Remember to Floss Daily

I tried a new form of book binding today. It's not an original idea. I think I watched a video awhile back by  Internet sensation, Jennibellie.  My creative process often works in delay mode. I'll see something on Pinterest or watch a Youtube video, and then months and sometimes years later, I'll apply what I learned to a project I need to get done. 

So today, after I added a packet of cocoa to my coffee, I looked at the box and thought how perfect it would be for creating a book.

 I began by cutting the flaps from the top of the box. Then cut down the seams on both sides and removing the side panels. At that point, only the bottom seam and the largest panels were left--basically a book shape.

 Next, I determined how many signatures I wanted. Signatures are inside pages. I think I had some oddball number like 16. You use as many signatures as will loosely fill the spine. The photo above shows the testing for how much space my signatures would take up. at that point, I also cut notches on the top and bottom of the spine.

 Then I covered the outside with canvas. In this case, I had some Ranger self-adhesive canvas I'd been hoarding. It comes in 8 1/2" x 11" sheets, with 5 sheets per package. I used 2 sheets.

 I wanted to make sure the spine was pretty strong, so I reinforced it with a bit of duct tape. I wish I had a more discreet color of duct tape, but all I had on hand was purple...

 Next, I added cardboard shapes to the outside of the cover. I then brushed on a coat of gesso.

 After that, I went to town. I painted several different shades of metallic gold over the shapes. I dry brushed black over the pieces to make them stand out. Finally, I used white, black, and gold pens to create patterns on the shapes.

Next I attached the signatures to the binding. This involved driving to the dollar store to buy some waxed floss, as I could not find my book binding linen anywhere. The strands of floss are tied outside the spine. 

Finally, I spruced up the floss by tying in assorted ribbons and fibers in the color scheme.

If you aren't a fan of the fibers, I can see modifying this binding by tying the floss (or book binding linen) to a sort of false spine and then gluing the false spine inside a book you've recycled. I've got many, many book covers waiting for this sort of treatment, and I intend to experiment.