Saturday 16 September 2017

Making Books - updated version!!

I have finished making the books for the library and thought I would share how I got the process down to a fine art.  This instruction is for making books en masse just for filling shelves.  They will not be especially lovely and won't have turning pages; they are just library eye candy.

First I found free printies as before** and printed them up and 'glazed' them with matt Mod Podge.  No need to do this step, or you can choose to glaze them with your 'shine' of choice.  Leave until bone dry and cut out carefully.  Take it slowly - use scissors or knife whichever gives you the best result.  I find a very sharp knife gives me more accurate cuts than scissors.



By far, the easiest filling for books is balsa wood.  Ideally you want one inch wide strips in two thicknesses.  I used 3/16" thick piece and 1/4" thick piece.  I could only find three inch wide strips so I certainly bought overkill. I only needed one 5/8" wide strip of each piece to make 84 books so I still have a lot of wood left over.



I cut a 5/8" strips along the length of the wood - this is very easy as it is cutting with the grain.  I then rounded off one of the edges - I think this really matters.  I made up a book without the edges knocked off to see if I could miss this step out and it looked distinctly odd with a squared off spine.  This knocking of the edges with one of the nail buffers I've mentioned before literally only takes seconds to do.

At this stage you could now glue on your covers, wrapping them round the curved edge then cut each one free.  I do a slightly more fiddly version because I like the 'pages' to sit slightly inside the cover (top and bottom) as they do with a real book.



Here's the total 'kit' ready to go.  Use any glue you like - I found cheap old school glue is fine.  Use a fine bladed knife.  Don't use a box cutter/Stanley knife they tend to crush balsa as they cut - the blade is a lot thicker than a craft knife blade.  You also need the wood strip - obviously - and something thin and round to help pre-shape the cover - a thin paintbrush handle, kitting needle - whatever.


The width of most of my books was a little over 3/8" so I laid the balsa strip down and marked up where to cut, spacing 3/8" apart.  I did find I struggled a bit more cutting the thicker piece of balsa, but I really do lack wrist strength so I am sure a knife will do the job for almost everyone but, that said, it cut like a knife through butter using a saw.  I stood the strip upright and sawed downwards through it.


With the wood all cut, I rolled the cover back and forth a little round the 'shaper' to get a nice curved spine to fit the wood - you can probably skip this step without tragedy.


I then applied a little glue, not especially carefully nor up to the edges


I placed the spine where it needed to go ....



....wrapped the sides round and pressed them firmly in place.  Often there would be a small bit of the wood showing - all my printies varied quite a bit in the depth of the book.  



 This was dead easy to trim off with the knife as it was cutting with the grain.




Et voila... we have a book...




Very soon we have a lot of books.  I glued some sets of books together and then just mixed the others and glued them into fives to make them easier to stack on the shelves.


I think these quick and cheap books look great on the shelves and I will take a break for a while from making them as I am hoping to get a lot of interesting objects to fill the remaining spaces. The whole lot was only two 'afternoons' work.  My 'afternoon' being a couple of hours or so.





** Tree Feathers is a really nice free printie site but if you google 'free printies miniatures' there are a ton of them out there.




(22/06/17)

17 comments:

  1. Well Done You! Your books look Great; your method looks easy and the end result with the filled shelves, looks Heavenly :D

    elizabeth

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    1. Thank you Elizabeth, Tick, tick, tick...just what I needed to hear. M

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  2. I've just finished creating books too and it was nice to read that we both have the same techniques although I didn't bother rounding the spine of the cover! You've given an excellent "how to" for anyone venturing into the world of book making - it's easy to get carried away but one can always use books in a mini scene.

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    1. Hi Irene, I confess that after finishing this lot I was quite happy to consider doing a ton more...a very therapeutic exercise! There will be more - the student apartment will need some and the kids rec room could do with a bunch.... I'll try to resist writing about it though. M

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  3. This method appears to be a simple process and the results are impressive...my 1888 miniature house has a library room and I will be trying some of your faux books to fill the shelves. Well done and now you have lovely room to do some research and thinking! Cheers, Alayne

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    1. Thanks Alayne. Hope the method works well for you. I have done them quite a few ways and this is the best method for me for the result I want. Marilyn

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  4. A simple method. The books look real in the library. Great work.

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    1. Hi Fabiola, Yes it is quick and easy and inexpensive if you are just filling shelves. They look really good in real life honestly. M

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  5. Oh my goodness, I love this room! Wonderful tutorial as always that I will keep until I get to my library. Thank you!

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    1. Thanks Beth, enjoy the books when you get to them. M

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  7. Hello Marilyn,
    The library looks amazing. Well done on the books...they are eye candy indeed! They really bring the room to life and your lovely bookcases stand out when filled. Thank you for the Mod Podge tip...I never thought of that but will when I make more books. I love this room!
    Big hug
    Giac

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    1. Nice to see you, Giac. I just love books in RL and mini. It is the sort of small room filled with books I would love to have. Library is a bit of a grand name for it - more a study really - but I wanted it for books only and no other office type 'rubbish'. M

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  8. Hello, Marilyn! Thanks for the tutorial! It's really a fast and beautiful way to have a lot of books. Hugs, Julia

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  9. Thank you for sharing this wonderful tutorial! I am going to give it a try. The only thing I would add is "painting" the wood edges with a paint pen in silver, gold, whatever your preference. Your library is wonderful!

    Hugs,
    Teresa
    beaconhilldollhouse.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you Teresa. I do have some gold edged ones where they are a bit special but for shelf filling these are OK. If you do use white paper or something else not quite the right colour you are right that the edges need 'knocking back' in some way so they don't shout, 'pretendy book', at you.

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