more books

because lindsey requested it, i'm gonna try to bring back the blog a little. here are my most recent creations, both with homemade book cloth:

Buttonhole binding with a nice cutout (xmas gift):

longstitch binding (for kara's birthday):

whaddaya think?

latest books

I actually made these 2 books a while ago, but I am just now getting around to posting them. Both are handmade with the Secret Belgian Binding (the French Link Binding holds the text block together).

I made this one for my friends Stephanie and Brian to use as a baby book for their soon-to-be-born little guy. I wish I had better photos of it, but I forgot to take them until I was at the shower. Oops! The dimensions are approximately 12" x 9". The outside is covered with some beautiful acid-free gift wrap, and they can change out the framed image. I think this is the nicest book I have ever made, and I am so glad to have given it to Stephanie and Brian!

This is a book that I made for my friend Mary's birthday. It is covered with handmade (by me) bookcloth, and the pages are brown craft paper. I think this is such a cute little book that I almost couldn't part with it. It has the Secret Belgian Binding with the French Link on the text block.

Mapping is hard. Life is hard.

I haven't posted anything here in a while but I have stumbled into some creative difficulties and I don't know where to go from here.  I am trying to make some sort of art piece about mapping for my book arts class, but every time I get started with an idea, it unravels and I am left back at the beginning.  Now I am facing my last idea, which is one I have purposely been avoiding.  I have been thinking of making some sort of book/atlas that maps the distance between Columbus and Boston (where Wes, my significant other will be going to school next year while I stay at my job in Ohio).  I am not sure what all this would entail, but I do know that I just looked up the distance on Google Maps from Columbus to Boston and it says 768 miles and that makes me want to cry.   Now I can't decide if mapping that distance will be a helpful experience for me, or just make me miserable.  If anyone has any helpful insights, please let me know.

In the meantime, I will just look at this map of Loveland (by Ernest Dudley Chase) and pretend Wes and I are moving there together:

A Post From Walter

"Thanks Gram for the fab paper bag you sent!" says Walter (it originally had Jeni's ice cream in it- thanks for that as well).  "This was my new favorite toy... until I shredded it to bits!  But that was fun, too!"

"That bag was super fun, but have you seen this awesome pink tissue paper Mom brought home?  It's even stuck together so you can play dress up and pretend it's a skirt or dress!  This is so cool!"

The Fabulous Lustron

This morning Wes and I visited a reconstructed Lustron home in Whitehall.  What is a Lustron home, you ask? Well, according to Lustron Connection, "The initial Lustron Home, a two-bedroom, one-bath, 1000-square-foot unit, was a critical success with an efficient 31-by-35-foot floor plan and space-saving built-ins in every room. All interior and exterior surfaces were porcelain-enameled metal, from the roof, gutters and down drains to the master bedroom’s built-in vanity."  The Lustron company was based in Columbus, and the homes were made of prefabricated components that would arrive in the building site on a truck like this:

The Lustron Erection Manual gave complete instructions for constructing the home, including tons of diagrams.  This copy of the manual was on view at the open house we went to:

This image, from Lustron Connection, show a Lustron home in all of it's 1950's glory:

Here is the Lustron we visited.  The parts were saved from demolition and reconstructed by the Whitehall Historical Society.  They are still working on it, so today's visit was just a preview of the final product.

Lustron kitchen.  The reconstruction we went to did not have the appliances it would have, but I can't wait to go back and see it when it's finished.  It will eventually have an original to the Lustron home: combo dishwasher/clotheswasher. 

The Lustron Bathroom.  Bathtub would have been on the far right, sink in the center, and toilet on the left.

Cross-section of the Lustron walls: steel beams and porcelain-coated steel panels inside and outside.

After our visit to the Whitehall Lustron, I really really wish I could buy this beautiful remodeled Lustron in Clintonville.  It has an addition, but still has the original inside features.  More pictures on http://www.perryryno.com

Storytime Goodbyes :(

Today was the last Hilltop storytime visit for one of my favorite families.  They are moving to Dayton this weekend and I almost cried when they told me.  F. and N. are 2 of the cutest kids ever!  F. is about 5 and super duper smart.  He loves to retell the stories we read/acted out when storytime is over.  N. is 2 and follows F. around and does whatever he does.  Their mother is wonderful, too!  She reads to the kids all the time and lets them borrow tons of books!  They were the first storytime family I really got to know when I came to the Hilltop branch, and I am sad that I won't see them anymore.  

When I found out on Tuesday that today would be their last storytime with me,  I decided that I wanted to do something special for them.  It was really hard to decide, but finally I made them a little canvas tote bag to carry all of their library books in.  It has a green 'F.' bird and a purple 'N.' bird on it.  The best part was that I got to put a few FOL books in it for them to keep, which was really good since F. didn't understand why he couldn't check any books out today.  Here I am modeling the bag (and watching Walter put a toy in Wes' shoe):

the bag close up:

They seemed really excited about the bag and the books, and F. even gave me a card that said "Thank you Teacher Megan."  So cute.  I love my job.

Book Arts Class

For the past few months I have been attending a fabulous book arts class at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center. I love this class! It is so much fun, and I am so excited each week to make new things. Here are some of the books I've been making (not the best photos, but I did my best with the setup I had):

My first book (for this class)-  Buttonhole Binding with paste paper on the inside cover

Books 2 and 3- Raised Cord bindings.  These are covered with beautiful reused X-mas wrapping paper! Thanks Wendy!

In process: Long Stitch binding.  This paper was handmade by Emily and I screen printed one of her images to the cover.  Can't wait to do more printing!