Bookbinding Team

Paper Swap!


On Tuesday, Jen of A Red Pumpkin Studio posted about her love for paper. She posed a question to the bookbinding team curious if anyone would be interested in a paper swap. I sure piped up! And here it is the end of the week and it's already in the works! Thanks for organizing it, Jen :) Above are my 9"x12" papers that I'll be sending for swappage! I've included some favorites & am crossing my fingers for good swap karma.

Boombox Bindery Interview on Bookbinding Team Blog

This morning, Hilke, one of my bookbinding friends across the world has posted an interview with me on the Bookbinding Team blog! It was such an honor to be asked, and I had a really nice time corresponding with her this week. She's such a neat person, I felt like I should be interviewing her! Here are a few things I know about her:


Hilke also goes by buechertiger, which translates to book tiger. She lives in Germany and has an awesome blog called Verzwirnt Und Zugeleimt: Into the Realm of Book Arts by Trial and Error. I love her blog because she does such a good job of sharing her recent work, and she manages to give a snapshot into her daily life, which is so fun! Also, her recent paste paper tutorial is excellent and very thorough, so if you've been wanting to give paste paper a try - check it out! The photo to the left is one of her papers. She has a wonderful gallery of work, and she also has an Etsy shop full of lovely books.

Many thanks, Hilke!

The BEST Holiday Book Event, Ending Soon

It's just a giving couple of weeks here in Blogland! There is one whole day left to enter the BEST Holiday Book Event. Chances are earned with every ten dollars spent in participating shops. If you do make a purchase, add "BEST Holiday" in the note to seller box, for one extra entry. The prizes are incredible! There are three separate gift baskets full of books and related goods, as well as two gift certificates to spend in any participating shop. A person could have all of their holiday "shopping" done in one fell swoop!

I've updated some of my listings this week and plan to add some stocking stuffers to my shop today, little books that would be great for stockings as well as last minute entries!

Flag Book Button Closure

When this flag book was posted on the Bookbinding Team blog, Olive Art commented with a question of how I attached the button and thread. I gave a short description; I attached the button and string by punching a hole through the cover board and the valley of my first accordion fold. I used one length of string, with the ends knotted underneath the button.
But after writing that, I thought it might be nice to offer a visual description.

Click on the diagram above for a larger view. If you start with the red arrow, you should be able to follow the path my thread took.

Fishy Flag Book

Here are some photos of the flag book I made for the Bookbinding Team Swap in September. Here's a link for the entry about it over on the team blog, and here's a link for all of the books involved.

I've been working on a diagram to illustrate how I attached my button and closure thread, and will post it later this week.

I loved setting this little book in the sunlight and observing all of the shadows that danced around it.

B.E.S.T. Back to School Sale

Remember back to school shopping? Those were the days! I still feel a little jolt of excitement whenever I roam the school supply aisles or step into my mom's kindergarten classroom. Oh, the smell of crayons, pencils, and Elmers glue, and the sight of new folders and name tags! Nothing like a fresh start.

September will be here tomorrow! What's that you say? You're feeling nostalgic and think you'd like something new to celebrate the new school year?? Well... you are in luck! Starting tomorrow, the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team is having a sale! September 1st through 7th, many members of the team are offering free shipping and special sales.

The following shops are offering free shipping; BoomBoxBindery(that's me!), Anticovalore, Swirling Tree , notubóc , LizzieMade, flurrsprite, Re:Paper, Anagram for Ink, BadonHill, its all just menagerie, Nina Judin Books, Kristin Crane, SusanGreenBooks, OliveArt, UsefulBoooks, and MyHandboundBooks. KarleighJae is offering a buy one get one 25% off, and Parkside Harmony, PrairiePeasant, and Robyn's Art are offering 20% off.

Click away, happy shopping, and everybody have a great start to the new school year!

By the way, that's one of my original Pee-Chee folders, pictured above. About half of the people I know have never heard of them. Sadly, they are no longer in production, and while I had my share of Lisa Frank folders, my Pee-Chees are most treasured. Have any school supply memories to share?

Hot Dog! It's a Virtual Barbecue!

If you ask me, summer time calls for barbecues, and barbecues call for hot dogs! Last summer when my friend Amy and I were in Sweden, the obligatory summer hot dog was far from our minds, but never far from our hearts. Little did we know that there are all sorts of interesting hot dogs in Sweden! As luck would have it, whilst in Gamla Stan, we happened to find the best variation ever: French Hot Dogs! These were extremely long hot dogs that slid into the ketchup & mustard drizzled hollow of a piece of baguette. That's a shot of the clever & delicious dog over to the left.

I hope all of this hot dog talk has you hungry! On behalf of the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team, I'd like to invite you to our virtual BBQ! Now this is no ordinary barbecue, aside from the fact that it's a three day event, it is also a scavenger hunt! Head over to our team blog for the easy details on how you can be the lucky winner of the B.E.S.T. $30 gift certificate! While you're there, take a look at my recent Tools of the Trade post about awls.

B.E.S.T. Contribution: The Bonefolder

Today is my first day as a contributing member to the Etsy Bookbinding Team blog.

Thursday is my day to post, and my plan is to document and chat about the tools of the bookbinding trade. I'm limiting the tools to those that I find in my own bindery. I've yet to do the count, but I think this will take me through quite a few Thursdays.

Luckily, I have a little helper who will help me choose what to post about, & more importantly what to play with.