Creative block is one of the things I struggle with. Things are rocking along and then one day, without warning, it’s like someone dammed up the river of ideas. Suddenly I got nothin‘.

If you are stuck, lacking inspiration or just afraid to try something new, maybe you can try one of these:

• Found Magazine is filled with ideas and inspiration. It’s all about old receipts and love notes and pictures of strangers just begging for their story to be told. It’s fun to peek into the life of a stranger this way.
• Watch a video at TED.
• Leave your work, close the door behind you and take a walk. Clearing your head does wonders for the creative process.
• Check out these these packaging solutions. How creative!
• Visit Vamp & Tramp Booksellers to peruse all the artist book happiness they have available.
• Visit the Handmade Book Community‘s board to see what amateur and professional bookbinders from all over are up to.
• Zybooks also has a good variety of artist books to drool over.

There are ton of other book artist sites but these are a few that I enjoy.

Thought I’d share some things I love from other artisans at Etsy. It’s hard not to buy everything I love at Etsy–even things that have nothing to do with books!

Here’s my first ever video tutorial–on making your own book cloth. Hope you find it helpful. Please understand, it is my first shot at this. Hope it’s not too long!

Make your own book cloth from Anna Hawthorne on Vimeo.

Books are great tools for homeschoolers. It seems there is no end to the creative possibilities. But sometimes the choices can seem a bit overwhelming, or the process is complicated and you stress about creating content that will be worthy of the container. How about trying a book that is made from one page, a little book that can be cut and pasted and scribbled to your heart’s content. Fill it with poetry or facts or drawings of plants. Use one of the directions below. Make them for friends, create a zine and sell some copies. They are fast and fun and oh so easy. I bet you can’t make just one. Continue reading »

Well the great news is that I won the journal I wrote about here. Woohoo! Thanks again Chrysti. She’s a terrific artist and you can see her work all over the place. She’s at her blog and at Twitter too.

I guess now that means I am going to become a journaler. Now I am obligated to pour my heart out on paper every day. Well, not really. I just get to tear one up, which for me is the best thing to do with one. Whew! Now I can relax.

I am also creating some of my own bookcloth. I’ll post a tutorial soon, maybe a video showing how to do it, and maybe even one with a tour of my little bookmaking studio. You just never know.

If you don’t make books with your kids you are missing out on some fun! Books are a great alternative to lapbooks or notebooks. There’s no way you can not have fun making and filling books with stories, songs, poems, math tables, pictures, essays and anything else your children can produce. Here are a few links to whet your appetite. Continue reading »

I was reading this post on Sarah Hodson’s blog. There is a new machine out there that I am crazy about. It’s a screen printing machine that Provo has come out with that, like the Cricut, is going to revolutionize the craft world. See a video demo of Yudu here.

What I appreciated about Sara’s post was the video from Provo featuring a man giving the homeless a voice using the machine. Please view the video.

It really got me thinking about communicating faith in art. There is reason for us to create beauty, to communicate the Gospel, to offer hope and help. We as Christians have a unique voice. We bring the hope of Christ to what we do. It is Christ in us, the hope of glory.

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Col. 1:27

When we allow Christ to shine in our art we have something unique to offer, not just any hope, but the hope of glory.

Christ is come to save, to heal and to deliver. When we can get that across, not just in a literal way, but in the subtle artistic communication–that is one to one, artist to patron—you are able to reach the very soul of another person. Art disarms, connects and elevates. For a moment in time you are able to communicate soul to soul with a person you may never actually meet this side of heaven. you are truly, as Ron DiCianni puts it, “Going into all the world…one painting at a time.” Or one book. Or collage. Pick your medium, the principle is the same.

What an exciting time to be an artist. Modern technology has brought the ability to get your art into people’s hands to the next level. Take advantage of every opportunity you have to communicate the Good News to everyone you can. Be bold, be subtle, be brave.

In my next post I will share my personal art scriptures and how they fit into my artist statement.

My almost 11 yo daughter was flipping through the latest Dick Blick catalog, eyeing the tempera paints and charcoal pencils and gum erasers. When she got to the paper section she asked me question I had no answer for: what is Bristol paper? I have bought it many times for my text blocks when I wanted a toothy medium weight paper that was good for several different media, but wasn’t really sure what made it distinctive. Wikipedia had the answer:

Here is some eye candy!

Julie Chen is one of my all-time favorite book artists. See her at Flying Fish Press. This book is called “view.” See the whole book here. It is worth the time to see her work.

Here is a pretty book using family photos.

Here is a great tutorial for making accordion fold books using envelopes form WhiMSy Love. They are too cute…and so handy too! (And I really like her musical chioces too!)

Here are some from our Bookbinding team at Etsy. Click on the picture to buy them.

An accordion book is my first “book of the month” offering. It is a simple, simple, simple book that almost anyone can make. If you can fold a paper and glue it, you can make this book. Here is a little tutorial on the basic accordion fold book.

accordion fold book tutorial

From these instructions you can make any variety of accordion books. For the rest of the month I’ll explain more about this construction, offer lots of examples and show ones I’ve made as well.