Book Making: Personalized Sketch Book




I've been wanting a thin, long sketch book specifically for random texture sketches, doodles, and abstract painting warm ups.  I honestly keep forgetting to look for one while I'm out and about, so I figured, I would make my own.

I can't help myself when it comes to books and sketch books alike. So the ability to create them by hand just makes me so happy.  I find the process relaxing and fun.  A long time ago I stumbled on Sea Lemon's channel on YouTube. Let me tell you, I think she has the easiest to follow instructions on book binding. I adore her videos and always reference them whenever I get stuck. If you're just starting out or looking for a new binding technique to try, I suggest checking her channel out.

I started with this pad of sketch paper, it's rather cheep and I'm not sure about the quality yet, but I thought it would be perfect for warm up sketching and painting. 






I took ten sheets out and cut them, long ways, down the middle, giving me twenty sheets for my sketch book.









I then folded them in half with a bone folder.






I then made five signatures of four sheets each.






For the wholes, I spaced them an inch apart and used my cutting matt's lines to center it.  I probably could have had three sets instead of four wholes per signature but I like having more rather than less. This is just a personal preference that I've developed over the few books I've made. Do whatever works for your project and makes you happy.






Every time I  make a new sketch book or note book, I like to change up the thread that I used to bind it. This time, I used a soft lavender color.  I don't know if embroidery floss is the best thread to use for binding, but it's what I've grown accustomed to use. It also gives you a large variety of colors, which I think is the spice of life.






I just love the look of a text block once it's been stitched together. It always gives me this slightly giddy feeling at finishing this stage.






I then glued and pressed the spine. This time I didn't line it up as well as I have previously, so one of the signatures is off, but I'm not really bothered by it as this is intended to be a warm up sketch book.






For the cover, I decided to use card board from a wine box, in past projects I've used chip board or similar materials. 






Decorating the covers and choosing the end pages was a little difficult as I really didn't think about that part when starting. I think I was more excited for the sketch book than the cover.  I ended up using neutral toned 12 inch by 12 inch paper for the cover and a light purple paper for the end papers.












Front Cover




Back Cover










Happy creating, and happy drawing!






For business inquires, contact me at: KristinVictoriaArt@gmail.com

To view original paintings, visit: etsy.com/shop/KristinVictoriaArt

To view prints on various items, visit: society6.com/KristinVictoria

To view more photos from the studio and my life on flickr, visit: tinyurl.com/kvartflickr

Follow me on Twitter, at: @KristinV_Art

Find me on Instagram at: instagram.com/kvjaenicke17





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