Most of the time this weekend I spend with making 24 Origami Boxes for an advent calendar for a friend. Each box is made from 8 square pieces of folded paper, this makes a total of 192 pieces of origami for this advent calendar. I learned to make them from the book Origami Card Craft working with this book now, I like it even better than in June, really a great resource.
Die meiste Zeit an diesem Wochenende habe ich damit verbracht, 24 Boxen aus 192 Stücken Origamipapier zu falten und zusammenzustecken. Das Ganze soll ein Adventskalender werden, und ich hoffe, ich bekomme ihn auch wirklich rechtzeitig fertig und abgeschickt!
Later I spent some time with actual bookbinding! It turns out the handling of leather, paper, and sewing thread sticks in the bones. It felt like working magic, and everything turned out very much to my liking. Just like in the early times when I just started out making books, I now look at it and wonder: Have I really made this? – I guess it has been too long since I last made a book.
Später bin ich dann aber doch noch dazu gekommen, ein Buch zu machen, für das ich schon im Laufe der Woche den Einband vorbereitet hatte:
This is now the first step to use my leaf prints. As apparently no-one can tell me how fast the prints will fade or how to stop the process, I decided that the only way to find out, is to try, which means to try them in a book. – This is a three signature book with each signature wrapped in one print.
Besagter Einband besteht aus einem Stück dunkelbraunen Bezugsleder, das auf der Innenseite mit dünnem, olivfarbenen Wildleder bezogen wurde. Das natürliche Ende ist auf die Vorderseite umgeschlagen und verziert nun die Verschlussklappe. Auch oben habe ich es ein klein wenig überstehen lassen. Es erinnert mich an einen Baum, wie es da so sitzt, und passt deshalb gut zu den Blatt-Drucken, die sich im Inneren befinden.
Da mir anscheinend keine sagen kann, wie schnell sie so verblassen werden, oder wie man sie fixieren kann, muss ich das wohl selbst ausprobieren.
I particularly like this print with the heart-shaped hole in the leaf, silly me. I also made a picture while packing the sandwich because I liked it already back then.
Let me talk a little more about the book: It has 96 pages from a handmade rag paper (a treat I rarely grant myself). The cover consists of a piece of dark brown upholstery leather that is lined with a very thin olive suede skin. The natural end wraps around the brown leather and sits on the closure flap in a way that reminds me of a tree. I left a bit standing over the top, too. It closes with the help of a braid from linen sewing thread (Light Rust colored Gruschwitz thread, my favorite) that was also used for the binding (which also has braids on the spine) by wrapping around a deer horn button.
Das Buch hat 96 Seiten aus einem handgeschöpften, cremefarbenen Hadernpapier. – So gutes Papier spendiere ich mir eigentlich nicht selbst, aber ab und zu muss man sich ja mal was gönnen. Die meisten Seiten sind unbedruckt, nur das erste Umschlagpapier jeder der drei Lagen ist mit Blattdrucken bedeckt. Auf denen kann man auch gut weiter schreiben, was ich wohl tun werde. Wenn der Druck sehr schnell verblasst, habe ich halt einfach eine weitere beschriebene Seite vor mir.
Da ich nichts über die Haltbarkeit der Drucke weiß, werde ich ähnliche Bücher erstmal nicht durch meine Shops anbieten. Falls du aber ein ähnliches haben möchtest, fühle dich frei, mich per Email anzuschreiben, um Details abzuklären: Für meine (gewarnten) BlogleserIn mache ich gerne auch noch eines.
It is actually possible to write on the prints themselves which I probably will do with the exception of the very first print. In this way, if the print fades fast, I am just left with a word-filled page. No harm done.
Since I don’t know about the durability of the print, I won’t be offering it in my shops. But if you, my trusted (and warned) reader would want a similar one for yourself, feel free to contact me via email to discuss a custom order. I’d be happy to make another one!
The origami papers look luscious. 192 pieces… ?!! The book looks like a tactile delight, and the colors an excellent combination. The leaf prints are just perfect for it.
I never got a chance to comment earlier on your leaf printings, but I’m glad you posted about the process, which is far more involved than anything I’ve seen before (especially the steaming part).
I’m most happy for you that you got a chance to bind a little. And with a studio apprentice!
Hi Ellen,
well, 192 pieces sounds impressive, but the involved origami is not very sophisticated. Still cost me almost 2 days to cut and fold all that paper…
I am glad that you like the book and the prints in them. I like it, but it is always nice to hear it from others, too 🙂 If you want to try the leaf prints for yourself go head to Cassandras Blog (I gave a link in the original leaf print post). She described the process in great details and also gives tips and hints how to proceed. It was really fun to do!
Liebe Hilke,
das ist ja der helle Wahnsinn!!
Nicht nur die vielen Boxen sondern auch das letzte Blätter-Buch, einfach super!!
Eine schöne Adventszeit und viele Grüße von
Christine
Hallo Christine,
eine schöne Adventszeit auch dir! Schön, dass dir das Buch gefällt, freut mich sehr 🙂
Hilke
This is the most beautiful book I have ever seen! I love everything about it: the paper, the leaf prints, the cover, and most of all the binding. So perfect!
Hi Alice,
thank you for the compliment, you made me blush with joy and pride behind my computer screen.
Greetings,
Hilke
I have been following your posts for a while and would like to thank you for some of the explanations of materials and techniques you have provided for an aspiring bookbinder.
Also, I was wondering if you might at some time explain the decorative stitching you used in this book. I also love the paper and the leaf prints.
Thanks again for sharing your work,
George
Hi George,
nice to “see a new face” here. The binding looks much more complicated than it is, and you might just want to try and find out for yourself. It is is essentially a long stitch with with the long stitches on the spine braided. The threads are doubled for a thicker braid and for a clever way of attaching the threads: There are three sections in this book, for each take a piece of thread and a needle at either end (so that you will have six needles in total). Start by entering with both needles at the first sewing station from the outside, leaving a small loop on the spine. Bring the thread over the head of the book to the spine and pass them through the loop and pull snug. The rest is rather straight forward. If you get stuck, check out Keith Smith’s 1-, 2-, and 3-section binding. I am not entirely sure but I think it is described in there. I know it is one of his structures, so if you don’t find it there, you might want to check his other books, too.
Cheers,
Hilke
Hey,
I am also a secret admirer of your work and blog.
The leaf prints look amazing and I have already purchased the Origami Book (and even finished some cards :)..
A general question: Where do you buy the paper, e.g. the paper you used for the origami boxes?
Cheers,
Steffi
Hi Steffi,
I am glad that you like my literature lists and that they actually did something for you.
The paper that I used for the origami boxes is not a Japanese paper, only a usual giftwrap paper with Japanese pattern that I bought in a bookstore. It was put together like a little book, titled: Geschenkpapier von Künstlerhand. There were several different packages with different pattern. I bought Kimono (some of those I used for the boxes), Paisley, Afrika und Eleganz (from that package are most of the papers).
Greetings,
Hilke
Thanks for the info! Always interesting to learn how many different paper collection are available…
Best,
Steffi