Bookbinding: Coptic Stitch and German Case Bound

Over the last year I've learned to bind books. I know two types of binding, the coptic stitch and the German case bound. I love these books, they are so versatile. They can be used as journals, a place for notes, ideas, or sketches, to keep memorabilia, or anything else you can come up with!

Coptic Stitch: The coptic stitch is a really simple binding to learn and it makes each book look very unique.You can really bring out the accent colors of the cover papers by matching the wax thread. Here are a few of my favorite Coptic Stitch books:

This 5x7 Star book was unique. I made it to use as a spending planner book. I added envelopes as signatures to be used to hold cash for various areas of spending (fun, food, gas, misc). I didn't end up using the book for that, but it's one of my favorites. The envelopes are perfect for receipts, pictures, or anything

4x6

This is one of my favorite books I've made. I love baseball and the stitching
was absolutely perfect. This is a 5x7, but I made a larger version (8x10) for a friend.
I personalized that version with his initials in
the bottom right corner. A picture can be found here.

8x10

German Case Bound: This is probably my favorite binding technique. German case bound books take longer to put together and use more supplies, however, I think it is a cleaner finish. There is less room for error and looks very professional. You also have more cover options because you can use fabric.

Introduction

First, I wanted to introduce myself. I'm Meagen, I have been creative since I was little. Instead of Barbies, I had construction paper and crayons. I have a few blogs that can be found here and here, but I started this blog for two reasons. First I need an outlet for my creativity and second, I want to archive it. Actually three reasons, I want feedback on my creations! I want to know what people think of them, changes they might make, new techniques, etc.

I like all kinds of crafts including bookbinding, photography, latch-hook, and I hope to teach myself to knit this year. In the past I have been very involved with scrapbooking but haven't done anything recently. I worked for a scrapbooking magazine for a number of years and had many layouts published over that time. I also designed a font, which was an interesting process. (For those that care, the magazine was PaperKuts. It went out of business shortly after I left, so there isn't anything for me to link to now.) Anyway, I hope people enjoy my new blog. I'm not sure how often there will be new posts, (sometimes I go a while without doing any new projects) but I'll do my best to keep it up to date at least a few times a month. Enjoy!