Monday, December 20, 2010

Bookmaking in Latvia


What a treat to find this message from Irena from Latvia yesterday morning. I love the way we can make connections around the world these days. I do put a lot of time and effort into sharing on the web and it is gratifying to hear that it is being used. And she sums up how I feel about bookmaking, "When you start it you just can't stop."

Dear Mrs Susan,
my name is Irena Laurina, I live in Riga (Latvia). I found your blog this summer and was completely "in love" with this idea. I began to make different books using your nice videos and ideas.. and now I also have had some workshops for children and adults about making books from recycled papers.. When you start it you just can't stop, especially if you love the ecological and green things and lifestyle... I started blogging about my other hobbies, like glove and sock dolls, about my amazing cat and of course about bookmaking for children
I wish you a very nice Christmas days and a lot of new ideas next year!
I added some pictures from my last workshop with 2 adults and 3 children..
have a nice Sunday!
Irena


You can see Irena's work at recyclingismypassion.blogspot.com.


Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Gingerbread House Accordion Book



While it doesn't have the pungent aroma of baked gingerbread or the sweetness of the icing and candy, this gingerbread house and accordion book is a treat. I used the bottom of a grocery bag for the house and half the front panel of a grocery bag for the gingerbread men. You may want to glue your accordion into the house which I forgot to demonstrate on the video.



Patterns for gingerbread men and candy


Books and Links

Delightful story of the Gingerbread Baby's new friends with Jan Brett's always engaging illustrations. I find I spend more time with the pictures than the words in her books.

How to Make a Gingerbread House
I haven't tried the recipe but her description of the process fits what I learned (the hard way) in several years of gingerbread house construction.

A Gingerbread Tradition
A little bit of the history of gingerbread by Alice Ross.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Leaf Book for Thomas


Two-year-old Thomas and his mother provided the acorn "hats" I used in the book made from oak leaves. I decided Thomas should have a book of his own.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Oak Leaf Book




I was inspired by Laura Martin's comment on facebook on My Thanksgiving Leaf Fan Book made from grocery bags wondering about using real leaves. I used acorn tops, beads, a piece of chestnut leaf stem, and wire for the binding and wrote a quote about gratitude on each page. I think the book would last longer if I had pressed the leaves between wax paper but I was too impatient.

Gathering the leaves on my walk today was an interesting experience. I was standing on the sidewalk getting ready to bend down to add another leaf to my small collection when a man with a rake came up to me and said, What are you doing?" followed by "Leave my trash alone." I stood and stared at him waiting for him to smile or laugh. But he seemed to be seriously concerned about my taking his leaves. As my father used to say when I expressed an idea or opinion he thought was ridiculous, "What!?!" So I tossed the leaves to the wind and found a new collection to pick from a little way down the street.

Here are the quotes which I found online:
We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. Thornton Wilder

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice. Meister Eckhart

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. G.K. Chesterton

Gratitude is the memory of the heart. Jean Baptiste Massieu,

Monday, November 15, 2010

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."

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

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

Friday, October 8, 2010

Lighthouse Libraries


Lighthouses were often time located in remote areas and as such had no access to city services such as libraries, opera houses, entertainment, etc. that most people enjoyed who lived in a town or city. As light keeping was a lonely profession in most cases supplies were brought to them by lighthouse tender ships. One of the items the tender supplied was a library box on each visit as pictured to the left. Library boxes were filled with books and switched from station to station to supply different reading materials to the families.

Read more about the libraries here.

And for a great adventure story and taste of life in a lighthouse in the 19th century: