Wish Scroll at the Book Nook

There is something satisfying about planning ahead although it happens most often with expectations from outside myself. I spent an enjoyable hour making a sample and planning the logistics for a Wish Scroll workshop which will be part of the Holiday Open House on Saturday, December 3, at the Book Nook at River's Edge in Ipswich, MA. We'll be making a Wish Scroll for the holidays and I'll be signing Handmade Books For A Healthy Planet which would make a great gift for teachers, parents, and grandparents. Actually for anyone who loves books. The Book Nook, part of the River's Edge Gift Shop, is a cozy and charming and has a good selection of titles. Hope to see you there!

Virgin Gorda Accordion Book

When I purchased this box of ginger tea in Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands in March, I knew it would be a box for an accordion book. On this July day with temperatures similar to our days on the island, I made this accordion book for a gift. What a joy to experience our trip—the Baths, the Crawl, Savannah Bay, and especially our little vacation home at Guavaberry Spring Bay— again!

A Free ebook at lulu.com

Over the years I have a published a series of e-books on bookmaking. After many experiments, I have decided that lulu.com is the best home for them.

I chose lulu as the host for two reasons. One: you can easily preview the books before purchase. Two and best of all: you have an account. Any e-book you purchase will always remain in your account--no more worrying about losing the file on your computer.

Visit lulu and get a free copy of the illustrated Recycled Materials for Making Books. While you're there, check out the selection of e-books priced from $2.95 to $19.95.

And a note for schools and libraries: Purchase orders are welcome. The books can be viewed on lulu and ordered directly from me with this order form.

Bookmark/The Kitchen Madonna

I've been a longtime fan of this book by Rumer Godden. When I first read it, it was the touching story of an odd boy who makes a kitchen Madonna for Marta who takes care of him and his sister while his busy architect parents were at work and misses her childhood home in the Polish Ukraine. It is a wonderfully unsentimental story of love, but also one of creative problem solving and using recycled materials. It's a great companion to the Flowers from the Collage Box project.

St. Patrick's Day Cross

For St. Patrick's Day, I wanted a project that wasn't about shamrocks or leprechauns and had traditional roots in Ireland. I found this in The Year in Ireland: A Calendar by Kevin Dannaher. The book is out of print but can be found on half.com and other sources.

Young girls and small children wear on the right shoulder "a St Patrick's Cross", consisting of a single or double cross formed of pieces of narrow silk ribbon stitched to a circular disk of white paper, nicked at the edge, and measuring from 3 to 4 1/2 inches in diameter. At the ends of the arms of the cross a very small bow or rosette is stitched and one a trifle larger at the junction of the arms; the more and the brighter the colours of the silk, the more handsome is considered the St Patrick's Cross.
Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society 1908

I made my cross from a piece of white shirt cardboard. I used pieces of plastic bag instead of silk ribbon. Even though I make an effort to carry a bag with me shopping, plastic bags do seem to multiply. I went through my bag of bags before I took them back to the supermarket and selected ones with color to make the ribbons and bows. I cut narrow strips and tied them into bows. The plastic bag I used for the center wasn't long enough to tie a bow so I just shaped one. I stitched the plastic ribbons and bows onto the circle but you could also use a stapler.

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.

Thanksgiving Leaf Fan Book

Here's a simple fan book made from oak leaves (or at least my interpretation of them) cut from the back panel of a brown paper grocery bag.

I traced the leaf pattern onto the bag with brown marker, colored the leaves in with crayon, and then cut them out. Holding all of them together, I poked a hole at the bottom of the leaves with the point of a pair of scissors.

I threaded a clear twist tie through a bead and pulled the two ends until they were even. I threaded them through the leaves and put the two ends through a bead on the other side. I twisted the two ends together and trimmed off the excess. You could also use a hole punch and a paper fastener.

I did the writing after binding but you might find it easier to do it before. I wrote one word on the front of each leaf and then a little about each word on the back. I wrote some additional information with a red pen along the edges of the leaf, such as the names of some of my favorite books on the back of the book leaf.


Oak Leaf Leaf Patterns to print





A wonderful picture book about November by Cynthia Rylant. It describes the month for the plants, the animals, and for us. The language is beautiful, the observations are keen, and the oil on paper illustrations are filled with atmosphere and beauty.

It starts: "In November, the earth is growing quiet. It is making its bed..." and ends: "In November, at winter's gate, the stars are brittle. The sun is a sometimes friend. And the world has tucked her children in, with a kiss on their heads, until spring."

Celebrating Ed Emberley

Ed Emberley was born on October 19,1931. In honor of his birthday, this month's project is a thumbprint palm leaf book. I'm a big fan of Ed Emberley's picture books and especially appreciate everything he has done to bring art to all of us through his drawing and thumbprint books. Happy birthday Ed and thank you!

I made my palm leaf book from a cereal box panel. Younger children may have difficulty cutting and punching something that thick. Two solutions: Glue together two sheets of copy paper with writing on one side with the written sides facing each other or prepare the pages ahead. I used a piece of netted plastic from a tomato bag for the string. The beads at the end are cut out thumbprints on cereal box.

A couple of suggestions about the stamp pad: washable is a good idea (not what I used as my brown thumb shows). If you are using multiple colors with a group, you might want to make small groups and assign each child a color to print. Otherwise there's wiping to do in between each color.

Directions

in Spanish

A closer look at My Thumbprint Book of Animals

Wish Scrolls at Wenham Museum

I spent a Saturday morning at Family Day at the Wenham Museum making wish scrolls, one of the projects in Handmade Books For a Healthy Planet. When I first made wish scrolls, based on traditional scrolls in containers from Ethiopia, I used film containers. They are becoming harder to find so I used prescription containers instead. We used brown paper grocery bags for the scrolls and to decorate the outside. I love how there is always a new adaptation and something new to learn. I had buttons and beads to add and someone came up with a way of stringing and attaching them that I hadn't thought of. We all learn from each other. I especially liked that the scrolls were made by some adults alone as well as by children. Bookmaking is for everyone.

Spirit Book Workshop at Barnard School

It's unusual to have the opportunity to give a non-curriculum specific workshop to teachers but the Barnard School in South Hampton, NH invited me to do an afternoon Spirit Book workshop as a way to give teachers a calm place to center themselves before the start of the school year. We used the front and back panels of grocery bags for the books and gathered natural materials outside. I think process is more important than product but you can see how wonderful the books they created turned out here.

Workshop at Norton Public Library

A great afternoon at the Norton Public Library working with the enthusiastic Children's Librarian Lee Parker and a gathering of parents with children from ages 2 to teen with a few adults coming to have fun of their own. We had three stations to make three simple books: accordion, stick and elastic, and hot dog booklet plus one with stencils, collage papers, glue, and markers. Our recycled paper was a blast from the past—paper left from a dot matrix printer. Some of the kids left with handfuls of strips with holes for projects at home. The workshop was funded by the Norton Cultural Council which is a chapter of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

View some of the books here.

University of Utah Workshop

I had a wonderful time at the workshop I taught for the University of Utah Book Arts Program in Salt Lake City. Twenty-five teachers from all grade levels and interests plus three great studio assistants, Becky, Mary, and Laura, came together for two days of bookmaking with recycled materials. The atmosphere was lively and energetic and there was lots of sharing. Lauri taught us another way to make "pling" (plastic string) from plastic grocery bags, Brent shared some of his great bookmaking ideas, Becky showed us a variation on the Who Am I? book, Claudia taught Liz how to write her name in Hebrew, and everybody helped make it fun . That's what's so great about making books—so much pleasure along with the potential for so much learning.

Here are photos of some of the books that were made.

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.

Newburyport Literary Festival Report

I had a fabulous weekend at the Newburyport Literary Festival. In addition to all the great events, I had my friend since third grade, Nancy (pen name Nancy Butler), visiting from New York State. We began with the only unfortunate occurrence--missing the opening ceremonies with a conversation between Wally Lamb and Andre Dubus III which received rave reviews from all who did have seats. I did comfort myself with the thought that even if we had arrived at what I would have considered early, we would have been too late. We had a great time at the Author's Dinner and I was surprised and pleased to find that my basket which contained Handmade Books for A Healthy Planet along with materials and tools sold for $150!

Saturday was the big day. We both presented and attended workshops.

What we presented:

Handmade Books For A Healthy Planet: Wish Scroll
I gave a workshop based on a project from the new book: a wish scroll from Ethiopia. After a guided lesson in making scroll cases from film and other plastic containers and yarn and scrolls from grocery bags, the group, which included parents and children and adults on their own, decorated the cases and wrote their wishes on the scrolls. It was wonderful to be in a room with the gentle hum of creative activity.

Hooked on Classics: A Hip Approach to Old Material
A conversation with Nancy Butler, author of Marvel Comics Pride and Prejudice and the forthcoming Sense and Sensibility and Jenny Sawyer, the delightful presenter of 60 Second Recap, an internet video site which introduces the classics to teens in entertaining 60 second videos, moderated by me. We had a great conversation. Nancy and Jenny had both looked at each other's work online so it was an informed conversation as they discussed their motivations and processes.

What We Attended:

Kakapo Rescue: Heartbreak and Hope at the Edge of Survival with Sy Montgomery
In her illustrated talk about her trip to New Zealand to document the nesting of the almost extinct Kakapo parrots, Sy spoke with excitement and deep emotion about her experience. The fragility of the lives of the individual birds and the incredible care taken by a small group of humans to ensure the survival of the species is deeply moving. I think I was not the only one who had tears in my eyes at the end. Her book for children is illustrated with photographs by Nic Bishop.

Gina Barreca reads from Its Not That I’m Bitter: How I Learned to Stop Worrying about Visible Panty Lines and Conquered the World
Gina is a feminist theorist and humorist. This time the tears forming were from laughter. She is a sharp observer of life who is not afraid of the f word (feminist) and I look forward to reading her books.

Playing With Matches, a talk by Gregory Maguire
I had a brief chance to talk to Gregory Maguire and reminisce about the class in Victorian Children's Literature we were both in at Simmons College in the 1970s before his presentation. I had to leave early to give my workshop but was inspired and delighted by what I had time to hear, especially about the friends one gathers across time and space through reading.

Polyphony: Poets Read New England
I loved the group reading of an accessible selection of poems by 19th and 20th century New England poets by members of the Pow Wow River Poets. Each poem was read by multiple poets. I was moved by both the content of the poems and the musicality of the presentation.

Closing Ceremony Honoring The Writer’s Life
The festival closed with a reading from John P. Marquand's (a Newburyport resident during his life) The Late George Apley by Anita Shreve, a poetry reading by JD Scrimgeour accompanied on piano by Philip Swanson, and a reading of John Updike's short story, The Family Meadow, in the deep, rich voice of local resident Josiah Welch.

See a small selection of photos here.

Eco-Friendly Crayons

I tend to prefer markers to crayons but I just purchased some Prang soy crayons and I love them. They are made with soy oil rather than petroleum which makes them better for the environment and I find they go on more smoothly and prefer the color and surface they create. I also got a set of recycled crayons which are made by Crazy Crayons, a company in Wisconsin which employs people with developmental disabilities. When I showed them to my husband, he said, where do they get the crayons from? Are there that many extra crayons in the world? I showed him my box of crayons some of which date back to the sixties, if not the fifties. So the answer is yes.

In the valentine, red and orange were colored with soy crayons, purple and brown with recycled crayons.

You can purchase the soy and recycled crayons from Stubby Pencil Studio which has a lot of eco-friendly art products for kids.

You can recycle your crayons by sending them to Crazy Crayons.

Prayer Flags

Sometimes I stretch the interpretation of what a book is and the prayer flags are an example. They can be viewed as separate pages joined together—a book. The flags (pages) were cut from different colored recycled plastic bags. The writing was done with waterproof marker. I made them last winter at about this time and they were in perfect condition when spring came. They were a welcome sight as we walked out our back door on cold and icy winter days. The pages are hung on string made from connected loops of plastic bags. Some people call it plarn (plastic yarn) but I kind of like the word I came up with, pling (plastic string). I wrapped the top of the flag page around the pling and stapled it around rather than to it so that the flags could move freely. You can find directions for making plarn/pling here.

LINKS

Tibetan Prayer Flags
This site selling Tibetan prayer flags has thorough and well illustrated information about the history and traditions as well as symbols, colors, and meanings of traditional prayer flags.

The Dream Flag Project
connects students to their dreams and their dreams to the world through writing poetry, through creating art, and through the words of Langston Hughes.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

Recyclemania continues into the new year. We have the big old-fashioned colored lights on our tree this year (we alternate between them and white, initially done to please all family members and now we all like both) and these are the burnt out bulbs. The hangers are made from twist ties. The writing was done with a sharpie metallic marker. I also used these bulbs as package tags for gifts.

Recycled Materials for Making Books pdf

I will be teaching at the University of Utah next summer (very exciting to be in Salt Lake City again and to add a trip to eastern Utah) and put together a list of materials for the workshop. After that, I was inspired to put the materials information from makingbooks.com together with some photo pages of materials in a pdf.

You can download the free pdf through lulu.com.

Bound & Lettered Article/Recycled Bookmaking

The current issue of Bound & Lettered has an article I wrote called Bookmaking with Recycled Materials: A Journey. An essay about my conversion to using recycled materials and the benefits, both expected and unexpected, is accompanied by photographs of sample books and ideas for projects of your own.

Palm Leaf Books

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

When I created a logo for Terry Farish's The Elephant Rag (see previous post), I spent some time with books in my collection from around the world. I was reminded of how beautiful the palm leaf books from India and Southeast Asia are and what an easy form it is to work with for children.

I used strips cut from a cereal box for the pages and and bread bag closures instead of beads. The page design is based on a photograph I saw of a page from a palm leaf book from India. The center border separates the text from the illustration. This is one of the sixteen projects in Multicultural Books to Make And Share. I make this book about sequence a lot with first grades.

LINKS
The Elephant Rag
The Elephant Rag is a blog/magazine about children's books with voices from around the world. You'll find links to book lists, interviews, talk about race, and stories about amazing people. Follow the link from The Elephant Rag to Terry's website which has information about her books and workshops.

Books Around the World
A photo of an illustrated palm leaf book made in Bali can be found in Books Around the World, a photo essay written for children of books in my collection.

Information on the construction of palm leaf books
from the Buddha Mind website. Make sure you click on the small images on the left; they will lead you to more images.

Traditional Cambodian Books in FACES magazine
An article I wrote about Traditional Cambodian Books appeared in the September 1998 issue of FACES magazine. Each issue of the magazine focuses on a particular culture or topic. With the help of an interpreter, I interviewed the Venerable Sao Khon, the senior monk at the Triratanaram Temple in North Chelmsford, MA for the article.