60. Japanese Bound Handmade Books

MATERIALS:

writing or drawing paper (20-30 uniform sheets)
thick decorative paper or cardstock (for the cover)
a Binder clip large enough to hold all of your paper in place
Ruler
Pencil
waxed linen thread (can be found in the jewelry section of craft stores)
Bookbinders needle (or a curved needle, found in the sewing section of most craft stores)
a non-tapering awl, or needle tool (to pierce holes in the paper) — you can also use a small nail or a large needle (they're just a little harder to punch paper with)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Stack your paper, with the covers on the top and bottom of the stack, just as you would like your book to appear.
2. Using a ruler, draw a line from top to bottom of the front cover, about 1/4"from the spine. Make two marks on this line, one 1/4' down from the top of the book, the other 1/4" up from the bottom. Now divide the distance between these marks into thirds and mark the two middle points.
3. Even up the pages and clamp the book together with binder clips, or weight down the front edge to keep the pages from moving. Protect your work surface with a piece of scrap wood or an old phone book as you punch a hole at each of the marked points using the awl.
   
   (note: you can also use this technique to repair books that have loose bindings. Making these holes should not damage the text in the book. Most paperback books have an inner margin of 1/2" to 3/4", leaving plenty of room for rebinding.)
4. Thread the needle and tie the ends together with an overhand knot. Open the book a few pages and, next to the lower middle hole, push the needle through about five pages. Pull the thread through until the knot is snug against the pages. Go back out to the front cover by pushing the needle up through the awl hole. This step anchors the thread.
5. Now sew the rest of the book as shown in the accompanying illustrations. Pull the thread tight each time you go through a hole.
   
   Go around the back and back up through the starting hole, then down through the other middle hole. Pull the thread tight after going through each hole.
   
   Around the back again, then up through the top hole.
   
   Around the back, then...
   
   ...around the top of the spine and up through the top hole again. Keep going, down through one middle hole, back up through the next, and down through the bottom hole. Keep the thread tight.
   
   Around the back again and...
   
   ...around the bottom of the spine and back through the bottom hole. Go up through the starting hole again.
   
   To finish, tie off the thread so the binding won't come loose. Do this by slipping the needle under two of the top threads coming out of starting hole and back through the loop to form a tight knot.
   
   Run the needle back down through the starting hole and cut the leftover thread flush with the back of the book.

Free Instructional PDF

[Download Here]

[Edit 12/16] —It looks like the original source for this information (Sff.net) has been removed. 

I created an illustrated tutorial a few years ago for a workshop I taught on Japanese stab-bound books, and am including it here.

If you want to learn more about making hand bound books, check out:

Making Handmade Books
by Stanford, Kate T.Trade Paperback

25. Handmade Christmas Ornaments

There are a plethora of ways to create handmade ornaments, here are a couple of ideas.

Wired Star Ornament:

MATERIALS

• a piece of paper and 
• pencil, 
• a piece of wood (read instructions for more specific information about the wood), 
• tape, 
• a small piece of colored tape (painter’s tape or washi tape would work), 
• 6 nails 
• a drill with a drill bit the same diameter as the nails

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Draw the star outline that you want to replicate in your ornament on a piece of paper.  Make sure it’s the appropriate size for your tree, but ours was about 4 inches tall.
2. Find a piece of wood that’s large enough to fit the outline and tall enough that you can drill small holes for nails to fit into without going all the way through the wood.
3. Tape the paper to the wood.
4. Select a drill bit that’s the same size as your nails. You want to be able to pull the nails in and out of the wood with some effort. They still need to be pretty firmly anchored in the wood.
5. Tape off your drill bit so that the bottom of the tape signals when you want to stop drilling. You don’t want the holes to go all the way through the wood.
6. Drill into each of the 5 points of the star. Drill a 6th hole slightly off to the side. This will anchor your wire when you start actually making the ornaments.






7. Insert nails into each hole.

TO MAKE THE ORNAMENTS

You’ll need: 2-3 pieces of fairly soft colored wire (the kind you buy in the jewelry-making section of the craft store is best).  We used different combinations of 20-30 gauge wires.  Each piece needs to be about 9 feet long.  Also, you’ll need wire cutters and possible needle-nosed pliers.

1. Line the pieces of wire up and create one bundle with them.
2. Anchor one end to the template by wrapping it around that 6th hole, the one that isn’t actually part of the star.
3. Begin drawing a star pattern with the wire, hooking it around each point of the star. Keep the wire fairly taut, but you don’t necessarily want to create sharp angles at each nail. The looser your wire, the softer the star will look.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Repeat until you have about 2 feet of wire left. We wrapped ours about 5 times, but yours will vary based on the size of the star that you drew for the template.
5. Now you’re going to wrap the remaining wire around the inside angles of the star. This will keep it from unravelling when pull it off the template. You’re basically wrapping up all of the wire into a neat package. Thread the wire under the star and back over the top, making loops that connect each of the inside angles. Continue until you have about 4 inches of wire left.
6. Wrap the end around the last point of the star once to hold the shape. Use the remaining wire from the to create a small loop. This is where you can attach an ornament hook or string a pretty piece of ribbon to hang it on the tree. Pull the nails out of the template and remove the star.
7. Wrap the anchor end of the wire around a point on the star where it won’t be noticeable. Trim any loose edge with the wire cutters.
8. You can use any extra wire pieces to create a coordinating wire hook

Source: Alyssa and Carla

16. Handmade Soap

MATERIAL

Bars of natural fragrance or color free soap (Glycerin)
Essential oils of your choice
(Lavender, rose and jasmine work well)
Oats (optional exfoliator)
Vitamin E Oil (Optional)
Almond Oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Grate soap in a blender or food processor.
2. Boil a pot of water and put a glass bowl over the pot, (like a double boiler.)
3. Add some almond oil into the bowl.
4. Add the soap into the bowl.
5. Take the water from the pot and add it into the bowl until soap changes into paste.
6. Add oils, oats, and vitamin E as desired.
7. Let cool in molds of your choice. You can use anything for a mold - ice cube trays, cookie cutters or soap molds (found at the craft store).
8. Air out on wax paper for a day or two.

Source: kidzworld

You can get more soap making recipes:

Soapmakers Companion A Comprehensive Guide with Recipes Techniques & Know How
by Susan Miller CavitchTrade Paperback

8. No Sew Sachets

Even kids who don't sew can help fashion a bunch of these fragrant, colorful sachets. It's a great way to use up all your fabric remnants.

MATERIALS:

Fabric scraps
Fabric glue
Potpourri or dried herbs, such as lavender flowers or balsam fir needles

INSTRUCTIONS

1. For each sachet, place 2 matching 5-inch fabric squares back-to-back and glue the edges together on 3 sides. Spread the glue close to the edges to prevent fraying.
   
2. Once the glue is dry, fill the sachet with about 1/2 cup of potpourri. Then glue together the open edges and again let the glue dry.
   
3. Arrange the finished sachets in multicolored stacks and tie them together with a festive ribbon or yarn.