think, and Erin Zamrzla shows you how, using Japanese methods to produce a range of delightful projects: from easy-to-fold accordion pamphlets to books using the intricate and distinctive Japanese stab stitch bindings. Traditional bookbinding techniques are applied to creative and contemporary projects that will interest a broad range of beginning crafters, DIYers, and book artists. Zamrzla makes all the techniques accessible and completely nonintimidating by providing clear, step-by-step instructions for even the more complicated stitches. Information on the basics of bookbinding, including book terminology, tools, and techniques are included, and many of the projects encourage the creative use of recycled materials.

Each project is featured in a full-color photograph presenting it in a real-life setting. Additional photos and computer-drawn instructional illustrations offer step-by-step details of construction.

Projects include:

• Unfolding Flower Notes: An accordion book that opens into a string of flowers.
• Tiny Souvenir Book: An accordion book with envelopes for pages so you can collect memories on the go.
• Return-to-Sender Mail Book: Made using a four-hole stab binding in the hemp-leaf pattern, the pages of this notebook are contained within an envelope cover so you can simply fill the pages, seal the end, and mail it to a friend, who can then add to the pages and send it back to you.
• Pillowcase Dream Book: Made using a Yamato binding — a simple two-hole stab binding — the cover of this book is sewn from a pillowcase.
• Tea Bag Tracing Book: The pages of this book are created from tea bags that are bound in a traditional account-book style.

"This is an elegant, beautiful book that made me want to drop everything and dive into creating one of the 28 lovely projects. The author's clear, step-by-step instructions make even the most complicated stitches easy to re-create."—Decorating Digest Craft & Home Projects

In projects adapted from traditional Japanese bookbinding methods (e.g., four-hole, Yamato two-hole) a California book artist presents the basics of making handmade books, material and tool lists, techniques, and step-by-step instructions often using recycled papers. These creative projects include accordion books, hanging ledger books, children's peek-a-books, return-to-sender mail books, recipe books, a sock cover book, and pillowcase dream journal. Resources are listed. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

The handmade books presented here offer creative ways for you to explore your personal styles and interests: Create a record of this year's garden with a book made out of seed packets. Collect your favorite recipes under the protective cover of a plastic cutting mat. Make simple memo pads out of recycle bin scraps. In this collection of twenty-eight Japanese bookbinding projects, traditional techniques meet contemporary style, from easy-to-fold accordion books to the intricate and interesting Japanese stab-stitch bindings.

Book artist Erin Zamrzla makes Japanese stab binding easy and unintimidating. Her clear step-by-step instructions make even the more complicated stitches easy to re-create. Information on the basics of bookbinding, including terminology, tools, and techniques are included and many projects encourage the creative use of ordinary and recycled materials.

Make the projects in this book and discover creative ways to chronicle your life's adventures.

Erin Zamrzla earned BFA and MFA degrees in graphic design from Fort Hays State University. Her creations have been featured in Ready Made magazine, and on Design*Sponge, www.coudal.com, www.boingboing.net, www.craftzine.com, www.makezine.com, and www.NOTCOT.org. She is currently designing, painting, and binding books from her home in Santa Monica, California. See more of her work at www.erinzam.com.