Most people, when making cluster books or handmade journals, sew in the pages to the cover before they do anything else. I decided not to do that since I didn't know what I was going to do for a cover and I thought it would be easier to stick clusters to the pages if they were loose.
It turns out it was good decision since I ended up removing 4 pages as I've run out of time to make clusters for them. Correction (added later) It turns out it was a bad decision . . . read below.
I find the whole process of book assemblage nerve-wracking. It's easy for the pages to come out of aliagnment when you're'sewing them in and the covers always seem to be too short or too narrow in places. I've not done one yet that I've felt pleased with.
I can't put it off any longer though. I have to give my friend her present tomorrow so Day 34 of The 100 Day Project is cover making and assemblage day.
I mentioned on Day 23 I'm going to use the tea-bag wrapping paper I made on Day 21. My plan then was to reinforce it a bit with the hand cream paper but I've changed my mind about that now.
I'd already lined the tea bag paper with some upcycled green paper which was once the wrapping around a bunch of flowers. Once the gel medium I'd used to glue it with, had dried it felt sturdy enough without the handcream paper so I decided to use one of those as decoration on the front instead.
I cut the cover to size, just slightly bigger than the biggest page in the cluster book which is the music score and then cut around the darker pink roses and stuck that on.
Oh dear, that's already looking pretty wonky.
Next comes the impossibly tough bit - lining up the pages and keeping them lined up long enough to make holes in the centre crease. I literally spent hours trying to do this and had to give up for today feeling totally disheartened.
Now I know why people bind their pages first. Having paper different sizes, different thicknesses and then different weights due to the clusters I'd stuck on, made it extra difficult.
The weight of the wire in particular make it practically impossible. I tried using washi tape to keep the pages in place but look as the disalignment of the edges in this picture. Actually you can't really see how bad it is in the photo but, take my word for it, it is very higgledy-piggledy.
I also tried bulldog clips and paper clips, both things that I have used "successfully" in the past, but to no avail.
Normally I'm pretty casual about things but even I can't live with that level of disalignment, especially when it's going to be a birthday present.
So that's me. Done for the day. I quit!
Now I'll be trying to fix this tomorrow, under acute time pressure. Grrrrr. 😢
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
You can now read all of this Project's posts in one place by visiting the
The 100 Day Project - 2024 - Collection.
💚 Thanks to all those cheering me on. Your support is very much appreciated. 💚
@jacey.boldart @denmarkguy @alchemystones @steevc @shanibeer @stickupboys @nickydee @lizelle
I think part of the charm of hand made books is that they are wonky and misaligned. I'd be thrilled you spent that much time thinking about me and making something for me.
Thanks for the encouragement Shani. My mistake was not to walk away once I started struggling with it. I'm ususally quite good at that these days but I'd set my heart on completing the book yesterday so kept going whilst getting more and more frustrated. I'll be back to it this morning and practicing "good enough". 😍
I know what you mean and I'm sure it will be lovely ❤️
Oh ! So sorry ! I know that had to be frustrating.
I'm sure I don't understand exactly what you are trying to do, so if what I am about to say sounds moronic, well, I'm a moron sometimes....LOL..... but
What if you lined the center page up with the second page and punched the holes you need, then take the third one, line it up behind the second as centered as possible, punch through the already made whole in the 2nd and so on and so on. Then you would only be lining up one page up to the page behind it. In other words I guess, don't punch them all together at once. My theory is, that if the holes are centered in the first two, the others should be easy line up, one at a time of course.
It's ok to say I don't know what I'm talking about, because I pretty much don't. Also, sometimes just getting away from it for a while and coming back fresh is very helpful.
I think your idea is a good one. It was my original one too but then I worked out a way to get the holes in the right place relative to each other and so decided to make them all at once, as is the usual way. However, I struggled with it for so long that the original idea went out of my head.
The real mistake was not stopping sooner. I should have walked away from it long before I did. I so wanted to finish it yesterday, so I didn't have it hanging over me today, that I kept struggling for way too long.
It's a bit of a pattern of mine - that I run out of time at the end of a project and end up fed up with it.
Time for some breakfast now and then my back to the attic to get it finished.
Good Morning ! I'm guessing it's past noon there now.
I hope everything has gone well and your book went right together with no problem.
Thanks Jacey. It's all done. Will make a post later.
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You have come this far to quit, no matter what there's always a way out of situation. So my dear don't just kick everything out just look elsewhere or fine something different but still linked to this
I'm not quitting the project. Just what I was working on yesterday. Today I will get back to it.
I believe you. Keep it going, you will archive it in no time. You never can tell