Summer/Winter Opposite Book

There are summer days when I wake up and walk outside and glory in the beauty of the season. And then there are days like the ones last week when I throw myself into a snowbank if one materialized. And so was born the idea for a book about winter and summer that celebrates each season. Summer can be read on the glory days of summer and the bitter days of winter and vice versa.

This book is based on the form called dos à dos meaning back to back in French. I used copy paper with writing on one side and had the writing on the inside when I made the first hot dog fold. Two hot dog booklets are glued into a cover that has been folded like a Z. If you've been following the blog, you may already know how to make a hot dog booklet. If not, there are written directions in English and Spanish and a video tutorial.

For the cover, you'll need the front or back panel of a cereal box. The length should be at least 3 times the width of the books.

CREATING THE COVER:

1. Place the cereal box panel so that it is wider than tall. Leaving a small border at the side edge and the bottom, place a booklet at one edge of the panel. If you are doing it with a group, choose right or left so that everyone is doing the same thing.

2. Fold the panel over the booklet and flatten.

3. Turn the cover over so that the booklet is underneath.

4. Flip the panel back so that the fold likes up with the edge of the previously folded section.

5. Trim off any excess cover.

6. Hold the booklet in place, open the folds and trim off the top leaving a small border between the booklet and the cover.

In my Summer Winter Book, I decorated the cover with collage papers before attaching the booklets.

ATTACHING THE BOOKLETS TO THE COVER:
1. Open the top page of the booklet and insert a piece of scrap paper. Cover the surface with a thin coat of glue. Remove the scrap paper and fold it in half.

2. Place the booklet in the cover so that the spine (the side with the single fold) is along the fold of the cover.

3. Open the booklet and smooth to help the glue adhere.

4. Turn the book over and repeat on the other side.

This book has a lot of curriculum applications—contrasting points of view such as the Union and the Confederacy in the Civil War or characters in a book and any debate topic.

View my book on flickr.

Scribble/Color Book

Here's a fun book for the summer holidays combining two very different but equally enjoyable activities (at least to me)—the loose freedom of scribbling and the calm concentration of coloring.

The complete post, with a giveaway for those who comment, can be found at susangaylord.com.

National Poetry Month/Humor and Poetry

April is National Humor Month as well as National Poetry Month. There are lots of ideas for combining the two at thinkfinity.org.

PoeTree at Rhythm of the Home

I'm very pleased to be able to share this project with the readers of Rhythm of the Home, a lovely quarterly online magazine of crafts, recipes, stories, and celebrations of the season. With four sections—Warmth, Play, Celebration, and Connection—there's lots to savor and inspire.

PoeTree at Rhythm of the Home

Comic Book Inspired by Persephone

Although I'm still walking gingerly on the ice and peeking out from snowbanks to make turns when driving, I have spring on my mind. The days are getting longer, the sunlight is stronger. The first stirrings of spring are in the air. It makes me think of my favorite Greek myth, Persephone.

This project is from Handmade Books For A Healthy Planet. As I wrote in the book:
Comic books cover a wide range of stories from superheroes to Archie. You can create your own characters, use myths from different cultures as a source, or write about local heroes who make the community a better place.

For a small book (the Local hero book), use US Letter/A4 paper. I prefer paper from the recycling bin. Just have the writing on the inside when you make the first hot dog fold. For a larger paper, you can use the front or back panel of a grocery bag, a newspaper page, or construction paper.

Written directions

In Spanish

Video

My Persephone Book on flickr


My other inspiration for this project was this wonderful book of six Greek myths by Cynthia Rylant. It is beautifully written and draws lessons and make observations about life from the stories. In Persephone, she wrote:
It is one of the stories of life that that which is most light often attracts that which is most dark. And so it would be for the maiden Persephone, for one day she caught the eye of Hades.

Revels Twelfth Night Celebration

I was so pleased to take part in the Revels Twelfth Night Celebration at St. John's Church in Watertown, MA on Sunday. In addition to singing, dancing, a mummers play, and Morris Dancing, and a visit from Father Christmas, there was a craft activity on stage. This year it was making a wish book for the new year. I was so pleased when the Revels accepted my offer to lead the session as I have been a long-time attendee and have always wished there were some way to be involved. My singing voice, or lack thereof, makes trying out for the chorus not a possibility.

We made a simple hot dog booklet out of recycled paper with writing on one side only and added a yarn and bead loop and tie so that it could be hung. Then the real fun began as the children used markers and papers from the collage box to decorate their books. There were some amazingly intent workers. Some spent about an hour at the table.

I loved the creative hum of the children with songs and music in the background. And then to see their lively creations! A wonderful way to close the Christmas season and welcome in the new year.

Now Christmas is past,
Twelfth Night is the last
To the Old Year adieu,
Great joy to the new.

Revels Twelfth Night Celebration bookmaking photos on flickr.

Here's directions to make a booklet of your own.

Handmade Books for Literacy

This is a fabulous project. Members of the North Redwoods Book Arts Guild in California made 1,000 small handmade books which are being sold for $1.00 each to benefit a local literacy program. They used what I call the hot dog booklet.

About the project:
Article in the Times-Standard

Book Arts Guild blog

How to make your own hot dog booklet:

Summer Journal

One of my favorite things about bookmaking is how easy it is to make small changes or additions to an existing form and have the new books feel fresh and exciting.

For the Summer Journal, make 4 hot dog booklets: one from a grocery bag and three from used US Letter/A4 paper with writing on one side only. The three smaller books are glued into the the three double page spreads of the larger book. Easy and fun. I named my three little journals Garden Journal, Beach Journal, and Rainy Day Journal.

Written directions

in Spanish

Video

Celebrating Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson has been on my mind since I just installed a set of digital compositions combining hand-lettered lines by the poet with kaleidoscopic flower imagery at the Newton Free Library in Newton, MA.

This month's project is small book in celebration of Emily Dickinson. You can put one poem in the book, or a collection. I was inspired by Emily Dickinson's fascicles, small booklets into which she copied more than 800 of her poems. While Dickinson made the small volumes from folded sheets of paper that she bound with string, this book is a simple fold and cut book that I call the Hot Dog Booklet with papers from the collage box and lines from the poet.

Written directions

in Spanish

Video

A sheet of Emily Dickinson poems for your book

My Emily Dickinson Book on flickr

My Artwork: The Emily Dickinson Series

LINKS AND BOOKS
The Emily Dickinson Museum
A wonderful site with information about visiting the Homestead in Amherst, MA (a wonderful experience) and lots of information about Emily Dickinson and her poetry.


Jeannette Winter frames a short collection of Emily's poems with the story of her sister Lavinia finding the poems after Emily's death.


Jane Yolen tells a beautiful story of poetry, love, and truth-telling based on a poem and dead bee that Emily Dickinson gave to her six-year-old nephew, Gib.


Michael Bedard tells another story of Emily's connection with children is told here by a girl who lives across the street.


Elizabeth Spires wrote this delightful small chapter book about a mouse who lives in Emily's house and is inspired to write poetry. As the white mouse Emmaline describes herself: "Before I met Emily, the great poet of Amherst, I was nothing more than a crumb-gatherer, a cheese nibbler, a mouse-of-little-purpose.

Celtic Knotwork

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day and in anticipation of the Oscar nominated animated film The Secret of Kells which I can't wait to see, this month's project is Celtic knotwork.

I made a hot dog booklet from the back panel of a brown grocery bag and followed directions on the web for making Celtic knot designs. There are directions using graph paper but I preferred the simpler way of drawing the design in crayon, marker, or colored pencil and then adding the outlines to make the interlocking knots.

Written directions

in Spanish

Video

My Book of Celtic Knotwork on flickr

LINKS
Book of Kells at the Trinity Library in Dublin

Book of Kells DVD
This short video promoting the DVD gives some close-up views of pages from the Book of Kells. You can purchase a copy at John Neal Booksellers.

The Secret of Kells website
You can watch the film's trailer here.

Celtic Knots
This was my favorite site for Celtic knots. It was here I found the draw first, outline later method which is called felt-tip pen on the website. There are also outlines which you can print and color or trace over and then add outlines as well as lots more information.

Celtic Knotwork
I liked this site a lot too. There is a method of drawing your own simple grid and then building the knotwork design.

Art by Deirdre McCullough Greenwald
My friend Deirdre has been using Celtic knotwork in amazing ways in her work for many years. You can see samples of her work here.

Quotations Books

I quote others only to better express myself.
Michel de Montaigne

I've always loved quotations. When I discovered calligraphy, I fell in love with the pen and the ink, but also the opportunity to write out quotes and express my love of words. In the last few years, I've started collecting quotes again. This time of year seems especially ripe for quotations as we prepare for the holiday season, reflect on the year that is passing, and look forward to the dawn of a new year.

I've made a series of small books of quotations to hang on the tree and attach to packages. Each book is made from one quarter of a sheet of US Letter/A4 paper with writing on one side only following the directions for the hot dog booklet. The covers are cut from saved greeting cards from previous years. There are two shapes of books. The traditional book shape on the package was made following the directions. The long, narrow books (one held vertically and one horizontally) were made by folding a hamburger first and then a hot dog. Notice that the package is wrapped with newspaper and tied with used videotape.


Written Directions

Youtube Video


Books and Links


Quotations for Kids by J.A. Senn
Over 2,000 quotations for kids. What I especially like about this collection is the number of quotes from children's book characters and children's book writers.

"The world is a wonderful place when you're young."
E.B. White, US author, said by a goose, Charlotte's Web


Daily Learners
A quote a day about learning with links to more information about the authors. Created by a homeschooling parent.

"The most important motive in the school and in life is the pleasure in the work."
Albert Einstein

I don't have a favorite general website for quotations. I usually search quotations and the topic and see what comes up.

Word-A-Day Journal Report

Here's what I've been doing with my Word-A-Day Journal. Each day I write one word that is very specifically related to something I did that day. Sometimes I miss a few days but I do go back and fill in. After I skipped two pages by mistake, I now put the number of the day in the corner of each page at the beginning of the month. After the month ends, I go back and write a little bit on each page so I will remember the significance of the word and sometimes I add a very quick little drawing. I've posted some pictures on the Word-A-Day flickr group. You have to be a flickr member to join and the photos are available for viewing only to those who sign up for the Word-A-Day Journal group.

If you'd like to make your own, you can find my youtube tutorial here. I started at the beginning of the new year, but you can start at any time. Perhaps the first day of spring? Several correspondents have also mentioned giving them as birthday gifts.

Inauguration Celebration Book

I was deeply moved by the entire inaugural celebration but what echoed in my mind the following day was the tune of the Shaker song Simple Gifts that was used in John Williams’s composition Air and Simple Gifts. It was played by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman, clarinetist Anthony McGill, and pianist Gabriela Montero. I have designed a small booklet with the words of the song to commemorate the day. Print out the pdf and follow the directions for making the hot dog booklet either on my YouTube tutorial or on my website. It's very simple: all you need is the printed page and a pair of scissors. If you don't have scissors, you can tear instead. The writing will be on the outside when you make the first fold.

Watch the performance

Word-A-Day Journal

I have always loved the idea of faithfully keeping a journal with something written or drawn for each day of the year. In practice it has never worked. I decided that I might have a chance if I only had to write one word a day and that it was important to keep it small and simple so I wouldn't be tempted to start more elaborately and then quit because I couldn't live up to the expectation. I designed a series of small books, one for each month, that go in a box made from a cereal box. My plan is to write the word at around the same time every day, probably before I start to get dinner ready. I like the idea of deciding on the word that will sum up the day. We shall see.



Patterns

Memento Hot Dog Booklet

http://www.makingbooks.com/hotdog.shtml

Video Tutorial

Summer is travel time for many, whether a long trip or visiting places close to home. Here's a Hot Dog Booklet made from a gathered map or menu. I made my first one when my daughter and I and friends went to the Office (the TV show) Convention in Scranton, PA last fall. They were giving away one sheet maps with festival venues and parking areas. Being the bookmaking-obsessed person that I am, I immediately saw the map folded into a Hot Dog Booklet. I made mementos for all of us with photographs. You can use restaurant place mats, commercial maps that a lot of towns have advertising local restaurants and shops, a poster or flyer from a show.

I didn't want to carry around large pieces of paper so on the spot I folded the map the long way like a hot dog, then the hot dog in half and then in half again. The folds were in the right place for the Hot Dog Booklet which I made when I got home. I put the map on the outside (by having it on the outside when I made the first fold like a hot dog) to serve as a background and glued photos to the pages. If you put it on the inside, you'll have the map to refer to if you open up the paper. I glued photographs to the pages but you can also glue pages of drawings or writing.

Awkward Aardvarks Alphabet Book

http://www.makingbooks.com/hotdog.shtml

Video Tutorial

This month's project comes from a workshop I gave last month on Making Alphabet Books at the Massachusetts Reading Association Conference. It is part silly sentences and part grammar lesson. Each page has a sentence with an adjective, a subject, a verb, and an adverb, all starting with the same letter. Mine were all about animals: Awkward aardvarks act amazingly. Zealous zebras zoon zestfully. I found it helpful to use a dictionary and had a blast making the book.

Make 4 hot dog booklets and glue one on top of the other. The book has 26 pages including the front and back covers. It is important that you be very careful when writing in the book. If you miss a page by mistake, your alphabet will not be in order. I suggest you go through first and write the appropriate letter in pencil on each page.

I used paper from the recycling bin that had writing on one side. When I folded the paper in half like a hot dog (the first fold I made), the writing was on the inside.


LINKS
Bibliography of Alphabet Books

There are lots of possibilities for the subject matter of an alphabet book. Looking at existing books can give you ideas.

An annotated list with images of the book covers from the Hennepin County Library in Minnesota
http://www.hclib.org/birthto6/booklistaction.cfm?list_num=202

An annotated list from the Salt Lake City Library
http://www.slcpl.lib.ut.us/good_reads.jsp?parent_id=132&page_id=409

Bembo's Zoo
Bembo's Zoo is an alphabet book of animals created from the letters of the animal's name in the font Bembo by deVicq de Crumptich. An abedecary of animals is created from the font Bembo. The animated version is delightful.
http://www.bemboszoo.com/

Abecedarium: An Exhibit of Alphabet Books from the Guild of Bookworkers
Artists' books and fine bindings by forty-two artists.
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byorg/gbw/gallery/abecedarium/contents.htm

The Alphabet by Abba Richman
Beautiful black and white photos of the 26 letters found mostly in the urban landscape.
http://www.pbase.com/abbarich/the_alphabet

And a color version:
http://www.pbase.com/abbarich/coloured_alphabet

Hot Dog Booklet Video

St. George's Day

is April 23rd. He is the patron saint of several countries including Catalonia in Spain, England, Portugal, Georgia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Republic of Macedonia. St. George's Day in Catalonia is especially rich as it celebrates three things: St. George who fought and slayed the dragon and the day of the deaths of Miguel Cervantes and William Shakespeare (April 23, 1616). Boys and men give their girlfriends and wives roses; girls and women give their boyfriends and husbands books.


The Creative Year has a simple book project as well as directions for making a paper rose.

PoeTree

http://www.makingbooks.com/hotdog.shtml

   Last fall I made a "PoeTree" by hanging small books with a poem written in each on branches I placed in an empty can. I'm taking the idea of poems on trees out into the community with The PoeTree Project as part of the Newburyport Literary Festival at the end of April. Students at the Nock Middle School are writing short poems on strips of tyvek which will hang from trees in the downtown area and in front of the Festival venues. I was inspired byan image of Japanese folding screen from the Art Institute of Chicago.

This month's project is a PoeTree. Fun at any time, it is especially appropriate for National Poetry Month which is next month.

I made small books from used 8.5 x 11 copy paper that had writing on one side. If you use repurposed paper, the writing should be on the inside when you make the first (hot dog) fold. I chose short poems by some of my favorite poets but you may want to write your own.

To make the hanger, you'll need a piece of yarn about 24" and a bead.
1. Fold one piece of yarn in half and thread folded end through the bead. Leaving a loop for hanging, tie a knot with the bead inside the knot. If you don't have a bead, you can just tie a knot.

2. Place the bead on top of the book and separate the two ends of yarn. Place one along the outside spine of the book and the other inside along the center of the book.

3. Tie a double knot at the bottom of the book.


LINKS

Writing Poetry with Jack Prelutsky
http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/jack_home.htm
A thorough and fun poetry lesson with Jack Prelutsky.

Giggle Poetry with Bruce Lansky
http://www.gigglepoetry.com/
Website of Bruce Lansky chock full of poetry and information: Poetry Class, Poetry Fun, Poetry Theater, and lots more.

The Poetry Zone
http://www.poetryzone.ndirect.co.uk/index2.htm
The Poetry Zone publishes poems by children online, has a section called Poets Talk with interviews of writers of children's poetry, and includes resources for teachers

Adapted from the March 2008 issue of Making Books Monthly
Free subscriptions available at makingbooks.com.

Word Books

http://www.makingbooks.com/hotdog.shtml

We recently had a delightful German exchange student named Jacky with us for two and a half weeks. One of her assignments on the trip (learning and writing down five new English words each day) inspired this month's project, a Word Book. These are great for all ages: young children learning new words, high school students preparing for the SATs, students of another language, and anyone who enjoys the wonder of words. The links provide a selection of Word of the Day sites for all levels.

You will need one piece of paper and two pieces of yarn. I used one half of a newspaper page for the book and wrote the words and definitions on separate pieces of paper which I then glued to the book. If you get a newspaper regularly, you could make a book for each week starting on Sunday or Monday, do a word each day, and at the of the year have a box with 365 words.

One thing about using newspaper is that it has a very pronounced grain. You will find that it is easy to tear neatly from top to bottom, but difficult from side to side. I tore the double page in half to get one page and then cut it in half to get the size I used. To keep with using recycled materials, you can also use a piece of paper with writing on one side only. When you make the first fold (long and skinny like a hot dog) in the directions, the writing should be on the inside. To make a longer book, make several of the hot dog booklets and glue them on top of each other.

1. Follow the directions for making the hot dog booklet.

2. Open the book to the middle and lay a piece of yarn across with an even amount sticking out on either side.

3. Close the book and lay the other piece of yarn across the top of the spine with an even amount sticking out on either side.

4. Tie the yarn together at each side with a double knot.

Links

Word of the Day Sites
http://blackdog4kids.com/games/word/daily-word.html
has a range of words from easy top hard and a bunch of word games as well

http://wordcentral.com/buzzword/buzzword.php
At Merriam Webster's Word Central you can hear the word pronounced. Learn what it means and how to use it, and answer a word wiz question.

http://www.oed.com/cgi/display/wotd
The Oxford English Dictionary offers a word of the day with pronunciations, spelling, etymology, quotations, and dates

http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/wdj.asp?wordType=2
The Princeton Review offers words for the SAT. You can also look up words for Business, Medical, and Law if you are so inclined.

http://www.transparent.com/wotd/index.htm
A word of the day in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and English for Spanish speakers


Adapted from the November 2007 issue of Making Books Monthly
Free subscriptions available at makingbooks.com.