by Linda | Aug 2, 2010 | my creative journal
One of the first types of bookbinding I learned about was how to make an accordion book or aka concertina book. It’s a super easy peasy way to transform paper, glue and a piece of ribbon into a functional creation! I imagine that many of you have probably made one these before in grade school since it’s an especially easy project for kids to do. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to create something that looks really snazzy and classy at the same time. The Booklyn Artists Alliance has a great PDF that’s actually an education manual for kids. It illustrates what an accordion book is and how you can construct your pages along with lots of variations.
So why would one choose to create an accordion book? Well, because the book is a series of folded pages it’s great for display purposes. You can use it like a regular book but you can also spread it open for full-viewing of every page. It’s an easy type of book to create without any kind of complicated sewing and I actually like it for the folded page aspect. Whenever I have thin paper that I only want to use one side of, I usually create an accordion book, where the pages are folded, so you only write on one side. I also think it’s a fun type of book to make if you piece together scraps of papers you have lying around!
To make an accordion book you need paper, glue and I add some ribbon in for the closure although a closure is not required. To walk you through the process, I’ve taken some scrap strips of paper I have lying around, some scrap painted papers and strip of ribbon along with my trusty PVA glue, Vinavil.
The first thing to do is to construct your pages. You basically need to create a back-and-forth fold of pages…however long you want your book to be, you can make it! If you buy large sheets of cardstock, it’s possible to get a little book without piecing any paper together, you just cut a strip and fold. However, if you want to use scraps or you need to piece together papers you can cut little tabs and connect each piece of folded pages together as I did or you can even glue one whole side to the other to create your accordion fold of pages. If you don’t mind doing a bit of measuring you can fold you paper and leave a tiny strip as a connecting flap as well. Any way you want to do it, just get your paper folded and pieced together into an accordion fold. Whew, the bulk of the work is literally done at this point!
Now you can add a cover to your book to keep it sturdy and strong. It’s also a good time to think about how you might add your closure as well, to sort of hide it behind your cover material. I’ve decided to only use one side of the pages of my book, so I’m wrapping ribbon all around my stack of paper. The left side is going to be the “binding” part if you flip it like a book, so the ribbon goes around it. If you wanted your book to open up entirely, you could cut your ribbon into four pieces and attach it to the front and back, edges hanging out to the left and right. This way you can tie the ribbon on the left and right of your book to close it securely, but you can also untie both sides and your book can stretch out entirely.
My cover material is just some scrap painted papers I glued on top of the ribbon to the front and back covers. It’s actually smaller than the book size itself, creating a nice framed look. You can of course use thicker material like chipboard to create a hardcover.
After gluing everything together you should put it under some heavy books to apply pressure and let it dry. That will ensure your book is secure and the glue is really binding it all together.
Tah-dah! Easy peasy accordion book all done…how lovely is that? In my example, the ribbon ties on the right…but know that you could have attached the ribbons to tie on either side or skip that part all together if you don’t need a closure. Especially if you are going to use it as a showcase for photos on a shelf, you don’t really need closure at all. I’m sure you are realizing how easy it really is to bind a book – yes, this is bookbinding! I think this is probably the first book you’ll make if you take a bookbinding class somewhere. Remember that once you’ve learned the process, you can vary the size, materials and closure to create really unique books for any occasion or purpose. Here are a few I’ve created previously.
There are lots of ideas out there on the internet as well, for example The Paper Source envelope accordion book. How cool is that? You can hang it up to hold your receipts or notes as well as close it up to take on the go. I hope you give it try and enjoy the process of creating something super cool and functional. Ciao ciao!
DISCLAIMER: This post contains ads and affiliate links where applicable.
More Resources:
I wholeheartedly recommend CreativeBug (Get 3 months subscription for $1) because they have a coptic stitch tutorial as well and it’s very official by a professional bookbinder, so that is something to check out!
As with all things, once you try it a couple times, you’ll figure it out. So don’t hesitate! The results are satisfying for sure, so have fun!
Here are some bookbinding books on Amazon if you are looking to learn more:
by Linda | Jul 29, 2010 | my creative journal
The heat wave here in Italy has suddenly been cooled down with a crazy thunderstorm – scary! Good thing I’m pretty busy just working indoors with some housekeeping on my websites and blogs…a new splash page…
Lots of cardmaking and stamping…
Scraps of paper and material…
…turned into a little journal. It’s a bit flimsy because of the one strip of support. I think I’ll have to stick with larger journals with two strips at least…I suppose super tiny journals aren’t exactly so usable either!
Of course, I’m still making my leather journals…working away…
Happy Thursday to all and have fun in your creative space.
by Linda | Jul 28, 2010 | DIY printables
Looking for a free printable library card template? Here are some mock printables for decorating your books and papercrafting.
Another week means another free printable for you!
As I work on designs, sometimes there are extras left over that I put up as a free download here on the blog. It’s nice to be able to share something that others can use in their crafting. The more the merrier!
Here’s an example of something that I wanted to create, just because library journaling cards have been all the rage in papercrafting. They seem to be popping up all over, in scrapbooking and cardmaking.
Although it would be great to find real vintage library cards to incorporate into projects, it’s nice to have a printable version that I can repeatedly use. Print as many copies as you like!
Here’s my free printable library card template in a couple of styles.
Download Printable Library Journaling Cards PDF (188 kb)
Hope you will find these library journaling cards useful for your paper DIY projects. Enjoy!
If you liked this printable, you might also like my other printable freebies:
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by Linda | Jul 27, 2010 | my creative journal
Even though I’m busy as a bee, I always find time to get a bit of art journaling in here and there. It’s helpful to just leave your art journal open and do what you can, when you can. I was just listening to the latest Creative Living with Jamie podcast where she interviews Stampington & Company’s Editor-in-Chief, Christen Olivarez. Christen mentioned how she has her art journal and supplies in the office, so whenever she has a moment or even more importantly needs a moment – she can go at it! I think that’s a great idea and although I didn’t consciously set that up for myself, since I have my journals and supplies littered around my room – I get the same benefit.
I started thinking about the notion of taking some time out because we need it, not only because we would like to. Maybe even the yearning to do something is really the body and soul crying out for that kind of time? I guess we have to twist the words a bit and not say that we are taking time – as if taking away from something else – rather making the time. So much more positive, even if it’s just a little mind trick on yourself perhaps. It sure has a whole different connotation to it. It might only be 5 minutes, but let’s all go make time for ourselves! You can see below that sometimes I go my journal in the midst of working, when something goes awry! Afterwards I always feel better 🙂
by Linda | Jul 22, 2010 | my creative journal
Here are some snapshots of my creative workspace this week…
by Linda | Jul 21, 2010 | DIY printables
Looking for some pretty and free flower digital stamps? Download these designs for coloring, cardmarking and scrapbooking fun!
Hi everyone! I’m getting more organized these days and trying to get weekly features up on this blog, including digital card designs as well as freebie digital stamps. Here’s a free set of floral patterns, along with a gerber daisy. You can use the florals in a background pattern design or just individually for a beautiful card.
I’ve also realized that digital stamp designs can also be used for embroidery. The possibilities I suppose are only limited by your imagination! I came up with these while working on repeating pattern designs – often doodling just happens – so I thought it would be nice to share.
Download Floral Patterns Digital Stamps ZIP (754 kb)
Please note that all my freebies are for personal use only, but feel free to link or blog about this to get the word out. Enjoy!
If you like my design printables be sure to sign up for my email newsletter for more freebies and the latest updates!
by Linda | Jul 20, 2010 | DIY printables
Sometimes I design something, but then get distracted and totally forget about it. For this particular design I had run out of printer ink and couldn’t complete the card. Even when I bought more ink, I had already moved on to the next project and forgot that I had designed this hybrid card design. I thought I would post it anyone and see what you all think about this idea. It all started when I was inspired by a Jessica Sprague class on digital cardmaking. I was opened up to the possibilities of creating hybrid handmade cards, but not just printing out an image to color with copics. It’s such a creative eye-opener, so I decided to design one myself from scratch.
Download Just Saying Hellow Hybrid Card Design PDF (2.8 mb)
I created a simple card sketch and using the advantages of digital design to create my patterned paper. However, the card requires assembly with some sewing and added ribbon for that handmade touch and tactile feel. Of course, you could probably use the materials for a different card…I just happened to design it for that sketch. Let me know what you think, if you find these little projects fun and useful. Yay for hybrid card designs!
by Linda | Jul 16, 2010 | my creative journal
TGIF…in both the Thank Goodness It’s Friday and Trust, Gratitude, Inspiration Friday aspects. At times I’ve been feeling really good and on a roll…thankful for inspiration and how lovely life is. Then I hit a block and suddenly the view is so much grimmer. I keep feeling like I don’t have enough time and so worried that I won’t get to do all and really become successful. I know it’s so drama-esque-sounding.
It got me thinking about the Law of Attraction, that somehow our thoughts could influence actual events. Personally, I struggle with the topic because I want it to be true but at the same time think that it doesn’t make sense. I’m a worker bee type and there’s satisfaction in hard work leading to success. I know that I often feel it’s proper to do things from scratch, to earn it through toiling away, even if it wasn’t necessary. There was discussion of the Law of Attraction on the Spring Inspiration site and they also mentioned David Neagle’s Art of Success talk. I don’t know what came over me, but I suddenly thought perhaps I needed to seek guidance from an outsider.
Instead of watching TV, let’s say, should I invest a couple hours in his talks? At first it seems like it could be a bunch of hooey… and the fact that it’s all free makes me wonder if there is a marketing ploy at the end. Has anyone ever listened to his talk or perhaps similar motivational, sort of philosophical talk kind of stuff? Do you think pep talks are helpful? Perhaps the Law of Attraction simply means that we have to believe in the possibility, so that our mind is opened up to opportunities? Something like believing in yourself?
To top it all off, Creative Thursday just posted a podcast about being a winner and success. More to think about. My mind is just swirling around these theories, thoughts and conflicts about success, winning, making it…I’ll be taking the weekend to ponder away. Have a good one yourself…
by Linda | Jul 14, 2010 | my creative journal
My sewing machine’s manual specifically warns against sewing leather, canvas and thick materials. I decided to break the rules and do it anyway. Sewing up some scraps of leather, sort of a reverse pieced applique thingy…
I would like to proclaim to the world with fisted-hand, “Oh yes I can sew leather – muhahahah!” Perhaps a bit dramatic, but it really got me thinking about breaking the rules. I don’t mean to put yourself in harm and if I break a needle and it flies into my arm I will be kicking myself, I’m sure (eek!) I mean for us to break the rules we’ve created artificially and to not follow the regulations just because it’s the norm. To go beyond expectations…that’s the only way we will grow and learn, right?
I want to thank everyone for commenting on my post yesterday – I was frustrated with a little drawing that didn’t go as planned and going along with today’s thought of breaking the rules, I realized that I created a random expectation for myself and going out of that regulated space made me feel uncomfortable. I like to draw little cute subjects and create a fantasy optimistic world of smiling little girls. Of course, that’s not the only subject that comes out of me and at times I can get angry and feel a bit down as well. There isn’t a rule or regulation about subject matter that should be directing my art…why did I insist on wanting to be the same? Break out of your own rules, I say! Funny how we box ourselves in at times…but thankfully we can also ponder ourselves out as well.
by Linda | Jul 13, 2010 | my creative journal
Woohoo! My little paper roll mini won second place on Scrapbook Crazy…how cool is that? Check out all the entries and hope you are inspired to create one yourself!
