Our big 100 days of summer postcard project

While we were on our 100-day trip along the Mediterranean coast, M and I had a couple of little projects going on. One of them was take a duo-selfie every single day, so I could make a 100-frame video of our changing (tanning and growing beards. Him, not me) faces and changing surroundings. Lots of fun to see that now we're back home.

The second project was send ourselves a postcard from every place we were visiting. Arriving in a new town we had three tasks: get a postcard, get a stamp and find a mailbox. Sometimes it was easy, sometimes it was hard. But we always managed to send our postcard. We have both written a few sentences on each, so it's a bit like a travel journal.

After 100 days of traveling, we had sent about 60 postcards. Once we got home, we found a big lovely pile of memories in our mailbox. There's only one missing. It was a bit of a challenge making a book out of it, since the cards are all different sizes and the pile is rather large. I thought about it for a while and figured out the best way to do this. Even though I bended the rules a bit, my bookbinding days paid off.

Here's the result.

This is (most of) the stuff I used. What's missing in this picture is bookbinding glue. It's just a big ugly white bucket.

One of my to-do lists just got shorter

I have a list of to-do lists. And it tends to get longer instead of shorter. I just add a lot, really. I do get to cross things off and I am about to, right after I click on publish here. One of the things on my Stoffer + Blik list was 'write a blog about the new handmade book'.

I added that when I finished making that book. It was the hand bound notebook that I covered with a vintage map that I found on a flea market. I was (and am) really happy with the result and wanted to share that with you. I say was, because a few days ago I sold it. And 'sold' in handmade-unique-one-of-a-kind things means 'gone'. I miss it. Boohoo.

So I am a little too late really, because I am about to show you something that is no longer for sale and that you cannot have. Sorry.

But it's pretty all the same. So here it is anyway. I made this hand bound book, without any cover in the course I took last year in hand bookbinding, so it was laying around for a while before I actually finished it. Then I found the perfect paper to make the cover: a beautiful vintage map of the United States, with NYC as the center of the cover when I folded it around. Perfect!

Usually I would say: you can get it here! But you can't... I should have written this sooner, I know.
I am now all out of these hand bound books. I am thinking of ways to get my hands on a good paper cutter so I can make some more. I'll get back to you on that.

A Map of the World according to Illustrators and Storytellers

That title alone made me pick up this book at a small bookshop in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin.

It was a wonderful way too short citytrip I was on a few weeks ago and a big book like this wasn't going to fit in my hand luggage. But it took me no longer than 2 seconds of flipping through the colorful pages to decide I wanted this. I mean, I needed this. Seriously. And thank the universe for the internet, postal services and stuff. Short story even shorter: I have it and I love it. And I want to show you how cool this is.

I have drawn my own share of little maps and this book made me want to start drawing new ones immediately. So if you're looking for me, I'm on my couch with a big pot of tea and this book.

'A Map of the World is a compelling collection of work by a new generation of original and sought-after designers, illustrators and mapmakers [....] the featured projects from around the world range from maps and atlases inspired by classic forms of cartographic experiments and editorial illustrations.' 

A Map of the World according to Illustrators and Storytellers
Gestalten / ISBN 978-3-89955-469-4

Japanese binding

One of the last classes of book binding brings me to Japanese binding methods. I love the simplicity of it and the wide range of possibilities. The last small book I have bound, I fell a little in love with myself. But it's for sale anyway... because I think you'll love it too.

Here it is: a grey + yellow beauty of a notebook.

For sale right here.

Distraction

A little distracted by bikes, books and some other things that begin with a 'B', Stoffer + Blik hasn't been on the top of my priority list lately. That does not mean nothing has been done, there are a couple of 'to-be-finished-and/or-finetuned' projects. I have (finally) tested the wooden textile stamps I bought in India. With a little trial and error with types of ink, I think I might be able to use them for book covers and cards.

After a few weeks of absence my bookbinding course resumed and I am now learning about Japanese binding, which has endless possibilities. You will surely find a couple of these little books at the shop in the near future! The one you see below is not finished yet, but I already love the colors and I am curious to see how it will turn out.

The outline of the next newsletter is also somewhere in my head and I think there might be a 'hurray-it-is-summer-giveaway' in there as well. But before I get my priorities straight, I let myself be distracted a little longer by one of the B's: it's a sunny day and my beauty of a blue bike is waiting for me... 

Today is where your book begins

I started a course in bookbinding about a month ago and I can say I have learned so much already. After the first class I came home with one finished hand bound book and two awaiting only a finishing touch.

Of course it was all about the technique, folding the paper in the right direction (who knew?) and making the sections, binding them together with thread and needle to make a book block. There's also some glueing, pressing and drying involved. Cutting the cover boards and the most challenging task of all: selecting the paper and linen for the newborn book.

The available papers and colors for the cover weren't exactly making me jump for joy. I made a mental note to bring my own and don't complain too much about theirs. After 3 larger books and 3 smaller books with plain white paper and different sewing techniques (cloth bound and cross stitching) and finishes, I got to a much bigger book about tulips that I was binding and setting into a loose cover (also handmade of course). All nice and good for practicing the techniques and being really precise about the millimeters, but then we got to the title. Oh my. I love that! I arranged the lead letters backwards to form the title of the book, did some tests, did kerning adjustments of the letters, tested again and finally pressed the title onto the book with a hot press and colored foil. No room for error there. I can't show you that one, because it's still drying in the press at the workshop.

In the meanwhile my brain was buzzing with ideas for some cool books to make for Stoffer + Blik. I got all the equipment I needed and created my own little workshop at home. One of these homemade hand bound books is all finished and up for sale.

It has a linen cover all around and I have embroidered a feather and text on the front. It has taken me forever and all this time I wasn't even sure if it was going to work out. But it did and I love it! It has 104 pages of blank high quality drawing paper in it. You can have a closer look (and get your hands on this unique one of a kind hand bound book) at the Etsy shop.

Handbound Journals

I've been wanting to do workshops of all sorts and somehow I just never do it... I decided that needed to change. I fell in love with these gorgeous little leather notebooks in India and brought a whole bunch home. I knew what I had to do.  I did some research and enrolled myself in a 5 day course of... bookbinding. How freakin' cool is that?!

It's a complete education of over a year to be a real certified bookbinder. I am only doing the introduction course, for now... so for the next five weeks, one day a week, I'll be learning about books and binding and hopefully come home with some great little projects. I can't wait. First class starts Wednesday!

I'm not exactly sure what to expect, but I hope it will give me the knowledge and the skills to set up my own line of handbound journals for Stoffer + Blik.

You need this...

...cookbook. Really, you do.

I have bought my fair share of cookbooks I hardly use. I am a sucker for good design and beautiful books just make me a little weak in the knees. So does good food.

But a beautiful cookbook isn't always a good cookbook. Some of them make you spend your entire weekly grocery budget on just one or two recipes. Or make you go to a tiny tropical store that you can never find. Okay, I live in a big city, so if I tried I could probably get it. But I am also a bit lazy. Others promise mouthwatering dishes that look like heaven, but they turn out to be way to sour, too salty, too - you name it -. And they never, I mean never, come out looking like that gorgeous photograph.

And then I bought Veg! Yes, it was the sucker for beauty in me that picked it up. Then I felt that deliciously heavy matte paper. I almost immediately decided right then and there that this beauty was mine, but before running happily to the counter I could get myself to take a look at the lists of ingredients first. Nothing too long or too strange. But you never really know until you start using it.

Of course I bought it. And I am so happy I did. This is my all time favorite cookbook. I flip the pages and see something delicious on every page and it actually looks like it's really quite simple. And it is! If you are used to cooking with fresh ingredients, you really don't need to get that much for a recipe.

It's over 400 pages, 200 recipes, it's all veggies and it's all good.

One of my favorites is the fresh flat bread (you can really use for everything and is so simple & delicious) with spicy pumpkin (page 189 / Dutch version). I have made recipes from this book for friends many times and it's always a success. I find myself using this book almost everyday.

Dutch: Veg! Het River Cottage boek met groenten in de hoofdrol - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
English: River Cottage Veg - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall