Brave New Sketchbook

I always (almost always) make a new sketchbook just for THAT project. So here I am, already well into a new book project, but it became clear as I worked through the dummy that I needed to do some more creative brainstorming with a pencil. So that meant, of course, that it was time to make a new sketchbook. (I had such fun, I made two.)

I decided that I would put some pix up that show the process. If you don't already make your own sketchbooks, you might want to consider it: you get to pick the size and shape of the book and -- most important -- the kind of paper! I am partial to paper with a slight tooth to it. It's actually the paper that my church uses to print its Sunday bulletins (you may have noticed via my other blog drawninchurch.blogspot.com that I draw on these bulletins each week.) I LOVE that paper. So I asked the church office folks what the paper is, and I ordered a ream of it. And then later, another ream. It's my favorite sketchbook paper, and of course I can't buy it in a pre-made sketchbook in a store. Oh, and you also get to decide how many pages you want in the book -- slender or chunky, with LOTS of pages for drawing.

So here's the process.

Cut your paper of choice to size. This sketchbook measures (oddly enough) 6 inches wide by 6 1/4 inches tall -- just what I felt like I wanted this time. I cut a LOT of sheets -- I was going for chunky..

Find some heavier 'board' to serve as the covers -- I just used some matboard scraps I had lying around, ready to be recycled. Obviously, you need two pieces, one each for front and back. Cut 'em to the same size as the interior sheets.

Make the binding. Lots of ways to do this, but my fave -- and what I wanted to show -- is the Spiral Coil Binding Machine, which makes a series of lovely small holes into which you can wind a plastic coil to bind the book. You can get one of these groovy machines at Bonnie's Best Art Tools. They're not cheap -- about $200 -- but I've had mine for years and have used it over and over again to make all kinds of books, from letter-size to teensy-weensy. A good thing to put on your Santa or birthday wish list! 

(Bonnie's also sells the plastic coils, which are very inexpensive and come in a huge variety of colors and sizes -- the thicker the book, the large the coil you need.)

 Next, the fun part, which is winding the coil through the holes. Line up the front cover, the interior pages, and the back cover, and then coil away. Getting the coil started takes some patience (to get it through the first hole of each sheet), but then you just wind away and the coil magically and easily spirals through every hole in the book. Fun.

When the coil has reached the top, finish off the end so that the coil stays in place. You make a little "ram's horn" by squeezing and bending inward the end of the coil. Then you cut off the excess coil at the other end, and make another ram's horn squeezy bit.

And that's it! You now have a pristine, custom-made by hand, beautiful personal sketchbook, ready to receive all of your sketching genius! It's a good thing (as our friend Martha would say.)