Saturday, January 30, 2010

Saturday Daydreaming: Bookbinding and Beutiful Sketchbook Lusts

I have both, but don't cope with either well. The former is too exacting; the latter, my sketchbooks themselves are secondary to the information within the covers, be they for weaving or just for fun, I can't edit the contents.

Among other things I did after my bookbinding workshop was to take the pages out of a hardcover diary/date/schedule book Ben discarded and covered the cover, and inserted coffee- and tea-stained drawing paper inside. I loved making it, but haven't managed to think up a series of contents to match the brown pages.

I keep all my diaries as supplementary tax records. In the past I've ceremoniously burned the inside pages after the obligatory 7 year retention period, and used the covers for posting/mailing fragile stuff; I haven't even bothered with that for some years.

I recently came up with this brilliant new idea, however! I'll cut out just some of the pages, leave some in, and cover the cover with papers or thin fabrics I like, paint/draw/doodle over some pages, and cut/paste things on others. There's not as much pressure on binding a straight, exact book, nor creating beautiful sketchbook contents, and I might even end up with some eye-candies free from my usual work mode/process-process.

Sounds like a plan?

(Never noticed, but in the years I had the fancier diaries, I was more imaginative! Chicken or the egg!)

7 comments:

  1. I like your brilliant new idea, Meg. Yes, cut out some of the pages so you have room to paste in thicker stuff (that will stop the binding from getting too stressed) and just go for it. Lots of colour or be subtle, probably more you, and you'll end up with beautiful journals you won't want to throw out. Keep enjoying your trip, sounds great so far. xx

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  2. i once had a boss that required us all to keep a sketch book for our work ideas. He insisted we all use the same size and color of book and the same kind of ink pen. oh good gravy! yes, he is on my friends list believe it or not, even though, you may have guessed it, I didn't fit inside his little boxed in world and yes, he fired me. But we were friends first, so just goes to show, never go to work for a friend.

    i have not kept a sketch book since.

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  3. Attractive stationery is REALLY important. It just is, I don't care why :-)

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  4. From diary to scraps book - that's a great idea. We used to have scrap books to stick special things into when I was a child. Come to think of it, I'm surrounded by folders nowadays, I stick things on paper or cardboard in loose leaf files. But re-using old diaries is a good way to make use of things you'd otherwise discard.

    By the way, I can upload photos now from home!! Hurrah!!

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  5. Carol, I thought it was a brilliant idea for me! And not too stressful.

    D&D, not a happy story, eh. You could do it just to please you, or Daily?

    Cally, oh, you wise on, you understand my whim so well.

    Dorothy, that's GREAT news. I suspect you have a whole new setup and a home office?

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  6. Hi Meg, got a lovely old desk ;) and a top quality monitor, waiting for my new PC to be built. It's all so slow ... nevermind, I'm spinning some yarn for weaving another scarf.

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  7. Oh, a much better activity, Dorothy!!!

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