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Make your own book! (Show 1276)
We go to the ZucchiniLand Library whenever we can, but making our own books right in our own clubhouse is also one of our favorite activities. We use blank, legal-sized paper, and we (especially Steve, our resident author) make so many books that our parents bought us a whole ream of it! But you can also use "regular" letter-sized paper, too.
Our super-easy version of book-making is to simply fold several pages of paper in half, crease well, and then staple along the folded edge three times. If a staple won't go through, then take pages out until it will go through. We use nice colored pencils to make illustrations on each page, and then we write the words after the pictures are completed. Sometimes we ask our parents to help us write the words.
If we're in an extra fancy mood, we'll make a cover out of cardstock or watercolor paper (the sturdy, textured kind). If we use cardstock, then we make the cover illustration with colored pencils, pens or markers. It looks especially nice when we use watercolor paper that we've painted with watercolor paint. Sometimes we even draw on the cover first with white crayon and then paint over the crayon designs with the watercolor paint.
We've also made beautiful covers out of regular paper on which we've done bark rubbings with crayons. To make a bark rubbing, just put the paper against a tree, and rub the paper with the side of a crayon (or even use a blend of colors; we've made leaf rubbings, too).
When we make fancy, sturdier covers, we often choose to sew the book together with embroidery floss rather than staple it. After folding the pages and cover and making a nice crease, we use a needle to make three small holes evenly spaced along the crease line. We then sew the book by pushing the needle (threaded with embroidery floss) down through the bottom hole, up through the center hole, down through the top hole, and then up through the center hole. Then we make sure the floss is pulled nice and tight before knotting the two ends together at the bottom hole.
One time Steve made a book about a visit to our grandparents' house. He asked Mom to make a few photocopies of it, and then he gave copies of the book to each of us, and our grandparents, for Christmas. It's probably one of the best presents our grandparents have ever received!
If you’re interested in making different styles of homemade books, check out:
makingbooks.com
for some creative ideas! |
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