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I was so excited to receive How to Make Books from my parents for Christmas! I’ve been coveting this book since it came out in November 2007. And in person, I was blown away by its details:
What you can’t begin to appreciate from that publisher’s cover photo up top is that the cover of the book is thick chipboard, with a letterpress printed title and a screen-printed cloth binding over the spine.
The author, Esther K. Smith, is clearly a deep aficionado of book-making. She and her partner own Purgatory Pie Press, whose website is also amazing.
Beautiful, playful typography everywhere…
… And the step-by-steps are graphical and interesting, in addition to being easy to follow.
How to Make Books is one of those wonderful craft books that I know will be on my shelf for a long time. It covers seven styles of book construction in detail, and offers up a wealth of ideas for variations. You could make yourself an endless number of books from this resource. It’s not just a collection of cute projects, it’s a real crafting tool.
How excited was I to see this accordion business card holder with playing card covers?
For the record, the book details making instant books and zines, accordions like this one, stab-stitched books, pamphlets and chapbooks, mutant books, and long-stitch and coptic books.
I’m so eager to try out some of the cool stitching techniques…
… And this absolutely kills me. Full of awesome.
As I was pulling links together for this post, I found that Esther Smith has a brand new book out:
Yee-Haw! Back to coveting with me!
Yes, I agree, I have this book and I love it !!!
Yes, I agree, I have this book and I love it !!!
Oh yes, that’s been on the covet list for quite awhile! I didn’t know that she had a new book out, how fun!
Oh yes, that’s been on the covet list for quite awhile! I didn’t know that she had a new book out, how fun!
Wow! You certainly do make gift buying easy! “Magic Books”….. for Valentines, Easter, President’s Day………?? Is there something sooner?
Wow! You certainly do make gift buying easy! “Magic Books”….. for Valentines, Easter, President’s Day………?? Is there something sooner?
I love this book, too! The instructions are so clear–and the illustrations so amazing–that I made a few first-ever books for Christmas gifts. The best one was a simple little book of cocktail recipes, some of which I had invented. They were a lot of fun to make, and not just because I got to fine tune my cocktail making skills! Thanks for letting us know about her new one. I forgot that I was waiting for it!
I love this book, too! The instructions are so clear–and the illustrations so amazing–that I made a few first-ever books for Christmas gifts. The best one was a simple little book of cocktail recipes, some of which I had invented. They were a lot of fun to make, and not just because I got to fine tune my cocktail making skills! Thanks for letting us know about her new one. I forgot that I was waiting for it!
Wow, you know? You should start charging me a finder’s fee for showing me all these neat books! I MUST own “Making Books” because that cake box book is just the ultimate…for goodness sake!! Too cool. I’m eyeing my pantry now…
Thanks for sharing all your wonderful finds! ;) If you make any of these I’d love to see them!!
Wow, you know? You should start charging me a finder’s fee for showing me all these neat books! I MUST own “Making Books” because that cake box book is just the ultimate…for goodness sake!! Too cool. I’m eyeing my pantry now…
Thanks for sharing all your wonderful finds! ;) If you make any of these I’d love to see them!!
I got that for Christmas too! I had checked it out from the library but put it on my wish-list when I realized I would need to refer to it throughout my life.
I got that for Christmas too! I had checked it out from the library but put it on my wish-list when I realized I would need to refer to it throughout my life.
This is a cool book. I just made the 6 sided flexigon, once with snowflakes and once with pictures I “kaleidoscoped” in Photoshop. Yeah, I know it’s not a verb. It is now!
Pictures and instructions on my blog!
This is a cool book. I just made the 6 sided flexigon, once with snowflakes and once with pictures I “kaleidoscoped” in Photoshop. Yeah, I know it’s not a verb. It is now!
Pictures and instructions on my blog!
Oh, that is cool . . .
Oh, that is cool . . .
Wow. Cake box. It’s totally fun to amass craft books, but you actually *use* them. What cool parents you have. :o)
Wow. Cake box. It’s totally fun to amass craft books, but you actually *use* them. What cool parents you have. :o)
man, I love that book. thanks for the review!
man, I love that book. thanks for the review!
[...] to Make Books: Fold, Cut & Stitch Your Way to a One-Of-A-Kind Book by Esther K. Smith on the CraftyPod blog the day before receiving a $10 off wishlist items coupon from Fishpond. So I ordered it and Magic [...]
I own How to Make Books also. I made a variation of the cake box book out of a box from Easter Egg dying kit. I am having trouble finding cool food boxes that have something other than food facts and UPC codes on the sides, many don’t have much about the product itself on it.
Little Jiffy muffin boxes could be cute too.
I own How to Make Books also. I made a variation of the cake box book out of a box from Easter Egg dying kit. I am having trouble finding cool food boxes that have something other than food facts and UPC codes on the sides, many don’t have much about the product itself on it.
Little Jiffy muffin boxes could be cute too.