Not only do I hoard novels, mysteries, historical fiction and a few other genres, but I also add craft books to my to-be-bought list on a constant basis.

I have a bookcase dedicated to my crafty books where I keep books on bookbinding, journaling, paper arts, and where I also keep stacks of my favorite magazines like Bound & Lettered and Somerset Studio.

So this Friday Finds is dedicated to listing some craft books I really, really want.

• 500 Handmade Books by Suzanne Tourtillot. I actually got to see this book before it was even out at the bookstores as my bookbinding teacher has several of his art books featured in this book and so he had an advance copy of it. This book is not a how-to but it’s a wonderful source of inspiration. Makes me daydream about books I want to make one day.
• Bookcraft by Heather Weston. This one is a how-to and while I already have lots of good books on bookbinding, I usually can’t resist when a new one comes out.
• Handmade Hellos by Eunice Moyle. I love getting real letters. I used to be so good about sending them too but lately I’ve gotten very lazy. Maybe I need this fun little kit to get me writing again.
• True Vision by L.K. Ludwig. I think I may have mentioned this one before but I finally got a chance to see it and confirmed that I want to add it my bookshelf.

So those are my finds. I’m off to enjoy the weekend… Hope you do too!

Remember when I said I was working on a new book that required vellum? Well, I’m finally getting back to this book. For this I’m using a tacket binding method which requires that the vellum strips, which have been soaking in wheatpaste, go through the holes in each of the signatures. Not an easy feat I must say. Here’s a picture of the work in progress.

After the strips are brought through, then I pick up the book spine and work them through it. I’ll weave the strips through the slits I made in the spine so no actual sewing is required for this book. When the wheatpaste dries, the vellum will pull together and there’s the binding. Here’s what the spine is starting to look like:

I love that the strips have this wild look to them. It took me about two hours to work through three signatures so I still have quite a bit of work left on this book. And, as I’m getting closer to adding the last signatures (I have about three left) it becomes harder to add them to the spine. Things get a bit tight there.

Once the spine is done, then I’ll add the covers. This is a big book too. I normally prefer to work on smaller size books but this one I hope will become a scrapbook, so I needed lots of room for pictures, journaling and ephemera.

In other bookbinding news, I am also working on some coptic journals which I hope to add to the shop in the next couple of weeks. Coptic journals are becoming my favorites. The binding is pretty and they are sturdy. Here’s a picture of one of the ones I finished, which actually won’t be making it to the shop as it has a big boo-boo. A good learning process and hey, I was able to salvage the book so I can use it.

Sorry for such bad photos but I was in a rush. Once the projects are done I promise nicer pics. Now I’m off to relax with some good books as my back and arms are a bit tired from a long day of bookbinding.