Ode to the Crop-a-Dile

When people think of handmade books, they often think of the coptic. What a classic. The exposed spine, and the intricate stitching cause it to be one of the most asked about (and picked up) handmade books available. But to the binder, the coptic can sometimes be dulled to the dread of sticky hand-cramps. Sticky hand cramps are the number one reason I don't teach the coptic binding in my beginning class (immediately followed by the difficulty of finding waxed linen thread.)

Why sticky you ask? Why cramps? Well, the sticky comes from the waxed linen thread; the wax can be a pain. But the cramps come from punching holes in the binders board. Binder's board never wants to be punched and it's hardly worth the heartache of mourning your bent awl. What's a girl to do?

Finally, I get to the point... a girl in my position has no other choice than to rush out and get herself a crop-a-dile. Ordinarily, I'm resistant to fancy tools that do for me what I can do for myself. After all, that's what handmade books are about. Plus, I'm cheap.

But I offer up for discussion exhibit A. The hole on top punched by hand and the grommet set by hand (yes, I used the edge of my knife to cut off the volcanic excess.) The hole below, set using the crop-a-dile. What a gem. I shall never leave home without her.

I personally have the crop-a-dile II tool (which is made by We R Memory Keepers.) Though they have 2 other crop-a-dile models which appear equally as handy.

Ladies Night!

Every 6 months, Roberts Crafts hosts a Ladies Night event at all of their stores. On October 2nd (this Saturday!), I'll be at the Orem Roberts location doing a demonstration, assembling make-and-takes, and giving away coupons to my class.

All of the class instructors will be there doing demos and having a ball. Roberts will be doing lots of give-aways including Cricut Cartridges, scrapbook supplies, and of course, the raffle.

Hope to see you there!

Sewing Lessons

Bookbinding requires a lot of hand sewing and stitching, but the sewing machine has remained a mystery to me.So I asked my Mother-in-Law to give me some sewing lessons. She is pretty incredible behind the pedal, so I was very fortunate to have access to an adept instructor.

I started with this lovely fabric from Hancock Fabrics and this dingy pillow originally from Walmart. I absolutely love the fabric so it wasn't hard to get motivated for the project. I'm not sure what I expected, but all in all, it wasn't too bad. Okay, so it was wonderful. It was such a rewarding experience to watch those stitches come together so perfect and even. I talked my mother-in-law into letting me sew in the zipper for the second pillow. I had to pull out the stitches a few times, but I eventually got it. Only 3 short hours later, I ended up with 2 lovely pillows. Not bad for my first try.

Flower Basket Boutique

Great news! K.Beck books are now available at the Flower Basket Boutique in Provo. The Flower Basket is a lovely little shop on University, just off Center Street in Provo. They have tons of great items from local artists. I am quite tempted to head back tomorrow to pick up a fabulous headband that I spotted on the rack.

The Flower Basket is also a professional floral shop. So drop in and pick up some fresh flowers. Have you ever seen a grumpy girl with fresh flowers? I thought not. Sunshine, shopping, and Stargazer Lilies anyone? Why yes, I think I just might.

New Blog!

Welcome to my blog at K.Beck books! The new home for all of my bookbinding projects and events. I would be thrilled to have your feedback, suggestions, and comments.

Without further ado, a little about my most recent project. Kits!

I teach an intro to bookbinding course at the Orem Roberts Crafts location on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month. I supply all of the materials for the class which means making a whole bunch of bookbinding kits. So for the past several days, I have been cutting, punching, cutting some more and taping up my fingers. Cutting the paper isn't so bad, but the binder's board is killer. In the end it's all worth it for these lovely little kits.

Bookbinding kits include everything needed to make a 4x6 hardback book like the one we make in class. Soon (meaning as soon as I get the technical instructions finished) they will also be for sale on my website. So you can give bookbinding a whirl at home before you decide whether you want to jump in for good.

Of course, I want to give credit to Josh and Jenna Gubler who have done all of the photography for my website and promotional materials. They are incredibly talented and always on the ball. Check out their website at JGublersphotography.com