When my Typography instructor told us that we were going to make our own books-- by hand-- the entire class started freaking out.

It seemed impossible.


There were two assignment options: create a handmade book celebrating typefaces, or create a book of The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot.

Some of my friends created awesome design books about typefaces, but since my emphasis is in illustration in addition to design, I chose The Waste Land.

Some of my classmates looking through sample books from previous students. That day was OVERWHELMING.

Doing Eliot's book would give me an opportunity to create drawn illustrations. After a solid year of only design classes and no "artsy-art" classes, I relished the chance to sit down with a sketchbook, guilt-free, and have some fun. Plus, I studied The Waste Land in high school as part of my classical curriculum. I love returning to old high school assignments, as I inevitably get more out of my second read.

The Waste Land is a long, modernist poem that I think was purposefully made to have the most obscure and scattered references ever. Gah. Quite the challenge to illustrate.

To begin, we proofread the poem, set up a template in InDesign, and formatted the text.

The first step was actually the longest for me, although it's the hardest to make others appreciate. (My family, for instance, was easily impressed by the physical book looked at me in astonishment when I tried to explain that the digital part was hardest).


Fellow designers will commiserate, but for the rest of you, here is a sample of what went goes designing the "boring part" of a book:

• Read several articles about book design and the "proper" way to set up a book
• Get thoroughly confused about bastard titles and half titles, and where which one goes
• Decide on the size, type, and weight of paper for the book
• Create a template in InDesign
• Set the margins, taking in both the most aesthetic ratios and the most practical margins for the type of binding you will use 
• Decide on the typeface-- make sure it is a well-designed family with everything you will need (small caps, obscure punctations [get those hypens, en-dashes, and em-dashes straight, darn it!], etc) and ensure that the type family and "look" fits the feel of the text
• Fix the bad kerning before the "W"
• Get the running headers to actually center
• Link chapter headers to the table of contents and set paragraph styles
• Decide between 100,000,000 glyphs and colors to pick the perfect accents for the pages
• Fiddle with a single-pica distance to get the glyph spacing just right
• Fix that issue with the page numbers starting on the wrong page
• What the heck is a colophon? Write one.
• Edit the tracking so that the extra-long lines don't run into the margin!!!
• FIX THE TABBED QUOTES AND REPLACE WITH EM-SPACES BECAUSE DESIGN!
• Count the pages and make sure you have everything ready to make the signatures
• Have a debate with your professor about whether you should follow the rule of always italicizing foreign languages, when the poet himself did not italicize

Then came the illustrations!


I developed the imagery and symbolism for the illustrations by reading through the full poem, reading through Kolbe Academy's analysis notes, and doing lots of doodles. Eventually I sketched everything on Bristol board, then drew it with a dip pen and india ink.

(Sidenote: I love my dip pen. I'm just getting started with actual calligraphy, but it's also great for drawing. The pressure changes makes the ink flow with such energy, and it does help to make quick illustrations much more lively).


I then watercolored the illustrations and scanned them in on high resolution. The rest was removing backgrounds in Photoshop, tweaking colors and spacing, and just fixing all those little technical details.
The Waste Land is really depressing, so I had a bit of a time trying to tone down my normally happy art style to use darker, creepier colors.



Oh! While I was working on this, something cool happened!

The girls who run Humans of Springfield, a photojournalism facebook page, ran into me while I was working outside and interviewed me! They were super sweet and it definitely made my day, as I was super stressed earlier that day.

You should check out their page and browse through their growing photo/interview collection.

In addition to these chapter illustrations and the tree frontispiece, I went into overkill-overachiever mode and calligraphied every title and header for the entire book.


Looking back at it now, a mere month later, I'm really not happy with the lettering. I've spent a couple of days practicing good pointed pen script, and I see a few problems here, but it was a learning experience and still looks cool!


After everything was laid out digitally, I took my book to the printer.

Big problem.

I had previously spoken to a local printer, who had the specialty paper my instructor had approved. But in the end, they messed up the print about three times and all of the colors were deadened. I couldn't get a refund, either!

Getting my two copies of the book printed was, overall, a three-day ordeal in the middle of studying for all of my other finals.

In the end, I got a copy printed at the cheap on-campus print shop that all of the professors say not to use because they screw up your prints. But they actually printed it really well, on regular thick stock, and for half the price!

Sewing the book. My practice signature is visible on the right, and the half-finished covers are at the top of the image.

Next was the bookbinding, which I had expected to be ridiculously difficult, and which turned out to be very enjoyable.

I used a mix of Coptic stitch and Japanese stab binding to sew the book together.

The book used 8-page signatures, which means that I take four sheets of paper, fold it in half, punch in the holes, and then use cotton cord threaded onto a rounded needle to attach the signatures to one another.


Once the text was bound, I cut the book with a utility knife and prepared to attach it to the covers with a Japanese style stitch.

The cover itself is made from two layers of matboard glued together with a sturdy blue linen stretched across. The title is a piece of stamped brass.


As part of this project, we had to develop endpapers for the book.

Endpapers are used to help the cover and the paper stick to one another, and they also really help to set the visual tone of the book.

I wanted to try paper marbling (I'd given it some attempts two or three years ago) and my first attempt, done at school during a spare half hour, really didn't work.


The weekend before the book was due, I drove home (ostenably to work on my Photo 1 project, but really to hang out with my family) and my little sister liked the idea of a craft day. We spent an entire afternoon perfecting the process. (I am planning a tutorial!)


And I think the endpapers turned out really well!


I did produce two books for this project. One was with the first, bad print (it is really expensive to print in color, and they didn't refund the bad print, so that and a couple other long stories all considered, I went ahead and kept the bad print for one copy).


The differences, to say the least, are drastic. That dull, weird yellow page just doesn't cut it.


The one thing that I was really upset about with this project is that the school keeps the good copy. I understood why we made two copies-- it is a huge learning curve-- and I like that she graded the good copy. But now my book is going to go in a summer exhibit in the school library (I think it's there!) and then it will get stored in a box in a back room, to be pulled out once every year for new students to look at.

I spent so much time and money on this book, and now I've only got the second-best copy for my portfolio!


My classmates also made some beautiful pieces-- I wish I could share them with you!

By the time finals came around (both this book and several PDF portfolios were due the day we took our exam) we were all dead with homework exhaustion!

But despite the overwhelming workload, this book is tied for the best project of my entire sophomore year. :) Projects are always the best when they are over and your hard work has paid off!

(This post is the latest in my blogging adventure about college classes. I'll be writing a short post about the rest of my Typography class shortly. You can see all the related blog posts right here.)

Secret book boxes. These are the stuff of old whodunits, with cursed and precious jewels hiding in the library of mysterious mansions. The only word to describe it is cool.

I've tried my hand three times in the past at making book boxes in the past. At first, I simply used an x-acto knife to cut out hundreds of individual pages. I did a tutorial for it and everything, but it is a very time consuming process and your hands get really tired.

Last year I attacked a book with power tools, and learned what not to do! Don't worry, though. I just helped a friend make her own book box and now I can (finally) show you how to make a nice book box using a drill, two screws, a scrollsaw, and some glue!

The project takes around half an hour to complete, but you'll want to let it dry overnight.


Begin by taking a destroyable book. What is a destroyable book? Something like a Reader's Digest Abriged book, which has a beautiful cover but it generally rubbish inside.

Do NOT destroy good books. You'll make bibliophiles like me die a little inside. ;)


Fold back the cover and a few pages from the front and back of the book.


This next step is very important-- if you forgo it, you'll ruin the book box. Sandwich the book between two pieces of wood and screw two screws through it.


Make sure everything is very snug.


Next, trace the edges of the book on the wood and draw the design you'd like to cut out. We chose a rectangle with rounded corners. Be sure to leave at least a half-inch border around the design.

It's difficult to twist a scrollsaw to make sharp edges, and even the curves we worked with were sideloading the blade. If you would like to make a straight rectangle, I'd recommend drilling holes at each corner. This gives the blade enough room to wiggle so that you can cut ninety-degree corners.

Drill a hole all the way through the book, push the blade through it, and set up your scrollsaw:


Then, DESTROY THAT BOOK!



When you are finished, you'll have a nice block of paper left. These book guts are lots of fun. You can use the paper for origami, artwork, and even costumes!


Next, do a victory dance because IT WORKED! :D



Paint the insides of the box with glue. This will make your box sturdy but let it look like a very normal book from the outside.

(This is different from the technique that I did with my previous book boxes, when I glued the outsides of the pages shut. If you are sure to sandwhich the book between the pieces of wood, you won't need the extra stability that gluing the outside of the book shut gives.)


Glue a piece of decorative paper or fabric on the first non-cut page at the back of the book.

Now, set a nice heavy dictionary on top of the book and let it dry flat and even.



This would make a really cool afternoon project! It takes around half and hour and only requires a basic knowledge of how to use a drill and scrollsaw. My book box is the perfect place to hide candy from little siblings, and my little sister keeps her favorite pieces of jewelry inside of hers. I've seen some neat pictures of people putting engagement rings inside of book boxes or hiding ipods and other valuables in  hollowed textbooks inside backpacks.

My little sister was having trouble choosing a theme for her 12th birthday party and I suggested she choose one of her favorite things–books! She loved the idea and we had a ton of fun planning it together. AND, her friends loved it too! So here are some ideas and things that we did, and hopefully you can use them to throw your own book themed bash! :)


(Forgive the lack of nice photos! They're all taken on different cameras by different people. I wasn't really planning on doing anything with them so they're not the nicest!)


Here is where the book destruction begins! These invitations are very simple, but perfect for the theme. All you need is an old book, paper, a card, and some kind of adhesive. I didn't take any photos before we gave them out so these photos are of a quick recreation.


1. Get out your old paperbacks! I knew the moment we decided on the theme that old book pages would be the star of the party. I got out some of my 10¢ paperbacks (sometimes it pays to be a book hoarder) and got snipping.

2. Take a card or fold some pretty cardstock into a card (great way to follow a color theme). Write whatever you'd like on the front, as long as it resembles a title (feel free to print things from the computer or stamp them for a more professional look).

3. Cut out some rectangles from the old book to be the "pages." Adhere on to each side of the book.

4. Cut out a smaller rectangle, write your invitation info on it, and adhere to the center of the "page" (I like it to be slightly framed by the words). You have an invitation that looks like the book!





Three words: DESTROY MORE BOOKS.The first thing we knew we needed was a bunting (we're Pinterest addicts, what can I say). We experimented with different shapes and decided we liked hearts the best. The rest was very simple. For the bunting we made a small cut on the each side of the heart and then threaded yarn through them all. Like I said, very simple, but you will probably spend a long time cutting out hearts! We made a bunting for the entrance and the dining room, and some little streamers to hang from the chandelier.  You could carry the decor father than we did and set up old pretty books around the room or make some kind of centerpiece!




We needed a couple book themed ones, of course! Some of our ideas were colored Goldfish (for One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish), "Ambrosia squares" (from Percy Jackson), and of course the Harry Potter series is never ending supply of treats to try to recreate! We were also lucky enough to find a package of Turkish Delight at TJ Maxx! No need to mention what book that is from! :)
I attempted to make a cake that looked like a book, but I was not satisfied with my efforts. If you're good with fondant, I think little fondant books on top of cupcakes would be adorable!



The first game we planned was to have people guess what book characters everyone else was. I wish I could show you a photo of all the girls in their amazing costumes! We had Harry Potter characters, Hunger Games characters, and even someone from Les Miserables! (I was Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden.) If your characters are too obscure, feel free to skip this game!

I wanted to do a classic "pin the blank on the blank" game so I made this one kind of sneakily to surprise my little sister. Pin the Title on Bella's Book! I actually drew my sister, but you can feel free to draw a generic person, a character, a stick figure, or even use a photo! Just have them holding a book! I then cut out some rectangles with the titles of Bella's favorite books on them. You probably already know how to play: the player is blindfolded, handed a "tail" with a piece of tape attached to it, spun a little bit, and then tried to "pin" the title onto the front of the book. I was thought it was fun waiting to see what Bella would be reading! :)




"The Line game" is one we learned in an acting group and play at almost every gathering. You and a partner have to act out a dramatic scene (you're sinking on the Titanic, you're trapped in a haunted house, etc.) but you both have a little piece of paper with a random line on it that you must read and incorporate into the scene at some point. It can be hilarious! To make this part of the book theme we used lines from our favorite books ("For Narnia! And for Aslan!" "There's a goat in the shower!").
It takes awhile to think of enough quotes to play for a long time, so start making the list a couple days before. The cut them all into separate slips, fold them, and put them in a box. Have everyone pair up (or split into groups of threes). When a pair is ready to play, give them their lines and their scenario (those can also be thought up ahead of time and can be from books!). Watch the story that unfolds!


This we made up specifically for the party! Everyone gets to design a book cover, and then the other player choose whose they like best by "buying" the book with play money!

You'll need drawing utensils (markers, crayons, pencils), small sheets of paper (we used normal 9x11 printer paper cut in half), play money for everyone (just steal it from Monopoly), a timer, and a list of goofy titles (Pippy and the Mountain Goat Choir, The Unexpected Cow, etc. It's good to think of these ahead of time!).

Make sure to tell all the players that it's about creativity, not how well you can draw. Encourage them to interpret the title anyway they want!

Each person gets a piece of paper and then everyone is told the title. Everyone has 5 minutes  to draw a cover. When the timer goes off they each show their cover. Then the players walk around with their play money and "buy" the cover (or covers if you don't want to be too competitive) they like best! The player with the most money at the end of the round and/or game wins! You can play this as many times as you want/have titles for!



Another thing that would be fun (and you can use up more old book pages on!) is "newspaper blackout poetry." You take a page and black out all but the words you want to keep, making a really interesting piece of art (you can look here for some examples: http://newspaperblackout.com/).


According to my little sister, treat bags are the best part of every party. She has very high standards for them, so it's a big deal that she was happy with these!

We decorated each bag with quotes about reading and wrote the guest's name on a piece of book-page. Inside the treat bag is:


A packet of bookworms

We bought a big bag of sour gummy worms and split them into small ziploc snack bags. Then we took a piece of paper, folded it over the top, stapled it, and labeled it Bookworms! It's cuter AND cheaper than buying a pack of separately packaged gummy worms.


Harry Potter lollipops

We were lucky enough to come across a bag of fizzy lollipops and immediately thought "Acid pops!" They're mentioned briefly in Harry Potter, but it was enough for us! We copied the Honeydukes colors and stapled labels onto the stick. You could also print out the Honeydukes logo from the computer and use that!

Wonka candies

Available at almost any store and book related by their very nature!

Little notebooks

We bought a pack of mini composition notebooks and then decorated them with pretty scrapbooking papers and little book page hearts!

Each treat bag also contained two books! We got a bunch of gently used books at a used book store and matched them up to who we thought would like them best.

If you want to add more, there are lots of ways to recreate book themed candy! :)

I'll end with some quick tips for using old book pages:

1. If you don't have any old paperbacks don't fret, they're easy to find. Simply go to your nearest used bookstore or thrift store and find the paperbacks and/or clearance section. You should be able to get a couple paperback classics for under a dollar. If you must you can use a dictionary.
2. It doesn't matter much what the book is about or what the page says, seeing as no one will be able to read very much of it. It can be fun to use a book everyone will recognize (Pride & Prejudice or Narnia for example). Or you can make the words almost completely decorative by using something more obscure (I used Pride & Prejudice for the invites and Villette for the decorations).
3. Keep an eye out for awkwardness. As long as your book is family friendly you shouldn't have to worry too much, but keep an eye out for awkward formations of words and stuff. It doesn't matter so much for the bunting, but for the little notebooks you definitely want to be aware of what the hearts say. . . . Fine! If you really need an example I'll give you one. I was showing my mom the little notebooks and she laughed and pointed out that one of the hearts said "she scratched" and the line below said "her seat." See, nothing scarring or anything, just awkward. I put new hearts over top that one and was more careful to read what sentences they formed. :)

Hope this little post inspired you to throw your own book-themed party! :)